Montclair Presbyterian Church

The youth group had such a great time on Sunday that I felt we should share our experiences more widely. So, for you, the wider church community, here is some analysis, some commentary, and a few photos. The theme of our Sunday night meeting was “trust.” This had been put on a card in our suggestion box: “How do you know if you can trust someone?” When I get questions like that I always wish I had an easy answer. Well, I didn’t and still don’t, but we certainly talked about it, and explored it with not just words and stories, but with hands, feet, and all five senses.

For example, at one point, a member of the Youth Group found herself trusting her fellow members as they lifted her (blindfolded) on a board… though she didn’t ever get as close to the ceiling as she thought she was, before they tumbled her down to the floor, three inches below.

And later on, with much giggling glee, we all trusted our partners to feed us, to “shave” us (with whipped cream and a spoon “razor”), to style our hair, or to apply our makeup, while seated behind us. This was clearly also an exercise in silliness and in letting go of inhibitions, but the youth all made great choices when asked to choose somebody to whom they could entrust their face.

A youth leader’s toolbox and bookshelves are always full of trust-builders… from the classic “fall and we’ll catch you,” to more treacherous ones like ropes courses and team challenges. This is a large part of modern youth ministry, but it’s unfortunately not a large theme in the church as a whole — or even, in the Bible. I found this when I went looking for a relevant Bible verse to tie into our theme, and found much more somber messages. The Bible seems to say it over and over: be careful whom you trust! Put your trust in God alone, or you will be let down!

Trust is a basic human need — from infancy on we need to trust people — but it is so easily abused and damaged. The verse we did find useful eventually was Jesus’ instructions to his disciples in Matthew 10:18: “Be as wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves.” When it comes to trust, some of us are serpents (calculating, careful, perhaps cold) and some are doves (nice, naive, perhaps taken advantage of). We need to find the line in between where we can both do no harm and take no nonsense.

My prayer is that MPC can be the kind of place where we can learn to trust one another. Perhaps not necessarily with a blind lipstick experience, but to trust one another to carry our burdens, share our joys and our worries, and to work in shared ministry together.

Every Blessing,
Talitha

Rev. Talitha will be taking one week of study leave, Jan 24-31. During this time she will be working on long-term goals, planning curriculum for the youth group, meeting with colleagues, and reading good books in theological libraries. Although she is not out of town, she will be out of the office and off email! Use her cell phone for emergencies.

I had a lot of fun preaching this Sunday! (Click on this link to listen to the sermon.) During my sermon, I enjoyed walking up and down amongst the tables, hearing your thoughtful contributions to the conversation, and seeing you in a new light. Not to mention, sprinkling everyone with water in remembrance of baptism. For those who weren’t there, one thing we did was to reflect on what new names God might give us, and some extraverted (or maybe just brave?) souls shared their names by creating new nametags. I loved this because I could see you differently, as your best selves, in the light of God’s love. And I also loved the idea that those who chose NOT to share with a nametag must be walking around with some wonderful secrets!

I mused, at one point during the sermon, how nice it could be if we had visible signs of our baptismal identity, like an “organic” sticker on an avocado or an embroidered “I belong to God” headband to wear for all to see. I imagined that it could help us all in our efforts to respect and be kind to one another. Two thoughts were shared with me promptly after the service, and both are worth sharing.

One – quite lighthearted – here’s a link to the delightful story of a girl who puzzles her mom with a green blob and its secret meaning. It’s a two-minute read. Read it!

And two – “It’s a hijab!”

Yes. While the reasons why some Muslim women wear hijab are very complex and filled with cultural and political factors, I think it is so helpful to take this view, and even to extend it to any of the other external religious signs we might see. If we see a person wearing a hijab — or yarmulke or crucifix or fringes — we can make the effort to see those symbols as saying “I belong to God.” Of course, we’d be well off making that effort to see the Divine in everyone, all the time, but for those of us who need reminders, consider this a cue.

And speaking of cues, I wanted to share a tiny baptism-related cue that I’ve found helpful in my daily life. I’ve been looking for ways to pray more (yup, even pastors find it hard!) and a friend gave me this wonderful suggestion. Have a simple prayer – no more than a sentence or two – to say when you wash your hands. Hand-washing is a frequent and usually private activity, and it is easy enough that you can slip some words through your mind as the water slips over your hands. How about remembering “I belong to God” each time?

I give thanks that as Presbyterians we only celebrate two sacraments – baptism and communion – and that they are so blessedly simple. Every day we eat, drink, and wash. May your day be infused with holiness, and may you remember God’s love for yourself and everyone you meet.

Every Blessing,
Talitha