Being a Family
Dear friends,
Pastor Dean and I recently attended
a retreat with several other Lutheran pastors at a Benedictine monastery down
in the high desert near Lancaster. One
of the interesting things about this setting is that, while this is a center
than welcomes retreat groups of various kinds, it is also an active and vital
monastic "community" with perhaps 15 or 20 monks who are in
residence.
At
the retreat we didn’t interact much with the monks; even in the refectory, they
sit at a separate table from the "guests." But one is very aware of
their presence, and of their life as a community. For example, guests are
welcome to attend all their liturgies. The brothers gather for prayer in their
chapel at 6 a.m., again at 7:30 a.m., at noon, at 6 p.m., and at 8:30 p.m. They
clearly have learned how to worship together; their singing was reverent and
moving, their liturgies simple and direct. (And, of course, all in English and
with fairly contemporary musical settings; even in monasteries, Gregorian chant
is an antique art!)
What
fascinated me was the diversity of these guys (at least in terms of what one
could see). There were old and young, and from several obviously different
national and ethnic backgrounds. But they all worshiped together, each taking
his part simply and efficiently. When the bell rang, they appeared in the
chapel, sat quietly until the liturgy began, prayed and sang, and then
departed. They all worked together, too, in the kitchen or elsewhere. Their
community seemed to run very smoothly, from what I could see.
I
was especially struck at the six a.m. service (I was the only one of our
Lutheran pastors who made that one!) at the concluding prayer. It thanked God
for families, and then specifically asked God to bless the family that was that
monastic community. Hearing that prayer in that context made me reflect on what
it means to be a family.
We
say often talk about the "church family," and it is a good metaphor,
when understood correctly. The church is like a family in many way. But it is
not that the church is a bunch of people who are all the same; no family is
like that. The church, rather, is a collection of individual people whom God
has called into a community. That is what a family really is. It is individuals
whom God has called to live together.
Sometimes
that’s not hard, and sometimes it’s not easy. People have different interests,
different personalities, different ways of approaching the world. In a family,
we learn to live with those differences, to love one another in spite of
differences, because the commonalities are more important. The commonalities,
yes, and the commitment we have to be the family of God in this place.
I
give thanks to God for this family that is Peace Lutheran Church. We’re not all
the same; we don’t all have the same ideas about everything. Yet God has called
us together, called us to be a family. What a blessing that is, certainly to me
and I hope to you as well.
Peace to you,
Pastor Richard O.
Johnson
Classic Prayers
Show us thy ways, O
Lord; teach us thy paths: thou who art always the same in thy coming,
yesterday, and today, and forever. On thee do we wait. Amen.
--Paul
Scherer (1892-1969)
American
Lutheran pastor and professor
at Princeton Theological Seminary
Liturgy Notes: Work of the People
We
have often remarked that the word liturgy means “work of the people,” and that
in liturgical churches like the Lutheran Church (or the Episcopal, Roman
Catholic, or Orthodox churches), worship is understood as something that is the
responsibility of all the people, not just the pastor. This is rather different than the idea of
some Protestant churches, which see worship as something done primarily by the
leaders, reducing the congregation to the role of spectators. It is not unusual among some Protestants to
find a church service in which the only active participation by the
congregation comes in singing a couple of hymns.
But
Christian worship is traditionally a corporate action. The Danish theologian Kierkegaard once remarked
that while some Christians see worship like the theater, with the pastor as the
actor and the congregation as the audience, it really needs to be seen in a
different way. The congregation is
really the actors, and the audience is God; the pastor and other worship
leaders have the role of prompter, cueing the congregation at appropriate
points.
However
you may feel about that analogy, the Lutheran Book of Worship has made an
effort to recover the proper role of the congregation. If you examine the liturgy in the LBW, you
will discover that there are three different “roles” or “parts” to play as we
perform the liturgy. One role is
indicated by C, and it is that of the congregation. A second is indicated by P, which stands for Presiding Minister
(not Pastor!). A third is indicated by
A, which means Assisting Minister.
While
the congregational parts are very familiar to most of us, it is perhaps
important to note that the congregation isn’t given lines just for the sake of
group involvement! The congregation has
a particular role to play, and the portions of the liturgy that belong to the
congregation express that role. It is
the congregation that expresses praise to God, by singing hymns and reciting
the creed. It is usually the
congregation that prays, in the words of the Kyrie or the Prayer of the
Church. (Notice that in the Kyrie, for
example, the leader simply instructs the congregation what to pray for; it is
the congregation that actually prays, “Lord have mercy.”).
The
Presiding Minister is the pastor (always an ordained person) who has general
leadership of the service. One might
say that the Presiding Minister “represents Christ” to the congregation. Thus he is responsible for the opening
greeting (“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...”), since he is representing
the Lord, who is the “host” of the gathering; he reads the Gospel, which
relates to us the words of Christ; and he acts as the representative of Christ
in “hosting” the Lord’s Supper. A
number of other parts of the service--the sermon, for instance, are often
assumed by the Presiding Minister, but do not necessarily belong to him alone.
The
Assisting Ministers are lay people who assist in a number of other ways with
the leadership of the service. They may
read the first two lessons (in which case we usually call them “lectors”). They may lead the Kyrie, the Hymn of Praise,
and the Prayers. They may assist with
communion by helping to prepare the altar and by assisting with the
distribution of the wine. They may
dismiss the service at its close (“Go in peace. Serve the Lord.”) All
these roles may properly be assumed by Assisting Ministers, who may be lay
people or pastors.
In
a sense, Assisting Ministers act on behalf of the congregation as they lead
portions of the liturgy. Their role is
an important one, for it communicates the idea that the liturgy is the “work of
the people.”
From the Associate
Pastor
Please
check out the document in this issue of Tidings, "Strengthening their
Faith." I have been working on this
plan for a few months along with several others. It is exciting and the youth group at Peace is exciting. We have seen an increase in participation
and a strong desire to do more. The
newest part of the plan is moving confirmation to three 24-hour retreats. The kids are ecstatic and so are many of the
parents. This plan was well
received by the Church Council and we
are all looking forward to its implementation.
Here are some
important youth dates to remember for June:
1. June 5 Grass Valley Men’s Choir Concert at 2 p.m.
to support the mission trip to Mexico.
2. June 12 End of the year party for all the youth at
the Richardson’s at 3 p.m. until…
3. June 17 Youth fellowship time at 49er fun park.
Sign up with Pastor Dean now.
Cost $11.
4. Please give Pastor
Dean your deposit for confirmation camp: $55
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Dean
“Read through the
Bible” in a Year: June
June 1 Job 21 - 24
June 2 Job 25 - 30
June 3 Job 31 - 34
June 4 Job 35 - 38
June 5 Job 39 - 42
June 6 Psalms 1 - 8
June 7 Psalms 9 - 17
June 8 Psalms 18 - 21
June 9 Psalms 22 - 27
June 10 Psalms 28 - 33
June 11 Psalms 34 - 37
June 12 Psalms 38 - 42
June 13 Psalms 43 - 49
June 14 Psalms 50 - 55
June 15 Psalms 56 - 61
June 16 Psalms 62 - 68
June 17 Psalms 69 - 72
June 18 Psalms 73 - 77
June 19 Psalms 78 - 80
June 20 Psalms 81 - 88
June 21 Psalms 89 - 94
June 22 Psalms 95 - 103
June 23 Psalms 104 - 106
June 24 Psalms 107 - 111
June 25 Psalms 112 - 118
June 26 Psalm 119
June 27 Psalms 120 - 133
June 28 Psalms 134 - 140
June 29 Psalms 141 - 150
June 30 Proverbs
1 - 3