for September 28 - Matthew 21: 23-32

Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, "What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?"

Jesus answered, "I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?"

They thought it over and said to each other, "We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That's why we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize." So they told Jesus, "We don't know."

Jesus said, "Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do."

Jesus said:
I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The father went to the older son and said, "Go work in the vineyard today!" His son told him that he would not do it, but later he changed his mind and went. The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn't go. Which one of the sons obeyed his father?

"The older one," the chief priests and leaders answered.

Then Jesus told them:
You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture?
What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

Wondering Where September Has Gone

It has been a very busy month in the church with special Sunday School events and special worship services (Decoration Day, Glencoe Fair) as we all try to settle back into the swing of things. I haven't updated the blog beyond tending to the Upcoming Events section and the Google calendar, mainly because the thought of more time on the computer tired me out.

Looking ahead, we continue the whirlwind until November. In October, there's Worldwide Communion with special guests David & HyeRan Kim-Cragg who brought a group of South Korean university students to our area this past January; Thanksgiving Sunday; Appin United's Anniversary with UWO Chaplain Rev. Michelle Down preaching.

Worldwide Recap

It was a treat to have HyeRan and David with us on Sunday. The kids' story of SooMee and the fighter planes reminded us of the value of peace in our living, without an active military presence in our background.

HyeRan's sermon about congregations being a "gathering of the flock" that feasts together, rests together in sabbath, and travels together (through songs of worship as well as justice work) showed us what the basic principles of a faith community should be.

In reading the Mandate magazine article of Berlin Guerrero who was recently freed from prison in the Philippines, I was amazed that he managed to continue his theological training in his context. Now, that is making lemonade out of lemons!

"Mass" Confusion

With apologies for the delay in posting these details for this Sunday (car trouble, modem problems and a touch of a summer/autumn illness conspired against me the past few days), here is what's happening.

At Appin, the start of Funday School begins as we trace the journey of Jesus Christ Superstar, beginning with his toddler/newborn exodus into Egypt. This Sunday features a pony ride, my kids are very excited about that!

At Trinity, the Super Sunday School Start-Up Service will begin with the service beginning downstairs of the church where some conversation and nametag-making will happen within the structure of the worship service. A lunch will be provided after worship.

I've been reconsidering the flow of the worship service itself over the summer, and taking to heart the comments that we, as a congregation, don't know each other very well - across the generations, or even across the aisles - I will work to try and build stronger connections through conversation and discussion as part of the worship experience.

It will be rather chaotic at first, but I promise that we'll find a workable routine in due time. Maybe not this month, because it's always hectic in September, but soon. I welcome any concerns or questions that you may have; and thank you for your graciousness and patience as we seek to engage the spiritual needs of today with respect for the traditions of yesterday.

See you tomorrow!?
Kenji

What of Prayer Group?

At the prayer group meeting, we faced some of the same questions that the congregations of the pastoral charge, and the national denomination are facing. Why aren't people coming? Is the time too inconvenient? Are they afraid of prayer? What can we do?

I'm not writing this to send anyone on a guilt trip, just commenting on the parallels that seems to manifest themselves in all aspects of our church.

Clearing Cobwebs

Getting back to the church routine, I was tending to Office Hours and after a month of being away, found myself brushing away cobwebs that had formed in the church.

It's an apt metaphor, personally, as I feel a little foggy and fuzzy-headed coming back to work after a couple weeks of vacation and a week of intense pastoral focus with the people at Kairos 2008.

It's also a telling metaphor for what the church is seeking to do - shake free of dusty, antiquated doctrine that clings like tradition. For this reason, I've been working on a "new" worship format for Sundays that hopes to be more interactive, engaging and less one-directional from the pulpit to the pews. Whether or not this meets a need, flops famously or is totally unnecessary, we'll find out soon enough. When I have a better picture of what all of this entails, I'll be back with a post to introduce the ideas.