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At the beginning of Bible Study today, I was reminded that it is once again the time for the DIA’s showing of the Oscar Nominated Short Film Festival. No, I have not been to see them, but the contest brought to mind a short film from 2014 called “The Allegory of the Long Spoons.” Click the link to watch it: it is only about a minute long. What you will see is a group of people sitting around a chasm with a bowl of soup at the center. Each person has a spoon, but the spoons are too long for any person to feed themselves with it. As they grow frustrated with this, violence begins to erupt. At one point, one person’s spoon is broken in half and no longer has a hope to feed themself. At this point, one of the other people shows compassion and tries to feed him with her own spoon. It is a long reach, but the spoon can nearly reach him…except that she begins to shake as if she will drop it and fall herself into the chasm. At the last minute, she is supported by the others who prop up her spoon. The film ends with all of the people feeding each other rather than trying to feed themselves.
For the past few weeks, I have been trying to come up with an example to use to demonstrate how decentering oneself can be a way to find new life. The short film above came to mind along with the film, Pride (2014). Pride tells the real-life story of the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners movement in 1984-1985. As it is told, a lesbian and gay group were seeking out a way to gain more public awareness of their group and their cause. One member, Mark Ashton, had an idea: rather than focus on their own cause of gaining more society acceptance, they would instead focus on the struggles of a group of miners that were striking. Mark Ashton, Mike Jackson, and their friends collected funds at the 1984 Lesbian and Gay Pride march in London and established Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM). The money they raised, over £22,500, went straight to supporting the families of the miners on strike. The group gave the miners their unconditional support without an expectation of reciprocal support. Because of the LGSM’s support, the miners would go on to win their negotiations. Later on, the miners’ labor group began to support and attend Pride events through the UK, including leading London's Lesbian and Gay Pride parade in 1985. The miners would then use their political power to support the passage of LGBT rights in the UK. In worship on Sunday, I discussed how Northminster was not itself the Good News (i.e. the Gospel). Northminster might be a place where the Good News is found and where people might experience it, but the congregation itself is not the Good News. That also means that we should not be at the center of what we do. At our Annual Meeting, we looked at our numbers from 2024. While we are doing decently with finances, we ended the year with 56 members. It is tempting to make gaining new members the focus of what we do; but I would argue that we need to learn from the paradoxical examples above and the parable of the long spoons. As long as we are only trying to feed ourselves (i.e. only concerned with gaining new members), we will slowly starve as violence breaks out. People will have no interest in a church whose only concern is its own survival. Instead, as we begin to consider where God is leading us this coming year, I would have you all consider to whom we can extend our long spoon. Who is hurting that we can support? How do we center Good News that is truly good to hear? Blessings, Pastor Chris “We saved you a seat,” is a lovely message when it is coming from a friend when you are running late. It is a much more concerning message when you see it engraved on a bench that doubles as a tombstone. Say what you will, I find witty comments on gravestones to be disquieting rather than funny. That particular remark I remember from a cemetery in West Virginia that my friends and I were wandering around during a lunch break while we were on a summer mission trip. Another one that stands out in my mind is from a small cemetery I used to visit: “As I am now / soon you will be / So then / prepare to follow me.” It was a small cemetery called Thayer Cemetery. I was located at the very edge of Northville at 6 Mile Road and Napier. During the dog days of summer, when the freedom afforded by summer break had transitioned into days of boredom, my sister and I would walk there. When 6 Mile transitioned from asphalt to dirt and gravel, we knew we were almost there. A half mile more and the building at the center of the cemetery would appear from around the trees. At the time, the windows were boarded up and the building was covered in graffiti. Only half of the plots were filled, but this place felt forgotten by time. The writing on many of the gravestones was worn away by acid rain. Some were broken. Many were covered in moss and dirt. We would wander - reading the stones that we could - noting relationships and calculating when people passed away. Too many people were far too young. And then we found the stone with those words. I remember reading them and getting chills, even on that hot summer day.
We had first discovered Thayer Cemetery when we had moved to the area and would drive around aimlessly after school, trying to stretch the drive home from 7 minutes to 30. By this point, the endless sprawl of suburbia had tapered off and the houses grew more and more sporadic. I don’t know what drew my sister and me back to that place over and over again. Something felt special about seeing something that felt forgotten by the world. It felt timeless, even if we knew that was an illusion. The grass was always cut, and the graffiti was eventually painted over. Yet the place felt static and unchanging. The cemetery was only half full, yet no one seemed to add to it (and let’s hope that no one ever left…). It may be odd to say, but Thayer Cemetery felt dead. It didn’t feel dead because it housed the remains of people long since passed. It felt lifeless because we never saw anyone else there besides us. No one seemed to visit. No one seemed to care about the moss and graffiti. No one seemed to know stories about the people there. Many people didn’t even know that this place existed. My sister and I could visit, we could hold on to the memory, the names on the gravestones and the poems inscribed on them, but that would never be enough to make Thayer Cemetery feel like it was anything other than a forgotten burial ground. Most people today know the markers of human life: heartbeat, pulse, brain activity, etc. Knowing what signs of life there are in other things is much more difficult. What do we look for when considering if a TV show is truly alive rather than a zombie kept alive by the will of studio executives and writers willing to cannibalize the jokes of earlier seasons? When is a remake or reboot a living work of art rather than a soulless cash grab? When is an organization living out its mission and when is it on life support, kept alive because of its legacy and reputation? When are relationships life-giving and when are they a memorial for reminiscing about a shared history? When do we truly feel alive, and when does it feel like we are a monument to a life we once lived? Our Annual Meeting is not just a time to remember the year that just passed nor is it a memorial to what has been and now is no longer. The annual meeting is a check-in point where we see if our congregation still has signs of life and ministry. It asks us to reflect on whether we have responded to our calling and if we have the tools to do so next year. It is a time to celebrate what has been but also to lay plans for the road ahead. It is a time to make changes if we discover that we have become frozen in time, like a carved stone left out in the wind and the rain. There are folks in the church-world, particularly those who have been a part of church who have closed, who share the sentiment that, “As I am now / soon you will be / So then / prepare to follow me.” I am not yet ready say that this congregation is ready for the grave; but if we truly want to live, we need to be able to say why and then work for it. So, join me this Sunday after worship for our yearly physical check-up where we will be assessing where we have been and what is ahead. See you all there, Pastor Chris While things in the life of Northminster feel calm compared to Fall 2024, there has been lots of work that has continued into the new year. Just to make sure that you don’t miss the individual pieces, here is a quick snapshot of what is going on and what is coming up. Game Night: Feb 22 at 7 p.m. in the Lounge Our Outreach, Fellowship, and Education team has been in touch with folks at CCB to plan a joint game night. While we have hosted many game nights in the past, OF&E felt that a bit of levity was the perfect way to get to know members of the congregation we are sharing space with. Bring your favorite game and snacks to share! Nominations: Committee Restructuring This past Thursday, Session voted to approve our restructuring plan and set the first All-Committee Meeting to March 23rd after worship. This meeting is open to all to attend, and lunch will be provided. Nominations has been holding meetings after worship to explain this plan that you can find HERE. Now that the plan is approved, Nominations will be working to fill the 3 Committee Moderator Positions (formerly chairs) and 8 Committee Coordinator Positions. If you are interested, please contact Pastor Chris, Chris Kondak, Sue Fish, Ann Cole, Becky Pocisk, or Karen Joy. Annual Meeting of the Corporation and Congregation: February 23rd after worship, in person and online Our annual meeting will be held two Sundays from now. For those attending in person, lunch will be provided potluck style. We will hear reports about the 2024 year. At the end of the meeting, there will be time to hear feedback about the ongoing relationship with the Congregational Church of Birmingham and the Restructuring Plan. If you have not yet done so, please submit your Committee Annual Report to Suzanne by February 21. PCUSA Office of Public Witness I know that many of you are distressed about the changes going on at the national level. It can feel like we are powerless to do anything to affect real change by ourselves. That is why the PCUSA Office of Public Witness has put together a statement including ways that we can join together as people of faith and Presbyterians to make the changes that are needed in the world today. Click here to read that letter and access the resources listed therein: Blessings,
Pastor Chris If you feel overwhelmed by the news lately, you are not alone. The structures that support our society are being undermined and dismantled. Each day it seems like a new department in the government is being attacked. Tariffs and retaliatory tariffs are being threatened, imposed, and halted. Anxiety is increasing about the bird flu and plane crashes. Unelected people are accessing secure data and unqualified people are being confirmed by Congress. While some may accuse me of breaking out my tinfoil hat, I believe that this cacophony of news is meant to overwhelm and dis-empower us. If you are feeling discouraged and powerless to stop this avalanche, I believe that that is the point.
But, if that is the point, then what do we do? We do what we can and trust others to do the rest. Unlike what is shown in superhero movies, no one person can save the world by themselves. Saving the world is a group project that we work on together over years. Yes, the manager of the group project is currently undoing the work that we have carefully put together over decades. So, as we work to prevent the undoing of this great group project, you cannot hold the group together on your own. It is another misleading lie that keeps us dis-empowered: that we can do nothing if we can’t do it all. Instead of giving up hope, you must play your part and resist where you can. As the Body of Christ, we know that some people are meant to be the hands that reach out to those that are struggling. Others are meant to be the eyes and ears that witness while still others are the lips that are meant to tell the story. Some people are the feet that will walk us to new places and others are the spine to help hold us upright. We recognize that, as a church, we need everyone’s gifts and talents in order to have a vibrant ministry. In the same way, we honor the role that every person plays in society: from the humble service worker to the teachers, to the artists, to the lawyers, and the accountants. As we resist the dismantling of our society, its guardrails and safety nets, we all have a part to play. Lawyers are working on legal challenges while others are giving safe haven. Some are adding internal friction by not obeying what they are told to do, and others are organizing in their own communities. Some are speaking loudly in resistance, others are educating, and still others are comforting the distraught. Some will take on financial hardship to do what is right while others will donate to support those who are struggling. In all of this, there is a role for you to play. You do not have to do all of these things, but please consider what you can do. I know that my role is, in part, to encourage the discouraged, to empower those who feel dis-empowered, and to speak to morality and ethics. What is your role? What part are you going to play? What will you do to keep from despairing? As depressing as it may seem, I do not believe that we will be able to preserve all of the work that our society has accomplished; but I do believe that we can save some of it. Moreover, I believe that we can preserve our integrity and our resolve to create a better world for all people everywhere - but we will need everyone to play their parts to do so. Blessings, 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
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