Montclair Presbyterian Church

Dear Friends,

When I took the job of being your pastor some friends of mine, Gerry and Jeanne Foisy, gave me a beautiful set of communion chalices, which I keep on a shelf in my office.  Jerry and Jeanne are people I see a few times a year, usually at parties thrown by mutual friends, and while we don’t spend a lot of time together I consider them to be dear friends. They are truly good people.

Jerry is not a superhero, but like a superhero, he has an alter ego–complete with a costume–that has made him famous. He is Mr. Garlic, the official spokesperson for the Gilroy Garlic Festival. His Garlic outfit is kind of silly, but Mr. Garlic is larger than life and able to transcend the goofiness of the disguise such that he is a mascot not just for the Gilroy Foods (which sponsors the festival), but also for all in life that is joyful and kind and civic minded (which isn’t an easy thing to do when you are dressed up like a giant garlic bulb, but for years Jerry has managed to pull it off with grace).

A few weeks ago, I got the sad news that this year would be Gerry’s last Garlic festival as Mr. Garlic.  For personal and health reasons, Gerry has decided to pass the weird garlic outfit on to someone else, which has all of Gerry’s friends grieving a little. Life moves on. Even great community institutions transition. For Gerry it’s a costume, but for the rest of us it’s a reminder that life is joyful but short. On Sunday, during communion, I’m going to honor Jerry by using the chalices he gave me to celebrate my coming to Montclair.

It is said often that a village must join together in the work of raising children; I think community is equally important as we live through our adult lives. I’m happy to have had Mr. Garlic as a small but important part of my village, and I look forward to honoring my friend with you on Sunday.

Very Best,

Ben

P.S. You can read more about Mr. Garlic here:  http://www.gilroydispatch.com/lifestyles/mr-garlic-passes-the-bulb/article_58624ba0-5071-11e6-bc76-7b773a633793.html?mode=jqm

Friends,

This year’s General Assembly in Portland covered a lot of controversial issues, most of which addressed issues of urgent contemporary importance. Presbyterians at General Assembly talked about and took actions around such matters as justice in the Holy Land, climate change, and racial inequality. We also elected a set of top denominational officials that, for the first time in our history, does not include a White male. But, historically speaking, the most important decision we made may have been taking the last step in adopting the Belhar Confession as part of the Presbyterian Book of Confessions.

The Book of Confessions, which is part of our constitution, is a collection of statements Christians have made over the years, which the Presbyterian Church (USA) considers to be faithful statements within their historical contexts. These confessions generally date from one of three historical eras. There are two confessions from the fourth century of the common era, when the church was working our key theological ideas about Jesus and about the Trinity; there are several confessions dating from the time of the Reformation, when Protestant Christians were figuring out what it meant to practice a faith not tied to Rome; and there are confessions from the 20^th century.

The first 20^th century confession is a rejection of Nazism, crafted by a dissenting movement within the German Protestant Church. The second 20^th century confession is a pastoral response to the upheavals of the 1960’s. The third 20^th century confession was written as part of the reunion of Northern and Southern Presbyterian Churches, which had been divided since the Civil War.

Now we’re including the Belhar Confession, a statement of faith from Apartheid-era South Africa. It is a statement that condemns any faith that divides people along racial lines, and, as such, it has the potential to speak powerfully to issues such as economic, educational, and structural inequality in the United States, the occupation of Palestine and immigration. It is—in my opinion—a most welcome addition to our Book of Confessions.

For a PDF version of the Belhar Confession, visit: https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/theologyandworship/pdfs/belhar.pdf

God’s Peace,

Ben

Friends,

Greetings from the Presbyterian conference center at Zephyr Point on Lake Tahoe. I’m here for the week, teaching a class on Islam. There is a good group gathered for something called “The Zephyr Experience,” which is kind of like a mini seminary for lay-people. There are six teachers up here, at least half of whom have a relationship with MPC (the other two MPC-related teachers are our former interim pastor Beth Brown and Greg Love, who teaches in our adult education program).

Ordinarily I wouldn’t write a contact piece while away, but this week I wanted to make sure I provided you with an invitation to talk to me if you have any questions about Gil and Maria Chiguila. As you may know, Gil and Maria worked for our congregation for eighteen years. They were our janitors, our caretakers, and they did odd bits of handiwork around the church keeping us in good repair. During the span of their employment, Gil and Maria lived in the caretakers’ house, just across the creek from our sanctuary.

In 2012, when Beth was our interim pastor, the session decided the church needed to change its staffing model. The church was no longer big enough to afford a caretaker, and the house was a resource that was needed to support the church in other ways—either as staff housing or as a way to generate rental income. At the time Gil and Maria’s daughter, Rosa was in her first year of college, and Gil and Maria asked if they could stay in their house until Rosa graduated. This seemed fair, and so we arranged for Gil and Maria to stay on a few more years.

Rosa has now graduated and we are now in the early stages of renovating the caretakers’ house for use as a manse for our Associate Pastor Talitha and her fiancée, Michael. If you have any questions about any of this, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can email me this week ben@mpcfamily.org (though the wifi is spotty where I am staying); or we can talk after I’m down from the mountain.

By the way, Beth says “hi.”

God’s Peace,

Ben

Rev. Ben has been at General Assembly in Oregon the first part of this week. He returned today – welcome home!

Friends,

Before writing these words, I voted.

In thirty years I have been eligible to vote, I doubt I’ve missed more than one or two opportunities to cast a ballot. I have voted for Presidents and for school board members in tiny rural districts. I have voted in person and by mail; I’ve voted in two states and in six counties. I’ve used paper and ink, punch cards, computers, and Eisenhower-era voting machines with levers and springs.

This was the first time I’ve ever voted with a provisional ballot. Despite changing my voter registration online before I moved into the manse, I didn’t receive a sample ballot in the mail and tried to find myself signed up to vote in two different local precincts. When I finally did vote, no one gave me a sticker.

It was a frustrating experience, but I’m glad I got to vote because I know voting is a gift, an important part of what it means to be an American, a Californian, a resident of Alameda County, and a member of the Oakland community.

Besides, I am an interested observer of the political process. In fact, I tend to get a little bit obsessed about the subject. This obsession can get a little bit tricky for me because I am a pastor and as such my political speech—in certain contexts—can be limited by tax laws that prohibit non-profit organizations like churches from endorsing or opposing political candidates (for example, I cannot say that our Presbyterian heritage, a sound reading of scripture, or simple spiritual discernment should discourage anyone from voting for a certain racist, dishonest, small-handed, former reality TV star, who, in deference to the law, will go unnamed).

I happen to find the current laws around political speech by non-profits to be restrictive, but I know mine is a minority position on the matter, particularly among progressives. It may be that there are societal benefits to the law that I have to consider or appreciate, and if that’s the case I want to know about it. This is why I’m glad our congregation’s  earth care and social justice/peacemaking committees are hosting a brunch that will explore the intersection of faith and politics. It seems like a great opportunity to learn together and to talk together as a community of faith about important and complicated issues that also happen to be really interesting.

I hope you will join us on June 19 for a brunch and discussion after celebration. If you cannot make the brunch/discussion, please send me an email, give me a call, or stop by my office to let me know what you think about the issue of tax law and political speech.

I look forward to a stimulating, well-informed conversation!

God’s Peace,

Ben

Friends,

On Sunday afternoon I drove to Mendocino. Ordinarily, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we have a big family gathering that involves lots of food, usually cooked over an open fire. This year was a bit different: my eldest brother and my youngest sister had a gig that night, singing duets down at the Mendocino Odd Fellows Hall. My siblings shared the stage with another singer/songwriter duo, each pair alternating songs, with plenty of friendly banter in between. It was a lovely concert, and a lovely experience of small-town life.

Before the show, I had a nice talk with the new pastor of my childhood church. He’s a good guy. He’s a progressive-leaning Presbyterian, learning to lead a theologically mixed church–and doing a great job according to all reports.

During intermission, I ran into my oldest friend — someone I’ve known since we were in preschool together. She was up from Santa Cruz to celebrate her father’s 75th birthday. After catching up and hearing news of each other’s kids, we walked through the crowd to have our picture taken with our kindergarten teacher who was out enjoying the music. Our former teacher is now retired and spends her days playing fiddle and learning aerial silks at a local circus school.

When the concert came to an end, most of the hundred or so folks who came to hear music stayed to help clean up. Before going home we took loads of folding chairs to the Presbyterian Church and to the home of one of the concert organizers.

It strikes me that this is why I got rid of my iPhone. Whenever possible, I want to live a life that isn’t mediated by a screen. As much as I enjoy social media and email, I also acknowledge there is no substitute for real human interaction, especially when that human interaction happens in the place where music and old friends meet.

Here’s to Life!

Ben

P.S. If you would like to experience some of what I got to hear last week, be sure not to miss my sister’s concert at MPC this Friday evening at 7:30. My brother will be there too, so you’ll hear a few duets.

P.P.S. Here is a photo of me, my old friend, Lisa, and our kindergarten teacher.

Dear Friends,

On Tuesday afternoon, just before I sat down to write my weekly column for Contact a group of MPC folks got together to look at the church calendar for the next year, and I have come away from that meeting with some good news and some bad news for the Montclair Presbyterian Church family.

I’ll start with the bad news: the calendar is amazingly full. This is a challenge because a lot of us have things we want to do at the same time, and no one could possibly attend every event, class, concert, training, or party that’s happening in the life of our congregation. A look at the calendar can feel a bit overwhelming.

Now for the good news: the calendar is amazingly full. Our congregation is full of life. We are bursting with energy. We growing so fast, the calendar feels like an old pair of Toughskins that no longer snap around the waist, which can feel uncomfortable, but the discomfort is a sign of growth, which, in turn, is a sign of health. As hard as it is to accommodate all the events our church members want on the calendar, it is a problem I love. From where I sit, the good of a full calendar far outweighs the bad.

Thank you for being an active church with a full calendar. I love the energy, creativity, and joy I feel in our congregation.

Warmly,

Ben

Friends,

According to the traditions of the Church calendar, this coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday, a day I love because I love the Trinity. Not only is the Trinity comprised of “The Three Men I Admire Most” (to quote a song), but the doctrine of the Trinity is a belief that connects Christians to the divine mystery of God.

Or at least the Trinity has the potential to connect people to God’s mystery. The Trinity is also a matter of theological orthodoxy, which means that over the years a lot of folks have become overly attached to their beliefs about God being at the same time one and three. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The Trinity is an idea that makes no sense. God cannot be one and three any more than a circle can be a square. Yet for at least 1700 years, most Christians have affirmed this logical impossibility as a core belief, which is wonderful. Our faith is built on something that cannot be explained. It’s a mystery, which is something that should prevent us from taking ourselves or our religion too seriously.

When it comes to religion, not taking one’s self too seriously is a moral virtue. As far as I know, no one has ever committed acts of terror or violence in God’s name after saying, “My beliefs about God are an illogical mystery.”

So I say, “Three cheers for the Trinity!” I believe in celebrating those beliefs that must be imagined rather than explained. May such beliefs keep us humble and peaceable and filled with joy.

So friends,

            The Creator who brought order out of chaos,

                        give peace to you.

            The Savior who stilled the raging storm,

                        give peace to you

            The Spirit who broods on the deeps,

                        give peace to you.

And in all things may the Trinity mystery instruct your faith so that yours is a religion of joyful and humble good will.

God’s Peace,

Ben

Friends,

Back in March, my friend Geoff Browning paid a visit to MPC to preach and to talk to us about what it might look like for our congregation to consider self-identifying as a “Peace Church”, a designation that would recognize our congregation’s historic commitment to peacemaking, and opposition to America’s various and ongoing wars. A peace church designation might also allow the young people of the church to register as pacifists and opt out of a possible draft.

The process of becoming a peace church involves a lot of conversations. We have to discern if we, as a congregation, really do oppose war and, if so, on what terms. We need to explore historical expressions of Christian pacifism and decide if they give voice to our beliefs. If they don’t, we need to talk about new ways of expressing our opposition to violence.

After our conversations, we may decide not to self-designate as a peace church. But it seems to me that the conversation is important, and for that reason I’d like to invite you to join me and the Social Justice and Peacemaking Committee in a conversation about what it might look like for us to be a peace church. We will be meeting on Tuesday, May 24th at 7PM in the Thornhill room. I hope you can join us for this important conversation.

God’s Peace,

Ben