June 2008

From Susan's Desk
by Rev. Susan M. Reisert, Pastor

During one of the recent community discussions regarding the Open and Affirming Statement, one of the participants movingly and thoughtfully responded to the work of the Open and Affirming Committee with a comment that went something like this: "I think I'm okay with the statement, but I'm still troubled by some of the things that the statement covers . . . like homosexuality. How do I unlearn, how do I let go of, all of those negative things I learned about homosexuality for so much of my life?"

This is an important and significant question, one that is difficult to articulate, especially in public. I am glad that that person was able to do so and to help us all, as a community of faith, to wrestle with this and other issues that are so very important to who we are, how we engage with the Bible, and how we follow our God in faith.

I have many responses to the question, but for this space this month, I would like to link it to our "sacred conversation" on race. The United Church of Christ has called the churches in the denomination to open up a sacred conversation on race, and we are just beginning to do that at Old South. Certainly one of the most awkward and difficult aspects of race is the history of slavery in the United States. The institution of slavery and the slave trade are appalling aspects of our history.

Yet, as good Christian folk, it may be difficult to contemplate that slavery is not only supported in the Bible, but the Bible contains verses that allow severe treatment of slaves. Paul had an opportunity to reject slavery, in his letter to Philemon. Instead, Paul encouraged respectful treatment between the master and his runaway slave.

When Christians, led by many Congregationalists, began to understand the institution of slavery as inherently evil, it also involved a process of "unlearning" not only a traditional way of life, but a practice that many found supported in their interpretation of the Bible. How did church folk "unlearn" what they had been taught, what they had known, all of their lives?

These are complicated questions that are not easily answered, especially in the space of this brief message. Certainly the Civil War stands as a stark and violent reminder of how hard it was to "unlearn" the value of slavery, particularly when it had become such an integral part of life, culture and the economy.

The legacy of the Civil War reminds us as well of the difficulties of "unlearning." So many years hence, we still struggle with the realities of inequality today and divisions between black and white.

In the business of the "unlearning" of slavery, the Bible wasn't much help. Yet Christians also found, in those scriptures and in their lives of faith, the conviction that all people are equal in the eyes of God. The Bible is a complicated and complex library of books. To attempt a literalist approach to these texts, I believe, actually diminishes them and denies the very real movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our midst. We are sometimes called, as in the case of slavery, to see beyond the text to see the larger narrative at work, a narrative that opens up something new. God is still speaking. God is still at work among the faithful.

We are still called today to commit ourselves, in faith, to justice and kindness, hope and love, for all people. We are still called to seek harmony among the races. We are called to treat gays, lesbians, bisexual people and transgendered folk with respect and dignity, just as they are. The Bible provides very little guidance when it comes to homosexuality (there are far more passages that support slavery, for instance, than condemn homosexuality).

How do we "unlearn" some of the lessons we have been taught, what we have known, for so much of our lives? How do we open ourselves to those "new" things that God might be doing without feeling completely unmoored, adrift?

I don't have a quick and easy answer to these weighty questions. But I suspect that we are reminded here of the significance of the church and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus comforted his disciples by telling them that he would not "leave them orphaned." We have not been left alone. We have the Holy Spirit. We have each other. We have the church. May we continue to find our hope and our strength, our meaning and our way, in the only place that provides the fullness of life, even as we embrace that new, new thing that God is doing in us, among us, and through us-even as we sometimes feel unsettled. Trust your faith. Trust in God.

I'll see you in church!

Editors' Column
Christine & Warren Bartlett

Working outside over the weekend, we sometimes had difficulty seeing through the dense haze of blackflies swarming around our heads. What could God have been thinking? Perhaps they are a reminder that we must be careful what we wish for. (Was it only six weeks ago that I was praying for warm weather and spring breezes?) Spring is upon us. And, blackflies aside, we have been blessed with wonderful weather over the past several weeks.

Change is in the air. The transition from spring to summer is evident not only in nature but also in our church life. Over the next several months meeting schedules will be reduced, Sunday School will take a break until September. Sunday worship will move to 9:00 a.m. (on July 6th) and the choir will take a break. "Kids" are suddenly young adults preparing to leave for college. Families, or parts of them, disappear - on vacation or away at camp. Sometimes we welcome folks from "away" as they join in our Sunday service.

This summer there will be another change. The Chimes will not be published for July and August. This will provide a brief respite for the editors and also for the many faithful writers of monthly articles. The next issue (hopefully) will go out late in August as an early September edition, in order to alert members to the fall schedule and the resumption of our usual church activities.
We hope you all have a wonderful summer! Don't forget that worship still takes place every Sunday morning and God's door is always open.

Reminder from the Stewardship Committee

Even though you and your family are going on vacation, the business of the church isn't. We still need to meet payroll, pay electric bills, and keep the buildings open. So please don't forget to keep up with your pledge over the summer.

CONFIRMATION
June 1, 2008

On June 1, 2008, three young people from Old South will be confirmed - the first confirmation in quite a few years. Alison Godbout, Ashley Godbout, and Jake Levesque have been getting up early on Sunday mornings beginning in late winter and going through the spring. They have been meeting at the church with Rev. Reisert to talk about important topics in the life of our church - theology, the history of the church, Bible basics, the history of the United Church of Christ, and the sacraments. The class also discussed the history and structure of Old South.

Please congratulate these young people and keep them, as well as their families, in your prayers during this important time in their lives and in the life of Old South.

Christian Education Events
by Lisa Levesque

We invite everyone to attend Confirmation Class Sunday on June 1. The students, Alison and Ashley Godbout and Jake Levesque will be participating in the special service. Let's show support for these fine youth who have been getting up early for confirmation class the past several Sundays. Many thanks to Rev. Reisert for also being there early to share her knowledge and give these students a better foundation of understanding of the church and an opportunity to grow in their faith.

Just a reminder: the youth and teachers are busy preparing for the special year end Church School Sunday, June 15. Consider being a part of Church School next year by being a team teacher or substituting when needed. Keep us all in your prayers in the search for a new Christian Education Director. Thank you for your support.

ONA Committee Report
by Christine Bartlett

Gail McBride reported on her meeting April 16 with the Standing Committee. Based on her report to them, the Standing Committee has agreed to call a special meeting of the congregation to vote on an ONA statement. The special meeting will be held June 8, following the regular worship service. The proposed statement was included in the May edition of THE CHIMES. If you would like another copy, please contact the church office.

The Committee also discussed following up with individuals who had indicated they had not made a decision yet and would like more information to assist them in understanding what it would mean if Old South adopted an Open and Affirming (ONA) statement. Committee members volunteered to reach out individually to these people.

The Committee expresses its thanks to all of you who took the time to communicate with us and help us in our work. We hope that all in the congregation will prayerfully consider the statement we have presented. It reflects the input we received from you through your attendance at our meetings, your conversations with us during coffee hour, your thoughtful and frequently detailed responses to the survey, the feedback we received at the discussions of our first draft statement, and e-mail comments on that statement. The vast majority of those responding on the surveys were in favor of adopting a statement, but were quite outspoken in indicating that the statement needed to speak broadly in welcoming and affirming all those in our community who have felt left out by the church as it speaks to our modern lives. We hope the proposed statement reflects those comments.

Congratulation Graduate

Alison Godbout graduates from Hall-Dale High School in June. She will attend Simmons College in Boston in the fall. Congratulations, Alison!

Liturgical Colors, Continued
by Ted Ruark

This is the third article intended to explain why different colors are used on the pulpit and communion table on different Sundays throughout the year. Knowing the meaning of the different colors and their relationship to particular Biblical or historic events should engender a better understanding of our Christian and denominational heritage. Again this month, material for the article was gleaned from the United Church of Christ web site.

Lent (purple) and Easter (white) are now behind us. During those seasons of the church we are reminded of the suffering of Christ, his death, resurrection and ascension to Heaven. We are also encouraged to rededicate our own lives in his service. Along with Advent and Christmas, it is one of the most cherished of seasons of the church year.

On May 4th we celebrated Pentecost, that time in the development of the early church when the gospel was opened to the many people from across the nations who had gathered in Jerusalem to commemorate the giving of the Torah (the law tablets) to Moses on Mt. Sinai. In Judaism, Pentecost was fifty days long, spanning the time between Passover and Shavout. The Pentecost events are recorded in the second chapter of the Acts.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." [Acts 2: 1 - 4 KJV]

The liturgical color for the season following Easter is white, but is changed to red for Pentecost Sunday. This color reminds the congregation of fire, the symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Christian tradition. It encourages us to share our faith with others, as those did on the first Pentecost.

Music Committee
by Christine Bartlett, Chair

Many thanks to all of those who contributed to the wonderful music during Music Sunday this year. It really helped our celebration of Mother's Day and Pentecost be a very special worship. I'm looking forward to next year; how can we top this?

With summer's arrival, the choir takes a much deserved break. That means we need volunteers to fill in with music to keep our worship whole. Please check the sign up sheet in the Vestry and pick a date when you can contribute your voice or an instrument to the joyful music in our midst.

Where's the Christian in the Maine Christian Civic League?
by Kay Rand

As a Christian, I am enormously grateful that I will be judged by a forgiving God and not by officials at the Christian Civic League of Maine.

As a Christian, it makes me sad that the Maine Christian Civic League espouses intolerance and fear-mongering and often aligns itself with the most uncharitable causes that challenge the human condition, yet refers to itself with a label I am proud to wear that should connote love and forgiveness.

The League's latest effort to create civic discontent and pain with the submission of a citizen's initiative petition asking, "Do you want to protect traditional marriage and eliminate special rights laws in Maine," is yet another example.

As a public policy wonk, it puzzles me that the League seems to have forgotten that Maine law already prohibits same sex marriages. The law not only states that persons of the same sex may not contract marriage, it makes it clear that marriages between same sex couples performed in other states will not be recognized in Maine.

So what is the League's real purpose? Is it really to repeal the funding that the Attorney General's office uses to teach civil rights - all civil rights like those that pertain to race, physical and mental disability and gender, not just sexual orientation - in public schools? Is the League really interested in forcing yet another vote on protecting gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered people from discrimination in employment, education and housing - what they like to call "special rights" but are the same rights that are extended to religious and other minorities?

I'm proud that Old South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, is taking a different path. For well over a year, we've been engaged in Bible study and conversations involving the entire congregation about becoming an "open and affirming" church, meaning that we will welcome all who wish to be part of our Christian community. This affirmation and welcome is for people of every race, age, gender and national origin; religious and socio-economic background; marital status and family structure; sexual orientation and gender identify; physical and mental ability.

My church believes that God's love for each person knows no boundaries.

As a Christian, I will not be signing the League's petition.

(This article was abridged by the author from a Commentary which appeared in the Kennebec Journal, Thursday, April 24, 2008.)

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NOTE: Because there won't be an August issue of The Chimes, there won't be an August calendar! The August calendar will be posted on the church website, however, and you can also see it week by week in News and Notes, or in the Sunday bulletin. Be sure to check at least one of those sites, so you don't miss out on any important events.