O God, our Help and Hope

“O God, our Help and Hope”

Annual Meeting Sunday

January 27, 2013

©Thomas B. Cundiff

Psalm 90: 1-2

God’s Eternity and Human Frailty

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.  ¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling-place^*
in all generations.  ² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Titus 1: 1-3

1Paul, a servant^* of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, ²in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began— ³in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior,

Luke 4: 16-20a

16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 

I.  Introduction:  Life and Work of Isaac Watts[1]

What a wonderful and timeless hymn, O God, our Help in Ages Past, our Hope for Years to Come!  To gain a full understanding of this hymn requires looking into the life of Isaac Watts—born in Southampton England in 1674.  Growing up in a deeply religious household, Watts was rebellious, like many young people, in refusing to accept the teachings and practice of the established church—the Church of England.  Watts was a smart young man proficient at a young age in Latin and Greek and Hebrew.  From an early age he showed great aptitude for poetry and musical verse—writing over 600 hymns during his life—many in our Presbyterian Hymnal.

Many family and friends assumed Isaac Watts would advance in his studies to be ordained in the Church of England.  Still rebellious and a  Nonconformist, Watts was seen in the church to be a great agent for change.  Instead of going to Oxford or Cambridge Watts went to a progressive university at Stoke Newington.  He was ordained in 1702—not a lot of history I could find about his ministry.  He had health issues living most of his life in Hertfordshire, England, where he died at the age of 74.

I found it interesting that Watts was been labeled both an evangelical and progressive.  He was a die-hard nonconformist who embraced the traditions of the past with his eyes focused on the future.  O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come – this is a  hymn based on the words of today’s Psalm 90 that helps connect the realities of past experiences with a sense of God’s majestic reign eternally.   

Watt’s message in this hymn is simple and clear:  God of the past is also the God of the future.  God is the God of hope.  God is the God of all eternity.

II.   Ages Past /  Looking Back

Taking a few moments to look at our current context grounded in our rich history as a church on the corner of Warren and Millard Streets:  As Luke says in our morning gospel the “Spirit of the Lord has truly been a blessing upon us anointing us in worship and fellowship to serve the poor and captives and blind and hungry and the oppressed -- proclaiming this and every year of our Lord’s favor.”

We are truly blessed as a church.  As we declare in what has become my favorite Call to Worship:  “How Wonderful is Your creation, O God, how blessed the passing of years.”  We are eternally grateful to God who has breathed into us life and hope.

Think for a moment about those who have gone before us.  Teachers and preachers and parents and grandparents friends near and dear to us who have worshipped in this place – in these pews – along side us.  I wouldn’t be here without some great mentors over the years  – truly some of you I am proud and blessed to call both friend and mentor.   Today is a good day to take time to reflect on those who have influenced us, helping us to set goals, helping to guide and mold us into who we are today.

We give thanks to God for these saints who from “ages past” have made it possible to be in this place at this time in worshipping God—our strength and our hope.    

Specifically, there are more ministries and programs and ways God has touched us that exceeds the time allotted for one sermon.  So I need to share with you just a couple of broad sweeping examples. 

We are a church with a strong missional compass promoting stability in our community.  We enjoy our fellowship.  We love being in this beautiful church doing Christ’s worship and work. We are a church always evolving as circumstances around us change.

More than anything else, we are always ready to gather on Sunday mornings, 10:00 a.m., for sacred worship.  Grounded in scripture and centered in Christ. we are always ready to give glory to God who speaks to and through us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

III.  June 3, 2012

One of the most important meetings we have held as a congregation was back on June 3^rd, following worship down in the Memorial Lounge.   This was a well-attended meeting that was one of the most productive conversations about the future of the church we have had in my ministry with you.  As in numerous occasions in the past, we have affirmed our desire to remain in this location in this neighborhood by choice.  There is simply nowhere else we want to be!

We talked this past June about the hard realities we face financially and with declining membership.   You will see these numbers again when we meet during our Annual Meeting.  

What I heard you say loud and clear is that you, the most active of our 86 members, have a passion for the close and  personal relationships we nurture together as friends in Christ doing the work Christ calls us to be doing that transcends everything else.  

On paper, we can see numbers and a budget that can sustain ministries in this church and this beautiful building for a few more years…..on paper.   I also would remind you that we are more than what we see on balance sheets.  In the past, if we paid attention to all the mathematical projections, we would have shut this church down years ago.  I also have to state this fact:  The numbers weren’t bad numbers.  We have simply made internal changes that have allowed us to keep our doors open for a few more years. 

In fact, had we decided to maintain staffing with a full time Associate Pastor[2] and Administrator and Financial secretary and Christian Education Director and Choir Director and Custodian along with Security – we would have run out of money years ago.  (Do you realize it’s now been twenty years since Tony Patrick was our Associate pastor?)   

With your commitment to pick up a host of responsibilities as leaders and volunteers, we have been able to continue to doing ministry and in caring for this building.  I would also note, from my perspective, there is very little we are doing now that we weren’t doing when this church had two pastors and 150 to 200 more members!  THIS IS AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE CHURCH FOR OUR SIZE!

One of our greatest successes in the past ten years has been collaborating with others -- the East Side Soup Kitchen that first opened its doors here in 1997 and more recently to the Women of Colors Inc. and the Mark Neumeyer Youth Center.  These collaborations have been a remarkable  win/win experience for the church, the children served, and these organizations that have the resources we simply don’t have as a congregation at this time in our history.  Simply, does anyone here want the job of running a youth center?

This meeting back in June 3^rd affirmed and I quote:   “we will remain diligent in honestly assessing where we are financially in sustaining the basic ministries and relationships we have come to enjoy through the years.”   We must continue to be serious and sober in honestly assessing what we can do with resources God has entrusted our care.    

IV.  Our Eternal Home

There are always going to be some solemn and painful moments in our life as a church.  This past year three saints made the journey to their eternal home.   Joan Hepinstall, Barbara McDonald and Rudy Jarvi

I believe every single active member of this church was involved in helping with the funerals and memorial meals and in caring for hugging and crying with these families in their grief. 

I am profoundly moved when it comes to the heart-felt ways you give of yourselves to those who are ill or struggling or facing challenging times.  I truly see God in your sharing with others in times of need—which for me gives us HOPE FOR YEARS TO COME.   How long?  God only knows!

This is what Isaac Watts proclaimed in song:  As long as we don’t give up on God, God will always be with us to help us reshape and redefine and reframe and retool what we need to be doing as Christ’s church.   

What do I know for  a fact:

(1)             As long as we don’t give up on Jesus, Jesus won’t give up on us.

(2)            As long as we don’t give up on each other, God, as in ages past, will be our hope for years to come.    

(3)            As long as we are honest in bringing God into our decision / discernment processes, God will not give up on us.  Honestly, we may not always be the Warren Avenue Presbyterian Church, but God also promises…..never to give up on us as his faithful disciples!

With God by our side, we must embrace HOPE that transcends budgets and numbers.  What God has planned for you and me in our lives and this church is beyond what we can possibly know for sure!  But assuredly God will be with us every step of the way.   

1 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

AMEN

---

[1]   Some of the thoughts in this sermon come from the work of Ian Poulton in a sermon he preached July 29, 2007 at St. Matthais’ Church. 

  

[2]   Tony Patrick was our last full-time Associate Pastor who left in November of 1992, 20 years ago.

GUN VIOLENCE

“Gun Violence”

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday

January 20, 2013

© Thomas B. Cundiff

 

                                                                       

Micah 6: 6-8

What God Requires

 

6“With what shall I come before the LORD,

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

 

Matthew 22:  36-39

 

³⁶‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ ³⁷He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ³⁸This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I.  Framing the Issue

This is one of the most complex topics I’ve ever tried to preach.  “Gun–violence”!   Still fresh in our minds are the 20 innocent first graders shot and killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14^th of last year.  It still makes me want to cry thinking about beautiful children—as well as the children we have lost on the streets of our city.

 

I join with the parents from Newtown, Connecticut and around the nation calling for a national conversation on “gun violence”.  We need to join with women like Tiffanny Goodman who produced the wonderful play, “Speak Up, Speak Out” in honoring the memory of her son who was shot and killed back in March of 2009.

One thing I will not do in this conversation is challenge the Second Amendment right in our Constitution to “keep and bear arms”.   What I am hoping to do is frame this issue of gun violence around the people and violence in our society with guns being the tool many ue to commit horrendous crimes!  This being said…..some facts to consider:

First, these facts as reported and checked and double checked from several publications including Presbyterians Today[1]: 

Did you know that over eighty (80) people die each day from gunshot wounds? That adds up to roughly 30,000 women and men and children who die each year from guns.   

Did you know there are over 300 million guns in the United States?  This is just under our population of 315 millions people in this country—almost one gun for every man and woman and child living in this country.

Did you know that gun murder rates in the United States per 100,000 people are more than 17 times higher than those in Australia, 35 times higher than in Germany, 37 times higher than in Spain and 355 times higher than in Japan.”[2]

Second, it’s a known fact that guns do not shoot themselves.  People kill people. Gun violence is more about those who use the guns than the weapons themselves.  

Third, there are millions of law-abiding citizens who legally own and trained to use different types of guns for sport or collections or security.   

Fourth, a question:  Why don’t we hear on the news more stories about the lives that are saved each and every day because armed police and security personnel and responsible citizens are committed to keeping their families and others safe and secure? 

Fifth, we need to also recognize the reality that there are many types of weapons:  guns, sticks, rocks, knives, baseball bats or fists – even bombs that kill! 

These points being made, my focus today:

As Children of God created in the image of God, how are we to approach this question of gun violence as a church?  To answer this question we seek guidance from scripture and the Mosaic Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Kill”!   Guidance is also found in answering the New Commandment and Jesus’ call to “love our neighbors as ourselves”.  And this being the beginning of the Global Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Micah’s question asked by Christians around the globe:  “What does the Lord require of us?”

II.  Wilmette, Illinois Murders[3]

 Let me take you for a moment to the village of Wilmette, Illinois, fourteen miles north of downtown Chicago.  Quoting from the pastor of the Wilmette church after a double murder and suicide took place on church grounds in 2009:   

 

“It was viewed as an anomaly,” says Sarah Butter, the pastor. “It was not the kind of thing people expected to happen in that kind of neighborhood.”   She is uncomfortably aware, however, that on the south side of Chicago, suicides and murders in poorer neighborhoods with fewer resources happen far too often and with very little notice.  

 

Rick Wiley, who committed the Wilmette murders, was a repeat offender.  He had served 15 years in prison for killing his first wife in 1985—he used a knife.  A member of the Wilmette church, he also struggled with a mental disease called “intermittent explosive disorder”.  He was released after only 15 years after killing his first wife.[4]  He would have served a life sentence had the judge in his case not ruled him as being insane.   

 

After Rick Wiley’s release from prison he returned home and the church welcomed the prodigal son back—I would add, cautiously and with forgiving hearts.  He was a member of the church and was received as such!  The church helped him rebuild his life.  He got a job as a carpenter.  He married the church secretary, Kathy Motes, who had a young son named Chris. The congregation let them live in a house on the church grounds. 

 

Things were going pretty well until….March of 2009, the worst thing happened. After an argument one weekend, Wiley shot and killed his wife, his stepson and himself using a ‘black powder, muzzle loading Civil War replica rifle’ that was part of a collection owned by his step-son who was murdered.  . 

 

III.  A Mental Issue

 

As reflected in this story, Mental Illness tied to those who commit gun violence is a critical issue.  How do we deal with the Rick Wiley’s who are found insane for a murder and then released back to society?  Did the judge mess up by ruling him “insane” allowing for his early release after just 15 years for a murder?  What kind of treatment did he receive upon his release?  Did the church members or anyone around this man and family know he had a mental health history that pointed specifically toward violent behavior?  Lots of questions.

 

This past week the President put forward some proposals that at first seemed weak in the area of Mental Health—until I read the full report.  Specifically, the President is looking for more diagnosis and treatment of young people with mental health issues between the ages of 16 and 25.—“high risk mental health individuals”.[5]  This plan calls for helping schools train mental health professionals in diagnosing mental health issues that may put others at risk.  I also like the proposal that teachers and students get “Mental Health First Aid Training” in helping to identify problems like bullying. 

 

For the sake of the wellbeing of others, authorities must find ways to identify threats before someone goes off the deep end in locating an easy-to find ‘Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle’ with lots of ammunition in acting out some kind of horrendous crime.

 IV.   A Behavior Issue—Teaching Non-Violence

Which leads to another concern I have outside the arena of mental health.  Violent Behavior in American Culture, especially in urban environments, has become prevalent.  You don’t have to be mentally ill to be in a gang.  You don’t have to be unstable to throw a punch at a brother or sister or neighbor or parent who is upsetting you.  Anger management is an issue many young people need to address. 

 

It’s not hard to imagine being angry when living in poverty!  Domestic violence is on the rise.  More and more parents are fighting…..shoving and punching and shouting in many ways is the NORM in solving even simple problems.  And the sad fact, easy access to guns makes for lots shootings for a wide variety of reasons…..drugs, gangs, simple disagreements…..and shooting somebody when you are angry is so much easier than talking!  Insane!  Back to this becoming a Mental Health Issue!

 

On this eve of the national holiday in honoring the life of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this is what he preached:  “At the center of non-violence is the principle of love.”[6] To see all the high crime rates, one has to wonder what has happened to this biblical foundation of love in human relations?

 

What do we need to do in our communities and schools and churches in teaching and preaching non-violence? 

 

I think back to when the East Side Soup Kitchen was in our church building—often 300+ people from every walk of life coming into our building every day for a hot meal.  The roughest and toughest people in our town would come through the doors of our gym.  Security was tight.  Everyone was “wanded” to make sure they weren’t carrying weapons.  To her credit, Pam Cole and her staff are gifted in immediately created a culture of non-violence and respect and peace in serving hot meals.  I am so proud of you for letting the patrons of the Soup Kitchen – some with violent backgrounds, into our building.  In reality, what happened at the Wilmette church could have happened here!  Sick behavior that causes tragic things to happen to innocent people that has sadly, become part of our culture.

 

In this church, for as long as I can remember, we have had tough standards when it comes to teaching participants in the Youth center and summer Magic how to solve problems without the use of violence. 

 

The director of the youth center shared with me a while back the story of a youngster she had to send home from the after school program because of his violent, pushing and shoving and abusive language.  When this child returned with his mother she quickly discovered the source of this child’s violent behavior.   This mother was angry to the point of wanting to hit a door because she felt her young and immature son had been disrespected by the youth leaders?  This parent obviously had a lot of issues---and her behavior was reflected in the behavior of her son.  It’s no wonder so many teachers, particularly in low income urban districts, report having so many issues with behavior in their classrooms.[7] 

 A few years ago I was given a copy of a “Pledge of Non-Violence” that was used with our own Summer Magic program.   A copy of this pledge is found in your bulletin.  Children in Summer Magic have been asked to actually sign a commitment to non-violence when attending this program.

 

“To Respect Self and Others; To Forgive; To Play Creatively;  To be Courageous in challenging unfairness and violence in all its forms…..and to stand with others who are treated unfairly”……wonderful standards!

 

Related to what we teach our children, many who have access to violent video games and movies are children who have seen the violence first hand on the streets….children who think its normal to see their parents fight….and kids who also know how easy it is to get a gun.

It’s no wonder so many of our children grow up desensitized into thinking fists and foul language – even guns are the only way to solve problems.

 

It is from our pulpits we must share within our communities:  Get rid of the illegal guns.  If you have a gun keep it secure and away from all children. 

 

We need to preach:  “Enough is Enough!”  If we can’t get rid of the guns we must at least become advocates for safe gun ownership.

 

We also need to preach and teach adopting an attitude of ZERO TOLERANCE when it comes to violent behavior. 

 

In our homes, schools and churches we need to pick up the ball and proactively teach non-violence.  We need to be intentional in modeling non-violence in our programming.  I have been thinking:  Perhaps this “Pledge for Non-Violence” needs to be posted on every entrance to this building and buildings and schools  and agencies throughout our community?

 

To again invoke a quite from Dr. Martin Luther King jr, “Non-violence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit.  You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.”   It needs to be part of our mission as a church to get this message out into the larger community. 

 

V.  A Gun Issue

 

Mental and behavioral health and violence in our culture aside, a few thoughts about guns.  For years the Presbyterian Church has been engaged in resisting gun violence.  The most recent document coming out of the General Assembly in 2010 is titled:  “Gun Violence, Gospel Values: Mobilizing in Response to God’s Call “[8]   While there has and always will always be healthy debate on this issue, these are a few of the recommendations – not unlike the recommendations brought forward by the White House this past week….. 

 

1.       Limit legal personal gun acquisition to one handgun per month.  (not on the President’s list) 

 

2.       Require licensing, registration, and waiting periods to allow comprehensive background checks, and cooling-off periods for all guns sold.  {The President is recommending a national, universal registry of weapons}

 

3.       Close the “gun show” loophole by requiring background checks for all gun buyers.

 

4.       Ban semiautomatic assault weapons, armor piercing handgun ammunition, and .50 caliber sniper rifles. 

 

5.       Advocate for new technologies to aid law-enforcement agencies to trace crime guns and promote public safety.

 

6.       And a complex recommendation instructing all agencies of the government to DESTROY the records of all persons whose weapons were purchased legally.  {sensitive to privacy concerns}

 

On these six points you may or may not agree.  I would add to this list finding ways to identify and treat persons with mental health issues and violent tendencies.  I would also add to this list the President’s call for more study and research from the ATF and ways to share information about people applying for guns who have criminal backgrounds or mental health issues.

 

I think something that is going to be a GIVEN throughout the nation, the training of school professionals at all levels in providing better security in schools…..and on my list, the need for us to be proactive advocates in our churches and schools and businesses for non-violence.    

 

 VI.  Conclusion

 So what does the Lord require but to but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God? 

I truly believe God has created us to live and enact good, healthy and productive lives.  It’s time to become advocates for peace in turning the tide of violence in our communities into something positive, something that embraces our image of God that helps us build positive and productive lives.  We must become, as Isaiah calls, “the repairs of the breach in restoring peace in our cities….”[9]  

We must help by enacting policies that make a positive difference.  This can be done without hurting Second Amendment rights.  This must be done in adhering to the same theme I have been preaching all month – putting on Christ, clothing ourselves in Christ’s values in living our lives as role models in promoting non-violence and peace.  We must become advocates in arming ourselves with skills in helping to defuse violent behavior and treating those with violent tendencies who are mentally ill.   We must become role models in how to solve problems in our homes in peaceful ways.  We must demonstrate in and through out lives all the things listed in this “Pledge of Non-Violence”.

 

The discussion on “gun violence” must continue.  We must never forget the little children who have been needlessly killed.  Our discussions must lead to action.  We must continue to search for ways to use our faith in God to be “keepers of peace” in our lives and world.

 

So what does the Lord require but to but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly (and peaceably) with God? 

 

AMEN

 

---

[1]  Presbyterians Today, September 2012, Jim Atwood, pg. 26.

 

[2]   Ibid.

 

[3]  I wrote this sermon based on this Presbyterians Today article along with articles n the Chicago Tribune (3/3/099, Michael Tarm) and other internet searches.

 

 

[4]   Chicago Tribune, Michael Tarm, March 3, 2009 (Internet)

[5]  http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/wh_now_is_the_time_full.pdf

 

[6]   www.mlkonline.net/quotes.html.

 

[7]   Story is a couple of years old.  I embellished it a bit to make my point.

 

[8]   PCUSA 2019^TH General Assembly, 2010.

[9]   Isaiah 58