April 2006

Dear Grand Family,

The seasons are changing.  After the driest fall and winter in several years, we have finally received some rain; although too much, too fast for some areas.  Spring is officially here with the end of Lent coming soon.  This year Easter and Income Tax Day converge to within a day of each other.  We celebrate Jesus' rising from the grave and we pony up to part of our responsibilities as citizens all about the same time.

Jesus' resurrection is about his message of following him, being a disciple, and caring for all the world, getting spread to everyone.  It's really a message about responsibility; about saying "Yes, I will follow you".  I suppose, if you think of it, Easter is about saying "Yes, the beggar on the side of the road is my responsibility", and "Yes, religious excesses that keep people crippled and women in their place are wrong", and "Yes, piety has its place, but when it's held over other people's heads as a kind of threat, then it's not pious at all".  If Easter has to do with how we live out our discipleship, then maybe it also has to do with how we live out our citizenship.  And, maybe that has to do with being a better nation, like extending our hospitality to strangers, and making sure that the people we elect to make decisions on our behalf don't get so carried away that they make it illegal for the Church to care for strangers.  Maybe that has some implications about not just expecting, but insisting that our representatives meet the highest ethical standards, going beyond the minimum that's required by the law because it's the right thing to do.  Maybe that has something to do with being forthright in our democratic republic about not giving up our system of checks and balances within our government.  After all, that was put in place because of old Calvin's vehement belief in the depravity of human beings, which means we are all inclined to sin or act in our own self-interest without the accountability of a larger community, public officials included.  Maybe that has something to do with not just caring about the powerful and the rich, but about taking responsibility for the poor, the jailed, the bankrupt, the mentally ill, the ones with no healthcare and a few others too.

If Easter is about living out the gospel and tax season is about living out our citizenship, then maybe dropping that envelope with the check to the I.R.S. in it can become something of a holy experience of saying "Yes, this is how I take responsibility for my country, and my neighbors, and the world".  And if there are some things that you happen to disagree with, then maybe that can be a good motivation to say "I'm going to change it for the better".  And as you give to the Church maybe you can say "I'm going to be changed this way because I'm following Jesus".

Grace and Peace,

 Lander

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March 2006

Dear Grand Family,

From ashes to the empty tomb, we make the Lenten journey once again.  Lent is the season of preparation for Easter.  But it gets its start with the reminder that we are but dust, formed by God, with life breathed into us by our Maker.  The Biblical journey starts with Jesus' trip down the mountain from where the disciples heard the announcement about who he was, where he healed a man.  It's a journey that leads us into the midst of trouble; the troubling news that we're merely creatures; into the troubles of sick people who beg for healing; into the troubles of controversies that never seem to go away; all the way to the trouble of the cross.  If Jesus had just decided to get along and not raise questions that disturbed the status quo, or to heal people for the right reasons at the right times, or to instruct his followers to go by the rules, there would have maybe been a more peaceful outcome. 

 

He went instead, to where the trouble was.  He made his presence known in the places where people were hurt or miserable, and he often times took the risk of trading places with them.  The Lenten journey leads right to the grave where he brought Lazarus out, and so he was put in the tomb.  So, here we go again right toward the trouble.  But, as the U2's lead singer Bono said recently at the National Prayer Breakfast, "God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house.  God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives.  God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war.  God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives.  And God is with us, if we are with them."  Maybe the Good News is for us to be troubled with that all the way to Easter.

 

Grace and Peace,

 Lander

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February 2006

Dear Grand Family,

This month, we’ll celebrate our Valentines Dinner on the 12th. You’ll be able to find details in this issue of the newsletter. When I think of this particular dinner and many of us at Grand Avenue, I’m reminded of how many people have had persons dear to them whom they have lost. Our Valentines Dinner is really a good excuse for the men of the church to prepare a meal for everyone else as a way of saying thanks, and as a little act of service. More than that, though, it is an occasion to do some remembering about the people whom we have loved and still love in many different ways.

Recently, I heard Roseanne Carter Cash interviewed by Scott Simon on Weekend Edition, a news program on National Public Radio. She has a new CD out, titled “Black Cadillac,” which is a series of songs that she wrote after losing her mother, step-mother, dad and step-sister within two years. She speaks very touchingly about thinking of her parents as being the wall between death and her generation, and then the stinging realization that without her parents, she is now that wall for her children. The title piece is about being driven away from the graveside in that particular car.

We each have the struggle, at some point, of coming to terms with our own mortality; which Ms. Cash expresses eloquently in her music and in the interview. Along the way, perhaps we come to know the blessings of love - with parents; with the love of our life; with children; with members of a very caring church family; if we’re particularly fortunate, with an even larger circle of friends to whom we may be connected across many miles, possibly generations. Our Valentines Dinner is a fine time to celebrate love in so many different forms, to have fun giving thanks, and to enjoy a good meal. You don’t have to have a partner for this meal. You just have to be hungry and know that you’re loved. So, come and say thanks, eat well, and sing loud. Dinner will be served at 6:00.

Grace and Peace,

Lander

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January 2006

Dear Grand Family,

The New Year is here, but we are still in the midst of the Christmas Season. Yes, many of us may have already put away the decorations and swept up the needles left by the drying tree, but Christmas Day only marks the first of the twelve days of Christmas. It ends on the 6th of January, with Epiphany, the traditional day of celebrating both the appearance of the Magi and the incarnation through God’s revelation of Jesus Christ. The boxes marked "Christmas decorations" may be safely put away, and the wrapping paper already out with the other recyclables; but Christmas is still here, still beckoning us to not pack away the incarnation with all those delicate ornaments, not to box up our sense of giving to others, or to sweep out those found-again understandings of recognizing God’s presence in one who is so vulnerable as to be born in a feedbox to an unwed mother.
Christmas extends beyond that most familiar day into a season of recognizing the incarnation. Maybe it will be that we discover ourselves looking beyond Christmas for the many different ways that God’s love and justice, compassion and guidance, openness and vulnerability may continue to be made manifest in us and in our world as we seek to be faithful in living Christmas far beyond December 25th.
Grace and peace,
Lander

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December 2005

Dear Grand Family,
          The season of Advent is about watching and waiting, about preparing and being ready for the coming of the Christ.  Several aspects of preparing have to do with living in a right way, working to have the world shift toward the intentions God has had for us, making our relationships right.  Those all have to do with justice.  Advent is also a time to stop, breathe in this cool air, consider the Light of the world in the midst of the darkness, and do some pondering amid the rush.
          In the midst of all this preparing, many of us are aware of some tough times, too.  What do we do when we see the seasons stretched out before us but we are suddenly aware of life’s extreme limitations?  How does that change our preparation?  What does it do to our perspective?  What do we prepare for then?
          When I think of Advent I think of the long hoped for arrival of the one who loves us deeply, the one who is present with us even in what feels like absence, the one who offers assurance even when it feels like there is nothing to hope for.  The Hebrews hoped for that kind of presence, and found it in the birth of Jesus.  The promise of Advent is that we will be completely surprised by God’s presence with us. 
          I hope, as we make these preparations this season, that we may be just as surprised by the form, just as shocked by the audacity of God, just as humbled and reassured as all those people were who made their way to an out of the way manger, in an out of the way town, to discover that God’s presence had come in the flesh and blood of a little baby.

Grace and Peace,
Lander

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November 2005

Dear Grand Family,

The fall season seems to be going by in a flash.  Halloween has passed, November is here, and the cooler, but continued dry weather has arrived.  This coming Sunday we will observe All Saints’ Day once again.  It is the day that we remember and give thanks for all those faithful who have died this past year.  It’s a service recalling the names of those persons and recognizing the ways we are still connected with them beyond death.  The service will include communion as we receive the nourishment of God to sustain our lives, and are reminded that we are connected with those saints through the Church Triumphant in this taste of the banquet table that God has set for us.

I encourage you to do some thinking about those folks who have been dear to you, even those people you may not know, who have completed their lives and have received the fullest assurance of God’s embrace.  Then, come ready to remember and celebrate their lives as we offer our thanks for them.

Grace and Peace,
Lander

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October 2005


Dear Grand Family,

This early part of the fall has turned into a season that few of us will forget when it comes to our neighbors dealing with severe storms.  While Katrina and Rita made no impact upon us weather wise, not even getting a tangential benefit of rain, they have certainly made a significant impact upon people living not so far from us, those finding their way to us looking for a safe haven, and those of us who have sought to offer an organized response.  After just a few phone calls, I discovered that there were many people in our community eager and willing to work together to help people in need. 

In the three and a half weeks since Katrina struck the gulf coast over 30 churches, social service agencies, non-profit organizations, and government entities have joined together to help.  There have been about 1,700 volunteers with Salvation Army and 1,600 Red Cross volunteers.  Approximately 25,000 pieces of clothing have been given to people; $11,500 in gasoline vouchers; $85,000 given by churches in our community; and $669,000 in assistance by the Red Cross.  This is to name just a few of the things that could be mentioned.

I want you to know how much I appreciate each of you for the ways that you have given so generously to help these strangers in our midst, those of you who have volunteered with the Help Center and with other organizations, for your prayers of concern and support that you have offered, and for your understanding of the time that working on this community effort has taken me away from the office.  It has been inspiring to see just how well we have pulled together when the need was before us.  Thank you very much.

There is one more thing that I would like to ask of you and hope you will indulge me in this task.  One of the important things to do as things begin to wind down from both a disaster and a response of this magnitude, is to have a very intentional time to debrief: to tell the stories to one another about the concerns that we faced; share the frustrations that we knew; and to collaborate on improving plans for ways to respond more effectively in the face of another disaster.  There are so many volunteers involved that there really is no place for all of them to meet together at one time to do this debriefing.  What I would like for us to do is to offer to host one of these gatherings of volunteers for an “After the Disaster Debriefing,” with a potluck meal that we would provide for 60 to 100 people.  Following the meal, we would allow them to meet in classrooms where Hospital, Fire, and Health Department Chaplains would facilitate discussions with the volunteers about their experiences.  We would be able to visit with them over the meal and take care of clean up while they talk.

I hope you’ll embrace this chance to give them our thanks for all that they’ve done.  We’re just now in the planning stages, but expect that we will try to do this very soon.  I’ll get word to you through announcements and e-mail about the details once they’re in place.

Thank you again for everything you have done, and for everything that you continue to do.   
Grace and Peace,
Lander.




June 2005

Dear Grand Family,

Education has been an integral part of Grand Avenue through its close association with Austin College, beginning with our founding pastor who was the president of the college.  One of the most valuable lessons for me in seminary was to understand how important it is to be engaged in life-long learning.  This summer, I will embark on a Doctor of Ministry program through McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.  Most of the work will be done here at home. But, for 3 weeks each summer, I will be in Chicago taking 3 intensive classes, which will continue for 3 years.  There will be projects and evaluations that will involve the congregation, along with papers to write and a dissertation following the final year that integrates the work.  I will begin on Sunday, June 19, with a hasty leave after worship for the airport and an orientation that night, then will be back home July 8.

I have been looking forward to getting started on this endeavor from the time the session and I began talking about it over a year ago and then presenting it to you this past December.  I cherish your support and encouragement, as well as your participation, as we begin working on this important continuing education together.

Grace and Peace,

Lander

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May 2005


Dear Grand Family,

Over the years there have been a number of folks connected with Grand Avenue who have known all too intimately the challenges of cancer.  Some have made incredible physical responses.  Others have faced it with courage and grace, even as the physical outcome was not what we would have hoped for.

 Because it is something familiar to many people, it seemed natural to welcome a group of people to Grand Avenue who will be traveling through Sherman early next month.  It is a group of bicyclers who have survived cancer, and are now working on fund raising and awareness by riding from central Texas to Alaska this summer.  There are two different groups making this 4,000 plus mile trek on two routes, with a plan to ride about 100 miles each day.  They will arrive in Sherman and stay at Grand Avenue on June 7th.  They'll have dinner at Austin College with the public invited (only because our Fellowship Hall will be full of Garage Sale items), will meet with folks from Wilson N. Jones Hospital, then get up early June 8th for breakfast and be off on the next leg of their journey.

It should be a great opportunity to meet some very interesting, ambitious, and determined young people.  We'll have a chance to hear some of their stories and to learn more about their challenge.  If you're interested in helping them along the way, you can help prepare breakfast in our kitchen, offer some encouragement, share a story yourself, give a gift toward cancer research, or offer a prayer for their traveling mercies.  It strikes me that it's not just a journey of awareness and fund-raising, but a journey of healing.  It's just the kind of thing for us to support.

My thanks goes to Jerry Bylander and Tom Nuckols for connecting them with us.

Grace and Peace,
Lander

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April 2005

Dear Grand Family,

Lander

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