Have you ever been stuck? Once I got stuck in the Detroit airport. And I was on my way home. I had already been on my trip. I actually caught an earlier flight from wherever I had been to Detroit. But my luggage did not. So I had to wait in Detroit for my bags to catch up with me. The airline would not pay to deliver my bag to Toledo because it was on the correct, original flight, you see. So I waited in the airport, tired, waiting for the flight to arrive. When my bag finally arrived, I got in my car, drove out of the parking garage, and then my credit card got stuck in the machine. I had to sit there and wait while a maintenance truck showed up with a guy with a key to get my card out of the machine. I was tired and I was stuck in the Detroit Airport. I just wanted to get home to see my husband, my kids, and to sleep in my own bed. But I was stuck. I was never so happy to be freed from the Detroit Metropolitan International Airport. Do you ever get stuck? And just want to be free?
Today is the day we in the Church of Jesus Christ call Pentecost. It is a day of getting “unstuck.” On this day, fifty days after Jesus’ had been crucified and rose from the dead, his disciples were left behind here on Earth, and they really did not know what to do without their leader. They didn’t know what to do. They were sitting in a room, moping around, waiting, and wondering how on earth they could lead this movement without Jesus. They had lost their momentum, their fire in the belly. They needed vision, they needed a plan, and they needed power to face the opposition in the world that had put Jesus to death. They loved God, but they were discouraged. They were stuck.
So, as this wonderful, powerful, mysterious story goes, God came to them – in the form of the Holy Spirit, some old school churches still call it the Holy Ghost. The people described it like a gale force wind that just blew the windows and doors all open. It was like fire that burned in their hearts. Do you know the feeling, when you are so full of passion and energy and NO ONE can stop you? That is how they felt. God filled them with power for the mission of sharing God’s love.
They were unstoppable. They had skills they had never had before. They all started preaching in all the languages of all the people from all the surrounding countries. There were visitors in Jerusalem from all these other countries, and these poor, uneducated disciples from Galilee started preaching in the languages of all these other places. It was surely a miracle!
We call this day, Pentecost, the birthday of the church. It’s the day the first followers of Jesus, got unstuck. They were on fire with the ministry of telling other people how their lives could be changed by the love of God.
Well, do you remember our picture from last week? It was someone trying to start a fire. It was a metaphor for the Spirit of God inside each of us, a tiny ember that begins to grow. When we invite the Spirit of Pentecost to come into us, then that tiny fire has the ability to grow and it can eventually blaze like a roaring fire inside of us. That empowers us to go and change the world.
So, what does this mean for us, as a young church, The Village Church? In many ways we are still like that tiny ember from last week. God is still stoking the flame. We have already had some moments of blazing, haven’t we? Do you remember the day we baptized Jesse, Sarah, Vanetta and Faith, and some others? What a great day of claiming folks as part of the family of God! As tiny as our ember is, remember the day we had 100 people out front, for a rally against bullying? It was a powerful day! With 50 or so people in worship, less than a week to plan, and Facebook, we got a 100 people outside to fight injustice. We certainly felt God giving us strength to work for justice in our world on that day. And remember when we raised close to $4000 for our Christmas offering to help people living with AIDS. Surely the power of the Holy Spirit was with us in that amazing act of generosity!
But sometimes in the last few months, I think it would be safe to say, our flame has been a little weak. It happens. No fire can be roaring every day. This past week Kurt, Pat, Cindy, Crystal and I (and our kids) were up at Lakeside at the West Ohio Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Our brothers and sisters in the UCC were in Tiffin at the same time. The theme for the week was “Unleashing New Life: New Places, New People, Renewed Churches.” Kurt got to speak to the laity session on Sunday night and talk about The Village and he did a great job (Kurt was fired up by over a thousand people repeating the Village Statement and cheering us on). There were some workshops about church planting. I must confess, I was a bit discouraged as the Conference approached. They asked some pastors of some bigger church plants to lead a workshop and tell their story. Sometimes, I get find myself comparing The Village to other church plants and I feel that, because we don’t have as many people as some others, that maybe I’m not working hard enough or I’m doing something wrong.
As I heard some of the pastors of these other churches talk, thought, I was reminded of what my coach, and other trusted colleagues have told me over and over again, “it’s apples and oranges.” Every church plant is different. We have our own unique challenges. And as I kept telling our story to people who asked, everyone was so thrilled to hear of how we are doing so far. Our friend, who is pastor of the biggest church of our conference, and the head of our delegation to our big, nationwide, General Conference, thanks God for us and is praying for us every day. And they just wanted me to tell you, that we need to hang in there, and have faith, because the ministry we are doing here is so important.
It is hard work to plant an urban church, reaching out to progressive minded folks who are disillusioned with the Church. It is hard work to plant a church in a city like Toledo where the economy is so bad and where people are so discouraged. This is WHY our work is so important. This is WHY God put us here for such a time as this. People in this city NEED HOPE. We need God, don’t we? We need the love of God, and the power of God, and the promise that God can give us new life.
So my friends, on this day of Pentecost, we celebrate the Spirit of God coming to us and filling us with power and getting us unstuck. I have an invitation for you. Will you join me in prayer? Will you pray for our Village Church? Every day? Will you pray for God’s Spirit to infuse us with new life?
God has already blessed us so much already. We have an amazing community here. Just look around. Think of the people here and what they mean to you. Think of the people who are not here today. Give someone a call today and tell them you missed them. It will matter to them, trust me.
And then, pray for God’s vision for next steps at our Village. One of the ideas I have been pondering, is a way to expand the use of our space here on Monroe Street to open it up to our community. One idea that Kurt and I keep coming back to is developing our place as a music and arts venue, especially for young musicians and artists. Since the coffee house down the street, The Ground Level, closed last year, there has been a need in Toledo for an alcohol free venue in town for musicians to perform. A few of us have been talking about how we might use The Village for such a space, a music & arts venue for Toledo. If you think God might be speaking to you about this idea, would you let me know? Contact Cheri via email at cheri@villageohio.org to talk about this idea.
Over the next few weeks, we are going to focus our worship on prayer, and listening to God. And Sr. Breta and Sr. Sandy are going to lead a prayer retreat in July, and I hope you will attend. It will continue to center yourself personally and prepare to be a part of what God has next for you and for your community. In my own life, when I feel stuck, like I did in that parking lot at the Detroit airport, I always have to call upon God in prayer to help me get unstuck. I need space in my life to breathe and listen to God.
The Day of Pentecost is about an amazing time when God’s people opened themselves to God, and God came to them. Join me in prayer today, and in the days to come. Let us pray for the power of God to come upon the Village Church, and to take those embers we have for ministry and let them blaze into a roaring fire. I pray that God will use us to bring hope to our city. Will you pray with me?
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