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June 7, 2006

Blessing the Sirens of Summer

One of the great moments in Homer's classic work, The Odyssey, is when Odysseus has to be tied to the mast of his ship so that he won't be seduced to commit suicide by the alluring call of the Sirens. As his ship passes by, Homer's epic poem describes in great detail the hero's anguished struggle not to throw himself from the ship and be drowned in the sea. Sometimes I think that the Church gets in the way of its own evangelistic efforts by equating some cultural practices with the evil call of the Sirens instead of finding ways to transform them for the sake of the Gospel.

If church planting has taught me anything in the last seven years, it has forced me to acknowledge several things: 1) we have to minister to people in the midst of their lives as they live them, rather than how we wish they would live them; 2) we are most effective when we plan based on what speaks to those who are not yet among us rather than what we like or is convenient for those already in the church; and 3) it is better to try something new and have to make adjustments (or even fail) than it is to never risk trying something new. To quote from the gunners in the army, it is always "ready, fire, aim" instead of "ready, aim, fire."

Anyone who has lived in the Charlotte area for any length of time has to have noticed that droves of people leave the city for as many weeks and weekends as they can during the hot summer months. Unlike other congregations that can and do compress the number of Sunday worship services to compensate for the numerical loss, Beloved only offers one service each Sunday. We are like our sister churches in that we see a dramatic decline in worship attendance; we differ from them in that we only have one service so that decline is much more visible. Many of the folks who aren't present on Sunday morning are back in town by late afternoon and could end their weekend by giving thanks to God for the blessings of this time away if a worship opportunity was available to them.

We have known for some time that Beloved's plans for the future should include a Sunday evening worship offering to attract those who don't have young children, those that do who can't get everyone out of the house in early morning or those who value their Sunday mornings as their only "down" time to sleep in from the work/school week. A month doesn't go by when someone doesn't ask if our future holds a Sunday evening worship opportunity. With the blessing of being able to leave our worship space set up at Community House Middle School for the summer (a big "thank you" to Principal Gif Lockley), we were struck by the possibility of a nine-week experiment: Why not bless and encourage people in our frenetic culture to take time away? Who says relaxing on Sunday morning is an evil "Siren call?" Why not let people both inside and outside of the church know how much God loves them and wants them to renew and refresh with those they love? And why not step out of the box and offer an evening worship opportunity as a holy transition from our recreation and renewal to preparing for the workweek? At the very least, this experiment could teach us what works (or doesn't) about Sunday evening worship as we look to the future. It might make it possible for those who vacation and normally couldn't attend worship at Beloved to do so. And who knows? If it is wildly popular, perhaps Beloved will experience enough summer growth that we can enter the fall with two worship opportunities.

When this idea was floated to the May Servant Member gathering, the enthusiastic and unanimous response of our parish leadership present that day was "Let's go for it!" We finally received written approval from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools last Friday. So here is how our experimental Summer Worship Schedule will work:

*Sunday worship at Beloved will be offered at 6pm from June 18-August 13. Our 9:30am worship opportunity will return on August 20. This is "come as you are" worship, wearing the clothing of your afternoon adventures.

*Hospitality will be before worship at 5:30pm, with light refreshments and lemonade.

*The Prayer Team will meet at 7pm following worship with an open invitation for all who desire to take part.

*Angel Army Teams will get a much-needed break for setup and teardown. Instead they will simply be asked to arrive at 5:15pm to prepare for hospitality and worship with light clean up afterwards.

I hope we all can enter this experiment with a sense of adventure, hope and good will. As always, please let me know any joys, concerns, or suggestions you have as we learn from the Holy Spirit and our culture this summer. Above all, let's be a people that bless the Siren call of getting away in beautiful weather. Let people know that God wants them to be refreshed and is pleased when they take time away to renew their souls and reconnect with those they love. Let them also know that there is a child-friendly place on Sunday evenings where they can come as they are and give thanks to the God who made all this joy and beauty possible for them!

J. Derek Harbin, priest

Around Beloved...This Sunday, seventeen worshippers at Beloved will be presented to Bishop William Folwell, retired Bishop of Central Florida. Please offer your congratulations to Fernando Baquero; Shana Blake; Marie Charbonneau; Michelle Dezzutto; Marie Duty; Christine Friend; Tom Friend; Harris High; Dan Hood; Barbara Jackson; Barbara Johnston; Mark Leinenkugel; Caroline McCloud; Scott McCloud; Nancy Montagnino; Chris Scheppegrell; and Shari Wynn as they renew their Baptismal Vows and seek a renewed empowerment of the Holy Spirit as they walk their lives of faith in this Beloved community...Those who participated in the FaithQuest Reconciliation Retreat will also be recognized this Sunday. Please recognize those that confessed the actions that blocked their relationship with Jesus, the True Vine: Cecilia "Ceci" Atwood; Daniel Dygowski; David Dygowski; Thomas Friend; Mitchell Harbin; Daniel Jordan; Diane Jordan; Carson King; Alexandra "Lexi" Leinenkugel; Victoria "Tori" Leinenkugel; Elizabeth Nichols; Joseph Nichols; Brian Sanniota; Jack Sanniota; Sarah Stone; "JR" West...Join Beloved folks at Symphony at the Green at SouthPark Mall this Sunday evening. A wonderful family-friendly concert is planned, featuring all the movie soundtrack music of John Williams. To be a part, contact Clifford King Harbin...

Derek Elkins, a student at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, found Church of the Beloved on the internet while looking for "emerging congregations"; he and Kathleen, his wife, worshiped in mid-January and earlier this spring contacted us about the possibility of an internship this summer. The details are being finalized and he will begin his internship on Father's Day, June 18. Kathleen, is also doing an internship with (Roman) Catholic Social Services in the field of refugee resettlement. Please watch for more details about how the Beloved community can welcome and share meal hospitality throughout the summer months...By popular demand, Summer FaithQuest will be offered on Tuesday mornings for eleven weeks this summer. Participants have the vacation flexibility of choosing either six or nine weeks out of this period. Registration sheets are available at Beloved Garden or in the hospitality area after worship each Sunday...A leadership team from Beloved (consisting of Deb Blackwood, Clifford King Harbin, Derek Harbin, Kris Leinenkugel, Bill Neal) successfully concluded last week a series of meetings with diocesan officials in which the Servant Member Community was asked to place in writing their May 2005 vote that Church of the Beloved will formalize its relationship with the diocese when it grows large enough to become a parish. We enter the summer with the clear support and prayers of Bishop Gloster and this liaison team and look forward to more opportunities for dialogue as the diocese seeks to find better ways to support its newest congregations.

Celebrating God's Divine Provision...This year's Beloved budget includes an income column the Beloved Finance Team has called "Divine Provision" because of our firm belief that our Lord Jesus, who is a God of abundance rather than scarcity, will continue to bless the growing work of Church of the Beloved in ways that we cannot yet imagine. We are pleased to report that the Lord has been busy with these blessings! St. Margaret Episcopal Church has given a gift of $3000; a local Episcopalian has given a $250 gift in honor of Advisory Team member Tom Pearson; a family in Charlotte's South Perimeter who has followed Beloved's progress from the beginning felt led to mail a gift of $1000; the Mission Resource Team of the Diocese of North Carolina has approved a grant of $2500; Bishop Curry is providing a gift of $10,000 out of a discretionary fund. Please offer thanks to God for the gifts received and keep the remainder of the "Divine Provision" line item in your prayers.

Serving at God's Altar this Sunday...Angel Army Team 3 (Captain: Mark Leinenkugel; Administrator: Kris Leinenkugel; Pastor: Jim Skrobot; Convener: Scott Sanniota); Acolytes: Daniel Gibbs; Miles Harbin; Mitchell Harbin; Clare Harbin; Reader: Betsy Fox; Presenters: Mark, Kris, Lexi, Tori & Gabi Leinenkugel; Lay Eucharistic Ministers: Al Krantz & Bud Moore; Offertory Basket Passers: Ceci Atwood; Trinity Atwood; Jack Sanniota; Katie Sanniota; PowerPoint: Miles Harbin.

In our Prayers...for Jacqui, niece of Deb and Dan Blackwood who has been diagnosed with cancer in both breasts...for Tammy, employee of Rick Jordan and Susan Jordan who lost her father, husband and 4 year old son in a flash flood...for Mary, mother of Elizabeth Wagner‘s co-worker who is dying of cancer....for Harriett, Kathy Raynor‘s mother who has cancer...for Richard, Ginger Leppert‘s father...for Jessie Powell and Janie Lownes...for those serving in Iraq, especially Scott, Dan Hood's brother...for Nancy and Tony Hodgson's granddaughter, Emily...for Jennifer Marsico who is expecting a baby this summer...for Dorothy, Mary Reid's sister who is fighting lung cancer and has been hospitalized in intensive care for pneumonia...for Ruth, Shana Blake‘s cousin...for Ed and Jean, Dick Reif's parents who are in declining health in Oklahoma... for Bill, Lee Frickhoeffer's uncle who has terminal cancer...for Charlie, Toni Reif‘s friend who has cancer...for Cyteria Knight as she seeks employment...for Nykeria Thomas as she attends summer school to learn to read....Lauren Skrobot and Kevin Krantz who complete high school this week and prepare to graduate...Zach, age 8, neighbor of the Scheppegrell family and schoolmate of Mitchell Harbin who was struck by a car in his neighborhood.

A Prayer for the 75^th General Convention...Bishops along with clergy and lay deputies from each diocese will pray and deliberate in this triennial gathering of the Episcopal Church from June 13-21 in Columbus, Ohio. The election of our next Presiding Bishop will be held on June 18^th. Please keep all involved in your daily prayers, both before and during this event.

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel at our General Convention for the renewal and mission of your holy Church. Fill them with courage to pursue your truth and your peace. Where the Church is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; that all may know and experience the love of the One who gave himself for us, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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