November Messenger

For ALL the Saints

By Pastor Renata Eustis

Every year I’m moved by how much All Saints’ Day (or as we celebrate it, All Saints’ Sunday) means to so many people. This is the time when we remember those who have lived and died in Christ. Some of those saints fit the more popular understanding of “saint” that includes being well-known. Others are beloved friends and family members. Often, these are people who taught us with their words and their lives what it means to live the faith. All Saints’ Sunday always follows Reformation Sunday, and there is one person (a life-long Lutheran) who has secretly admitted to me that he has come to see All Saints’ as the more central.

As I think about those who have shaped my faith and helped me grow, about those who have given flesh to Christ in my life, I see something startling. Some of these “saints” don’t exactly meet the classical definition of being believers who lived and died in the Christian faith. Over the years, I have seen and heard God through the lives of men and women of different faiths. I have been blessed to know Jewish saints, Muslim saints, Quaker saints, and Buddhist saints who have helped me grow as a Christian. I’ve even known some incredibly compassionate agnostics, saints who taught me what it really means to live your life with an open heart.

This past week I went to a workshop that was described as an “Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation.” Simply put, this is the Buddhist practice of consciously being aware of what you and others are doing, feeling, and thinking. Mindfulness is really a way of living—like following Jesus is a way of living—but focusing on being aware, or the practice of meditating mindfully helps a person live that way. Basically, I see it as prayer. It is almost identical to what is called “Centering Prayer” in Christian spirituality. It’s the extended silence we have in our Taize services.

The biggest challenge I have with this kind of prayer is the same one everyone else faces: distraction. How do I stay focused on my breath or be open to God for more than a few seconds without my mind wandering off into writing a mental grocery list or a thousand other thoughts? In this workshop, our teacher suggested that each time thoughts come in, we say to ourselves, “This, too.” It reminded me of one of our most-used family slogans “This too shall pass.” But it was less judgmental and more accepting. Rather than wanting to be rid of the distraction or feeling badly about having it, “This, too” brings awareness and acceptance to it.

The strange and wonderful thing about this was that it made it so much easier to pray. Instead of spending all that time and emotional/mental energy on being frustrated about the distraction, I found that I could move right out of it. Being aware of my “prayerful shortcomings” and accepting them actually made the distractions less frequent. I came out of the prayer time feeling more refreshed, instead of frustrated at my failings.

Grace is what I would call it. God sees all that we do, and in the way that only God can do, says “This, too.” Even with our failings, large and small, God says “This, too.” God accepts it all. As we live in the awareness of that totally amazing acceptance, we are changed. We move out from under the burden of our repeated failings and begin to live in ways that are more loving—toward ourselves and others.

I am so thankful that once again, God has surprised me—this time by using a Buddhist saint to deepen my understanding of the heart of the gospel.

A NOTE FROM PASTOR RENATA

I would like to share the news with the whole Christ Lutheran Church community that Bryan Rowe will continue to serve as our Music Director. Following a time of prayerful discernment, Bryan, the choir, two members of the council, Vicar Christine, and I met to consider the communications issues that had preceded his resignation. The conversation was fruitful, and all who participated hope that this process will lead to a strengthened music ministry.

Council Members

By Mark Rohrbaugh, President

As we approach the year's end, we need to consider nominations of new Council Members to fill the positions of those whose terms will soon end.

The following people have terms expiring in 2007: David Blakemore, Recording Secretary; Mack Ott, Treasurer; Ann Marie Nelson, Financial Secretary; Bill Pryor, Deacon; Lawrence Thrower, Deacon. We give thanks to God and to these people for their dedicated service to CLC.

Please give prayerful consideration to whether you would be willing and able to serve on Council in one of these positions or whether there is someone whose name you would like to raise up. Any member is eligible to serve as Deacon, and members for at least the last two years are eligible to serve as Officers.

If you have questions about the scope of duties for these positions, you could contact the person whose term is ending, Joanne Noll, or myself. Consider how God is calling you to serve within the CLC community and whether it involves one of these positions.

If you would like to volunteer or have a suggested nominee, contact Lawrence Thrower or Carla Howery, who constitute the Nominations Committee. We would like to have the nomination slate ready for the Congregational Meeting November 18. Please plan to attend.

This particular campaign season will be short with no debates or advertisements. I look forward to serving with the Council Members whose terms continue though 2008 and those new ones who will join us in January.

Lessons learned from Rose….

By Vicar Christine May

We have a new addition to our family named Rose. Rose is a 3-month-old Cockapoo puppy with curly red hair. She has bright inquisitive eyes filled with wonder and expectation. The past few weeks I have learned a lot from this puppy and from my children interacting with this puppy.

The first thing this puppy taught me about is joy. I am not kidding. This puppy is joyous to see me and my family all the time. She is thrilled every time I walk in the door, so much so that she trips over her own feet to get to me. Rose is not shy about showing her joy either. I must admit that I am not a person who wants to be licked in the face by a dog. But, let me tell you, my boys love all the kisses she gives them. Rose feels joyous and she shows it! The first night I tucked my boys into bed after Rose came to our house they could not wipe the smiles off their faces. Their joy just radiated from their faces. I wondered, do I show joy?

Because Rose puts joy right out there for everyone to see, it makes me feel joyous; it makes me feel happy. Her joy is contagious! Have you heard that saying, “What if you greeted/treated everyone the way you greet your dog?” I have been thinking a lot about that. Rose expects me to love her; she puts all this good stuff into our relationship, so it makes me want to be with her. It’s almost as if her love of life beckons me into enjoying life. I wondered, do I share love?

That leads me to the next lesson Rose is teaching me: see and do. I imagine the thought process of Rose to be like this: “See ball, run to ball, play with ball, have fun!!!!” Rose is definitely not thinking about all the other things she could be doing (like where’s she’s supposed to use the potty). Rose knows that life is meant to be experienced, and she thoroughly enjoys every moment. I wondered, do I live life?

Maybe the most important thing I have learned from Rose is contentment. After a hard day of play and work, she curls up between our feet and sleeps. She sleeps so deeply, with such contentment that it almost makes me jealous. Her rest is one of complete trust that all is well, that her needs will be met, and with an assurance of a day well-lived. I think we all long for that type of rest. I wondered, am I content?

What might it be like if we could live life like a puppy? What would it be like if we visibly showed our love to others? I am betting it would be contagious. As Christians, don’t we have so much to be joyous about? Our days are not meant to be drudgery. What if we experienced life? Maybe not chasing a ball, but playing ball with our children. Or inviting friends to a new restaurant, taking the time to notice the leaves changing, or trying something new and then relishing those moments.

In the hope of Jesus we possess the final hour, even if we do not know what each day brings. Maybe knowing that promise of hope in Jesus is enough to encourage the contentment we all long for. It doesn’t mean that all is then easy and planned, but it does mean that we can live with hope and joy because of the promise of God in Christ. Because then maybe we could rest in the assurance of the LORD – the blessed contentment that comes in knowing we are loved and cared for.

YARD SALE WRAPUP

The final total to be distributed to the 2007 Yard Sale beneficiaries and the DC Metro Synod is $29,504. Another $4,800 has already been distributed from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, bringing the grand total to $34,304. Another wonderful effort by the members, former members, and friends by this blessed family called Christ Lutheran Church.

SILENT AUCTION ENDS Nov. 4

The second and last Sunday of bidding at the 2007 Silent Auction is All Saints Day, this Sunday, November 4. After the service ends in the Memorial Garden, come into the undercroft with your pencils sharpened!

Fifty-two bid sheets for 57 items await your final offers! Notice will be given before the bidding closes. Funds this year will go toward purchase of new furniture for the Parish Hall. Application has been made to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for additional funding for this event. Good luck, everyone!

Bread for the City says THANK YOU!

By Valentine Breitbarth

Each year Christ Lutheran Church works around the clock to gather items, price, set up, promote, and hold a successful yard sale. These valiant efforts benefit local nonprofit organizations to support their efforts to make our community a better place. As someone who works at a beneficiary organization, I want to thank you. Many of you know that I work at Bread for the City, a local organization that provides low-income DC residents with food, clothing, medical care, legal advice and representation, and social services. The funds donated by CLC, and the matching funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, have been earmarked for our Holiday Helpings Campaign. With your help we will ensure that 13,000 low-income families are able to sit down together this holiday season to enjoy a celebratory meal. Just $26 will feed a family of four. Because of CLC’s generosity, more than 120 families will receive a Holiday Helpings bag this year. Thank you! For information about Bread for the City or about how you or your office can get involved with Holiday Helpings, please visit our website at www.breadforthecity.org. You may also call me at (202) 465-5240 or email me at vbreitbarth@gmail.com. Thank you for helping Bread for the City make the holidays a little brighter for DC’s most vulnerable residents.

YARD SALE THANKS

By Summer Parrish

From Lutheran Social Services, a Yard Sale beneficiary that also benefited from gleaning at clean-up: Thank you for all your work and dedication to the Yard Sale that has helped so many of our clients over the years. Truly, it's a blessing and a gift! I (and all of us at LSS) are grateful and amazed to walk away with carloads of useful items that will go to good use! Thank you for thinking of us, but more importantly, thank you for thinking of those we serve who are thrilled by the outpouring of this generosity.

THC APARTMENT 103 FURNISHED

By Joanne Noll

On Saturday, October 20, another in a long string of beautiful days, a good group from CLC met at church to gather and transport furnishings over to Partner Arms I at 935 Kennedy Street. Folks worked well together to get stuff out of the garage and the big Sunday School room, loaded into trucks and vans, transported, and unloaded into Apartment 103. (Lots of Yard Sale experience here!) "Divide and conquer" was the key phrase, and by 12:30 all furniture was in place, beds made, dishes in cupboards, and the bathroom ready.

Angie Hummel, LVC volunteer assigned to THC, was impressed and thrilled with our work. Helping on this very fun project were Kendall Bentz, Kevin Fremming, Sylvia Glauster, Carla Howery, Karin Klingman, Joanne Noll, Michelle Osmolovsky, Bob Sylwester, Charles Williamson, and Marilyn Zukel. CLC's turn for another apartment will probably be in another

18-20 months.

Decorating for the Holidays Workshop

By Linda Ott

Thanksgiving and the Christmas season always include decorating. To help you prepare for these festive events, CLC will host a flower arranging workshop on Saturday November 10, 9:30-12:30 in the Fellowship Hall. Come at 9am if you’d like to have a coffee, tea, and light refreshments provided by Marilyn Zukel, and enjoy some social time before we begin. Lee Schray will lead the workshop; Marilyn and Linda Ott are organizing the event and will assist Lee.

The workshop will have two parts. First, we will discuss seasonal church decorations and look at some options for decorating the church for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. We’ll use these ideas to prepare the way for the Lord with decorations during this winter season.

Second, each of us will create a table arrangement to take home. We’ll consider different available greens and seasonal plants to create decorations for the holiday season.

We will provide the materials for our take-home arrangements, disposable gloves, refreshments, and some creative ideas for you to use over the holidays. If you come, bring a sharp knife, flower-cutting scissors, your own work gloves (if you have a favorite pair), and an open mind for new ideas using greens and flowers. If you have a vase or container that you’d like to use for your arrangement, bring it along too. We will have oases available

If you’d like to join us, please let us know by contacting the church office so we can make sure to have enough materials for all. We are asking for a free will offering of $20-$25 to cover the cost of the materials.

CHRISTMAS WITH ST. DYSMAS FAMILIES

Help make Christmas happy for families waiting for their loved ones to be released from prison. Right now we have detailed information for five families, including "wish lists" for children. In addition to providing wrapped and labeled gifts for the children, small mementos and grocery gift cards would be appreciated by the (single) parents. If you would like to take part, Joanne Noll has the list with names, ages of children, etc. Reach her at nollcaljo@juno.com or 301-530-2265. Deadline for delivery to Joe Weber, our Community of St. Dysmas contact, is Sunday, December 16.

Financial Secretary’s Report

By Ann Marie Nelson

As I come to the close of my decade as Financial Secretary, it is harder to write these reports. For much of the last five years we have had a steadily increasing annual envelope contribution, and last year we made a good start on the Alive in Christ Campaign. The four months of the 07/08 fiscal year have been slow. Although several members have increased their monthly giving, we are currently more than $10,000 less than this time last year. The capital campaign is more than $40,000 less. Please give this your prayerful consideration over the next few months.

In January, we hope to start Simply Giving, a Thrivent Program that will allow automatic giving from your account to the church. This can be done on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Both envelope and Alive in Christ donations can be done this way. Greg Roemer from Thrivent will be happy to present the program and answer any questions.

Three Flags

By Karen Klingman

Why do we have those? I first noticed those three little flags outside the church office a few weeks ago. The first time I saw them there, I didn’t notice the little sign explaining that these were the flags of the Metro DC’s “companion synods” – El Salvador, Slovakia, and Namibia. Seeing those flags was an interesting coincidence for me because in September, we had a guest, Laurie Rodney, from International Partners in Mission (IPM). She visited with some of us about the work they do in El Salvador. She also talked to us about the possibility of our church getting involved in an “Immersion Experience” in El Salvador lead by IPM.

Why would we want to know more about El Salvador and consider visiting there? You know that the metro D.C. area has the second largest community of Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S. (I learned that at work, since most of the cleaning people are Salvadoran.) The Latino Ministry in Langley Park (one of our Yard Sale Beneficiaries) serves that community which is 23 percent Salvadoran. Another quick fact is that the Lutheran Church in El Salvador has about 12,000 members, which is an eightfold increase since 1977, when there were just two pastors, since one had been murdered and two others had fled from the civil unrest happening there.

What is an “Immersion Experience?” It is a program created by IPM to introduce people to the culture and history of another country, the projects that IPM is doing there, and needs of the people.

What will we do in El Salvador? We will visit with some IPM project partners there, for instance, Fundacion Aragon, a comprehensive education program for youth to keep them out of gangs. We could also visit historical and cultural sites, such as the war memorial or Museo de La Revolución, and visit a Lutheran church. We will stay in guest houses or hotels.

When are we planning to go to El Salvador and how much does it cost? Laurie and others thought that sometime after Easter would be a good time to go. It’s not too hot, it’s not too wet, and it’s not too busy. It will cost about $1,000 plus plane fare.

Do I have to go to El Salvador to participate in the “Immersion Experience?” No, not really. Although spending a week in El Salvador with IPM staff and fellow CLC members is a big part of the experience, it’s not all of it. We have to learn about El Salvador and its culture before we go. This could include reading books (A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation by Gustavo Gutierrez, A Call to Discernment by Dean Brackley, or other books), or watching a movie like Romero, or inviting people from the Latino Ministry to come to a Sunday Worship Service or to an Advent Service. We could learn some Spanish, prepare some meals, or do other things. This could be a lot of fun.

What should I do? Think of what you want to do to participate, contact someone from the Social Ministries Committee (Sylvia or Carolina Glauster, Kendall Bentz, or myself), Pastor Renata, or Vicar Christine to find out more. Watch for notices in the bulletin or MESSENGER about upcoming activities.

THE EAR OF CHRIST

A note from Sandy Smith, recently posted to the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan:

Amman is in a high plateau (3,000 feet) in the desert. Everything, including the limestone building blocks, is an off-white -- the ground and all of the buildings. Irrigation is necessary for greenery, and often that is of the silvery light green olive tree variety, with white limestone soil between the trees. There also are palm trees, some pine trees, and bursts of color where someone has tended a fuschia bougainvillia bush. Erosion over the ages has dug deep ravines, called wadis, making for steep hills everywhere in the city, and roads the precipitously end because there is no way to cross down and over to the next hill. (Think San Diego without the green.) Except for a few hotels, there are few buildings over three or four stories tall, so the many minarets stand out all over the city, especially when they turn on their green neon lights at night during prayers.

Recently I was in southern Jordan visiting Petra, the ancient Nabatean city carved out of stone (called "the rose red city") elected this year as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Driving back to Amman along the desert highway I noticed that the yellow diamond-shaped caution signs had the silhouettes of camels, much like those for deer we have in the U.S. And sure enough, near sundown there were the wild camels, grazing along the roadside.

Contact Sandy at SmithSR@state.gov for a link to an amazing series of photos from Petra!

Sandy in the Jordanian countryside

From Tim and Valentine Breitbarth:

We’re Married! After a year of planning, we were married on October 13th at Valentine’s parent’s house in Yanceyville, North Carolina. It was a perfect day and we were so lucky to have beautiful weather and the love and support of many friends and family. In the year leading up to our special day, we have been so blessed by the outpouring of support and excitement from our friends at CLC. Thank you for being such a blessing in our lives during this time. Many of you have asked to see pictures, so we thought it would be easiest to include one in the Messenger. If you would like to see more, let us know and we can make that happen.

The Newlyweds

THEOLOGICAL BOOK CLUB: READING AND SHARING TOGETHER

By Carla B. Howery

The Theological Book Club welcomes anyone to come on a one-time or continuing basis, to share thoughts about books that aid our faith journey,

We are meeting monthly, and we rotate who selects the book to read and kicks off the discussion (the name in parentheses). We meet promptly at 12:15 on Sunday after worship, now in the Wenchel Chapel.

November 11 --- Elizabeth Sifton The Serenity Prayer (Herb Turvey)

Sifton is the daughter of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who wrote the Serenity Prayer (many of us were surprised to know!)

December 2 – Ken Wilber Integral Spirituality (TBD)

January 6 - The Faith Club (Pastor Renata)

Please come when you can or when a book catches your attention. And we welcome suggestions for books!

GIFTS OF HOPE

As the holidays draw nearer, don’t forget Gifts of Hope – the alternative gift-giving program of the Metropolitan Washington, DC, Synod (ELCA). Instead of buying a material gift for someone, a Gift of Hope is a purchase of a mission opportunity in your recipient's name. They vary in price from $5 (hearing aid batteries or books for kids and GED students) to $250 (a week of summer camp for one child).

If you have questions, please call Alice Meyer at (301) 650-2292 or email her at bannerz@starpower.net.

Messenger Editor Needed

The Messenger comes out monthly, except for combined issues in January/February and July/August (that makes a total of 10!). People who are not able to worship with us

-- whether they are homebound, in a nursing home, or stationed in another country -- invariably express how much it means to them to stay connected through The Messenger.

As editor of The Messenger you would have the opportunity to continue this ministry and put your special stamp on it. If you are looking for a way of serving that can be done from the comfort of your home computer (and in the middle of the night, if that fits your schedule), this might be right for you.

If you are interested but would like to know more about what is involved and how much time it takes, the best person to talk to would be Marilee Rist. Feel free to call her at home at (703) 838-9588 or email mrist@nsba.org. If you need a little encouragement, please talk to Mark Rohrbaugh or Joanne Noll. We'd be glad to talk you into it!