I read the following by John Pavlovitz and it so resonated with me, I wanted to share it with you, our Beloved Seventh Avenue Community.

The Kind of Christian I Refuse to Be

“I am a Christian.

Actually, it’s more accurate lately to say that I am still a Christian.

I now say this with much trepidation. I say it with great fatigue. I say it somewhat begrudgingly. I say it with more than a good deal of embarrassment—not of Jesus, but of so many of his people and so much of the Church professing to speak for him.

Looking around at too much of what represents my faith tradition, it’s become a daily battle to make this once effortless declaration, knowing that it now automatically aligns me with those who share so little in common with the Jesus I met when I first claimed the name Christian.

I know the kind of people making this declaration now aligns me with in people’s minds. It now aligns me with bathroom bullies, politicized pulpits, white privilege, and overt racism; with bigotry toward so many groups of people who represent the “world” I grew up believing that God so loved.

There are things that used to be a given as a follower of Jesus, that no longer are.

For far too many people, being a Christian no longer means you need to be humble or forgiving. It no longer means you need a heart to serve or bring healing. It no longer requires compassion or mercy or benevolence. It no longer requires you to turn the other cheek or to love your enemies or to take the lowest place or to love your neighbor as yourself. It no longer requires Jesus.

And so the choices are to abandon the idea of claiming Christ altogether to avoid being deemed hateful by association in the eyes of so much of the watching world — or to reclaim the name Christian so that it once again replicates the love of Jesus in the world. I am trying to do the latter.

Yes, I am a Christian, but there is a Christian I refuse to be:

•I refuse to be a Christian who lives in fear of people who look or speak or worship differently than I do.
•I refuse to be a Christian who believes that God blesses America more than God so loves the world.
•I refuse to be a Christian who can’t find the beauty and truth in religious traditions other than my own.
•I refuse to be a Christian who uses the Bible to perpetuate individual or systemic bigotry, racism, or sexism.
•I refuse to be a Christian who treasures allegiance to a flag or a country or a political party, above emulating Jesus.
•I refuse to be a Christian who is reluctant to call-out the words of hateful preachers, venomous politicians, and mean-spirited pew sitters, in the name of keeping  ceremonial Christian unity.
•I refuse to be a Christian who tolerates a global Church where all people are not openly welcomed, fully celebrated, and equally cared for.
•I refuse to be a Christian who is generous with damnation and stingy with Grace.
•I refuse to be a Christian who can’t see the image of God in people of every color, every religious tradition, every sexual orientation.
•I refuse to be a Christian who demands that others believe what I believe or live as I live or profess what I profess.
•I refuse to be a Christian who sees the world in a hopeless spiral downward and can only condemn it or withdraw from it.
•I refuse to be a Christian devoid of the character of Jesus; his humility, his compassion, his smallness, his gentleness with people’s wounds, his attention to the poor and the forgotten and the marginalized, his intolerance for religious hypocrisy, his clear expression of the love of God.
•I refuse to be a Christian unless it means I live as a person of hospitality, of healing, of redemption, of justice, of expectation-defying Grace, of counterintuitive love. These are non-negotiables.

Yes, it is much more difficult to say it these days than it has ever been, but I still do say it. I am still a Christian — but I refuse to be one without Jesus.”

How about you?

In ministry together,

jeff

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We’re pleased to present the May 2019 issue of our Seventh AveNews church newsletter.  It is packed full of important information and fun photos, so be sure to check it out!

CLICK HERE to download a PDF copy!

Be curious.
Be welcoming.
Belong.

Do you remember the first time you felt you belonged at SAPC? Whether you were a newcomer or have been at Seventh Avenue for decades — this is our ‘home’. We are wired, as human beings, to belong; to find a place we can call home: where we know, and are known by others.

There are qualities to belonging — the first is: be curious.

Being curious is cultivating a child-like sense of wonder, where the unknown of each person becomes an opportunity for discovery; a source of exhilaration and adventure.
Each Sunday we might ask ourselves: Who are we really? Who are we as a community of faith? Who are my neighbors — in the pew — or strangers at the door? Who are we in all our splendor and wackiness, and beauty and spirituality, and depth and wisdom?

The second quality is: to be welcoming. To welcome each person we encounter as if we are welcoming the Christ. Because, you know, we really are. When we welcome each person as the Christ, we discover the Christ in each person.

The final quality is: to belong … and, to belong means we must be mutually dependent on, and vulnerable with, each other. When we have a sense of belonging this spills over to others saying they belong as well. And, this my friends, is community.

My prayer is that we, as members of this beloved community known as SAPC, will continually be engaged in the practice of welcome. Saying to others, and to the world, there is a place for you here.

These three qualities of Christian community: being curious, being welcoming, and belonging are hallmarks of our life with God. So, may each of us be live these words of a benediction I’ve recently been saying at the end of our liturgies:

Life is short.
We do not have too much time to gladden the hearts
of those who travel the way with us.
So be swift to love.
Make haste to be kind.
And may the blessing of God, the Creator,
Jesus the Christ, and Holy Spirit,
be upon you and remain with you now and forever. Amen.

Being curious with you,

Jeffrey Steven Gaines

*this reflection inspired by article in newsmagazine of Trinity Church, Boston

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We’re pleased to present the March-April 2019 issue of our Seventh AveNews church newsletter.  It is packed full of important information and fun photos, so be sure to check it out!

CLICK HERE to download a PDF copy!

We’re pleased to present the 2019 edition of our annual  Lenten Devotional.

Click here to download a PDF copy!

“You do not have to be good.”

Being in community brings with it the opportunity for personal growth. Though not always pleasant, it can mirror back to us our narratives that we might otherwise be unconscious of holding, and might not want to be holding anymore.

As a pastor of a church, each Sunday I return home from being “on” and inevitably begin reflecting on all the ways I showed up, the conversations I had, my own dynamics, the old narratives (eek!) that raised their heads again.

During one of these debriefs with myself, a voice came from within as if straight out of a Mary Oliver poem, “You do not have to be good. You do not have to be pleasing.”

The narrative that we are supposed to be good, supposed to be pleasing, is one that plagues many of us, and many women in particular. It’s part of our social training. And being the empowered woman that I believe myself to be, it is maddening that this narrative is still knocking around inside of me. And where did it come from to begin with? When did my belief that girls were equal to boys, just as capable, just as intelligent, just as worthy of being leaders, just as free to do what they wanted without excuse or apology begin to be eroded? How is it possible I would exchange my own Power, my own Freedom, my own Dignity, for a modicum of power from men, from those “cool” kids, from those I was supposed to be pleasing to?

My mother was an evangelist of girl power, of feminism, so much so I wanted nothing to do with that conversation. Why should I speak up and claim women are just as capable? Of course we are. That’s been settled, I thought.

But here I am, and the conversation is still necessary.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. A couple of facts put out by the Department of Justice and the National Network to End Domestic Violence:

• Young women between the ages of 16 to 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
• According to data collected between 2003 to 2012, 82 percent of domestic, dating, and sexual violence was committed against females, and 18 percent against males.
• The vast majority of domestic violence assaults are committed by men. Even when men are victimized, 10% are assaulted by another man. In contrast, only 2% of women who are victimized are assaulted by another woman.

According to the philosophy held by the movement to end domestic violence, the root cause of domestic violence comes from the gender norms we teach and are trained to follow which reinforce a belief system that men are superior to women. Expanded out further, it is training that teaches that one person, one group, one race, one ethnicity, one sexual identity, one socio-economic class, one religion is superior and others are inferior.

There is so much more to this conversation. So many ways this shows up. So many hidden aspects of which to become conscious. I didn’t realize the gift my mother was offering was that by talking about it, we could practice recognizing when attempts are made to erode the truth that we are equal. We could take responsibility when we have adopted a belief of superiority. We could have the courage to let go of our power and control over others in exchange for peace and equality. And we, all of us, could be empowered to proclaim a different narrative and create a healthier community.

In the spirit of peace in our world, in our relationships, and in ourselves,

Jenna Meyers

#loveisrespect

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We’re pleased to present the February 2019 issue of our Seventh AveNews newsletter. Click here to keep up with what’s happening!

A colleague and friend of mine, John Mabry, recently wrote a reflection that reminded me of understanding of faith introduced to me by a Franciscan scholar, years ago now, when I participated on my first pilgrimage. The notion is called secundum traditionem, meaning according to “sacred tradition,” which states that just because something isn’t factual, doesn’t mean it isn’t true. For people of faith, this is where we live much of our lives. For faith, can’t be ‘proven’ it can only be trusted and lived.

This is what my friend wrote: “The other day someone asked me if I believed all that Christian stuff — Jesus being God incarnate and the resurrection and all that. I told him ‘believe’ was the wrong word.

The story of Israel and Jesus is a healing story for me, so I choose to live inside that story—and to add my story to it. I choose to trust it—miracle birth, resurrection and all. Choosing to trust isn’t the same as belief…but it’s a near cousin. And…it’s what I am able to do with integrity.

Plus (and this is an important plus) one thing reading Martin Luther showed me is that relationship and trust is more important than belief. Belief implies knowledge that I don’t have. Belief also implies intellectual assent to a list of metaphysical propositions (like the Creed), which I can’t really manage. What Luther asked me was not ‘Do you believe these impossible things?’ but ‘Can you trust that this person (Jesus) is living? And can you trust this living person?’

That was infinitely easier to do than believe the Creed. I don’t have to understand Jesus to be in relationship with him, even intimate relationship. I just have to choose to do it. It’s not an act of faith, it’s a choice to trust.”

I agree with John … ‘faith’ / ‘belief’ are acts of faith, based on the decision to trust. This is where I find myself. I chose to trust in the God of Creation. I chose to trust in the person and teachings of Jesus, who through resurrection, became the Christ, the Messiah.

Another way of saying this is “to believe,” which is not about cognitive assent. It is more about giving one’s heart. I give my heart to God in Jesus, and to the story of Love that he taught so faithfully, where I find a lasting word.

In this, I live, and thrive, and have my being grounded in the Mystery we call God. What about you?

Blessings in this New Year,

Jeffrey Steven Gaines

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We’re pleased to present the December 2018 issue of our church newsletter. It is packed full of important information and fun photos, so be sure to check it out!

The Prophet Isaiah wrote that “in returning and rest you shall be set free; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Returning is so much a part of the cycle of life. As we enter September this returning cycle confronts us head-on. Students and teachers are returning to school. Commitments to community organizations beckon our return. As a faith community, we return to another program year full of opportunities for worship, education, service and growth.

Returning is essential for human beings. We return home from work or vacations. We return to disciplines physical and spiritual. We return as individuals, celebrating turning point events such as birthdays and anniversaries.

Isaiah spoke of returning to that which gives us strength and freedom and quietness and trust. Many of us, when we talk about the beloved community of Seventh Avenue, speak in terms of a community where we receive support, gain strength, find a place of rest and quietness, and experience a place where we are set free to be and become the women and men that God intends for us to be.

Returning is a way of developing roots. Returning is a way of connectedness: connecting us with our past while catapulting us into the future.
As we return to a full program year here at Seventh Avenue, I encourage you to participate as fully as you can. Our core experience is our Sunday liturgy/worship celebration each week at 10AM. When you come to worship — invite a friend or colleague to to join you and experience the freedom of Seventh Avenue. If you haven’t experienced our twice-monthly Taizé worship service, I invite you do so on the first and third Wednesdays at 7.30pm.

You may want to serve on one of the many teams or working groups of our church; be assured — you will be welcomed with open arms! Have you ever wanted to sing in the choir and simply haven’t? Have you wanted try your hand exploring playing in our handbell choir? If so, talk to Luba Kravchenko, our Director of Liturgical Music.
Other opportunities include the monthly Perspectives @ 11.30 (adult formation classes — check out the flyer in this issue of the newsletter), Bible Study, Book Club or Women’s Spirituality. On Saturday, September 22, our own Tom Stafford will be preforming his delightful: Totally Tom Night Club show as a Benefit for our Organ Restoration. This show is being called: “Totally Tom Pulls Out All The Stops”. October 7 is World Communion and Saturday, November 3 our Annual HomeComing Event followed the next day for the celebration of All Saints’ Day and then Advent with the Advent Retreat, right around the corner.

Yes, returning … what is it that you are being called to return to this Fall?

As you can see, great opportunities await us!

Know that I thank God for you and this community. I find at SAPC that we gain strength to be and become our best-selves as we are set free in God.

Returning with you,

Jeffrey Steven Gaines

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