Pastoral Message: “Reflections on the Protesters at Faith-La Fe” Week of the 6th Sunday after Epiphany Feb. 15, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Reflections on the Protesters at Faith-La Fe”
Week of the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
February 15, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
Oh, my goodness, did church ever happen on Camelback this past Sunday! If you weren’t present, you missed an eventful eruption of what church is all about.
You all got my message late last week that we received word from Phoenix Police that there were to be protesters on our sidewalks Sunday morning. As the 9:00 o’clock hour approached, I kept looking for the protesters to arrive. Some said they saw a couple here and there – most notably in Culver’s parking lot. By the time we began our worship, though, I wondered if we were being stood up. During the sharing of the Peace, however, our ushers let me know that indeed the protesters had arrived. And then, as we transitioned into the liturgy of the Eucharist, we could all begin to hear the bullhorn which carried the sounds of an angry, condemning harangue.
This occurred on the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, the sixth in a series of Sundays which offer their own epiphanies, or revelations, of what Jesus Christ is all about. So, with that in mind, what was revealed at Faith-La Fe on Sunday morning about Jesus and his mission that has been entrusted to us? Much indeed was revealed, particularly in the feast of contrasts between what was going on outdoors and what was happening at our worshiping assembly indoors!
First off, it was indeed quite the contrast, quite the juxtaposition. Outside, the spirit was one of judgement and condemnation, anger, self-righteousness with accompanying certainties. I could not really hear what the sidewalk preacher was condemning, but one could certainly sense the spirit and feel the heat of hellfire and brimstone.
Indoors, the tone and spirit were palpably and radically different as we sang our gentle songs of peace and offered and heard aloud our prayers for justice. At the time of the offering, this is what we were singing, led by our chancel choir: “Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow, give us peace beyond our fear, and hope beyond our sorrow.” And then our assisting minister prayed our offering prayer which preceded the Great Thanksgiving for the Holy Communion: “Liberating God, you break the bonds of injustice and let the oppressed go free. Receive these offerings in thanksgiving for all your works of merciful power, and shape us as people of your justice and freedom. You we magnify and adore, through Jesus our Savior. Amen.” Then Pastor Veronica presided at the meal when Christ himself was again made known to us in the breaking of the bread. Our prayers of thanksgiving and Jesus’ own words of institution were offered in gentle confidence simultaneously with the barking and braying of the bullhorn outside. Then as God’s people received Christ’s loving, forgiving, humble, grace-filled presence in blessed bread and wine, we sang this refrain from our Communion hymn: “Your words are spirit and life, O Lord: richer than gold, stronger than death. Your words are spirit and life, O Lord; life everlasting.” These words of prayer and song, and our gentle, understated actions were in such stark contrast to what was going on outdoors.
After worship, the protesters were still out there and we could read their placards and thus get a sense of what they wanted to communicate, to wit: “Homo sex is sin!” As suspected, they were there to condemn our public commitment to welcoming all of God’s children unconditionally, with special focus on those in the LGBTQIA+ communities – and maybe the protesters were there also to condemn our welcome to the Metropolitan Community Church to use our chapel. We could then also catch some of the other points of the bullhorn harangue. I overheard condemnations of the Roman Catholic Church, and the protesters’ surmising that we might even, God forbid, ordain women as pastors. I wanted to yell out, “Come, meet Pastor Veronica! She’s a great and faithful servant leader who was recently ordained right here!”
I could not help but notice a couple of their other placards: “Know the God of the Bible” and “Prepare to Meet Thy God.” They intended these messages as warnings to us of God’s judgment, but what wonderful advertisements for exactly what we were doing inside that morning! Here in this place, in word and sacrament, indeed we come to know the God of the Bible revealed to us in multiple scriptural readings and a liturgy rooted in the biblical witness! And here in this place we do indeed meet God in Christ in the power of the Spirit working in extraordinary ways in ordinary means of grace. We could not have paid for better advertisements for what we are all about in our efforts to be as radically welcoming as Jesus was to the marginalized, vulnerable and excluded as abundantly recorded in the stories of the Bible.
I actually wish that I had occasion to speak to the media in response to the protesters. Here is something of what I would like to have said to reporters: “From my vantage point, these persons are here protesting and condemning God’s unconditional love along with Jesus’ welcome and embrace of all people regardless of who they are. Here at Faith-La Fe Church, we don’t protest God’s radical love, we seek to live it out in what we say and do. We seek to welcome and embrace all people, showing the same kind of love and hospitality that Jesus showed. Come on in and see us in action!”
In short, the protesters revealed a great deal about what they are all about in the judgmental theology that was proclaimed in their bullhorn harangues and placards. And they revealed a lot of their spirit, a spirit of anger and condemnation. And we revealed so very much, too, in what we said and did indoors – if only we had a chance to be heard and seen by everyone outdoors!
And there’s icing on the cake of Sunday’s extraordinary experience of church when we literally clapped and applauded both our public witness to full inclusion and our ironic welcome of the protesters’ presence that paradoxically served to reveal and call attention to our affirming public stances. Here’s the icing on Sunday’s worshipful cake: Our liturgy concluded with the Nursing Pinning Ceremony and Blessing of the Lay Ministry of one of our own, Danielle Bowen-Weiszmann, who came forward with other nurses to receive the pin signifying her vocation, the nurse’s hat that symbolizes the diaconal nature of her calling, and an oil lamp that signifies the light and wisdom of the healing arts. And Danielle had her hands blessed with oil to set her apart for her work, her ministry of healing, which itself stood in marked contrast to that which was transpiring outdoors at the same time, condemnatory activity that sought not to heal but to wound. This blessing of Danielle in her nursing ministry of healing at the sending rite was a perfect capstone to our worshipful morning, indicating that we seek to practice what we preach. God’s work, Dani’s hands – and our hands, too, in loving, welcoming service.
The final stanza of our sending hymn on Sunday also sums it all up well: “With praise and thanksgiving to God ever-living, the tasks of our everyday life we will face – our faith ever sharing, in love ever caring, embracing God’s children, the whole human race. With your feast you feed us, with your light now lead us; unite us as one in this life that we share. Then may all the living with praise and thanksgiving give honor to Christ and his name that we bear.”
Yes, dear family of God, it was quite a morning of church at Faith-La Fe this past Sunday! It’s what church is all about!
With thanksgiving to God in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Interested in Membership at Faith-La Fe?
If you or anyone you know is curious about learning more about Faith-La Fe Church toward perhaps becoming a member of our congregation, kindly reach out to either Pastor Linman or Pastor Veronica. They are more than eager to engage you in conversation for your discernment. We are planning to receive new members at our Easter Vigil this year on Saturday evening, April 8 at 7:00 pm.
Reception of New Members this Sunday
This coming Transfiguration Sunday we will welcome into membership at Faith-La Fe, John Dalton Shaw and Francisca Morales Shaw, who come to us by transfer from another Lutheran congregation. Since they will routinely worship at either the 9:00 am or the 11:00 am liturgies, we’ll offer our welcome to them at the time of the sending and announcements at both worship services. Welcome, John and Francisca!
Grand Canyon Spring Conference Gathering: From Worry to Wonder
February 19 – Saint Andrew Lutheran Church in Phoenix from 2:00 – 4:00
or
February 26 – Bethlehem Lutheran in Mesa from 2:00 – 4:00
Join in the conversation with members and leaders, pastors, and deacons from the various congregations in the Capital Conference, Cactus Conference, Fiesta Conference, Northeast Valley Conference and Rio Salado Conference. We will explore the worries we all express about the future of the church as we wonder what the future holds for the church. A conversation gathered around hope as we wonder how our congregational witness and our witness together can be shaped for the sake of the Gospel.
All are welcome to these townhall format conversations. To register, please follow the link below:
https://www.gcsynod.org/news/spring-gatherings-are-sundays-2/19-2/26/2023-for-cactus-capital-fiesta-northeast-valley-rio-salado-conferences
Invitation to a Special Lenten Discipline: Campus-wide Property Inventory
Pastor Linman is interested in convening a small group of interested members to make an inventory of items located in rooms and closets throughout the buildings on our property in the service of assessing and discerning what we may be called to keep and what we may want to free ourselves of for other homes. Consider this an effort toward some major spring cleaning. Better yet, let’s claim this as a communal Lenten discipline for this year! For this proposed work is also a spiritual exercise in that we are always invited to examine our places of abode – at home and at church – and to consider what we might be purged of for greater simplicity and purity of life. Some of our spaces are cluttered with things we may not ever use again. Being free of clutter in our homes and church makes for good mental and spiritual health – and it makes our spaces more hospitable and inviting to our guests and others who use our building. If you are interested in being part of the small team which explores our buildings and rooms making a list of things we may no longer need, please make yourself known to Pastor Linman.
Mardi Gras returns to Faith-La Fe this year!
Please join us in Parish Hall on February 21 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a Pancake Supper. John and Suzanne Johnstonbaugh will be cooking pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage links served with syrup, sugar free syrup, butter, salsa and catsup. There will be coffee and hot water for tea or hot chocolate. A free will offering will be taken in support of Faith’s General Fund.
Ash Wednesday at Faith-La Fe
There is ample opportunity for you to begin your Lenten devotion on Ash Wednesday, February 22:
Noon – Service of the Word with Imposition of Ashes
5:30 pm – Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes (in English)
7:00 pm – Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes (in Spanish)
Please note that there will not be morning and evening bible study on Ash Wednesday.
Lent 2023 at Faith-La Fe
Join us each Wednesday evening during Lent for a soup supper beginning at 6:30 in the parish hall, and followed by evening prayer in the chapel at 7:15. Evening Prayer will be led by lay persons, and the message will be offered by various neighboring pastors of congregations in the Capital Conference of the Grand Canyon Synod. As a feature of evening prayer, we’ll commemorate holy ones and saints on our calendar of commemorations. And the overarching title for the offerings of our local pastors is: “Pardon Our Dust: Finding God in the Mess of Change.” Here’s a description of what we pastors will be up to in our messages during Lent:
You’ve seen the signs, the bulldozers, the temporary fencing; perhaps you’ve driven by a construction site and asked, "I wonder what’s going in there?” or “I wonder how long this road will be like this?” The fact is, change is often messy and bewildering, even if it’s ultimately for the good. And when our lives are the construction site—when loss or transition force us to rebuild our sense of self, or when new challenges fill the road before us with unknowns—the mess of change can cause us to wonder how God is with us. This Lent, we invite you to join us as we prayerfully engage the experience of change, together with Biblical companions who found God anew while facing into the unknown. A “round-robin” pastor exchange with other Capital Conference churches will allow us to hear from different voices each week while gathering in our home church setting. Come and share the journey!
Please know that we need volunteers to sign up to provide bread and soup for the Wednesdays in Lent. Look for sign-up sheets on the bulletin board in the breezeway outdoors.
March 1 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(George Herbert, Hymnwriter, 1633)
Speaker: Pastor Karn Carroll from Our Saviours
March 8 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Perpetua and Felicity and Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 202, transferred)
Speaker: Pastor Kristen Rice from All Saints
March 15 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Patrick, Bishop, Missionary to Ireland, 461, transferred)
Speakers: Pastor Phil Gustafson from Grace
March 22 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Jonathan Edwards, Teacher, Missionary to American Indians, 1758)
Speaker: Pastor Kari Williamson from Saint Andrew
March 29 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Hans Nielson Hauge, Renewer of the Church, 1824)
Speakers: Pastors Veronica Alvarez and Jonathan Linman in a dialogue sermon
Holy Week and Easter at Faith-La Fe
Here is our schedule for Holy Week and Easter 2023:
April 2 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
April 6 at 7:00 pm + Maundy Thursday, Bi-lingual, Holy Communion, Foot Washing, Stripping of the Altar
April 7 + Good Friday: Noon, Stations of the Cross in English, 6:00 pm, Stations of the Cross in Spanish, and 7:30 pm, Liturgy in English
April 8 at 7:00 + Vigil of Easter with Reception of New Members
April 9 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Resurrection of Our Lord/Easter Day
Thrivent Helps Refugees and GED Hopefuls
Thrivent volunteers recently made an interesting delivery to the offices of Lutheran Social Ministry of Arizona. Part of the donation… 16 pencil kits we bought and assembled which were equipped with pens, pencils, post it notes, highlighters, index cards and notebooks. The kits will give students the tools they need to use in Lutheran Social Ministries’ new GED training program. As a bonus, John Tomlinson’s daughter gave a huge box of school supplies left over from her teaching days. With the remainder of a $250 Thrivent Action team grant, we purchased a variety of food products for distribution to clients in LSM’s Refugee Resettlement program…10-pound bags of rice, 25-pound bags of flour, 4-pound bags of
sugar, and large bottles of vegetable oil (5 of each item). Project volunteers included Helga Smith, Brenda Lund, John Tomlinson, and Fred Cowley.
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Special Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
March 25 at 10:00 am + Annunciation of Our Lord, Holy Communion
May 18 at 7:00 pm + Ascension of Our Lord, Holy Communion
May 28 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Day of Pentecost
May 31 at 7:00 pm + Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Holy Communion
July 22 at 10:00 am + Mary Magdalene, Apostle, Morning Prayer
August 15 at 7:00 pm + Mary, Mother of Our Lord, Holy Communion
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion
Upcoming Saturday Quiet Days at Faith-La Fe in 2023
Saturday, March 18 – a day to explore the intersections between Christian Spirituality and our health, holistically understood. We’ll consider health and wholeness biblically, engaging in some conversational bible study. There will also be time for some gentle, healthy, spiritually-focused exercises (prayer that uses our body), a healthy lunch, and then also a Service of the Word for Healing with laying on of hands and anointing with oil. Claim this day as part of your Lenten discipline.
Saturday, April 29 – an introduction to Lectio Divina, or sacred reading, an approach to prayerfully engaging scripture that emerges from the Benedictine tradition and is increasingly popular today among clergy and lay audiences. I’ve done extensive work on the experiential dynamics of lectio divina, and I’m eager to share insights for your inspiration and edification. We do a modified form of lectio divina during our Wednesday bible studies, but spending the day together will give us occasion to do this prayerful form of bible reading as it is more fully intended.
Saturday, June 3 – a day to more deeply explore the spirituality of preaching, with special focus on how sermons are occasions of spiritual guidance. We’ll also spend some more time on your role as listeners to sermons, and how you can get still more out of preaching for your spiritual edification. We will touch on listening to sermons at next Sunday’s adult forum, but focusing on this topic for a whole Saturday will give us occasion to go still more deeply into the topic. On this day, we’ll also learn some of what Luther had to say about preaching!
Saturday, September 30 – on this day, close to the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, we will explore Franciscan Spirituality and what it might mean for Lutherans in ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
Saturday, October 28 – as we approach Reformation Sunday, this will be a day devoted to revealing key features of specifically Lutheran Spirituality, or Christian spirituality with Lutheran accents. We will discover that there’s a lot to draw from in our own tradition to take us ever more deeply into the spiritual life.
Saturday, November 18 – this day will be devoted to spending our time together in our beautiful nave doing “Stations of Our Stained Glass Windows,” a series of visual meditations on our stained-glass windows and the miracles and parables of Jesus they depict. We’ll explore in conversation the bible stories the windows are based on, and then look carefully at the windows to see features of the story which the stained-glass art highlights. Each station will feature a hymn before we move on to the next window.