A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E.

Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC June 14, 2015, Gay Pride weekend and Pastor

Theresa Thames’ last Sunday at Foundry.

Scripture:  Jeremiah 17:5-10

 

Who are we? 

“What is expected of us?  Who is

in charge?  How do we know what we should

really be doing at any given

moment?  How [in the world] did we get

here from there?  And what…is the point

of it all if we’re all just going to die anyway?”[i]  These angsty, existential questions knock

about “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” Tom Stoppard’s Tony winning play

that is currently on at the Folger Theatre here in DC.  Anthony and I attended Thursday’s performance

and, as we were letting the experience settle in, Anthony said simply—and with

a distinct tinge of disappointment—“When you get right down to it, it’s all

about trust.”

 

Perhaps you can appreciate the

disappointment—Lord knows I can.  After

all, when’s the last time you said, “Woo-hoo! I am going to make a

life-changing decision with no guarantee that it is going to bring about the

desired outcome!” As Guildenstern says (with considerable anxiety), “We act on scraps of information… sifting

half-remembered directions that we can hardly separate from instinct…”  “Words, words. They’re all we have to go

on.”   And the character called “The

Player” posits that “Everything has

to be taken on trust; truth is only that which is taken to be true. It's the

currency of living. There may be nothing behind it, but it doesn't make any

difference so long as it is honoured. One acts on assumptions.”  // Life is full of confusion and limitations,

with decisions to be made, with unexpected twists and turns, and no guarantees.  We may wish that someone would tell us

exactly what to do and where to go so that we can be sure, so that we can be

safe.  We may wish that someone would

enter stage right and tidy up all the unanswered questions about our identity,

about the meaning of it all.  But that

isn’t the way things work.  In the

absence of certainty, some measure of trust is required or else we go through

life in a constant state of anxiety. 

 

Trust is the centerpiece of our scripture

today.  In what or whom do you place your

trust?  Jeremiah contrasts those who

trust in “mere mortals” or make “mere flesh their strength” with those who

trust in the Lord.  Those who put their

trust in human strength can’t even “see when relief comes.”  But those who trust God don’t fear when things

heat up and aren’t anxious in times of want. 

Jesus is consistent on this point as well, highlighting the problem with

putting stock in “mere flesh”—especially our own. I think of Eugene Peterson’s

translation of Luke 6:25 from Jesus’ sermon on the plain:  “It’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with

yourself.  Your self will not

satisfy you for long.” 

Let's face it, in every moment of life, we

are staring into the abyss of uncertainty, of the unknown.  We simply don't know what is around the bend

for our lives.  For some of us today—like

Pastor Theresa—that unknown is very focused:  the shape of life and ministry in her new

congregation, Cheverly UMC.  Others here

today may also be facing clear unknowns: 

test results, a loved one’s recovery, vocational direction, the results

of a job search, where you will live, where the money is going to come from,

what to do with your life now that everything has changed, how to change self-destructive

behavior, whether you will be forgiven, the outcome of a new relationship.

A sermon preached by

Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC May 31, 1st Sunday after

Pentecost.

Texts:  Genesis 12:1-9                                                

 

One of my favorite places in DC is

the Arboretum.  And one of my favorite

places in the Arboretum is under a particular, huge “Southern Magnolia”

tree.  This tree is massive.  You can walk into it and see the roots

growing out and up within it—forming a kind of “jungle gym” within its glossy

green leaves and smooth grey-green branches.  I like to perch on one of the low growing

root-branches and feel the cool of the earth and shade and observe the life

that the tree supports:  birds, insects,

other plants, all thrive within the ecosystem that is this tree.  Lately, the huge ivory blossoms emit their

fragrance, that pungent sweetness fills the nostrils, the spirit, and reminds

me of the sheer wonder and beauty and gift that is creation.  Maybe I’m drawn to this tree because, as a

child, I used to go to our little magnolia in the front yard as a

retreat—though our magnolia was only a bit taller than I was at 10 years of

age.  I wonder if that little magnolia

will ever resemble the audacious specimen at the Arboretum.  Some years ago, my folks sold my childhood

home and 20 acres in Kiefer, Oklahoma to relocate to Texas, so I may never know

how large the tree will grow…but one thing is for sure:  it will take many, many years for it to grow

even close to the size and grandeur of the one at the Arboretum.  That kind of growth takes time.

 

Even those of us who are not

professional earth scientists know that when a tree is cut down, you can

observe the stages of that tree’s life and growth by looking at the rings found

in the trunk.  Written into the very

matter of the tree is the story, the history—the journey if you will—of that

particular tree.  The largest, grandest

trees have been growing a very long time, growing by stages, adding to their

girth ring by ring. //

Trees are counter-cultural.  We live in a fast-track world and our culture

breeds impatience with anything that takes too much time.  I don’t have to point out all the daily

evidences of this, though I must say that for me the most consistent evidence

in my own life recently are my interactions with my computer at home.  I get really

impatient if things don’t move at the speed that I think they should be

moving! 

 

And we human beings tend to get

impatient with our lives, too, when

things don’t happen as quickly as we’d like them to.  Relationships, learning new skills, attaining

a certain level of achievement or stature or rank in our vocations, recovering

from an injury or loss, clarity about our direction in life, losing weight…all

these things and many more can frustrate us when they take longer than we want

them to.  This impatience also shows up

in our spiritual lives.  Perhaps there

are those of us who had, at some point, an initial burst of energy on our faith

journey.  We decided to get involved in a

faith community and to make a commitment to follow Jesus.  However, after a while, the energy seemed to

subside; perhaps the kind of relationship or feeling or knowledge you wanted

weren’t immediately forthcoming…and so commitment flags, energy fades.  For some of us here, perhaps we have been

very committed…even doggedly so…and yet the spiritual growth that we want just

doesn’t seem to happen…we still struggle with anger or insecurity or

self-destructive habits or anxiety or malice or laziness.  And we think to ourselves:  “If God wants me to be healthy and whole and I want the same thing and am asking for

A sermon preached by

Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC May 24, 2015, Pentecost Sunday.

Text:  Acts 2:1-21                                                                  

“Forget the Church, Follow

Jesus.”  That was a Newsweek cover story several years ago.[i]  The story by Andrew Sullivan makes plenty of

good points about the ways the so-called “institutional church” has been

sullied by all sorts of bad behavior. 

You’ll find no argument from me on that. 

But the notion that one can “forget the church and just follow Jesus”

struck me then and now as being just a little too glib.  One can reasonably argue that Jesus may not

have had in mind the specific institutional varieties of church that we see or

experience. But in the scriptures Jesus consistently calls people to “come and

see,” to “follow,” and to do the things that he himself did. Jesus creates a

community by calling people and sending people and sharing life with people.  Jesus, as a practicing Jew and itinerant

Rabbi, lived and taught within the “organized religion” of the day and

participated in the life of the Temple. 

He railed against the injustices being practiced within his religious

tradition, but he did not abandon it.  To

follow Jesus inherently involves being in community—not only because this is

the model set for us by the man himself, but also because when Jesus left we

were given the work to carry on—to be Jesus’ hands and feet and voice—Christ’s

body—on earth.  That is simply not

something that we can do alone.  To be

the Body of Christ, requires the myriad gifts that each of us bring.

 

It is tempting sometimes to “forget

the church,” as promulgated by the Newsweek piece.  After all, the church is a “broken, compromised, human organization.”  But who here today isn’t at least a little

bit compromised or broken?  “As the old joke runs, I

would like to find and then join the perfect church, but as soon as I join it,

it will be imperfect.” Once, GK Chesterton was asked what was wrong with the

world. He replied, “I am.”[ii]  As flawed as the church is, we do well to

remember that Jesus is clear that the mission is to be a healing and saving

station for the sick and broken, not a trophy case for the strong and

righteous.  And thanks be—since that

means that people like me and you can fit in here.  We, all of us, are drawn into this messy

reality of community in Christ.  And it

is in this context that we are offered healing grace and given

opportunities—often because of the messiness of the church—to practice being

more and more human, patient, generous, brave. 

We practice here so that we can manage it elsewhere once in a while.

 

Students of systems theory will know that any

organization is deeply affected by the conditions, personalities, and actions

of the founding leader or group.  That is

to say, what happens in the beginning imprints itself upon the proverbial DNA

of the community for years to come—for better or for worse.  This is good news in our case, because even

in the midst of all the brokenness of the institutional church, we are assured

today that we have good DNA.  Because

what we know as the church started within the context of the covenant

relationship between God and Israel, was renewed and reformed through the

person and work of Jesus Christ, and then enlivened and embodied through the

outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Not bad

as “founding pastors” go!  The church has

full inclusion in its DNA, because when the promised Spirit appears in

A

sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC, May 17, 2015,

Ascension Sunday and the celebration of Baptism and Confirmation.

Texts:

Ephesians 1:15-23, Luke 24:44-53                                                      

What

hope does God want us to know?  In our

first reading today, we heard Paul pray, “that …God … may give you a spirit of

wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your

heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…”

(Eph 1:17-18).  What is that hope?  We hope for all sorts of things in life, but

Christian hope has a particular shape and content:  freedom, forgiveness, peace, loving and just

relationships, joy, new life—for ourselves and for the world.  An even more particular vision of Christian

hope is that goodness is stronger than evil, that death doesn’t have the last

word, that human life has eternal value, dignity, and meaning, and that love

has the power to save someone’s life. 

This hope isn’t just a nice idea. 

It is embodied in Jesus—made real in flesh and blood—so that we see our

hope is not just wishful thinking. 

 

Anyone here know the Harry Potter

stories?  Professor Dumbledore is the

teacher who shows the students at Hogwarts School what it looks like to be

wise, strong, and to control and use one’s powers for good.  The students see in Dumbledore that their

hope for their own lives and capacities are not in vain.  They see what is possible. While no metaphor

is perfect of course, Jesus is like that for us, not only being wise, strong,

and powerful, but helping us learn to do the things that he does.

Christian

faith suggests that we try to live in the world the way Jesus did—loving

God, loving others, and walking gently and peacefully upon the earth. Because

God loved the world, Jesus was sent TO the world.  If we follow Jesus, we are also sent TO the

world.  Recently we heard Jesus say just

that, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (Jn 20:21) Today Jesus says,

“you are witnesses.” (Lk 24:48)

What kind

of witness are we?  A few years ago, I

heard professor Leonard Sweet say that the top 3 Google results when you type

in “Why are Christians so…” were “intolerant, mean, & crazy.”  I did a test the other day to see what popped

up.  Here’s what I got:  Why are Christians so… “hypocritical and

judgmental,” “obnoxious and mean-spirited.” Related searches turned up

“annoying, mean, arrogant, and ignorant.” 

No wonder rising numbers of people—across generations, genders, and

racial and ethnic groups—are choosing NOT to claim the name “Christian.”[i]  I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a

group who is hypocritical, judgmental, obnoxious, and mean-spirited.  Would you?

But, thank

God, this isn’t the whole story.  When

folks see Christian communities truly striving to live out the faith they

profess with love, joy, and humility, it is not only appealing, but can be

life-changing.  I remember a conversation

with a very intelligent, creative, generous woman who had lived most of her

already long life being a solitary student of Christ, but thinking she knew all

about those nasty Christians and wanting nothing to do with them as a

group.  A friend invited her to attend a

Disciple Bible Study which she did; and eventually she went with her friend to

worship.  I remember her saying to me

with a wry grin, “I realized these people weren’t so bad after all.”  Another friend of mine who came to the church

convinced that the whole enterprise was bogus had the

A sermon preached by

Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC May 10, 2015, the sixth Sunday

after Easter.

Text:

Luke 12:49-56                                                              

 

“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the

earth?  No, I tell you, but rather

division!” [Happy Mother’s Day, y’all!] Let’s back up and see what we can make

of these hard words from Jesus. I recently read through the entire

Gospel of Luke to write reflections for inclusion in the upcoming CEB Women’s

Devotional Bible that I’m editing for Abingdon Press. One of the benefits of

reading a Gospel all the way through is that you begin to hear the story as a story; another is that themes and

details begin to emerge that are harder to discern when all you get are little

chunks here and there.  A couple of

things that struck me about Luke’s version of the story as I read it all the

way through:  in the midst of all the

beautiful birth narratives, we get Mary singing about radical reversals—“[The Lord] has scattered

the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the

lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away

empty.” (Luke 1:51-53) We also hear these words from the prophet Simeon to

Mary:  “This child is

destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a

sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be

revealed…” (Luke 2.34-35)  It takes no

time at all for Simeon’s prophecy of opposition to Jesus to be fulfilled.  In chapter 4, Jesus gets run out of his own

hometown and in chapter 5 we start to hear about the religious leaders taking

issue with Jesus’ teaching and healing activity.  By the sixth chapter, they are actively

looking for a way to accuse Jesus. 

 

All of this is to say, it should come as no surprise

to us today to hear Jesus say “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to

the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather

division!”  Division, opposition,

conflict…  How do these things fit into a

faith that we thought was about love,

unity, reconciliation, and peace?  Didn’t

the angels sing about peace when Jesus was born?!  Don’t we call Jesus the Prince of Peace?  Have we gotten it wrong?  Well, I don’t think we’ve gotten it wrong

about love, unity, reconciliation and peace being at the heart of the good

news.  But I do think that we struggle to

acknowledge the potential conflict that following Jesus necessarily

entails. 

 

I don’t know many people who truly enjoy

conflict—though there are a few!  Most

folks I know do anything they can to avoid it. 

To be “conflict-averse” is a well-known trait, isn’t it?  Churches are notoriously good at

conflict-aversion, taking the path of least resistance, failing to make hard

decisions or take risks, for fear of losing people or making folks

uncomfortable or angry. Every church gathering I’ve ever been in chuckles

knowingly at the phrase “the way we’ve always done it.”  Disrupting “the way we’ve always done it” is

a sure-fire way to create division and conflict.  So it rarely happens.

 

In our faith communities and in our

personal lives the lengths to which we go to “keep the peace” can be stunning.  And it really is understandable because

conflict is painful, emotionally and sometimes physically.  Some of us have had more than our fair

share—and for reasons completely out of our control.  Conflict can mean that we lose friends or

others who are dear to us.  Conflict can

bring about changes that disrupt what has been meaningfu

A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E.

Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC, May 3, 2015, the fifth Sunday of Easter.

Text:  John 20:19-22                                                           

What is the Church? 

What is the Church for?

We tend to think of church as a place to go.  And we might then think that the work of the

church is to go “there�€ and to get other people to go there with us… If the

focus of our understanding of what the church is and is for has to do with a

building, a place to gather, or a particular group of people, then it is easy

to think that to be a Christian—a disciple of Jesus—is primarily about going to

that place or being with those people. 

This allows us to say that if we just “go to church†on Sunday then we

are Christians.  This, of course, is

overly simplified, but I believe that this imbalanced view of what the church

is and what the church is for is fairly common—if not intentionally, then at

least in practice.  The prevalence of

this imbalance, I think, is one of the reasons that what is called the

“Missional†movement has developed within Christian circles and received so

much attention.  This movement focuses on

the other side of the equation:  Instead

of a focus on people going to church, the focus is on the church going to

people. 

This is a natural and necessary reminder…because

without this corrective, the church can end up contained, in a holding pattern,

even with locked doors, somewhat afraid of going outside the familiar,

protective walls… I just returned from the Princeton Youth Forum where I was challenged

to think about the ways that the church can “hunker down†and effectively block

openness to new ideas and ways of being church that could help young people

connect. We tend to do this out of fear—not of change per se but because we fear losing something precious to us in the

midst of change. As my colleague Kevin Smalls reminded me the other day, the

whole Christian movement began in the context of fear, with a group of folks

huddled together with the doors closed and locked.  Without regular reminders, we revert to that

familiar place.

 

Today we see Jesus come into that place saying, “As

the Father has sent me, so I send you…â€Â  What

does it mean to be sent by Jesus as Jesus is sent by his Father?  If the accounts of Jesus’ life are our guide,

then it means that we, like Jesus, are sent into the world to bring healing

into places of suffering, hope into places of despair, mercy and forgiveness

into places of sin, comfort into places of grief, peace into places of

violence, love into places of hatred.  To

be sent as Jesus is sent is to be bearers of God’s life in the world, to put

our lives on the line for the sake of justice, and to stand in solidarity with

those who are hurt by the systems of the day. 

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are a people who are

not only gathered into the family of God—those who “go to church,†but we are

also, inherently, a sent people.

 

Think for a moment of the life-giving rhythm of our

bodies breathing in and breathing out.  A

healthy body needs to do both.  The in-breath

of the Body of Christ—the church—is the Spirit gathering us in to be loved, supported, fed, strengthened, and given purpose through sacrament

and worship and study and community. 

Every Sunday the Body breathes in, takes in God’s grace and power.  And the out-breath is like the Spirit of God

blowing out across the chaos of the world at the very beginning, bringing peace

and new life.  The

A sermon preached by Rev. Dawn M. Hand, Executive Pastor & Chief of Staff at Foundry UMC on April 26, 2015, Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Text:  1 John 3: 16-24                               

Forty-three years ago, in a small church in the southern region, an energetic woman who had helped to start a civil rights law firm felt the urge to help teach a Confirmation class. She had already been a school teacher. Teaching that first Confirmation class would be the start of a long journey of working with and teaching those classes. She has taught several second generations. Last week, this now 75 year-old church mother and the congregation witnessed the confirmation of six vibrant young people including her second grandchild. They also witnessed the congregation’s first third generation confirmation experience. She has taught the grandfather, the son and now the grandson. This is her gift of love.

Perhaps the first thought that crosses our mind about love is the feelings and emotions we experience. For many of us, a song that we hear on the radio or something that we have downloaded on our mobile devices will trigger an emotion. Sometimes it’s unexpected. Just think about that one or maybe two love songs that can really get you going. I imagine many of us have at least one. Then I got to thinking, what are some of the greatest or sappiest long songs. I did a little internet searching and found…

- Roberta Flack’s recording of Killing Me Softly…

- Anne Murray’s – You Needed Me

- Al Green’s – Let’s stay together

- And then this one, Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross

Listen to some of these lovely lyrics…

My love

There's only you in my life

The only thing that's right

My first love

You're every breath that I take

You're every step I make

And I

I want to share

All my love with you

No one else will do

And your eyes

They tell me how much you care

Oh yes You will always be

My endless love

Really…

I believe everyone desires to be loved. We like the safety and security of what that brings. We long for the softness and sweetness in being bathed in loving connections. It’s human nature to feel this way. It’s a good thing. There must come a time, though, that expressions of love move beyond the warm feelings to authentic actions.

As John wrote in the first letter, ‘let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and in action.’

That church mother, shows love decade after decade in volunteering her time, harnessing and even spending her own resources to work with and teach children. Recently, I asked her, why do you continue to teach confirmation after all of these years? She talked about how a person in her home church some 65 years or so ago taught a similar class and that made a lasting impact on her. And then she recalled the words of Holy Scripture as recorded in the synoptic gospels, ‘Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom belongs to such as these.’ In the context of church, this life-long civil rights activist believes nurturing children in the faith is her calling. This is one of the ways she extends love - in truth and in action.

As we are in this season of Eastertide, the fifth Sunday in Easter - I believe love is the core, it’s the essence of resurrection… Jesus lived, died and rose in love that was gifted to us by God.

God so loved the world that God gave us God’s only son. This was God’s desire.

In his book, The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner writes,

“We are children, perhaps, at the very moment when we know that it is as children that God loves us - not because we have deserved his love and not in spite of our undeserving; not because we try and not because we recognize the futility of our trying; but simpl

A sermon preached by

Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC April 19, 2015, Third Sunday of

Easter, Observation of Earth Day.

Text:  Luke 24:36b-48                                                           

 

“The Vatican is set to host a major

conference on climate change this month that will feature leading researchers

on global warming and an opening address by U.N. Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon.”  This is part of Pope Francis’

“green agenda.”  Religion News Service

reports that “The one-day summit on April 28 will…include participants from

major world religions and aims to ‘elevate the debate on the moral dimensions

of protecting the environment...Another goal is to highlight ‘the intrinsic

connection between respect for the environment and respect for people —

especially the poor, the excluded, victims of human trafficking and modern

slavery, children, and future generations.’”[i]  One would think that this emphasis might

garner support from all corners.  But of

course there are folks who not only disagree, but are outraged that Francis is

making such a big deal—and is planning to issue an encyclical—on climate

change.  Some of those opposed to the

Pope’s advocacy in this area believe “that climate change is being overhyped or

that human activity is not a factor and that remedies may do more harm than

good…Others simply believe that Francis…should not be weighing in on issues

that touch on technical and scientific matters that some contend are still

debatable.”[ii]

 

Of course the fiercest debates

around environmental issues often come to a head when there is a lot of money

to be made and/or the promise of jobs.  I

have had conversations with close family members (remember I come from Oklahoma

and Texas, after all) who argue that careful engineering and maintenance of

things like off-shore drilling, the Keystone Pipeline, and fracking are not

necessarily bad for the planet, but rather it is only when companies try to do

things on the cheap or without care that harm is done.  My goal is to keep an open mind and to try to

see things from a variety of perspectives. 

I know that my family members (and others like them) want to care for

creation even as they advocate for practices such as those mentioned.  But when we add up those things together with

mountaintop removal, forest removal, polluted groundwater, loss of wetlands, greenhouse

gas production, paving everything in sight, and Lord knows what else, I can’t

help but think that we are, collectively, being driven first and foremost not

by a balanced sense of stewardship of both human and environmental needs, but

by the money to be made from coal, development, oil, agribusiness, and

more.  There are folks here today who

have a much more nuanced and complete understanding of the environmental,

economic, social, and political issues involved in all of this than I do.  But on this Sunday before the official

observation of “Earth Day” I want to remind us all of a very simple truth.   Regardless of your views about particular

practices or perspectives, our Judeo-Christian faith specifically calls us to a

deep and intentional connection with all of creation.  In his focus on environmental stewardship in

all its dimensions, Pope Francis is not, as one particularly mean-spirited

writer suggests, being “an ideologue and a meddlesome egoist”[iii];

he is being a Christian. Christians are not only called to be caretakers of the

world, its earth, air, water, and creatures, but we

Guest sermon by Rev. Dr. Ianther M. Mills, Senior Pastor, Asbury United Methodist Church