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Tulsa Central Congregation 4811 South Fulton, Tulsa OK 74135 918-627-9508 |
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Calendar of Events / January 2010 From the Pastor Greetings to One and All, It is my hope and prayer that this letter finds each of you blessed spiritually, physically and mentally. It is hard to get away from writing that patent first sentence. As we embark on a new year and a new decade, there are many challenges that we will face individually and collectively. It is easy to feel overwhelmed or even powerless. But the old Talmudic saying, “To save one life is to save the world,” can remind us that we are not powerless and that we cannot, nor will not, let the enormity of the challenges before us blind us to the opportunities that are near. Epiphany is the season of revealing challenges and recognizing opportunities. Epiphany is the time of the Christian year when we focus on God’s surprising revelations – in the magi from another land and faith tradition, in Gentile converts, in strangers and enemies, and, most unexpectedly, in our own lives. The message of Epiphany is that you are God’s beloved. This may seem exclusive at first glance, but when you refer to converts, strangers and enemies, all of a sudden there is the inclusive nature of God and our call to Epiphany. Epiphany shouts: “Arise, your light has come,” and that healing light is emerging from your life and experience. Epiphany affirms: “The wind, of God’s spirit, blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from nor where it goes.” Epiphany celebrates: “Portentous times” that this is no “ordinary time,” but the time of surprising inspiration and lively revelation and the reminder that the ordinary is extraordinary for those persons who pause and awaken to God’s presence. The first Sunday of Epiphany also celebrates the baptism of Jesus. In earlier times, virtually everyone in church was baptized. Today, pilgrims and seekers, who can be described as “spiritual orphans,” know little or nothing about rituals that congregants (regular attendees), who are “cradle Christians,” take for granted. The realities of our time confront us with the question: How can we share about baptism and commitment in a way that includes rather than excludes, and that proclaims the mystery of the sacraments, without creating an esoteric circle? We cannot give spiritual orphans a sense of meaning that they aren’t yet looking for, but we can open the door to an adventurous pathway of mutual growth and inspiration. We can share with people for whom the Christian message is unfamiliar, and who do not sense that they need what Christ has to offer, a message that transforms all of us within and beyond the church, “you are loved; you matter; you are more than you can imagine, and so is everyone else.” Shared with humility, this is good news for congregants and seekers alike. Luke describes Jesus’ experience of the Holy Spirit in an embodied way, like a dove descending. Jesus needs the touch of the Spirit as confirmation of his calling and medium of new and creative divine energies. God’s spirit must take flesh to be transformative in our lives; we must breathe it in and share with others. The word becomes flesh, and our faith embraces head, heart, and hands. On this Sunday and hopefully every Sunday, we celebrate and affirm God’s deep love for each of us and all of us. We celebrate the touch of waters, the vibrations of God’s word, healthy, embodied “laying on of hands,” and the gifts of the Spirit that embrace and enliven our whole persons (body, mind, and spirit) and our communities of faith.
Grace and peace,
Announcements
Young Adult Group For more information on these events, click on the calendar below. Monthly Calendar
2010
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