PENTECOST!

 It's Pentecost, y'all! Wear Red! 

As many of you know, I was raised in a Pentecostal church, with heavy emphasis on the excitement and power the story in Acts, chapter 2. For many reasons, I stepped away from the Pentecostal church but I continue to find reasons to embrace the story of the Day of Pentecost and discover new meaning in it. 

 

One of the first large decisions one makes in interpreting, embracing, and proclaiming the story of Pentecost is how to contextualize it. 

- Do we read Genesis 11 and interpret the one-ness of Pentecost as an alternative to the confusion-and-diffusion of Babel? 

- Do we read Leviticus 23 and interpret Pentecost as the fiftieth-day celebration concluding the Festival of Weeks, so it becomes a story of God's abundance? 

- Do we read Leviticus 25 and interpret Pentecost as an expression of Jubilee, with all of the redistributive justice that goes with it? 

- Do we read Ezekiel 37 and interpret Pentecost as the Divine Breath, breathing new life into the dry bones of a tragic killing field? 

- Do we read Joel 2 and interpret Pentecost as a symbol of the 'last days,' as Peter does in his sermon that follows? 

- Do we read Acts 1:1-11, and interpret the power of Pentecost as the alternative to the disciples’ view of power when the ask about "restoring the kingdom" to Israel? 

- Do we read Acts 3 and interpret Pentecost through Peter's great claim, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I freely give you - rise up and walk"? 

- Do we read Acts 6 and interpret Pentecost through the newly invented-by-necessity office of Deacons, as a recognition of the variety of spiritual gifts? 

- Do we read about Stephen's death in Acts 7 and interpret Pentecost as the power that the early church had to give new meaning to the Greek word martyr, or 'witness'? 

- Do we read Acts 10 and interpret Pentecost through the peculiar image of a giant net/sheet/whatever, also coming down from heaven, with all manner of clean and unclean critters mixing it up, and hearing the words, "Let's eat!"? 

- Do we read I Corinthians 12 and 14 or Romans 12 and interpret Pentecost through the "one body, many parts" language of Paul's letters? 

 

My goodness! It will take a lifetime to experience the many dimensions of this story! Let’s get our red on and start exploring.

 

Mark of St. Mark

A Message from Kate Forer

 Friends,

 As promised last week, I am happily giving my Friday Extra over to Kate Forer, to introduce herself and her ministry to you a bit more. 

Happy reading! 

Mark of St. Mark

What the heck is spiritual direction? ...You might be wondering….

In response, let me ask you a few questions:

When was the last time you sat down and honestly talked to someone about your relationship with God? 

About the state of your soul?

About ways to go deeper - to grow more fully into the person God has created you to be?

About what gets in the way, for you, of being your full, true self?

If you have someone with whom you have such honest and open conversations, then that is wonderful. But most of us don’t. And many of us have never even thought to ask those questions in the first place. 

Spiritual direction is an ancient Christian practice that allows an individual to explore their spiritual life with a seasoned companion. So much of our life is lived busily on the surface - we go to our jobs, we take care of our children or our parents, we try to find time for friends and recreation - and often the deeper questions of the heart are left unattended. Spiritual Direction is a chance to attend to these matters, to fully engage in one's life, to discern how the Spirit is moving and calling. 

A few months ago I let Pastor Mark know that I was starting a spiritual direction practice (something I had dreamed of doing when I left full-time local church ministry. Just a quick aside: being a full-time senior pastor, as I was, does not leave enough time and space for these kinds of conversations with congregants - not when you have close to 300 of them). Mark quickly asked if I was interested in having office space at St. Mark. “YES!” I responded. I have been attending St. Mark off and on for several years now, and the idea of being planted within such a wonderful congregation seemed like a dream come true. 

And so here I am! I am meeting people one-on-one in my office for such conversations as mentioned above. I am looking forward to working with the St. Mark staff at some point to plan retreats (something I have done for many years and for which I have a real passion) and I’m hoping to be more involved in this lovely community. 

From two decades of pastoring, I know how hard church communities like St. Mark work. I know you are busy with your commissions and your service work - not to mention careers, kids, parents, etc. To do the work of being God’s hands and feet in the world we all need times to replenish and nurture the soul. Remember, even Jesus escaped crowds to spend time with God. I hope that I can offer a sense of nourishment and encouragement as you continue your profound work of loving and serving this broken world.

If you’d like to learn more about working with me, I invite you to visit my website: https://www.thetendedpath.org/

You can also always email me at kate@stmarkpresbyterian.org if you have any questions or suggestions.

I am so very happy (and grateful!) to be a part of you!

Blessings,

Kate 

Catching Up, pt. 3

 Friends,  

For the last two weeks, I’ve been updating you on things that are happening here at St. Mark. Today, I want to share some news and then encourage you to consider something. 

 

First, the news. Many of you have commented on how much you appreciate Kate Forer, who has preached for us on two occasions and has been part of our worship leadership on other occasions. I mentioned some time ago that Kate has initiated a new ministry as a Spiritual Director, which I will invite for her to describe for us in more detail in next week’s Extra. On Tuesday, our Session has voted to offer Kate an office on our campus for her practice and in return she will become part of our staff. As such, Kate will participate in our worship services, help with our 20-30 Something Young Adult group, and offer opportunities for introductory consultations with anyone interested in the work of Spiritual Direction. Kate also has a passion for leading retreats and is open to doing so with us. I am very excited about this door that is opening for us. In some ways, I feel like our staff is taking shape in a beautiful way. 

 

With Kate working alongside of Ann Scott, our Parish Nurse, and Gretchen Carrilo, our Parish Counselor, we have a very strong team of holistic care of the body, mind, and spirit. While it is never possible, or even desirable, to fully separate the body, mind, and spirit, at times we tend to them separately and at times jointly. Anyone who has dealt with high blood pressure knows that the physical expression of our circulatory system can indicate a high degree of stress. We may take a pill to address the physical symptom and speak with a therapist to address the stress. The two actions are not exclusive, but complementary, because our circulatory, lymphatic, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems are not fully separable from our emotions, hopes, will, fears, and desires. Whether we need to name it, sleep on it, or pray about it, our trio of Parish Nurse, Parish Counselor, and Spiritual Director can provide resources and encouragement. Thanks be to God.   

 

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Now, the consideration. In worship, you have heard about our plans for an Intergenerational summer camp, August 10-14, called MARC: Music, Art, Rhythm, and Community. I believe this is going to be a marvelous week. We are planning ways for the young and the young at heart to work together for a week of learning, community, play, and worship. Have you ever wanted to ring bells, but don’t read music? We will learn how. Have you ever wondered why we call a room “The Bonhoeffer Room?” We will explore Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life together. Have you ever sat in our Memorial Garden and wondered who this or that person was, whose name is engraved in one of the shutters? We will spend some time there and explore what it means to be part of the community of saints. And did you know that of the nearly one hundred varieties of lilies in the world (the genus Lilium), about twenty are native to California? We will “consider the lilies” during this week. All these explorations will be intentionally intergenerational, providing opportunities for young and young at heart to learn together. 

 

I encourage you to consider being part of our Summer MARC. You can contact SueJeanne Koh here for more information or to indicate your interest in helping. It has been a while since we have had a week-long summer event, so we don’t have either “the usual suspects” or “the usual process” to lean on. And I say that approvingly. This is a new opportunity, and I hope you will consider being a part of it. 

 

See you in worship,

Mark of St. Mark