Signs of Hope in the Catskills

There’s an old church tradition that, when you go on vacation and miss Sunday services at your home church, you must bring a bulletin from the church you attended while out of town, back to your pastor. Ken and Colleen Kelley have been especially diligent about doing this while I’ve been at KPUMC, but I’ve received bulletins from others, too.

And so, in case you’re wondering, I have in my possession the July 16th worship bulletin from Roxbury United Methodist Church in Roxbury, New York.

While Leah and I were on vacation last week in the Catskill Mountains, we stayed at the summer home of Otto Wagenbach. He and Pat were gracious hosts, and we had a marvelous time of rest and relaxation.

But we went to church on my Sunday off! For one, Otto and Pat wanted us to meet their summer pastor, Donna LeRoy, who turns out to be a dynamite preacher and warm personality. Donna works hard on Sundays, because she is responsible for three different churches; in Methodist terms, she has what’s called a three-point charge. She preaches at Roxbury only on the first and third Sundays at 9 am; then she’s off to Margaretville UMC to preach at 10:30 am.

I was extremely glad that we went to church on that Sunday; the four of us practically doubled the congregation! There were ten of us in attendance that morning, not counting Donna and the organist.

I suppose one could be disappointed or distraught at the decline of Methodism in upstate New York; after all, this is historically one of the strongest bastions of Methodism in America. One could conclude that Christianity is slowly dying in the northeast, which is a narrative that is certainly being spread by some pundits.

The truth is that these small towns and villages are themselves in decline. Dairy farming was the primary industry in Roxbury and Margaretville at one time. Times have changed; big factories now do dairy work on a large scale. Jobs have shrunk, and most kids who grow up in these small towns move off to raise families elsewhere. Otto told me that, unfortunately, drug use has become a problem as opportunity has passed these places up.

Thus, the shrinking church is merely a symptom of what is happening in the larger community. There are fewer people around, so of course there will be smaller congregations.

But numbers are never the true sign of a vital church. The sign of a healthy church is the kind of mission it embraces, and the fruit it bears.

Fortunately, it appears that Roxbury UMC is a healthy church, and not just because Otto and Pat are there! That little historic church knows that they don’t exist merely for themselves, but for the good of the whole community. Earlier in the month, Roxbury UMC participated in the Celebrate Roxbury Festival; later in the summer they plan to have a joint service with a neighboring Reformed church. During announcement time, Pastor Donna shared that the churches in the parish were planning a joint Vacation Bible School for the children in the area.

In the sermon, which centered on Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, Pastor Donna emphasized the fact that the church was responsible for sowing the seed of the Gospel. She challenged all ten of us to be diligent in sharing God’s good news with other. She even dared to remind the church that its mission was to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The church of Jesus Christ only prospers when it recognizes that it is part of God’s mighty work in the world, and wants to participate. We are part of a movement, the unveiling of God’s kingdom on earth, and we have a deeply important role to play in that movement.

It was incredibly encouraging to see signs of life at Roxbury UMC, but I confess that I am even more excited about getting back to church at Kessler Park UMC, because the same thing is happening here.

Let’s get back to work!

Snippets of Vacation Bible School

by Eva Englert-Jessen

This week, I’m enjoying being a kid among kids, leading recreation for Vacation Bible School: Hero Central! in the dappled sunlight and shady oak trees to the left of the sanctuary. I love that my to-do list for a couple of hours each day this week includes things like, “get blindfold for Hero Tag; set up baskets for food collecting relay; teach Superman prayer.”                              

As the kids run and play (and sometimes talk too much or get upset…because, let’s be real), I’m grateful for their energy, for the ways in which their activity equalizes people—even making a less-than-enthusiastic teenage helper giggle or sing a goofy song. I am also grateful for the ways in which kids invite me and all my fellow VBS leaders to be fully present—to just be, as we are, with what we are or even are not capable of. 

Jesus talked about putting children at the center of what it means to be a disciple, even to go so far as to say that a disciple could not enter the kingdom of heaven unless (s)he became humble like a little child. It’s easy to read and interpret this statement as, “be like a child or you won’t get into heaven,” but I think what Jesus meant was this: to participate fully in this “kingdom of heaven,” which describes a community more so than it describes a place that one is or is not destined to enter, humility and vulnerability are key. In first-century Rome, a child was viewed as the lowest on the totem pole; of the least status. For Jesus to utter that a being of such lowly state was the highest on God’s priority was a radical thing. 

How would our own lives, our church, our neighborhood, our nation and world be transformed if this same ethic and spirit of welcome were made plain everywhere? What if the honesty, the messiness and delight of children, full of questions and wonder and in-between-places, was the norm in the places in which we dwell—even above economic status, resume quality, financial stability, and many other factors we place in the “adult” category? I don’t think God asks us to give up or turn away from maturity or growth, or to ignore the things that inevitably come with navigating adulthood in contemporary society. What this VBS week reminds me, though, is that when we give it room to, the Spirit moves with fervor in the midst of play, honesty, and questions. When we give room for others to authentically express their uniqueness, what makes them joyful, what makes them angry or sad, and what their dreams are, we are all transformed; we all become part of this community of love that Jesus called the kingdom of God. 

I pray that this same spirit might move through you this week, summer, and beyond.

Greetings!

Greetings, Kessler Park UMC! 

I am delighted to be welcomed into this vibrant community as your new youth minister. 

Although I am only in my second day on staff, Kessler Park UMC has in small ways floated in and out of my radar for several years. One of my best friends in high school (I attended the Townview Magnet School not too far down the road) attended KPUMC as a child, and the passion that this place and its people has for community, mission and justice—especially in the example of the Reconciling identity marker—has for several years been intriguing and important to me as a candidate for ministry in North Texas.

If I’m being honest, even as someone called to ordained ministry as a deacon in the UMC, I sometimes wrestle with the institutional aspects of the church, especially those aspects that to me do not embody the fullness of God’s radical love and dream for justice and peace to all people and all of creation. To be able to express this honestly both in my initial conversations with Pastor Wes about this position, and later in my interview with SPRC, was a breath of fresh air. It also confirmed that this place is a place ever-striving to do God’s work of radically inviting and loving others. I am thrilled to be here because I already love the nature of this place, and to nurture and journey with youth is doubly exciting.  (It’s also a perk that I get to work with my Aunt Yvonne!)  

To share a bit more about myself and my background, I was born and raised in East Dallas in a small family that taught me the importance of generosity and caring for the earth. Aside from school, I was active in Girl Scouts, violin and piano lessons, and the various UMC churches in which mother served—especially FUMC in Rockwall. I went to Hendrix College in Arkansas, the place that blessed me with some of my dearest and most inspiring friends, allowed me to explore my early call to ministry, and taught me more about myself and the world than I ever had before. I then moved to Boston in August 2012 to participate in a young adult faith, social justice and leadership development community called Life Together, a part of the Episcopal Service Corps. I lived in intentional community, worked in a dynamic Episcopal church where I got to explore my passion for the intersection of food, justice, sustainability and faith, and explored contemplative prayer alongside learning skills like community organizing. 

I then attended seminary at Boston University School of Theology, where I continued to grow and develop these interests and further expand a love of theology theology’s ability to communicate the most urgent and important issues of society and the church. Boston gave me amazing friends, introduced me to my husband and the wild and wonderful journey of marriage, nurtured my interest in activism, and challenged and strengthened my faith in amazing ways. After graduating in May, my husband Chris and I packed up five years of memories and moved to Dallas. I am delighted to be back in my hometown, embarking on new journeys in a familiar place.

Youth ministry profoundly shaped my life and the decisions that I made to explore faith, ethical living, and life in community.  It taught me about a God who loves me and all fully, and about Jesus who lived and died to show us what risky, vulnerable, fleshy love looks like for the transformation of our own lives and our world.  We live in a nation and world that is tumultuous in many ways, but it is into the brokenness and beauty of all of it where God calls us to work—and to put our young people at the center of leading and discovering that work with creativity. 

What a gift and privilege to accompany, empower, guide, and play with the youth of this congregation and community. I pray for God’s guidance and courage as we work together. And I’ll be reaching out to learn more from you and ask for your support!

With gratitude,
Eva Englert-Jessen