And Sour

Besides worship (and enduring Dad's endless whistling of the sending hymn) my family has few Easter traditions - and even fewer Holy Week traditions. That's one of the reasons why I so enjoy the series of Triduum books that Liturgy Training Publiciation published (they've got a series for Lent, a book on Easter, Advent, marriage, the list goes on...)
Anyway - this is a new tradition for me, and while we won't be making the soup for supper tonight, there will be consumption of vinegar.

This entry is found on page 57 of Triduum I, and was written by Evelyn Birge Vitz.

In Greece and a number of other countries it is customary to eat something on Good Friday to which vinegar is added, in memory of the vinegary that Christ was offered on the cross. To this good soup the vinegar adds a symbolic touch.

GREEK LENTIL SOUP

1 pound lentils

10 cups water

4 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1/2 cup vegetable oil

6 sprigs parsley, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons wine vinegar or cider vinegar

Rinse and pick over lentils, removing any pebbles. Bring the water to a boil in a large pan. Add the lentils, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let the lentils stand for 1 hour.

In the meantime, saute the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in the oil.

When the lentils have sat for an hour, add to them the vegetables, along with the parsley, bay leaf, and tomato paste. Simmer, partly covered, until the lentils are tender. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the salt and pepper.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Just before serving, add the vinegar. You might wish to do this at the table - and to explain why you are adding it.

Smell my feet

It's Maundy Thursday - Holy Communion, new commandment and foot washing day, for some. Here at CtK tonight, Grant just washed two feet (belonging to the same person - who knew ahead of time that her feet would get wet in front of God and everybody). I wonder what would have happened if we had the whole congregation line up to have their feet washed in the same bowl of water?

It's funny - in our office version of Microsoft Publisher, if you limit the results to "photos" and search the clip-art for "basin," you will get exactly one picture: of the kind of kidney shaped basin someone with the stomach flu might appreciate. Somehow it seems oddly appropriate for tonight. I have several friends who simply cannot stand feet - not even their own. And I've seen some pretty nasty looking feet in my day - feet I certainly would NOT want to be near, much less close enough to smell, or touch, or scrub, or massage, or wash.

Good thing Jesus isn't so picky. The betrayer's feet: washed. The denier's feet: washed. The rest of the disciples who somehow go AWOL between dinner and breakfast: clean feet.

Thanks be to God.

On a lighter note

It's Wednesday of Holy Week. Passover begins tonight at sundown (the Jewish way of keeping time, remember - "and there was evening, and there was morning, the first day").

A friend posted this link on her blog last week, and I've been looking forward to sharing it. This just cracks me up. If you don't understand all the facebook references, just ask anyone who does to explain it to you...

The Passover Seder, the oldest continuously observed religious ceremony in the world, tells the story of the Jews' Exodus from Egypt. Jewish tradition says that people of each generation must imagine that they personally had departed from Egypt, and the sages say that each generation must tell the story in its own terms.The sages probably did not intend this.

My favorite week of the year

I love this week in the church year. You don’t see many “Maundy Thursday servant towel sales” or advertisements for a “Good Friday Beer Bash.”

Since I was a boy, I’ve grown up with a thought filled observation of what God has done for us in Jesus during this week marking the events of Christ’s passion.

I remember as a child attending Palm Sunday worship where I marched into the worship space with other kids, waving our palm branches and singing “Hosanna!”

I remember sitting in a pew at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Long Beach, CA listening to Dolores sing “Were You There?” with a haunting voice on Good Friday. Our pastor, Ted Conter, stayed at the altar knelt in prayer, long after the service ended.

I remember attending my first Easter Vigil Service in Erie, PA in 1989 with my brother Jon, who was serving a rural parish at the time. I never heard of the Easter Vigil service until that time. It is a part of the three day “Triduum”-the days leading up to Easter.
The elements of that service, from the “new fire” burning in a fire pit outside of the church to the twelve readings from the Bible, to the unveiling of the altar close to midnight to celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the tomb, have stayed with me over the years.

I remember as a teenager, rehearsing musical fanfares to be played at the Easter sunrise service. My brother Kurt and I left a spring break vacation in Los Angeles to make the two hour drive home to San Diego for the rehearsals.

Growing up, the practice of attending Holy Week worship services and being a participant in those services brought depth and meaning to my Christian faith. I became a part of "the salvation story."

I hope you find depth and meaning in worship this week, as we reflect on our Lord’s passion.

Real Invitations

Our community's mission statement indicates that we are a group of people who reach out to others with a welcome and witness. Wishful thinking in a mission statement is not necessarily a bad thing.

After seven and a half months here, my experience has been that CtK IS a very friendly group of folks, who have built a space that feels good to be in. That said, there's a difference between being friendly and offering real welcome. I can think of more than one occasion when I've gone somewhere and the people were really friendly, but I also knew I wasn't really welcome - there was no place for the real me. So, we continue to grow in our understanding of hospitality and welcome, realizing that "new" folks don't have to be (or become) just like "us" in order to have a place here.

The witness side of things is another story, I think. People continue to look at me like I'm speaking a language from another planet when I talk about inviting folks to join us in worship, study or service. We know it's not always easy to do something for the first time, but it will never get easier if we never try in the first place.

The Good News/Evangelism team gave the go-ahead to order and print up several BIG stacks of postcards that can be used as invitations to worship and fellowship during Holy Week and Easter. Grant and I were very intentional about handing a couple of those cards to each person who worshiped here last Sunday: we stood, as usual, at the doors out of the sanctuary, to greet people and shake hands - and hand off the postcards. I saw folks smile at me and say "good morning," and then look over their shoulders to see if anyone was watching as they put their postcards down on the table. Is it really THAT HARD to hand someone a postcard and say, "hey - check it out"? I'd be fine if folks said, "My pastors told me I have to give this to you" and then walked away (okay, maybe not).

I wonder why it's so difficult for people even to extend a simple invitation, especially when said invitation is printed and ready to go. Are they embarrassed? If so - by what? That they're part of a community of faith? By their congregation? By their friends? Are they ashamed? (I hope not - Jesus had something to say about those who are ashamed of him...) Are they afraid?

If so, what is it exactly that we are so afraid of? Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. Not even death can hold him down (Easter is not about the bunny). We don't need to worry - he's got our backs. And we're afraid someone might say "no thanks" to a friendly invitation?

Come on, people of God - it's time for action. Besides, it's FUN! I have never had a bad experience inviting people to worship - even people I've never met previously.

We're heading out tomorrow afternoon - meet at CtK in the sanctuary at 2pm for a quick training and sending out. We'll be done by 4pm.

Questions? Let me know!

Too Much Water

It's pretty difficult to avoid news coverage about the current flooding in the upper midwest of the United States. Once again, folks in North Dakota and Minnesota are watching the Red River rise, even above the records reached back in 1997. Of course this flood isn't the only news - there are other parts of the world where death tolls are higher. The flood caused by the breaking of a dam near Jakarta, Indonesia has left 50 dead, so far. And the world keeps on spinning...
We are not helpless, however, even in the face of forces we cannot control, even when the news is happening a half-world away, so that feels like it must be on another planet.
We can pray. We can give. The time may come when we can go and serve.
What follows is the text of an email from the Montana Synod office:

As of this writing, there is a serious flooding issue along both the Red River and Missouri River in the Upper Midwest. In some places, river and over-land flooding has already occurred, and in other locations, current forecasts predict floods of record-breaking proportion. Lutheran Disaster Response is already responding:
through local volunteers who are placing sandbags
by preparing for assistance in the communities where flooding will occur
in prayerful support for those who will be directly impacted
Now we ask that you:
Share this news with others - Invite the members of your congregation and your neighbors to monitor the situation in these communities. In this Lenten season of anticipation, we await the outcome of these floods, trusting that hope will abide.
Join in prayer - Pray that these communities may be bound together in unity in this time of great uncertainty. Pray as well for the faithful volunteers who are working tirelessly to prevent flooding and for those displaced by this high water.
Give a gift - Gifts to ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, designated for U.S. Flooding, allow for immediate and ongoing response, bringing help and hope to affected communities now and into the future. Gifts may be sent through your congregation, or given directly online or by calling 800-638-3522.
Lutheran Disaster Response is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, which responds to the long-term needs of communities affected by disaster. For updates and more information about this and other responses, visit www.ldr.org.

Lutheran Disaster Response
Bringing Help and Hope...
Phone: 773-380-2748
Fax: 773-380-2493
Visit us on the Web at LDR.org
Are you on Facebook? Join the cause.

New Members and Spiritual Gifts

We're beginning another round of New Members' Classes here at CtK this Sunday. As part of the preparation for leading the class, I'm reviewing some materials and trying to get ready to answer questions, etc.
We ask people who are considering making a commitment to follow Jesus (ie live as a disciple) within this community of faith to tell us about their spiritual gifts. The thing is - a lot of folks have no real idea what their spiritual gifts are - or what we even mean by spiritual gifts.
If you are one such person: panic not! Here's a link to a website that will help you figure out how God has gifted you for ministry in everyday ways in everyday life.
Let me know what you learn!