Journeys 10-28-12 Imagine No Malaria

We’ve been doing a new thing the past several weeks during children’s time at the Doniphan Church.  We’ve got this big glass fish bowl for collecting coins that the kids can bring forward as an offering to help kids around the world buy malaria nets.  So not only do their coins help others, they make a lot of noise when you drop them in!  And, we adults get to see the smiles on the kids faces when they bring their coins forward.

One of our young dads, (thanks Josh Leth!), brought this idea from another church and asked if we could give it a try.  And it so happened that the kids had raised money for malaria nets during Vacation Bible School this summer.  So we thought we’d just continue doing that with the fish bowl during children’s time.  You can google “Imagine No Malaria, “ and see what our United Methodist Church is doing to stamp out this killer disease.  Here’s some tidbits from that web site:

“Every 60 seconds, malaria claims a life in Africa. Millions of lives, needlessly lost each year. Imagine No Malaria is an extraordinary effort of the people of The United Methodist Church, putting our faith into action to end preventable deaths by malaria in Africa, especially the death of a child or a mother.  Achieving this goal requires an integrated strategy against the disease. As a life-saving ministry, Imagine No Malaria aims to empower the people of Africa to overcome malaria’s burden. We fight malaria with a comprehensive model.

So here’s the plan: we’re gonna put 160 years of know-how and experience in Africa to work against malaria. This comprehensive approach is divided into four main parts:

Prevention: It’s about improving the ways people fight the disease locally.  Using bed nets. Access to diagnostic tests and medicine. Draining standing water. Improving sanitation.  Every person can take steps to prevent malaria deaths, from protective measures to taking swift action when malaria symptoms begin.

Treatment: Improving infrastructure. There are literally hundreds of churches, schools, hospitals and clinics operated by The United Methodist Church in Africa, but what good are they if medicines to treat malaria aren’t available?  We’ll make sure these facilities have the diagnostic tests and treatment needed to save lives.

Education: It’s about outreach to those who need it most. Last year alone, we trained thousands of local people in African communities to teach their communities about avoiding malaria. In Sierra Leone, these workers went door-to-door to deliver bed nets, install them in homes and teach folks how to properly use and care for the nets.

Communications: And finally, your support helps upgrade communications networks throughout the continent. Building new radio stations and providing hand-crank and solar-powered radios will ensure we are reaching great numbers of people with life-saving information about malaria.

Special thanks to all who’ve placed those coins in those little hands to bring up & put in our new fish bowl.  Grace & Peace

Journeys 10-21-12 "The Wind"

As of this writing, we are in our second day of 30-50 mile-an-hour winds.  I don’t know anybody who likes to be outside when the wind is like this!  

The wind adds an urgency to my life.  I feel more rushed when I’m in the wind, cause I just want to get out of it as fast as I can.  Driving up to the office on Highway 281 today the wind was from the west.  And when I drove past a farmstead on the left I almost went in the ditch cause I didn’t realize how much I was over-compensating just to keep going straight!

Then when I turned right to go into Doniphan it was as if somebody pulled the plug on wind fan.  Having the wind at your back is like taking a dip in the pool on a 100 degree day.  It was so refreshing. On the other hand, walking into the wind is a leaning, head down, continuous effort to breath/see where you’re going, and not get blown over kind of thing.

Then there is the dust in the air and the pink hew to the clouds from the sun trying to break through the haze.  Folks with breathing problems don’t even try to go outside with these winds.

The Hebrew word for wind is “ruach.” It also gets translated as "spirit" or "breath."  So Ruach Elohim is translated “Spirit of God.” In Genesis 1:2 it says, “ . . . the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the spirit (or wind) of God was over the waters  . . . .”  Ruach was what God gave to Adam to bring the clay man to life.  When applied to God, the word Ruach indicates creative activity (Gen 1:2) and active power (Isa 40:13).  In (Job 33:4) it says, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” 

This week we got to experience the full awesome power of ruach on the high plains.  After being in 60 mile-an-hour gusts, it is easy to see how our ancient ancestors in the faith labeled this all consuming force, "The Breath of God.”

Grace & Peace,

Journeys 10-14-12 Church Conference Meeting

There was a time in American United Methodist Church history when each church hosted the District Superintendent four times a year for a Quarterly Conference.  It was a time to check in and see how the church was doing.  Quarterly Conferences also happened when there were still large circuits of churches served by Circuit Riders who would cover their 10-20 churches one Sunday at a time preaching and serving Holy Communion where-ever they went.  Sunday School was what happened on Sundays when the Circuit Rider was not there.

Now, we don’t have huge circuits or circuit riders.  Pastors may have a three or four point charge.  But parishes larger than that are rare.  Now, we’ve also evolved to an annual “Church Conference” meeting with the District Superintendent (Rev. Harold Backus).  But the basic tone of the meeting is still a checking in; seeing how we’re doing; asking what our dreams are for the future.

So today at 1 p.m. at the Doniphan church our parish (Doniphan & Rosedale churches) will have its annual Church Conference meeting with our District Superintendent.  I am asking each person who attends to share what is their favorite thing about the church and/or where they have seen God in the church this past year.  

Church Conferences have evolved to be more a celebration of our ministry this past year, and sharing our desires for our ministry to each other, the community and the world in this next year.  Now, it is the District Superintendent who goes on a circuit each fall; meeting with 70-80 churches in less than 90 days.  Today, Rev. Backus has Church Conferences in three different towns at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Church Conference is open to all members and friends of the Doniphan and Rosedale churches.  You do have to be a member of those churches to have a vote, however.  Stop on by at 1 p.m. at the Doniphan church.  I’m pretty sure we’re the only church that will have a drumming circle as part of Church Conference this year.

Grace & Peace,

Journeys 10-7-12 World Communion Sunday

Meaning gets attached to food all the time.  When my kids come home from college, we fix their favorite food (White Chicken, Rice, and green beans).  In our house it is comfort food.  In some homes, on your birthday, you get to name your meal.  Certain foods are expected on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  If those foods are not on the table, something is wrong. The meal doesn’t mean the same to us.

In the Christian tradition, everyone in the church family eating a bit of bread and wine/juice has meaning attached to it. It symbolizes taking Jesus’ presence into us. Consuming/digesting these elements of an ancient Hebrew Passover meal has meant something to the followers of Jesus ever since that last Passover meal that Jesus shared with his friends.  The bread and juice also symbolize starting over; re-booting; pushing the re-start button on our souls.  So anything we’ve done that we regret, or wish we could re-do can be left at the altar and given over to God when we come forward for communion.  And after we’ve taken the bread and juice, we can return to our seat as a new person; a more Godly/Jesus kind of person. It has that kind of meaning.

Today, hundreds of different kinds of Christian churches from all over the world are celebrating holy communion with us.  We may not agree on juice or wine, bread or wafers, but we’re all recalling that last passover meal that Jesus shared with his friends.  We’re all attaching some meaning to this symbolic meal.  In taking communion, we’re all  saying Jesus means something to us.  And without him, our lives would have less meaning.

Happy World Communion Sunday.

Grace & Peace,