Wide Open Spaces

Good Afternoon Loved Ones,

Hear the Word from Psalm 118:

Psalm 118 (The Message)

^1-4 Thank God because he's good, because his love never quits.
Tell the world, Israel,
"His love never quits."
And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world,
"His love never quits."
And you who fear God, join in,
"His love never quits."
^5-16 Pushed to the wall, I called to God;
from the wide open spaces, he answered.
God's now at my side and I'm not afraid;
who would dare lay a hand on me?
God's my strong champion;
I flick off my enemies like flies.
Far better to take refuge in God
than trust in people;
Far better to take refuge in God
than trust in celebrities.


I thank God for wide open spaces -- for room to breathe and and time rest, for open roads and brand new days, for freedom to follow true love wherever it leads.

I thank God for being at my side -- for the support God gives beneath me when the world starts to shake, for protection on my right and left from forces I question, for hovering above me and calling me to the higher path that sees beyond the questions, for having my back and fending off my past full of missteps and wrong turns, for being in front, coaxing and leading into an unknown and challenging future I give thanks.

I thank God for the pushes that come from my friends, my family, my permanent allies. I thank God for my permanent allies, my brothers and sisters of faith whom, through God's grace, always accompany me on this journey in joy and celebration as well as disagreement and confusion. I thank God for our permanent allies, God's agents, who help push us away from the walls and into the wide open spaces of God's grace and love.

I thank God for being our strong champion. For Jesus' strong teachings about championship living in the sermon on the mount, for the re-framing of victorious living that Jesus gives us in his life and teaching, for the new strength and power that comes from his death and resurrection, I give thanks for the strong champion, Jesus of Nazareth.

I thank God for the love that never quits. For little Amaya and Lilliana who interrupted my intense dame cincoing with their laughter and questions, for the voices of children who join together in song every morning at summer program, for the hundreds and thousands of God's children who have found refuge at Grandview Park for 120 years. God's love never quits!

Waiting to hear from you about how God's love never quits.

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

The Roof Over Our World

Good Morning Loved Ones,

Hope all is well, and all manner of things are well with you and yours. Again, a grateful shout out to Randy for stepping up last week. If any of you ever feel compelled to start the gratitude train of Dame Cinco, don't hesitate. Jump in the engine, stoke up the coals of gratitude and send us down the line!

Psalm 89 (The Message)

Psalm 89:1-2

^1-2 Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone how faithful you are.
I'll never quit telling the story of your love—
how you built the cosmos
and guaranteed everything in it.
Your love has always been our lives' foundation,
your fidelity has been the roof over our world.

For the song of the summer Kid's Club at Grandview Park . . . for the overwhelming response from the neighborhood kids (70 and counting on the 1st day! ---- usually 30 and counting) . . . for the experienced and competent staff . . . for the Kansas Health Foundation grant that funds the majority of the program . . . for the teenagers who have grown up in the program and sought us out to be leaders . . . for Harvesters support in helping to feed the multitude and be our miracle of the loaves and fishes . . . for the growing branch of our shrub called the Kid's Club Summer Program . . . I sing of God's love forever!

For the song being sung by the Youth Works group from Tulsa, OK . . . for their work on our building . . . for their help with the Kid's Club . . . for the connection made with Youth Works by our tireless connection maker, G. Take . . . for young people whose songs are making a difference in the world, our neighborhood and our church . . . I sing of God's love forever!

For the song that Kent Parrett keeps singing nearly everyday at the church . . . for the rhythm of his hammers and sanders . . . for the humming of his drills and saws . . . for his willingness to direct the Youth Works choir as they seek to help us . . . for being willing to sing solo when it should be a chorus (Work day coming up on June 27!) . . . for new bathroom sinks that work and make the clean-up of 70+ kids more manageable . . . for the sweet and oftentimes difficult rebuilding song that Kent is trying to teach us . . . I sing of God's love forever!

For the many and varied songs of faith, hope and love that we are teaching one another through our shared gimme cincos . . . for the melody of new life -- Kaden (Katey), Emilio (Griselda), the one on the way (Kelly) . . . for the triumph song of victory over illness (Gigi's brother Tom) . . . for Pastor Terry's consistent songs that mix both joy and lament . . . for Randy's hip-hop rhythms of youth, 'hood', and leadership . . . for Jennifer's hopeful strains of persistant, commitment to her students . . . for the country connection that comes to us all the way from Jetmore, KS through LeAnn's voice of praise . . . for all the voices that combine on Wednesdays and Thursdays to sing the story of God's love . . . I sing of God's love forever!

For the little old shrub called Grandview Park Presbyterian . . . for the ways in which it has been a place of shelter and nurture for so many over 120 years . . . for the song we continue to sing through good times and bad and everything in between . . . for verse after verse after verse that is written year after year after year that tells the story of God's love and fidelity for each new generation . . . for the foundation song of all we do --- God's guaranteed love and grace --- I sing forever and ever and ever!

Now's not the time to quit telling the story. Sing the thanksgiving song. Sing for your brothers and sisters. Tell everyone.

(Special welcome to Marqueeta from OK whom we met last week on BAK. Make yourself at home, Marqueeta!)

Pastor Rick
Don't forget . . .
Prayer group tonight at the Sandoval house . . .
Prayer group tomorrow at the Parrett house.
If you missed last Sunday's sermon it can be found at
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com "Like a Shrub"

Like a Shrub

Like a Shrub
Mark 4:30-32

Why are our values and the God’s values so often at odds with each other?
You know what we humans like.
We like big, shiny, expensive, lavish, powerful, strong, fast, luxurious.
We’re suckers for celebrities and people who tell us we can get rich over night.
We like our churches and stores to be of the mega variety.

But are these God’s values?
Are these the things God likes?
I have my doubts.
It would seem they are not if Jesus’ parables have anything to say about it.
Jesus’ parables take our values and turn them upside down and over and over again so that we can see them in the light of Kingdom values.

Today’s parable of the mustard seed is no exception.
Jesus says, “God’s kingdom is like the mighty cedars of Lebanon that grow 100 feet into the sky.”
No?
Jesus says, “God’s kingdom is like a giant redwood that’s so big you can cut a tunnel in the bottom and drive a car through it.”
No?
Jesus says, “God’s kingdom is like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in NYC, huge and shiny and brilliant!”
No?

What did Jesus say, then?
Like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a what?
Basically an ugly shrub or bush.
Who’s going to go out of their way to see a mustard bush?

I’ll drive to California to see the redwoods.
I’ll take a train to NYC to see the tree at Rockefeller Center.
I’ll fly to Lebanon to see the historic cedars.
But would I go out of my way to see a mustard bush?
Not if I hadn’t heard this parable.

God’s kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a bush that gives shelter to the birds.
God’s Kingdom is like a shrub.

We spend a whole lot of our time looking up for the big stuff, the shiny stuff, the towering oaks.
But maybe we should spend a bit more time looking down at the weeds and the bushes and the shrubs.
Maybe they have more to teach us about God’s Kingdom.
You can pave over a weed with concrete and it will still break its way through a crack.
Weeds are really just flowers that are victims of prejudice aren’t they?

Jesus’ parables demand that we reevaluate our values, that we take a second look at what we think is important in this life we’ve been given.
If God’s Kingdom is like a tiny seed that grows into a shrub or a bush or a glorified weed, then what does that say about the things we value?

Sometimes I wish Jesus would stop telling these parables because they ask me to change my thinking.

The parable tells us that God’s Kingdom is about growth, yes, but not massive growth.
God’s Kingdom is about growth with a purpose.
The purpose is shelter and nurture.
The Mustard bush gives shelter and provides a place where lives can be nurtured.
To sum up this parable (which is always a dangerous thing to do) I would say it is about growth and shelter.

My proposition to you today is that Grandview Park is like a shrub.
Two weeks ago Pastor Alfonso led this exercise at prayer group.
When it came time for to pray for the programs of the church he asked everyone around the circle to name a different program of the church.
It was astounding. We went round and round and round the circle at least three times naming the programs and activities of Grandview Park.

We can easily name over thirty activities of the church. Imagine that each program is a branch of God's Kingdom shrub that shoots out of the trunk of corporate worship.
That’s quite a shrub!

An amazing reality is that at least 50% of those programs and activities have come about in the last 6 years since we have become a bi-lingual, multi-cultural congregation.
That’s significant growth in a short period of time.

What’s the purpose of these programs?
What’s the purpose of this shrub, this bush?

Is GP more like a shrub or a giant redwood?
More like a bush or a Rockefeller center Christmas tree?
More like a weed or a cedar of Lebanon?

We are growing into God’s Kingdom.
We are not the Kingdom, but we are tilting toward the Kingdom like a shrub in need of sunlight, warmth and nourishment.
We are growing with purpose.

One of our 6 great ends is the shelter and nurture of the people of God.
All of our programs here – health, immigration, youth, men, women, prayer, tutoring, food, compassion fund --- it’s all about the shelter and nurture of the people of God.

Who are the people of God who find shelter in this shrub?
Well, you of course.
But there are others birds in the neighborhood who take shelter here.
Just visit the summer program this week or the healthy cooking classes and you’ll see birds seeking shelter and nurture who don’t belong here.

One thing about shrubs and bushes and weeds, they’ve experienced enough discrimination that they aren’t likely to practice it.
The shelter of our shrub is available to any and all birds.

The Kingdom of God is like a tiny seed that grows into a bush that gives shelter to the birds.
May our little expression of God’s Kingdom here continue to grow and give shelter.

So redwoods are impressive.
Christmas trees are great.
Cedars smell good.
But it’s the little mustard bush that caught Jesus’ imagination.

Let this little shrub of GP catch your imagination and be a part of it’s growth and shelter.

You Stepped In

Good Morning Loved Ones,

Here's hoping you all are well this morning. Today's passage for grateful reflection:

Psalm 138:1-3, 8 (The Message)
Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
and say it again: "Thank you!"
Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.
Finish what you started in me, God.
Your love is eternal—don't quit on me now.

Today I give thanks for the good news that surrounds us. For the great reports about Gigi's brother, Tom, and his cancer, for dedicated community leaders like Sean and Chris in Humboldt who step into the breach whenever and wherever they are needed, for Baptism and the profession of faith from a young girl with a bright smile and her loving family I give thanks.

Today I give thanks for the foot soldiers for Jesus who carry out their duties week by week at Grandview Park and in communities of faith around the world. For scripture readers, musicians and offering takers, for Sunday School teachers and children's church leaders, for projector controllers and sound technicians, for newsletter folders and mailers, for cooks and cleaners, for volunteer youth leaders and summer progrm and tutor workers, for prayer group host families and volunteer ride givers, for work day workers and many, many, many more who carry the church forward with their efforts I give thanks.

Today I give thanks for summer's special 3 month window for re-creation. For bike rides and ball games, for swimming and picnics, for warmth, heat and loads of sunshine, for grass that will stop growing 1/2 an inch a day by July (I hope!), for celelbrations and more time to spend with the kids, for vacations and road trips I give thanks.

Today I give thanks for challenges we all face. For conflict and the opportunity for positive change, for people who are willing to ask the hard questions and look for answers together, for those who persist in the struggle without blaming or scapegoating, for the love of God which never quits, never gives up, never stops coming our way even in hard times.

Today I give thanks for dreams and visions. For the nonsensical dreams that come in deep sleep to relieve the stress of the day, for the dreams that stick to our souls and fuel our everyday work and efforts, for visions of a better church, a better community and a better world I give thanks.

It's time to give thanks. Let's hear it.

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com
Prayer group tonight is at the Tamez home and tomorrow night at Phylis Rauh's.

The Eternal Immigrant

Today I’ve stolen my sermon title from a fresh new creed.

It’s called the Immigrants Creed and was written by Jose Luis Casal, General Missioner of Tres Rios Presbytery in Texas. Visit this link to view the whole creed:
http://www.ethnicharvest.org/ideas/creed.htm

We’re going to read the whole creed later, but for now I want to get real familiar with this one sentence from it. So Let’s read it together first in English, then in Spanish.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God's kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

Of all the people who should be preaching this sermon today about the Eternal Immigrant, I am probably the least likely suspect.

Of all the people who should be co-pastoring a church that’s at least half-full of immigrants, I probably wouldn’t be your first choice.

I’ve never really been an immigrant.

I was born four blocks from here at Bethany Hospital.

With the exception of my college years, 50 miles away at Ottawa, Kansas, I have spent my entire 49.5 years here within 10 miles of my birthplace.

Technically, I’m not an immigrant and never have been, even though I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Mexico, Central and South America and Europe.

I’ve never had to learn a new language in order to get by.

I’ve never had to adapt to a new culture and give up precious parts of my history and myself.

The only thing that has ever separated me from my biological family members has been death.

I don’t know of a single other pastor in a Presbyterian Church who is pasturing four blocks from his birthplace.

Most pastors, at the very least, migrate to other cities and states.

But somehow I haven’t migrated at all.

And yet here we are together . . .

The least likely pastor to be able to relate to immigrants and a church full of immigrants.

How many of the rest of you were born within 4 blocks of this church?

From my perspective you’re all immigrants.

How did we end up here together?

Spanish speakers, English speakers, Guatemalans, Missourians, Ecuadorians, Kansans, Mexicans, Colombians, West Virginians, Hondurenos, country folk, city folk, suburban folk, Latinos, Europeans, Young, Old.

How did all of you end up here together 4 blocks from where I was born?

The Eternal Immigrant.

You got up and you moved when the Spirit said move.

Why?

Because when the Spirit says move, you’ve got to move, Oh Lord, you’ve got to move when the Spirit says move!

Why?

Because God’s Spirit is always on the move.

Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Let’s say it again, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God's kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

Why are we here together?

Because of the Eternal Immigrant, God’s Spirit, who is working to reunite us.

People wonder why we do we what we do?

Why do we bother to sing in two languages? Why do we bother to pray in two languages? Why do we bother to preach in two languages?

They think we must be drunk.

But it’s only Noon.

But they are right. We are drunk.

We are drunk on the Eternal Immigrant. God’s Spirit has baptized us, has intoxicated us, has inebriated us, has inflamed us with this ridiculous folly that we belong together.

The Eternal Immigrant has come to us from God’s Kingdom to reunite us and offer us the passport of baptism which give us freedom to immigrate to God’s Country, God’s Kingdom where all our differences are respected and welcomed.

Let’s say it again, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God's kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

Where does the Holy Spirit live?

Here in Wyandotte County? Yes!

In Michoacan? Yes!

In Quito? Yes!

In Mazatenango? Yes!

In St. Louis? As much as I hate to admit it. Yes!

The Eternal Immigrant is at work in every city, every country, every continent, working to reunite all God’s children everywhere.

There is no river the Eternal Immigrant won’t cross.

There’s no border the Eternal Immigrant can’t break through.

There’s no desert the Eternal Immigrant can’t transverse.

No stupid border walls that the Holy Spirit won’t demolish.

The Eternal Immigrant makes her home where we are and where we aren’t.

Let’s say it again, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God's kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

The Eternal Immigrant bursts into our lives and gives us the ability to talk to anybody in any language.

In today’s story the Eternal Immigrant baptizes, intoxicates, inebriates, inflames the disciples with a wide variety of languages.

The streets of Jerusalem were filled with tourists who were there for the festival.

And the Eternal Immigrant pushed the disciples out the door to where the people were.

And the Eternal Immigrant in a miraculous moment gave them the ability to speak the languages of all those tourists.

If you are baptized, intoxicated, inebriated, inflamed with the Holy Spirit there is nobody you can’t or shouldn’t talk to about Jesus.

Say it again, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God's kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

God’s Holy Spirit is the Eternal Immigrant and when the Eternal Immigrant says, “Move” then by God, You’ve got to move when the Spirit says move, You’ve got to move when the Spirit says move, Cause when the Spirit says move, you’ve got to move, Oh Lord! You’ve got to move when the Spirit says move!

I thank God, that by the power of the Eternal Immigrant, I have become an alien, a stranger, a foreigner who holds a baptismal passport to the only Country, the only Kingdom, the only Realm that matters --- God’s.

Because of the Eternal Immigrant I no longer belong to Wyandotte County, I no longer belong to the United States, I no longer belong to North America or the western hemisphere.

Because of the Eternal Immigrant we belong to God’s Country, God’s World, God’s Kingdom where there are no strangers, there are no aliens, there are no foreigners and where every immigrant can find a home.

Thanks be to the Father, the Son and the Eternal Immigrant.

Your Password

Good Morning Loved Ones,

A gentle rain and another cool spring day awaits to witness to your thankful work and worship.

Psalm 100 (The Message) - A Thanksgiving Psalm

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.
Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn't make him.
We're his people, his well-tended sheep.
Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.

Your password to a blessed day is "Thank you!" It's amazing what saying it will do for you and for the people you encounter throughout the day. The baseline is the perfunctory, polite, Ms. Manners requirement that so many today omit. But as those accomplished and well versed in gratitude the baseline is underachieving. Eye contact, emotive voice and a smile is the next level. Off the charts is when the whole person gets in the act with a laugh, a leap, a song and a wide open embrace of the day. Step it up a notch today and see what what happens.

1) For the glory of my hands, feet, eyes, the senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing, for the lungs, heart, spleen and myriad other organs and functions that keep me going without thought or instruction, for being fearfully and wonderfully created, I give thanks.

2) For this home, this Gimme Cinco community that shares the minor and the massive thanksgivings and everything in between, for the exponential increase in my hope quotient that I experience when I open and read your five or six or seven, for this shared discipline that has changed my life, I give thanks.

3) For grandparents, all of them now gone for more than fifteen years, for their instruction, love, grace and care, for Diet-Rite sodas, Hi-Lite Ice cream, Yahtzee games and Sunday School with the Behrens', for white rice swimming in butter, the most delicious toast I have ever tasted and loving day care on Tremont with the Davidson's, for Lincoln Logs, toy trucks, toy John Deere tractors and fried chicken with the Nelson's, I give thanks. (It's a blessing to have 50% more G-Parents.)

4) For a blessed Memorial Day of extra sleep, accomplished tasks around the house, a family bike ride, a delcious dinner of "blackened teriaki chicken," and the grounding of wandering around the cemeteries to bless our memories.

5) For a welcoming community of faith, open to all and hospitable, for Lisa Ewald and the youth group from Nebraska that will arrive at Grandview Park about 6:30 pm and make it their home for three nights while they serve our community with Crosslines, I give thanks.

So, make yourselves at home talking praise. Whether it's a baseline day or you're off the charts we need to hear from each other. Open your hearts and share the blessings of this day.

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com

Fuss-Less Friends

Good Morning Loved Ones!

In my sermon research for last Sunday I discovered that it is indeed right to call you Loved Ones. In Jesus farewell discourse with the disciples in John 15 he calls them friends. The Greek word used in that passage for friends is "philos" which literally means Loved Ones. So, there you go. We are Jesus' friends, his Loved Ones, his philos. Let that be the starting point for our gratitude today.

Part of the Gospel passage from today's lectionary readings:

Luke 12:22-31 (The Message)

Steep Yourself in God-Reality
22-24He continued this subject with his disciples. "Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.
29-32"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

Today are you preoccupied with getting or with responding to God's giving? Take a few minutes to do the latter. Let's say "Thank you!"

Today I am thankful that God has given me a community of friends. It is a community that exists among the faithful at Grandview Park. It is a community that exists in the Body of Christ beyond Grandview Park. And it is a community of friends that exists even beyond the bounds of the Body of Christ.

1) I give thanks for the working friendship among those who are currently serving as deacons and elders at GP. God did not make us friends in order to be a mutual admiration society. God made us friends to work together despite our differences to make a difference. For my circle of friends at GP, thank you, Jesus!
2) I give thanks for my group of friends at IJAM (Immigrant Justice Advocacy Movement). We are friends of every theological stripe with even a few agnostics in the mix. We work together for justice, hope and change and along the way our friendships are changing us. For my friends with a purpose at IJAM, thank you, Jesus!
3) I give thanks for my friends like Mark Killingsworth who have been empathetic and compassionate friends through many rough spots in my life. Since the day Mark welcomed me to my dorm room in college I have never doubted his friendship. For my friends like Mark Killingsworth who seem to be my friends for no particular reason, thank you, Jesus!
4) I give thanks that in Jesus we have a mutual friend through whom we have unlimited access to a world of friends. He chose us to be his friends, not in order to close the circle. No, he chose us to be his friends to go out and choose more friends by invitation and hospitality. For being the ultimate "social networking" source, thank you, Jesus!
5) I give thanks for the assurance given by Jesus, and oftentimes communicated through my friends, that I don't need to worry about having or getting friends, that I don't need to worry about the clothes I wear, that I don't need to worry about the food I need, that because I am in a community created and blessed by Jesus I belong and can live and work without anxiety and in peace with my brothers and sisters, my friends, my Loved Ones. Thank you, Jesus, for community!

Friends, Philos, Loved Ones . . . let's respond to God's giving!

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com
There is no prayer group tonight.
Tomorrow's prayer group is at the Parrett's house.