Sermon Postscript

St. John member and Certified Lay Speaker Betty Hertz gave the message this past Sunday, July 3. If you missed it, watch it here (at about the 27-minute mark).

By Betty Hertz

 A few thoughts about my message on Sunday, July 3 …

I could have told the story from the point of view of the Jewish teachers. What turmoil they faced. “The old laws have gone away.”

 When I listed the fruit, I said, “Gentleness is being humble by considering others’ needs and hurts.” I thought, “I believe I am sensitive to others’ needs, but how about their hurts?” Just as they haven’t experienced mine, I haven’t experienced theirs. I need to be a better listener, so I understand views opposing mine.

My path to becoming a Certified Lay Speaker (CLM) started by taking the Basic Lay Servant course and the Preaching course in 2020 as one way to maintain some sanity during the pandemic. Then I learned about the United Methodist CLM program and felt a desire to take the additional courses. The classes included Prayer, UMC Polity, UMC Beliefs, Worship, and Gifts. I didn’t see myself being a “supply pastor” but wanted to learn more. The online courses through Be A Disciple.com challenged me and nudged me on the path God has set for me.

If you feel stalled on God’s path for you, I encourage you to talk to one of the pastors or me about moving forward to love and serve God and your neighbor.

A great way to start is to take the Basic course and the Preaching course, which Pastor Andy will teach this Fall.

 This verse from Ephesians 2:10, taken from The Inclusive Bible, humbles me and reminds me who is in charge.

 “We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to do the good things God created us to do from the beginning.”

All Knowing-One,

 Thank you for the gifts you give us.

Help us listen to Your Plan

And guide us on Your Path.

In the name of Jesus, the Great Teacher, Amen.

Register here for Pastor Andy’s Certified Lay Ministry BASIC Class. Register here for the CLM Preaching Advanced Class. Please note that the BASIC class is a prerequisite to the Preaching class.

Lenten Reflection

Photos by Susan Bates

 By Susan Bates

Cool wind swept through the hushed gathering as edges of the encircling dark desert began to glow with new light at our Easter sunrise service at an Army camp in the Middle East. Hosanna! I thought about how the women approaching Jesus’ tomb must have felt – surprisingly cold. Were they prepared for that morning, with heavy cloaks? Were they at all ready for what was to come? Are we prepared to exit what seems like a 2-year pandemic Lent with political polarization and sharpened demands to end climate destruction, health inequities, and social injustices? As Pastor Emily reminded us on Palm Sunday, remembering God in our past can guide us towards our future.

 Jewish writer Abraham Riesman suggests looking to Job for a way to rebuild from disaster. The “Great Deceiver” Satan used a bet with God to cause Job to be tempted to renounce his faith. Job lost everything in his personal life-pandemic. His health, livelihood, reputation and all his possessions were ruined. His children all died. Well-meaning friends urged Job through many chapters to go along with their opinions of events. They encouraged him (Job 11: 13-15) to confess to an unknown, supposed sin: “If you make your mind resolute and spread your palms to Him, if you throw out the sin in your hands and don’t let injustice dwell in your tents, then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be secure and not fear.” Spin doctors with fake facts, they worked hard to socially influence Job (for his own good) towards lying to God.

 But Job stood firm. He repeatedly asserted his innocence. Agreeing with God’s assertations of His omnipotent nature, Job acknowledged he was only “dust” with which God could do whatever he wished. Opinions of who is most deserving of what and other judgments of men count relatively less when we realize it is really all up to God. Job exhibited complete faith. God won his bet. Riesman posits Job’s restoration to even better than his former status was due to his honesty, and that honesty is our best path out of our current world pandemic with its exposure of so many societal inequities.

 All powerful God, grant us just a bit of the patience of Job. Thank you for the space of Lent to reflect on what we must sacrifice to be honest about our past, and to move forward with just rebuilding in our future. Prepare us for what comes next with the strength to believe in your miraculous love and forgiveness. May we open hearts, open minds and open doors to others with the gentle kindness of honesty.

 St. John UMC member Susan Bates is a Certified Lay Servant.

Lenten Reflection

By Susan Bates

Hebrews 12: 1-2. “So then let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of him, and sat down at the right side of God’s throne.”

These favorite verses have shone with different lights of meaning to me over the years. As a marathon-running young adult they told me to run straight, fast and true. I was so impatient to get on with life! Further into adulthood I searched for guidance about endurance, how to juggle work, family, community obligations and my personal well-being. Now as a senior, contemplating a return to Zumba and yoga at the YMCA (anything to get back into better shape), I seek inspiration to just lift one foot after the other.

Are not all Bible stories important in a similar way? They present situations essential to individual, family and societal life. They point to universal instances of “the human condition.” Across millenia of time, on a planet brimming with different languages and diverse cultures, we grapple repeatedly with these same subjects and seek divine guidance. Different characters represent various sides to the stories. I chuckle (silently since kindness counts) at arguments over which English language translation of the Bible is the one most “correct” because this is such gross misdirection. Unless God really did create humans just to make Her laugh? I believe She relishes diversity and the rainbow of different viewpoints. She built a house with many rooms and a body with many parts.

We loved Pastor Andy’s sermon about Judges 13-16 and the Israelites’ unjust leader, Samson. His rages and excesses were unsustainable “excess baggage” to his people, and the Philistines served the Lord by removing him. At our house we have our own Delilah, an 8-year-old granddaughter, so we explore this Bible story. I tell her a meaning of her name can be “Freedom Fighter,” as in the eponymous Israeli cruise missile. Like other strong women (Deborah, Jael) in the Book of Judges, Delilah was not a victim. She answered God’s call to stand up and use her own gifts to make a better life for all people.

When our Delilah admired JBER pool facilities at open swim time this weekend, I queried: “and wouldn’t you like to join the military when you grow up, like Nanna?” “No. I’m going to be an artist” came her reply. Perhaps this is a more effective path to peace? As a community we are blessed when children have opportunities to explore their own gifts, hone listening skills to hear their own callings and consider all racecourses to be open for them. We are doubly blessed when people of all ages are granted the resilience and support to adapt and improve as our world changes.

All powerful God, you have the plan. Help us love you as much for your complexities as for your simple comfort. May we find the courage to stand up and serve when called, especially in non-traditional ways. Loan us strength for our drooping hands and weak knees so we can make sure that no one misses out on your grace.

St. John member Susan Bates is a Certified Lay Servant.

Lenten Reflection

By Susan Bates

“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ Out came another horse, fiery red. Its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a large sword.” Revelation 6:3.

The four horsemen of the apocalypse are always lurking, striking somewhere in our personal and larger worlds. The pale horse of plague, the black horse of famine, the red horse of war and the white horse of false prophecy (modernized as misinformation spread on social media?) seem closer to us this Lenten season. Active war in Europe, with violence exploding from a country only 2.4 miles from Alaska’s Little Diomede Island, illuminates that red horse galloping into our own foreground. We perceive tragedy and horror streaming in front of us from satellite feed. We are urged to acknowledge our involvement and react.

“Kill Putin!” plead Ukrainian refugees. Instead, “Pray for Putin, to change his heart,” our pastors advise us. We cheer Jael in Judges 4:17-24 as she dispatches Sisera with a tent peg to the head, but her actions do not end war in the Middle East. Her bravery did alleviate her people’s Canaanite oppression at the time. Elimination of the commanding general perhaps saved lives of those he may have led into or killed in battle. Would this be enough, now? I can afford one answer here in Anchorage; my response if I lived in Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv or Lviv might be different. How do we stop the horsemen?

Sometimes we pretend mistreating another human is OK by giving them a label. Called a thing or an animal, they are dehumanized. Saint, sinner, hero, scapegoat – these labels or roles may be assigned to political and religious leaders. We know what’s coming up for Jesus on Good Friday. We also know how His story continues. Killing one mortal human won’t stop humanity’s tide as it surges towards good or evil. Might we do more by praying for a change of heart for all? Is that the powerful possibility and promise laid before us?

God, you have written peace, justice and love onto our hearts. During these Lenten weeks help me remove that which clouds my vision, so that I can better see the way to move forward as your servant.

St. John UMC member Susan Bates is a Certified Lay Servant.

Colleen Runty God Story

By Colleen Runty

St. John UMC’s Children’s Ministry Director Colleen Runty with husband Matt and their kids Maggie, Connor and Aaron.

Prematurely entering the world at 3 lbs. 14 oz., the waters of baptism instantaneously marked me out of fear that I wouldn't survive. This mark of fear around sin and hell would continue to trickle through my life as I grew up in the Roman Catholic faith of my parents and grandparents. And yet, I had such a strong attraction to Jesus and the saints. Religion and theology classes were a ping, like that of sonar whales, constantly pulling and calling me throughout grade school, high school, and college. God's fingerprints left marks on my life through those classes, mass, and the sacraments. But along the way, my child brain struggled with the messages of God's goodness and what I experienced through the practice of repentance and what I heard through the conversations about hell that circled in my life. I wanted to be good for God and, at the same time, received so many messages of my unworthiness both religiously and socially. There were no models or spaces for me to share my stories about God or ask questions about the confusing messages about God, faith, or how I experienced the world.

The retreats that I participated in high school and college were that same ping of God calling, like my attraction to religion classes. Through retreats, God brought me to story and community. I listened to God's story in others' lives. I got to learn more of the breadth and depth of God through community. Most importantly, I felt the power of God's love through the connection and belonging that developed through those communities. I was highly active in campus ministry, retreats, and community service in college. I participated in a community called Micah house (named for Micah 6:8 "What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God") where we took theology and philosophy classes together, lived in community together, and served together in a poor community in St. Louis. Through all these experiences, the models of women in ministry were limited to being a sister, a campus minister, or a spiritual director. There were no other conversations about being a woman in ministry outside of sisters asking me to pursue religious life (which wasn't going to happen because I knew I wanted to have kids). So I pursued my speech-language pathology degree and continued my active participation in the church.

In the United Methodist Tradition, we often talk about God's prevenient grace - this grace that comes before our ability to know and see God's presence. God's prevenient grace swirled around my relationship and marriage to Matt. You see, Matt grew up United Methodist with his parents singing in the choir, his mom playing the organ, and his grandmother playing the piano. When we married, we decided to find the church that fit us. After a year of searching, we found a United Methodist Church in Katy, TX. This was where my understanding of God began to expand in a new way. I remember being in an "Intro to Methodism" class held by my pastor, trying to hold understanding for all these new words: "grace," "conferencing," and "Wesley quadrilateral," to name a few. I was ignorant of the Protestant Reformation but was eager to learn more. Excitement consumed me when I discovered that the United Methodist Church had a process to give lay members a voice and vote in what happened in their church. I was giddy about charge conference (yes, you read that right!). I remember thinking that the grass was greener on the Protestant side and unconsciously began throwing away my Roman Catholic heritage.

When we moved from Houston to Chicago, career and life ambitions took over, not to mention trying to parent two small children. We joined a United Methodist Church and struggled to find connection within this community. However, God continued expanding and stretching how we understood God and God's people. Matt and I led Financial Peace University classes which changed how we understood God and money. We also participated in discussions around human sexuality as our church community sought to become a reconciling church. Again prevenient grace showed up, God trying to plant a seed in my not-so-fertile soil. A few women from my church started to attend seminary; one told me that she could see me going to seminary. I completely dismissed it. Within a few short months from that conversation, we moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with our now three kids in tow.

Due to burnout and family life, I decided to throw the towel in (to my speech therapy career). It was then that I must have cleared enough space to listen deep within myself and pray the prayer that God had been waiting patiently for many years to hear, "God, you can have my life. I don't know what to do with it." I went on a chaotic, messy journey from that prayer where God continued to stretch and grow my understanding of myself, God, and God's people. On that journey, I met some of my best friends, sat at the feet of some fantastic mentors, and went to seminary to continue expanding my learning. God dismantled myths that I created about myself. God destroyed the myth that I need to remain hidden and have nothing to say. I found myself excited to craft and preach sermons, lead classes, and, most importantly, use my voice to share prayer. God also taught me that there was value in my Roman Catholic faith which allowed me to rediscover the gems I threw away.

I graduated from Saint Paul School of Theology in 2020 and was incredibly grateful for my time of learning about God and church ministry. Although I had a lot of learning about God and some experiences with God in seminary, there was still something that felt incomplete. Spiritual direction had always been something that I wanted to do, but I couldn't figure out the timing. When my participation in the Academy of Spiritual Formation fell through due to the pandemic, I applied to HeartPaths Spirituality Centre (Oklahoma City) for spiritual direction training. It took God's gentle leading and a forty-year journey, but I found my home. My gifts and experience made sense through the language that came through spiritual direction. I graduate from my program on May 3rd this year. (Spiritual direction is better known in the Catholic tradition than the Protestant tradition. It is an opportunity for individuals to sit with another person (the director), listen to their life stories, and discover where God is present. Through spiritual direction, individuals learn more about how to discern how God is leading in their lives. Usually, an individual meets with a spiritual director once a month for an hour.)

I thought that was it. To offer people spaces where they can discern more about how God is working in their lives. It comes naturally and feels effortless. Box checked. Then the ping of God reverberated once again, this time through the voice of Emily Carroll. After sharing some messages from God that I couldn't make sense of, Emily said, "You know, we are hiring for a Children's Ministry position." With a look, I defiantly conveyed to her, "That's not for me." Again, I was dismissing God's planting of a seed; in the same way, I dismissed seed planting about seminary.

After wrestling with my fears, wrestling with God in prayer and wrestling in conversations with my people, I was convinced that I would regret not applying. Through all my wrestling, I could hear this whisper of God a bit better. God whispered to me (and I'm sure this is to you as well), "Don’t limit me in how I created you.” Don’t limit me in how I created you. So often, I have told God who I am and who I am not, and EVERY TIME God reframes it and tells me who I am. I am LOVE, just as you are LOVE. My journey with God is breaking all the boundaries and borders and walls I have created that prevent me from embracing who I am… LOVE.

I’m excited to be on the journey with you. I’m eager for the children of our church to expand our understanding of who God is and who we are as God’s people. So often, we miss that our God is creative and playful. I hope that our children (and God) will teach us to draw out that side of ourselves again. I desire our children to lead more in worship, learn about imaginative prayer and how to experience God, and create intergenerational relationships within our church community. I can’t wait to hear your God story and feel the vibrations of the Holy Spirit’s movement in, around, and through our community.

Colleen Runty is St. John UMC’s newly hired Children’s Ministry Director.