Embrace the FOMO

I have solved the problem of declining worship attendance. I now know why fewer and fewer people these days are going to church on Sunday mornings.

I lay the blame squarely at the feet of a social disorder known as FOMO.

What’s FOMO?, you ask. It’s an anxiety born of social media use — Fear of Missing Out.

This explains why so many of us are always checking our phones, inboxes, Instagrams, Snapchats, and Twitter feeds. Deep down inside, we are scared to death that something else is happening in the world that is more exciting, more interesting, and more important than what we happen to be doing at that same instant.

And I can positively guarantee you that, between the hours of 11 am and noon on Sunday, you are missing something if you happen to be in church. You can be sure that a friend somewhere else is having a wonderful brunch, or that a family member is enjoying your niece’s first steps, or Trump is tweeting something else ridiculous.

The key is learning to put FOMO aside during that hour, and embracing instead the idea that you are indeed missing out, and that you are very happy to be missing out, because you are instead choosing to focus on what is happening right now. In fact, this must be a daily practice for each of us if we want to keep our senses going into 2017.

I would like to suggest that the entire Christmas story is one big exercise in embracing FOMO. Let’s begin with the location. There are hundreds of more interesting and exciting locations for the birth of the Savior than the tiny village of Bethlehem, an insignificant spot in an even more insignificant piece of geopolitical real estate. Rome would have been a more important place for a divine birth; Athens would have also been a notable city. Or perhaps the Savior should have been born a member of the Han Dynasty in China.

But Bethlehem? That wasn’t the happenin' place.

And what about that birth? It took place in a stable, a mundane, uninteresting place. It might actually have been a little embarrassing for Mary to lay her newborn baby in a manger; it must have felt a little like putting her baby in a dog bowl. Would she have Instagram-ed that? I doubt it.

It wasn’t Mary’s idea to have the baby arrive in the midst of their trip to Bethlehem. I’m sure she would much rather have stayed home in the presence of family and friends for the happy occasion. What was she missing by being in the stable?

More than once, I bet Joseph entertained his own FOMO. What was happening back home? Was he missing any work orders? What if someone stole his tools while he was gone?

Of course, we know that this birth is the MOST important thing that has ever happened. Joseph and Mary had front-row seats to a world-altering event. They didn’t miss anything at all; instead, they got to witness it all.

That’s how God usually operates. In the routine and ordinary flow of life, grace is quietly working. In the change of seasons and rhythms of landscapes, the most incredible signs of hope appear.

If you have FOMO, however, you might just miss it.

When we are able to set aside the anxiety that something else interesting is going on somewhere else, then we might be able to discern the way that God is working in the here and now.

The truth is, if you suffer from FOMO, then you really are missing out. Because God is at work. Right in front of your very eyes.

What better time than Advent to start paying attention?

Giving Money is Giving Hope

Let me begin by thanking all of you who participated in our “Giving Hope” stewardship campaign. I am grateful to all of you who have taken the time to turn in estimate of giving cards.

To date, we have received estimates from 54 families, totaling almost $257,000. We are still 17 pledges behind our total number from last year, and also behind last year’s total pledged of $306,000. However, I am confident that we will get there — and even exceed last year’s commitments!

Remember that our goal is to increase our budget by 10% this year, which means that we’re hoping for estimates of $336,000. It’s not impossible, believe me. And we have high hopes for what to do with an increased budget, including adding a part-time staff position, as well as enlarging some of our programs and ministries.

As you have noticed, in the current political climate, hope is in alarmingly short supply. We’ve seen an uptick in hate crimes, random hate speech, and racist vandalism. Trump’s election seems to have brought out an extremely ugly strain of white supremacy.

Not only that, people are legitimately worried about what will happen the day after January 20th. There is a lot of concern about which programs might get shut down, and which ones might get started up. Frankly, we don’t know the fate of entire groups of people — Muslims, immigrants, refugees.

I have been heartened to read of the way that millions of Americans have responded to this fear — by giving money!

According to The Atlantic, “Perhaps the most notable (and most concrete) action to follow the end of the divisive election season has been a surge in donations to various organizations whose agendas counter those proposed by President-elect Donald Trump. In recent days, groups that champion causes like civil liberties and women’s health as well as focus on immigration rights and anti-discrimination initiatives have seen record responses to the election, in the form of contributions and volunteer applications.”

Many groups report smashing previous giving records on this week’s #GivingTuesday. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is one of the groups reporting an outpouring of volunteers and donations. “It’s a very good sign. It’s something we hadn’t seen before. Making a donation is the ultimate sign of solidarity. Actions speak louder than words,” said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR spokesman.

Giving money is one way that we give hope to our world — it is an action that speaks louder than our words of well-wishing.

And I still believe that giving money to your church is a significant way to give hope to the entire world. Of course, you have to believe that your church actually DOES give hope away, but I hope you are convinced that Kessler Park UMC does exactly that.

Even if our country were to slip farther into a chaotic blend of xenophobic, racist, and nativist tendencies, our church will continue to be a place where all people are treated as being made “in the image of God,” and where the stranger is welcomed, the foreigner hailed as a fellow traveler, and the migrant is given a pat on the back rather than a deportation notice.

The First Thanksgiving

Before you take your first bite of turkey this week, take a moment to think back and reflect on the first Thanksgiving meal.

No, not the mythic gathering of pilgrims and native Americans from our legendary past. As charming as that story might be, I would argue that was not the first Thanksgiving meal.

Instead, we need to look at the last supper in an upper room in Jerusalem as the original Thanksgiving. Jesus gathered his disciples there to celebrate the Passover, and as he picked up the bread and the cup of wine, he “gave thanks” according to each of the gospel accounts before he handed them over to his disciples.

One of the words used for the sacrament of Holy Communion is Eucharist, which comes from the Greek word, eucharistia, which is literally translated as “thanksgiving.” It ought to be clear from this that Communion is meant to be the giving of thanks to God for God’s blessings to us through the self-giving of Jesus Christ.

Every time we take Communion, we are celebrating Thanksgiving!

The opposite ought to be true, as well. Every time we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are also “taking Communion”!

After all, Jesus simply said that we were to “remember him” every time we shared food and drink together. Every time we break bread with others, we have a potential Holy Communion moment, for Christ is present in that moment.

Have you ever looked around the table on Thanksgiving and pondered the fact that you were experiencing something holy, something very special and sacred? While you are passing the mashed potatoes, you are passing God’s peace; while you are scooping up the stuffing, you are experiencing the human-but-also-divine experience of family love.

That dinner roll, dripping with butter? That is the body of Christ, given for you.

That iced tea? That is the blood of Christ, shed for you.

And when you finally push back from the table, whisper one more prayer of thanks for this holy mystery in which God has given us a sense of belonging, purpose, and peace.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!