Montclair Presbyterian Church

Some of you have asked more about my ordination process, so I want to update you. I am really thrilled about the outpouring of support for my ministry here and I do appreciate that many of you are eager to see the process completed. I love working here and look forward to solidifying a long-term arrangement. However, as we are Presbyterians we operate according to our church’s favorite Bible verse, I Cor. 14:40: “All things should be done decently and in order.” At times our polity may seem slow, onerous or even redundant… but Presbyterian polity provides many important checks and balances to prevent abuse of power.

Amidst the flood of horrific news stories in the past few weeks many of you probably missed the story about the struggle at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, a member of the Acts 29 evangelical church network (note: not Presbyterian!). Various complaints were being filed over the years regarding the head pastor Mark Driscoll’s manipulative and coercive leadership style, including his methods of excommunicating and shunning members who disagreed with him. Finally his deception and coercion (not to mention misogyny and bullying) have caught up with him to the point that last week Acts 29 removed Mars Hill from membership in the network, and publically stated that Driscoll needs to receive help and to be removed from the pulpit.

I would not want to gloat over another church’s misfortune but we certainly can learn from it. In the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) we have many systems of accountability that work against such abuses. Pastors are not bosses here, but are accountable to Session and to the local Presbytery. Even the most “powerful” person in our church – the Moderator of General Assembly – is merely a servant of making things run smoothly at the largest committee meeting we have. And while hiring a non-ordained staff member is an act of the congregation, ordination as Teaching Elder (pastor) is an act of the local Presbytery, and pastors are members of Presbytery rather than the congregation. So the circle of discernment is wider… and so is our accountability.

My ordination process is twofold. Much of it has already taken place under the auspices of the New York City Presbytery, where I discerned God’s call to ministry and was supported through my seminary years, internship, several examinations, and other requirements. From my initial desire to be a mission co-worker in Africa, to wanting in short succession to be a seminary professor, then a rural pastor, then a pediatric hospital chaplain, they helped me sort through God’s call and my many adventures on the way. That committee certified me as a “Candidate ready to receive a call” also known as “all but call” or ABC – meaning that I can be ordained as soon as a church calls me to a Pastor position with the agreement of a local Presbytery. The “call” process is now going into the hands of the San Francisco Presbytery. They will work with MPC to fulfill the requirements for calling a pastor – similar to the PNC that called Ben, with the additional requirement that the members of Presbytery also interview and examine the candidate when a new ordination is involved. By the way, an Associate Pastor’s job duties may not be very different from mine as Coordinator for Children, Youth, and Family Life. The main difference is that an Associate Pastor celebrates the Sacraments (communion and baptism), and has voice and vote privileges in Presbytery.

So I’d like to invite you to see it as a spiritual process along with me. Some of you may feel certain already that you would like me to be an Associate Pastor, but we will not rush ahead until our whole circle of accountability feels ready. This may include an update of our Mission Study, considering other candidates, and meetings with the local Committee on Ministry. Together we can let God’s spirit guide us through the process.

Every Blessing,
Talitha

Why go on a mission trip? Why go to help people other places when so many need help right here? Why waste so much money on airfare and luggage? Why, why, why? I am, of course, leading our youth on a mission trip starting this Saturday morning, so you may guess that I will find ways to answer these questions. But let me begin with my fist raised indignantly in the air about those questions. They are questions that need to be asked, and badly. The short-term mission trip industry is a broken and troublesome system. Churches across America spend millions of dollars each year sending unskilled teenagers to do menial labor in distant cities and countries. One example particularly sticks in my throat, of a church in Honduras that was painted three times in one year by three visiting “mission trips” who wanted to be “helpful” but didn’t really stop to ask how they could help. A lot of stupidity has been perpetuated in the name of God’s mission. When the youth got together to talk about our preparations for Memphis, I shared with them a quote from an Aboriginal Australian activist community:

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting our time.
If you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine,
then let us work together.”

Some of the youth were under the impression that we are going to Memphis because we will find the neediest of the needy there. To some extent that is true, but there are lots of needy people here in Oakland too. No, we are going to Memphis because there they are doing great work that will captivate us and inspire us for the better. We are going so that we might have the privilege of joining in some of the most exciting world-changing work around. Ten years ago Memphis did not have a single farmer’s market, and these days the city is hopping with new food options, bringing vegetables into the “food deserts,” reclaiming the neighborhoods from blight to urban farms, and finding ways to turn small gardens from expensive hobbies into money-making endeavors. With farms as small as 1/4 acre, they are making a new food economy possible.

So whenever I plan a mission trip I ask — am I doing this out of a sense of guilt or am I really trying to seek the good? If we are feeling noble about ourselves rather than humble and inspired, that’s a clue that we might be on the wrong track. There is always the existential benefit that travel adds (particularly to youth) in that it gets us out of our comfort zones and ready to look, listen, and learn. That by itself is not sufficient however. We need to be honest about the fact that we are not going to dramatically change anyone else’s lives. But we may, with God’s grace, change our own.

Please wish us safe journeys and keep us in your prayers!

Every Blessing,
Talitha

This week and last week I experienced a bit of a lull in my work load. Halfway between Family Camp and the Youth Mission Trip I have fewer things on my plate for a blessed moment… which means that I get to devote more of my time to one thing that is not calendar-driven: spiritual care. I am lucky to have this as part of my job – the pastoral work of visiting with you and supporting your spiritual journeys. Whether visiting someone in the hospital, or just chatting over a cup of tea, or reaching out by phone to someone who I know is having a hard time, providing spiritual care is one of the biggest joys of my work here at MPC.

What is spiritual care, anyway? It isn’t therapy (although we may feel some feelings). It isn’t social work (although we may solve a problem or two). It isn’t leadership training or crisis intervention or life coaching or church stewardship or Bible study. To me, spiritual care is the work of accompanying souls, bearing witness to that which lies under the surface, and holding it up to the light of God’s love. While we are bustling about busy with our lives, our souls may be secretly grieving… or struggling with conflict… or searching for meaning and direction… or even feeling lost. Or they may be bursting with joy, excitement, and love — and still not have the chance to express these. Take “soul” in the religious or psychological sense, but no matter how you take it, there is this deeper part of our selves that doesn’t get to come out and play very often because it’s too different from the rest of our lives. Maybe we don’t know what to do with it… maybe we’d rather not “go there.” If ever you find yourself feeling that deep inner disconnect, it’s time to look for some spiritual care. Come talk to me or Ben, or find another way through journaling or prayer. There are so many different ways of caring for our souls. My prayer for each of us today is that our souls may not feel alone.

Every Blessing,
Talitha