There is a phrase in the Hebrew Bible that says, “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Lev 19:34). I was at lunch with Rabbi Alicia Harris of Congregation Shir Tikvah and I asked her how many times this phrase was used in the Torah. Her answer was quick and authoritative. She knew the answer before I finished the question: 35 times.
I am reading a book by Obery M. Hendrics Jr where he explains that the Hebrew word "tzedekah", usually translated as "righteousness", does not indicate personal behavior that is pious. Rather, it is more accurately translated as “doing right by others” or “acting with justice.” He states that, “That means that the true yardstick of righteousness is the degree of one’s active dedication to the well-being of one’s neighbors and the common good,” (Source, page 38) When Jesus is asked who one’s neighbor was (because the young man wanted to know which people he should love has himself), Jesus tells the story of a Good Samaritan. In that parable, a man gets beat up and left for dead by thieves. Two upstanding citizens pass by the man but a Samaritan (the foreigner, outsider, and enemy) helps the man. Jesus then asks, who was the neighbor in that story? The young man replies, “The one who showed him mercy,” (Luke 10:25-37). On Sunday, I discussed what Salvation looks like for Jesus and Paul. For Paul, salvation was putting one’s soul in order so that a person can escape this life to the afterlife. In contrast, Jesus presents a very this-worldly idea of salvation. Salvation is being saved from poverty and exploitation. Salvation is holding people in power accountable and protecting the people who are vulnerable. Salvation is building up a society of mutual well-being and common-good. This morning, I was texting one of my dear friends. She is a social worker that helps families with children in hospice navigate the medical system and financial aid. Overnight, her job shifted. Instead of helping coordinate treatments and contacting charities to help pay for associated costs, she is now helping to navigate the legal world to prevent parents of dying children from being deported now that their visas are in jeopardy. As I scrolled the internet trying to find a prayer written by someone who has a greater clarity of what words to say, I stumbled upon a screenshot of someone warning about, “the sin of empathy” in reply to a sermon where the preacher entreated the listeners to be merciful. I am increasingly dumbfounded by those who claim to follow my God and who read my same scripture. As discouraging as it may seem, Jesus knew that even this would come to pass: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23) Friends, if you have ever doubted it, there is a need for the Good News of the Gospel to be proclaimed boldly. We are called to challenge messages of hate and discrimination with a message of love, hope and belonging. And that calling is now. Blessings, Pastor Chris I am not a big fan of self-help books. There! I said it!
I dislike the $10.5 billion dollar industry with over 18.6 million volumes (source). I am not against self-improvement or looking for advice for ways to improve your life. What I dislike is the assumption that what worked for one person will work for every person. I also dislike the attitude that many authors present that implies that they alone have all of the answers. If that were the case, then only one self-help book would have ever been needed! Instead, more are written and published every year, all claiming to have life’s secret answer. With that in mind, I won’t deny that there are useful tidbits found with some of these books. One of which is the Eisenhower Matrix. This idea began with a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States. In a 1954 speech, Eisenhower references an unnamed university president: “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” From this quote, Stephen Covey created the Eisenhower Matrix in his cult-favorite book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This matrix creates four categories: 1) Urgent and Important Tasks, 2) Urgent but Unimportant Tasks, 3) Non-Urgent but Important Tasks, & 4) Non-Urgent and Unimportant Tasks. When I looked at the news this morning, I was bombarded by two things. The first was commentary about things that felt urgent and screamed for my immediate outrage and action. As I slowly sorted through the many things that I felt like I was being told to be outraged by, I realized that using my energy and voice to display my outrage would not effect change on the thing that I was outraged by. In other words, it was unimportant to my tasks for the day. As I kept reading, there were also policy changes that I vehemently disagreed with that were being reported on. Those changes didn’t feel as urgent as repugnant hand gestures, but I had a sense that those policy changes were more important in the end. As I got to work, there were a series of things that fell on my plate that also felt urgent. Things had not gone perfectly to plan and well-meant help was misguided. It is easy to be pulled in by small dramas between people that always occurs when dealing with communities of complex people. But after a while, it seemed that, in light of other things, these small dramas were taking all the energy away from the things that are important by less urgent. So, I planned out my day tomorrow to work on the things that are important but less urgent. Dramatic change is currently unavoidable. We know that our nation is already experiencing dramatic changes once again. We also know that our community is experiencing change and will continue to. In the midst of these sea of changes, small dramas that feel urgent will arise. Many of them are distractions that steal our time, energy, and efforts from working on that which is more important but feels less urgent. Which means that it is more important than ever to not be distracted by that which is urgent but ultimately unimportant - because we have a calling, and the work of that calling is often slow and steady. Blessings, Pastor Chris When the year turns over, there is a ritual that I have come to appreciate: purchasing a new daily planner and putting together a general outline for what I expect for the year ahead. I break out all of my rainbow highlighters and begin to mark things out that I know happen every year. Secular Holidays are marked out and then family birthdays. Next comes the Christian calendar: I mark out Lent and Advent, Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, World Communion Sunday, and All-Saints Sunday. Where holiday weekends pop up, I mark potential joint-worship services in anticipation of these low-attendance Sundays. Next, I put together a potential schedule for Session, Deacon, and congregational meetings. Lastly, based on the ebbs and flows of the year, I outline when I might take time off so that I don’t get too bogged down in work.
At the end of this process, I am left with a skeleton for the year ahead. Even though I have plotted all of this down on my brand-new calendar, there are large swathes of white paper remaining. This is just a frame of must-do’s that the rest of the year will hand off of. In those blank space, there is opportunity and space for imagination. The gaps between highlighted days will be filled with community and solitude, of trial and error, of business and of rest. This past Thursday, I worked with the Session to do something similar to prepare for the year ahead. We approved our schedule for Session meetings, Communion Sundays, potential joint worship services, our winter Annual Meeting and fall Congregational Meeting. In case you want to put together your own calendar for the year with this information, here is what to expect: Session Members: Class of 2025: Erin DeFever and Sarah Leight Class of 2026: Chris Kondak and Joe Turner Class of 2027: Sue Fish and James Love Session Meeting Schedule: Feb 6, March 6, April 3, May 8, June 5, Aug 7 (optional), Sep 4, Oct 2, Nov 6, Dec 4, & Jan 8, 2026 (in-person at 6 pm for a holiday meal). Northminster Annual Meeting February 23, 2025 after worship including Lunch. Northminster Congregational Meeting November 23, 2025 after worship Communion Schedule Jan 12, Feb 2, March 2, April 6, April 17 (Maundy Thursday), May 4, June 1, July 6, Aug 3, Sep 7, Oct 5 (World Communion), Nov 2, Dec 7. Joint Worship Services Lenten Services – one to be hosted at Northminster Ash Wed, March 5; Maundy Thursday, April 17; & Good Friday, April 18 Holiday Weekends – one to be hosted at Northminster Memorial Weekend, May 25; Independence Weekend, July 6; & Labor Day Weekend, August 31. Additional Services Pentecost, June 8 & Christmas Hymn Sing, Dec 28 There are a few things that are still in the works. In the coming weeks will be our Ordination and Installation service for our new Elders and Deacons but we need to verify the suggested date with all who would be involved. There are also some additional events that the Session is planning that will be announced once the details have been settled; but the schedule above gives us a framework for the rest of the year - and I am sure that all of the space in between these dates will quickly be filled up with the life of our community. Blessings for the year ahead, Pastor Chris |
AuthorPastor Chris Hallam earned her degree at Princeton Theological Seminary and moved to Michigan to become a pastor. Also trained as a studio artist and graphic designer, with an interest in pop culture and social science, her passion is thinking creatively about the future of the church. Archives
February 2025
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