by Trish Blomquist
Ah, spring! Our first thoughts of spring typically begin with Easter and the resurrection and the first sightings of flowers. It’s our season of hope, holding a promise that change is coming and often signifies the coming out of darkness. We move towards longer days and more light. An article I recently read stated that we shouldn’t take the power of spring for granted. The reward for expanding awareness to our greater environment, as it unfolds, is that it helps us anchor ourselves in time and place. We become more centered and connected. We come together around things we all value religiously and secularly; life, new starts, love, generosity, peace. Anne Frank advised those who could to “go outside, to the country, enjoy the sun and all nature has to offer. Go outside and try to recapture the happiness within yourself; think of all the beauty in yourself and in everything around you and be happy.” Watching the tulips and daffodils emerge from the ground and watching the leaves starting to pop out on the trees also generates the desire to think of gardening. Many of us no longer have gardens as we did in our earlier years due to constraints on time and space or maybe the body just screams at us when we try to get down on our knees. There is a perfect answer for all of us (including you!) who love to dabble in the dirt: plant a few seeds in the community garden. You can watch God’s creation peep up out of the soil, grow, and produce fruit and vegetables, and finally begin to wither away, to begin to rest for the next year! Christ the King has a “Community Garden” that welcomes everyone who would like to get their hands in some dirt and grow a few vegetables to not only share with the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf but enjoy themselves as well. This is our way of caring for creation in an extended way. The “Gardening Crew” invites you (children included) to join us – we typically meet on Tuesday, late afternoon or early evening for about 90 minutes. All tools are provided, so you just need a pair of gloves and a desire to plant, hoe the unwanted vegetation, and harvest the bounty. We are not “all work and no play” – there is lots of conversation and long-term friendships are made which then makes the time fly by. More details on when we will begin the season and a schedule will be available in early May. Put “GARDEN” on your calendar and join us!
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by Megan Crosby
I’ve had some recent conversations that have focused on my job title and how it seemingly lacks any description of what I do. I direct the Sanctuary Choir, the King’s Ringers; I play the organ and the piano, and I sing. I help plan worship along with Nate and Pastors Sonja and Sarah. Cantor doesn’t really seem to cut it, so why that title? “Cantor” comes from the Latin word cantare or canere, which means to sing. It refers to the chief singer, the person who leads the people in singing. (Taken verbatim from Paul Westermeyer’s book The Church Musician, p. 13.) In essence, the cantor is the leader of the people’s song. Sometimes I lead from the piano and sing with a microphone. That would be the most basic meaning of cantor. I love the word Cantor, though, for its vocational purpose: to help the people of the church lift up their own voices in praise. Worship isn’t a performance, it takes YOU! I always consider what would be the best way to present a song or hymn. Should I play from the organ or the piano? Is the song new? Should the choir, Nate, or I sing the first verse alone so everyone can hear it first? What would most support the people’s song and make a person comfortable singing out? Some people like having a strong singer up front to follow when they sing. Other people prefer the backing of the organ, with its colors and sounds and physical support. A pipe organ, like the voice, is a wind instrument. I love to sing, but what I love most is encouraging others to sing. When you sing in a choir or as a part of the congregation, you don’t need to have a “perfect” voice or the “best” voice. Worship takes all of our voices. And when so much of our world is incredibly divided, singing together, with a common purpose, to the glory of God, is an outrageously hopeful thing to do. Yes, I am a Cantor. I chose that title for myself, and it reminds me of my purpose and what I love. Soli Deo Gloria Megan Crosby By Kisten Thompson
Do you remember the first time that you voted? I was a senior in college and voted in the 1972 presidential election. I remember being nervous, a little uncertain and the times themselves were so tumultuous. The Vietnam War…desegregation of schools and busing…women’s rights…the terrorist attacks in the Munich Olympics…and Watergate was just emerging into the public conversation. How to decide which candidate could best lead the country in the midst of so many challenges? And while I wasn’t sure if I knew “enough,” I also knew the great gift and responsibility it was to be able to vote in this country. And so, I did…and so I have ever since. I imagine your own stories of voting and civil engagement over the years have been much the same. We know as citizens of this country that voting is a right that has been given but we also know that it has been a hard fight to attain those rights for many of us. There have been battles, barriers, and even bodily threats to many who have tried to exercise their right to vote. Even when voting rights were granted, other laws were quickly enacted to restrict, suppress and deny those same rights. Gerrymandering, closing voting sites, threatening voting judges has become far too common in these times. Many people have become apathetic about the candidates who might be running for office. Some have become cynical, “My vote doesn’t count anyway.” Some say big money has the real power in this country. In our own Minnesota primaries just this week, only 14% of all registered voters eligible to vote actually went out to vote in their respective party primaries. Secretary of State Steve Simon reports that about 300,000 less votes were cast this year as compared to the 2020 primaries (source: Minneapolis Star Tribune). These are troubling times and much is at stake in 2024. In Sunday’s SALT Forum, the Racial Justice Team will be leading a conversation about voting rights, civic engagement and our duty and calling as Christians to respond. You might think that churches shouldn’t “be involved with politics” but voting rights are not “politics” - voting rights belong to all people. Our calling as followers of Jesus encompasses all aspects of life: loving our neighbors as we love God, working for justice for all people and speaking truth when distortions and lies are being spread. This is all a part of our civic engagement and working as a public church for the good of all. Does this conversation make you nervous or uncomfortable? I imagine that it does but we can speak safely and honestly as friends and siblings in Christ, knowing that we are bound together in Christ’s love and freedom. On behalf of the Racial Justice Team (RJT), I hope you’ll attend for a lively, engaging, informative and I hope inspiring conversation - how can we act for good for the sake of each other, our community of faith and the communities in which we live? In peace and justice, Kisten Thompson, on behalf of the RJT One of the results of the CtK/Cristo Rey Transition Taskforce was the call to form a CtK-Cristo Rey Partnership Team to support in continued relationship building, partnership, and ministry together. We are excited to share that this partnership team is formed by members of CtK and Cristo Rey, and we look forward to our opportunities of shared ministry together.
In our kick-off meeting in November, we discussed how the Spirit is moving both in our lives and the lives of the CtK and Cristo Rey communities. Stories were shared of personal moments of experiencing the spirit moving in both blessings and hardships of the past and present. Images of a child’s joy for being in church, communities coming together in conversation, and personal notes of encouragement and love filled our minds’ eyes of the Spirit at work. The Spirit is at work in this ministry partnership, and we pray to follow where the Spirit leads us. Current members of the CtK/Cristo Rey Partnership Team:
All of us on the Partnership Team welcome you to join us at any future meetings, shared ministries, worship, and fellowship. The members of the Partnership Team have chosen to be leaders in this shared ministry, but we serve to represent the larger community and church, which includes all of you! Thank you in advance of your support of our shared ministry, and we look forward to communicating more with you about opportunities to partner together. To start, every Sunday we can worship together – no matter the language, the liturgy is familiar and the Spirit is moving! 9:30am Worship in English 12:00 Worship in Spanish En Español Equipo de Asociación de Cristo Rey-CtK Uno de los resultados del Grupo de Transición enfocado en la relación entre Cristo Rey y CtK fue la llamada de formar un Equipo de Asociación para Cristo Rey-CtK para apoyar en continuar en establecer relaciones, colaboración y ministerios juntos. Estamos emocionados de compartir que este equipo de asociación está formado por miembros de Cristo Rey y CtK, y anticipamos la oportunidad de nuestro ministerio compartido. En nuestra reunión inicial en noviembre, conversamos sobre cómo el Espíritu está moviendo tanto en nuestras vidas como en las vidas de las comunidades de Cristo Rey y CtK. Se compartieron historias de momentos personales en los que experimentaron el espíritu moviéndose tanto en las bendiciones como en las dificultades del pasado y del presente. Imágenes del gozo de una niña por estar en la iglesia, comunidades reuniéndose en conversación y notas personales de animo y amor llenaron los ojos de nuestras mentes en ver el Espíritu trabajando. El Espíritu está trabajando en esta asociación ministerial y oramos para seguir adonde el Espíritu nos lleve. Miembros del equipo de alianza para Cristo Rey/CtK:
Todos nosotros en el Equipo de Asociación le damos la bienvenida a unirse con nosotros en futuras reuniones, ministerios compartidos, adoración y compañerismo. Los miembros del Equipo de Asociación han elegido ser líderes en este ministerio compartido, pero servimos para representar a la comunidad y la iglesia en general, ¡que los incluye a todos ustedes! Gracias de antemano por su apoyo a nuestro ministerio compartido, y esperamos comunicarnos más con ustedes sobre oportunidades para colaborar. Para empezar, todos los domingos podemos adorar juntos; no importa el idioma, ¡la liturgia es familiar y el Espíritu se mueve! 9:30 am Servicio de Adoración en inglés 12:00pm Servicio de Adoración en español by Kisten Thompson on behalf of the Racial Justice Team We commemorate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a Federal Holiday on the third Monday of each January. We have done this as a nation since 1986. We remember Dr. King as a civil rights leader in the 1950’s and 1960’s, as a committed proponent of non-violence as means of protest and activism for systemic change, and as a remarkable preacher, prophet and pacifist. Dr. King’s actual birthdate is January 15 and he would have been 95 years old today had his life not been cut short by an assassin’s bullet April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. Dr. King was known for his soaring rhetoric and use of scripture in calling for change, equality and full acceptance as guaranteed under the laws of this country. One of his most well-known writings is “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” which was written just over 60 years ago. To give a little background, Birmingham, AL was at that time known as the most segregated city in America. While integration laws were on the books in 1962, white business owners kept the stores segregated and refused to remove “whites only” and “coloreds only” signs. So, students and activists undertook a campaign to peacefully force change and integration. The Birmingham leaders invited Dr. King to Birmingham to help lead the efforts. The protests were met with resistance, violence and arrests on the part of the police. On April 12, 1963 Dr King, Dr. Ralph Abernathy and the Rev. Fred Shuttleworth were all arrested and 8 white clergy wrote an open letter condemning the protests as “unwise” and “untimely”. This resulted in the famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” written on pieces of paper as Dr King could get hold of them. He uses Amos 5:21-24 to reply to the white clergy and public at large. Here are the verses from which Dr. King drew inspiration: I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. 22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. 23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. 24 But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. And Dr. King wrote: But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter, I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” Dr King further wrote, “Wait has almost always meant ‘Never’” and “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negros great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the The White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice,” and he advocated that “the white church needs to take a principled stand or risk being dismissed as an irrelevant social club.”
As we commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. on his birthday, our thought for today might be to wonder what might move us to protest? Or to be arrested? Or to call out people in authority who are oppressing others? Or to join a movement that is committed to dismantling racist systems? Or to read, study, listen, act for justice? What might make our hearts burn for justice and for us to become extremists for love? |
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July 2024
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Christ the King Lutheran Church
1900 7th Street NW New Brighton, MN 55112 Phone: 651-633-4674 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: 9 am - 2 pm Mon - Thurs or by appointment Sunday Schedule Morning Worship at 9:30 am |