Sermon 2.2.25

Grace and peace to you in the name of the holy parent, redeemer, and spirit.

Beloveds, it is a joy and delight to be with you all this morning. It is a special treat to be with you here in Hutchinson. I grew up in Willmar, and there were times where my family would meet in the middle and have lunch with my grandparent at the country buffet. (I think that is what it called). So being here fills my heart with good memories. I also want to celebrate and thank you for your discernment and journey to become a Reconciling in Christ congregation. In the 42 years this program has existed, you beloveds are the third RIC community in the SW MN Synod. With number two arriving just a few short months before you.

Your witness and welcome seem more important now than ever. As communities of people live in heightened fear about their futures, families, and livelihoods. In your welcome statement you name “We are called by Jesus to love God and one another, serving everyone with no strings attached.

At River of Hope, we welcome people of every ethnicity, age, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, marital status, political perspective, physical and mental ability, or socioeconomic position.

Wherever you are on your journey of faith, wherever you are in life (herbivore, carnivore, allergic to church, snarky, cranky)…you are fully welcome here. We mean it!

You are a beloved and unique child of God. Come gather for worship and prayer, to study God’s Word, to embrace the work of racial equity, social and economic justice, and environmental care.

Together we are called to go out and transform lives through Jesus Christ.

In our scripture reading for today we hear and are reminded of ways to live out this welcome statement. In Jeremiah we hear the affirming words that “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Take a deep breath and be affirmed by the reminder that we are who are on purpose. That our God new us before our journey began. You have been consecrated, declared sacred, beloved by God.

I the Psalm reading we are reminded that God is our “rock and refuge, a strong fortress to save us.” That our God will Rescue us from the hands of the wicked from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.”

And in 1 Corinthians we are reminded of the transformational power of love. Without love, the greatest expression of scripture, our words and actions are nothing but a noisy gongs or clanging symbol.

Beloveds when I read your welcome statement and read todays scripture, they are a beautiful mirror of one another. You have named how you want to be in relationship with one another and your larger community. And the scripture today reminds us of the why and how.

You are exactly the kind of congregation this community needs. You are the kind of congregations I would l have oved to know was a part of my community growing up. You are a living expression of God’s love that people can see, experience. You have committed to being present for one another and your community, being a source of refuges and a strong fortress for those who might be experiencing a deep sense of othering and oppression over the last few weeks. As member of the LGBTQIA+ community I know there is heightened levels of fear and wondering about how our lives will change in the coming years, as definitions of who we know ourselves to be are being limited to a binary way. Even though we have a God that lives beyond the binary. We are seeing access to serve our country in military service be limited and have access to lifesaving medical care being denied to youth and adults.

Last Sunday I had the privilege of gathering with leaders from thirteen congregations from across the US in San Deigo. We spent five days together sharing soties about how the success of the congregation is directly linked to their proximity to their communities. One pastor said we are thriving because “the community needs us, and we need our community.”  I worshiped last Sunday with all these leaders at Boarder Church in Mexico. This was the first time I had crossed our board on foot. And it was something I will never forget. The size of the two walls that line the boarder, the amount of barbed wire everywhere, and the communities on both sides reaction to one another.

I left that experience knowing there is much work to be done.

As you continue to set milestones about how you want to be church together, I hope you know how important your role in this corner of MN and the whole ELCA is. Your boldness in your RIC welcome brings hope to those who have felt left out or discarded. Refuge to who need a safe place to rest before another week work or school begins.  And as you express the love of God through your hearts, hands, and voices you show people that there is room for them at God’s table.

I would like to share a prayer with you from a great book. “Black Liturgies: Payers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human.” By Cole Arthur Riley

“Divine Community,

We want to be known, and we’re terrified of being known. Of being laid bare in the presence of another. We are grateful that you are not a God who demands a spirituality rooted in some solitary existence, but it is hard to belong without allowing the direction of our lives to be dictated by those from whom we seek affirmation. Help us to daily discern the truth of our selfhood, that our communities would offer insight without commanding assimilation. As we find space that truly see and know us, help us to not run from them. The more beautiful a thing is, the more terrified we are of losing it. Do not let this terror keep us for the love we were meant for. And as we learn to accept friendship and care, may we be stirred to extend it to others. Keep us from contributing to loneliness and dislocation in the world, knowing that our freedom is mysteriously entwined with the freedom of those around us. AMEN.”

“Inhale: I was meant for love. Exhale: God, help me to receive it.

Inhale: I need more than me. Exhale: we get free together

Inhale: I am worthy of embrace. Exhale: God lead me to belonging.”

Together we are called to go out and transform lives through Jesus Christ.

Amen