As my friend Erica Ray loves to say… “Awesome”… today was Awesome—that’s the best way to describe the celebration. Bill Moyer may be my new hero---awesome and courageous and faithful could describe his speech this morning. We are fortunate to have him as a leader in the press and the news arena and as a member of the UCC—he is a man of God who is trying to live out his faith everyday. And then there was Barack Obama---wow he is truly a charismatic leader in the best meaning of that word. His enthusiasm is contagious and genuine. He talked a lot about his faith, his belief in Jesus Christ, his commitment to live out his faith in the public arena. He didn’t say everything that the UCC church wanted to hear, but he was honest and confident about what he did have to say and I have to say he’s got my vote. He talked about what it means to stand up for what is right and he praised the UCC for its leadership and commitment of a prophetic Christian witness in our country. And then, the 50 year bold celebration was tonight, and there was singing and dancing and conversations with the first people that united this church in 1957. There was an introduction of a white minister who walked and talked with Martin Luther King in Memphis and Alabama and many others who have helped to shape this church. It was helpful and exciting and hopeful to see and hear wand witness so many faithful Christians striving to make a real difference in this world.
Now, I’m not completely starry eyed about it all—I still have plenty of reservations and frustrations with this denomination, but I do believe they/we are seeking to live out what we talk about—what we believe. John Thomas, the President of the UCC spoke a couple of weeks ago about God calling us to Evangelical Faith (honest, authentic, loving, risky faith) instead of Respectable Religion (nice, sweet, always balanced, never offensive, easy for all…tolerant). I’ve thought about this a lot lately and where and how that makes sense for me and for our church that is becoming. I have seen this Evangelical Honest and Authentic Faith lived out this week and I am filled with hope for who God is calling me/us to be, how God is calling us to live out our faith, and why God is still speaking…there are people who don’t know how much God loves them, how Jesus wants to be in relationship with us, and how God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness and love can be so very real in and through the Holy Spirit, the Church and in relationship with each other. Oh my friends, we have so much ahead…I am reminded everyday---a hundred times a day the words of God from the prophet Jeremiah, “for I know the plans I have for you…to give you a future and a hope.” Thanks be to God. Praying for you, love you, miss you, S
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