A holy week passover experience

On Monday of Holy Week Lori and I attended a Passover Seder at the home of Joel and Roz Etra. Joel is an active layman at the Beth Jacob Synagogue and a long time friend. Actually, Joel and his daughter, Beth, came to First Baptist in 1993 to help us have a mini Seder as part of our Maundy Thursday experience.

The Seder is part of the Passover holiday experience for our brothers and sisters in Judaism. It is a feast where they gather and remember what God did for them during the Exodus. All of the foods are prepared in a special way and much of it also has symbolic significance. We ate the matzo (unleavened bread), the maror (horse radish, the bitter root) and the charoset ( a pebbly paste of fruits and nuts) and heard what each of them represented.

Joel explained the significance of dipping the vegetables in salt water. He offered prayers over the cups of wine (grape juice for us good Baptists!) We sang hymns and psalms and even a few fun, participatory choruses. As you looked around the room, you could sense the presence of God. I think the Lord was delighted that we were sharing His story again.

Each month when we celebrate the Lord's Supper we make reference to the fact that this was really a Passover meal that Jesus and his disciples were sharing but we don't elaborate on it. Being there with the Etra family and their friends helped give me the context for what Jesus and disciples were sharing on that night long ago.

Our Passover celebration went from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. Joel and his family had prepared for hours and days before. Walking in the door you knew this was a big deal. So when Jesus sat at the table with his disciples it wasn't just a dinner date. It was a very personal worship experience that brought the reality of all God had done for them home. When we read of that night in the Gospel of John there are long discussions and times of prayer. It made sense to me after being at the Seder on Monday night.

Every question has an answer and it prompts another question. Undoubtedly as Jesus was answering the questions new ones would arise. He began to tell the disciples about God's new plan and what was going to happen. It must have been an amazing night.

Being there was a great because it was a reminder that God had been reaching out to us and watching over us since the very beginning. From the call to Abraham to the deliverance through Moses, from the installation of David as king to the birth of Jesus, we have been a part of God's great plan. It was a wonderful way to mark the beginning of Holy Week.

Cal

Water, water everywhere!

Time to build the ark. After a very wet Spring, we've had two plus days of rain and many people are suffering from flooding in their basements. This morning we discovered a river flowing through the church as well. It began in the basement and flowed right through the nursery and out into Fellowship Hall. The carpet in the nursery is going to be ruined. We will get the water up but it is going to take some time.

Mark Rogers came down tonight and began vacuuming it up but it just kept flowing in. We'll try again tomorrow. It's a shame too, because Easter is coming and we will have to relocate the nursery because it will never be back in shape in time for the weekend. We'll have to make due. I am sad but I am more concerned about the people whose homes have been damaged by the water. Let's keep everyone in prayer this week as the waters recede.

Cal

Palm Sunday Worship

On Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday in church with beautiful music, a baptism and a message about humility. George Strouse served as worship assistant and he greeted everyone and asked God to be present for our praise and adoration. George's words must have worked for you could feel his spirit in the house. Rosie Rakowitz forward to make her confession of faith in believer's baptism. Rosie came forward to the strains of "Amazing Grace." I shared a bit of Rosie's journey and noted how it was Amy Rezendes who encouraged her to come back to faith. Their deep and abiding friendship opened the door for Rosie to get to know God again.

After she was baptized I gave Rosie a red rose, purchased with money given in memory of our Missionaries Francis and Gertrude rose. They were missionaries to the Philippines who lost their lives in World War II. The rose reminds us that as beautiful as the gift of life in Christ is, there are thorns, there are challenges which will often leave us discouraged and feeling hurt. But then I charged Rosie to put her focus on Christ and he will carry her through.

The Praise team followed up the baptism with a song that Fred Green wrote called, "Even When Our Feet Are Dirty." It was very nice. Curt Brockway called for the offering and offered a prayer while I finished changing in the back.

Then I came out and talked about the palms with the children. We all got to walk on them just like Jesus did. It was fun. The kids told me the people put them down in front of him so he wouldn't get dirty. They did it because they loved him. And we waved our palms too.

The choir sang about Jesus triumphant entry and I talked about his humility that flowed out of his love for us. We also welcomed Amy Rezendes and Rosie Rakowitz into membership as Curt Brockway extended the right hand of fellowship to them on our behalf.

Finally we enjoyed the fourth installment of the JPS Man. Nicodemus (George Strouse) and Joseph of Arimethia (Curt Brockway) talked with him about Jesus and the cross. Joseph of Damascas (Steve Contois) and Joseph of Norwich (Randy Sargent) also had cameo appearances.

After church Mark Kane hosted the coffee hour. It was a very good day.

Cal

Lenten Service at Park Church

Tonight Park Congregational Church hosted our last Lenten service this year. Pastor Barbara Poritzky welcomed us and then instead of preaching in the usual way, she shared two stories with us that made a point. They were like the parables that Jesus told. The point was that we should treat the people we meet with love and respect because you never know when you will bump into Jesus.

These Lenten services have been a wonderful addition to our church program. They've been met with mixed reviews. Some people love them. One person asked me why we couldn't continue doing them all year long. Then yesterday another person questioned why we give up our own service to participate in them. He felt we were shortchanging our people.

Here is the answer to both questions. I love our regular Wednesday night services. They fill a real need for those who come. Yet the opportunity to worship together with other Christians sends a message to the world as well as to the members of our congregation. It tells the world that even though we look divided and weak, we can come together in Christ's name and celeb rate our common faith. It also tells us that we have brothers and sisters who love the Lord living right next door. Most of us look forward to seeing each other every week during Lent.

As to the second question, I don't think we could sustain the enthusiasm all year long. People would want to get on to other things. So speaking of other things, we will return to our regular Wednesday night services next week. It's Holy Week so we will be reflecting on the walk Jesus took during that first Holy Week. I hope you'll join us.

Cal

PS. tonight the soloist sang Via Dolorosa tonight and it was beautiful. Here is Sandi Patty's version of it for you to enjoy.

A new baby in the family

We got word on Sunday morning that Caleb Dutrumble was born on Saturday afternoon at 12:55 p.m. at the W. W. Backus Hospital. He weighed in at 7 lb, 3 oz and 21 inches long. I got the opportunity to get over to the hospital and visit momma and baby. Cheryl was their with some family and friends. She said Dan and the kids, Adam and Anna were very excited and couldn't wait for everyone to be home. Here's a quick pic of the Caleb and his mom.

Cal

Lunchtime at St. Marks

On Sunday afternoon we hosted the Interfaith luncheon at St. Mark's. The crew was from Central Baptist. Mark Salomon and Roger Mainville cooked up a hamburger noodle casserole. Roger's wife, Doreen and Ellie Eccleston were working in the kitchen with them. Melanie Schueurmann and I were in the hall with help from her uncle Donald.

We had a good crowd. I said the prayer at 2:00 p.m. and then we served up the lunch. There were a lot of young people there. One couple even brought a baby. After lunch a number of the people there helped clean up and put things away. That's been one of the things we have changed since we began serving several years ago. We used to try and do everything for the people. Our missional church training suggested that we change that and begin partnering with the people we serve. This allows them to be a part of what we are doing as they begin to serve each other as well.




We had about 53 people for lunch and there was plenty of food so we gave out seconds. It was a great day and so many of the folks came back to thank us for everything.

Cal

A day of worship

It was a great day at church. Members of our 2010 Mission Mexico team shared a few reflections from their experiences of working with Pastors Ramon and Alma in Mexicali. Prior to the service a slide show with photos from the trip was shown. Randy Sargent shared his testimony of how he was changed by his new friendship with Roger from Central Baptist and Eduardo from El Buen Samaritano. Erica talked about how this year built on what she had taken away from last year's trip. Her faith has grown. Amanda Duntz talked about the relationships that have been built over the three years and how now we had a sister church with people that we knew and cared about. Mark Kane spoke about the team building and how it had affected each person's faith. I promised everyone that we would have a dessert night with the opportunity to watch the 2010 DVD together sometime in April.

We also had another installment of the JPS Man. Fred Green has been playing the role of the Jerusalem Parcel Man trying to deliver a cross. This week he bumped into Barrabas (Pete Adams) a couple of bystanders (Rachel Lord and Zelda Earle)and Jesus (Harry Calkins.) After weeks of trying to deliver the cross he finally gave it to Jesus When Jesus took the cross Fred wondered to himself why it made him feel so bad. The skit has been fun and it has featured different people from the congregation each week. The cast has included Cliff Vanase, the Pastor, Mary Brockway, Judy Dupont, Nancy Allen, Bob Walker, Sarah Lord, Amanda Duntz and Mark Kane. We have two more weeks left so what happens next is anybody's guess.

The choir sang an anthem based upon a 15th century poem titled, "I Sing of my Love" and I preached about smelly feet. Actually I talked about Mary's anointing of Jesus' feet at a dinner at their home and how it foreshadows the last supper where he washes the disciples' feet. Mary washes Jesus' feet in a mirror image of his actions. She spares no cost to do what she does just like Jesus who pays the ultimate price to save us.

The service came to a close at 11:47 with the singing of the choral benediction.