Dear Bridgeporter

For many folks, 2009 has been a bit of a rough go. People in
your church community have had lots of money concerns, health
concerns, job, family, housing concerns. Every week when we gather
in prayer together we lift up our worries and woes to God. And yet
we also lift up our joys and express our gratitude for as hard as
life can be, as painful as our losses can feel, as exhausting as
our challenges are, there is still so much to be grateful for.

For as modestly as you & I live, we all live in a prosperity
that is unfathomable to the vast majority of people of the world.
As a baseline, I know that you have a place to call home, you have
something for supper at night and for breakfast in the morning.
Beyond that, each of us makes choices all the time, about so many
things and for the most part we rarely appreciate that we get to
make those choices which is why I really love Thanksgiving.

This is the time of year when we get to officially tally up all
the things we are grateful for. And for starters, I want to go on
record that I am immensely grateful for you and everyone else at
Bridgeport. You enrich my life in so many ways. Thank you. Thank
you. It is truly a privilege to be your pastor.

This Sunday, Nov. 22nd, we'll all get a turn to say thanks
for all our blessings -- and celebrate the conclusion of our annual
stewardship campaign with the Second Annual Harvest Breakfast which
begins at worship time: 10:30 AM. Chef Dixon Martin once again is
creating a Southern breakfast feast to celebrate Gods continued
abundance in our lives. The feast will be followed by a short
service upstairs and blessing of our pledges. Bring yourself, bring
your friends! It is going to be great!

I've been asked to remind you (in case you haven't done
it yet) to turn in your pledge this Sunday at the Harvest
Breakfast. Just put it in the big pink box on the nametag table.
Remember, if you return your pledge by Sunday you are automatically
entered to win the beautiful lap quilt by Lisa Nisenfeld. (You need
NOT be present to win!) Pledge forms and EFT sign up forms are
available at church.

See you Sunday!

in the Big Love--

susan

Bridgeport Update

Hey Bridgeporter-

The summer I was 19, I drove across the country in my 1951 Chevy sedan named Bertrand. My journey took me from Ohio to New Mexico, then across Arizona into California through the desert. The stinking hot desert.

Let me remind you that Bertrand was a 1951 Chevrolet. Air conditioning was not part of the package – unless you count opening all the windows and the little vent flap at the top of the hood. So it was hot. Really hot. Fry an egg on the hood kind of hot. And the landscape was unforgiving. No shade really anywhere -- and back in 1971 there were very few places to stop for refreshment. I really developed an appreciation for the canteen of water in the seat next to me and never doubted the origins of the name of Death Valley.

With the rain coming down this week it’s hard to even think about being without water, but this Sunday, that’s just what we’re going to do. The stories of the Israelites in the desert complaining of thirst to Moses until he taps into a spring (Exodus 17:1-7 ), and Jesus asking the woman at the well in Samaria for a drink of water (John 4: 1-42) are but two of the dozens of Bible stories about thirst – some literal and others metaphorical. This Sunday we will search for water too, and explore our own thirst and the challenging encounters that thirst brings.

I hope to see you Sunday morning. It's going to be a great day of worship.

In the Big Love—
susan

Bridgeport Update

Hey Bridgeporter -

It’s been kind of a rough week for me. My dear friend Carol died on Monday evening, and while she was in her 80’s, her death was very unexpected. Many of you met Carol at one of our 4th of July parties as she ‘held court’ under the pear trees with Joe, her husband of 57 years. Carol was one of the kindest, most gracious and deeply principled people I have ever known. She loved her family and her friends fiercely, had a great sense of humor and was determined to live her life without complaint.

As I reflect on all the things I loved about her and learned from her over the years we had together, it’s clear to me that Carol is one of my ‘saints’.

“Saint” is a French word that comes from sanctus the Latin for sacred. And while in the Christian tradition it is most often used as a title of a person formally recognized or canonized, a person of great faith or virtue - someone who mentors us in a life of faith & goodness - can be embraced as a saint. In that sense, Carol is one indeed.

We all have our saints: people in our lives who exemplify faith, love, grace, justice, commitment, joy and all kinds of other wonderful attributes. They have helped us to become who we are today, and who continue to point us in the way we should grow.

This Sunday, we are celebrating All Saints Day. You are invited to bring a picture of your saint to place on the chancel table and light a candle in their memory before worship begins. It’s also Homecoming Sunday, and everyone who’s ever walked through our doors is invited to come back and visit! If you know someone who used to attend, this is a great Sunday to invite them back with you, so please, spread the word!

It is going to be a wonderful day in worship and I really hope to see you there.

in the Big Love –
susan

Bridgeport Update

Hey Bridgeporter -

Back in the day, many, if not most Americans had the preamble to the Constitution and the Gettysburg Address committed to memory -- maybe even some poetry was stashed inside the ol’ grey matter. But there’s not a lot of memorizing going on these days (outside of theater, that is) -- except maybe in church. The 23rd Psalm is still something most of us know by heart – at least most of it. But the one thing us churchy folks can pretty much all recite is The Lord’s Prayer. Oh sure we may vary when it comes to the trespasses/debts/sins part, but we get back together before being led not into temptation and the big finish. But what is this prayer that Jesus taught his disciples about anyway, and why are we still saying it in King James' English? This Sunday we’ll be looking at a number of translations and interpretations of Jesus’ prayer and trying to get a better handle on what he was trying to teach us and why we pray together.

Here’s one version now:

dad@hvn, ur spshl.
we want wot u want
& urth 2b like hvn.
giv us food & 4giv r sins
lyk we 4giv uvaz.
don't test us! save us!
bcos we kno ur boss,
ur tuf & ur cool 4 eva! ok?

Um, okay, maybe not this one… but you will be almost as dazzled with the others. :-)

Speaking of dazzling, you really need to get your tickets asap for Dueling Divas Part Deux!! Talk to me or to Verna on Sunday. It looks like it’s going to be a sellout.

The flu season is really beginning to settle in here in Portland. One of Bridgeport's RN's wrote me to remind you that if you feel sick, stay home, rest, drink lots of fluids and get better -- and stay home a full 24 hours past the time you don't run a fever without the help of any medication. Portland hospitals are jammed with folks who have this truly nasty bug. Because good hygiene is really important, we've got lots of bottles of hand sanitizer at the church -- feel free to use it. Stay healthy!!

I hope to see you this Sunday – as well as Sunday, Nov. 1st which will be our very first All Saints Day celebration! We’ll remember & honor all the folks in our lives who have showed us the way we should grow. Bring a picture to share & and candle (& holder) to light in their memory. It’s also Homecoming Sunday—everyone who’s ever walked through our doors is invited to come back and visit! Spread the word!

See you soon.

in the Big Love –
susan

Bridgeport Update

Dear Bridgeporter –

I’m a devoted reader of the funny papers, and always have been. The classic comics (Peanuts), the newer comics (Pearls before Swine), the comics I adore (Ernie Pook) and the comics I don’t really get most of the time (Bizarro) The comics that tell stories (Prince Valiant) and the comics that comment on our 21st century lives (Doonesbury). I read ‘em all.

For the last 20 years or so (probably something to do with my calling) I have marveled at how often the comics try to address what seem to me to be real theological issues. Take this week’s storyline of “Pickles”. Have you seen it? This is the comic from Monday:



This strip got me thinking about one of the Stump the Preacher questions from a while back:

Could you discuss the difference between self determination and free will,
and God’s intervention and the action of Grace in our lives?

Uh, well, maybe. With a running start.

This week, much to the amazement of a number of my preacher pals, I’m taking that running start. This Sunday we’ll be exploring free will and grace and poking around at the “Ifs”. In the meantime, check out the rest of this week’s Pickles series at http://comics.com/pickles/.
I hope to see you Sunday!

in the Big Love –
susan

Dear Bridgeporter –

This week is World Communion Sunday, a day in which the sacrament of Communion is celebrated all over the globe. Known variously as the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, and the Joyful Feast of the People of God, we all know that Communion has its roots in the final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples, but there is much much more to it.

In my research this week I stumbled upon the Visual Thesaurus – what a great website! After a couple of minutes of play I came up with this image and when I realized what it was, I knew I had to share it with you.

It’s a dancing stick figure – with ‘manduction’ (“chewing”) appropriately at the head, its arms holding up Holy Communion & sacramental manduction (the act of participating in Communion).
One leg reaches to religious denominations, the other is comprised of sharing, they connect at the word "commune" and at the heart of the figure is communion – which is defined as fellowship, harmony, accord.

In this little figure is the essence of our Sunday together as we not only observe World Communion Sunday, but also celebrate community as we receive the offering for Neighbors with Need and honor another year with the Bridge Garden.

For those of you who want to do your own scriptural work, our readings this week are the 2nd creation story in Genesis (2:4b-17) and Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (11:17-26) in which he explains the sacrament. Pour both readings together and stir well, and we'll see what we serve up on Sunday.


I hope to see you there!

in the Big Love-
susan

Image from the Visual Thesaurus, Copyright ©1998-2009 Thinkmap, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bridgeport Update

Hey Bridgeporter—

I received this little quiz from a friend today, and I figured I should share it with you. It’s a way of finding out who is really the greatest person in the history of the world. Don't scroll down yet, just do the simple math below, then scroll down to find out who is the greatest one of all.

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3

3) Then Add 3

4) Then again Multiply by 3 (I'll wait while you get the calculator....)

5) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number....

6) Add the digits together

With that number, you can see who really is the greatest person in the history of the world from the list below:

1. Albert Einstein
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Pres. Obama
4. Jesus Christ
5. Susan B. Anthony
6. Gandhi
7. Mohammed
8. Babe Ruth
9. You! You! You!
10. Sarah Palin
11. Bill Gates

Can you believe it?

Okay, okay, you’re not the greatest person in the history of the world. This is just a quirky math game (check it out: every number you could pick in the first step will yield the number 9), but the results give an answer that a lot of folks – the disciples of Jesus, some talk-radio hosts, an annoying co-worker, maybe even you (at least some times) – would like to think is accurate.

This week I’m exploring some ideas that were sparked by Mark 9: 30-37, especially the question, “Who’s the greatest of all?”

Everybody has their take on who’s the greatest: The sports world, the political world, the economic world, the entertainment world, and even the education world have pecking orders and awards for who they determine to be the best in show. Oh yes. Add the dog, cat & horse worlds, too. But all those ‘worlds’ are but small parts of the world -- the universe! – that God created. And our estimation of ‘greatest’ is often just plain wrong.

Come to church on Sunday and learn more about the topsy turvy world of greatness in the eyes of God. We’ll be celebrating and dedicating our Sunday school, our youth group and our adult education program, and it’s acoustic music Sunday – so bring your guitar, mandolin & spoons!

I hope to see you there! Now read on to learn about upcoming events at church and around town.

in the Big Love –
susan

ps All this talk about the greatest one of all got me thinking about yet another Disney movie with the question to the magic mirror...