On Sunday, July 24, Kristin shared with us some strong feelings about authenticity, and how the Church and our culture have made it difficult to be ourselves. We’ve been made to feel separate from God, ashamed, and afraid to pursue being the authentic individuals we are – the people God wants us to be. Here are some thoughts from members of the congregation.

How do I become more authentic?

Group #1

1. It's important to be honest and true, but have some sort of filter between brain and lips. In other words, “say what you mean, but don’t say it mean.”
2. Don’t let the “busyness” of life cut out my quiet time with God when I can process events and get centered.
3. Have a dedicated time each day to get quiet and listen.
4. Don’t confuse authenticity with perfection. Remember that God loves us exactly as we are.
5. Be willing to be more vulnerable and transparent about what’s going on inside us.
6. Be OK with being less confident.
7. Discover the unique, divine, inner gift that we can express with other.
8. Take time to meditate and allow God to enter our hearts.

Group #2

1. Be open about our personal flaws, failings, and short comings.
2. Admit when I am wrong and do not know something.
3. Reject the need for external approval.
4. Be humble and vulnerable.
5. Be open-hearted (much easier to do in a safe, loving environment).
6. Share our values with others.

Group #3

1. Be willing to expose our feelings.
2. Find a safe, loving, and supporting environment where we can open our hearts.
3. Be authentic to Christ.
4. Remember that God often has a different plan than the one we’ve created in our heads.
5. God often puts us in places to form and humble us.
6. How do we deal with shame?

How do I deal with shame?

Group #1

1. Face shame by sharing it with others in a healing environment without the fear of judgement.
2. Process shame in the presence of God by journaling or confessing it.
3. Speak it rather than denying it and pretending it doesn’t exist.
4. Accept God’s grace.

Group #2

1. Speak our shame and tell our story to others.
2. Invite others to speak their pain without diminishing, blaming, or problem-solving.
3. Reach out to a safe community.

Group #3

1. Openly communicate our feelings to others.
2. Listen to others and affirm their feelings.
3. Get men more involved so they participate more in church.
4. Be with people who think differently than we do.

On Sunday, July 17, Susie Ford shared a unique parable about the sustainable nature of agricultural bio-diversity. We then discussed the need for greater diversity within the church. Here are the comments that various individuals shared.

• I appreciate the ideal situation – to have a very diverse group – but I also realize that a homogeneous group is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of beliefs. You have to have similar beliefs to make it easier for a church to move forward – a theology or form of worship that makes everyone in the fellowship comfortable.
  
  
• Is diversity really just about race? What about economic, educational, cultural, and political diversity? Race is just one measure of diversity.
  
  
• It’s important for a church to have boundaries, not walls. Boundaries are flexible. They tell us where we stand at any point in time – what we believe in. If we are not comfortable with certain beliefs, we can choose not to embrace them until such time as we feel more in alignment with them.
  
  
• I love the vision of diversity. Respect and tolerance are vital for keeping a diverse population together.
  
  
• I embrace diversity in everyday life, but I find it difficult to embrace others’ views when they feel offensive or threatening. I guess that’s part of the dynamic tension of being around people who think differently than I do.
  
  
• I started attending FCMF because of what Steve and Gus were doing – being self-sacrificing and serving others. When people serve God outside of their comfort zone, they often become more comfortable with diversity. I believe there is a real sense of acceptance among Mennonites.
  
  
• I think there are different ways of thinking about diversity. For example, in marriage, diversity must be tolerated. After all, marriage is often the coming together of different internal belief systems. Also, when examining diverse opinions, we must remind ourselves that extreme ideas often come from a place of pain and suffering.
  
  
• I have found that diverse opinions and behaviors are more acceptable and beneficial as long as people are good to one another.
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• When people clash, it may be best to have some sort of person who can act as a buffer and bear witness to the differences between people.

On Sunday, July 10, Lynette led us in a discussion about peace, based on this Biblical verse: 

“to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
-- Luke 1:79

She asked us to break into groups and answer several questions. Here are the questions and the various answers we came up with. Perhaps some of them will resonate with you.

Feel free to add your own ideas by posting a comment.

QUESTION #1: How can I create peace within myself?

Group  #1

1. Start with reflection. Purposely choose a quiet time to reflect each day.
2. Meditation is a time to receive – to quiet myself, listen, and receive.
3. Forgiveness is an important part of creating peace. When I think about what upsets me – what other people do – I realize that forgiveness of self and others leads to inner peace.
4. Seems like 80% of the time I feel great – at peace. But the other 20% of the time, I feel terrible.  I guess everyone feels great some of the time, and not so great the other times. Maybe, realizing this is the human condition can make us feel more at peace with ourselves.
5. We often feel less at peace when we focus outside ourselves upon the world. It seems as if things are getting more chaotic and violent, when in reality, we are just more aware of these things.
6. Perhaps violence has always been present, repressed, and simmering beneath the surface. For the longest time, bigotry and hatred have existed, underling our way of life, but we have denied it. Only now that these things are is actually visible can we do anything about them. Perhaps it is a good thing that such feelings and behaviors are finally “getting out” so we can acknowledge and take action.

Group #2

1. Lock myself in the bathroom to escape chaos.
2. Breathe in pace and breathe out anxiety.
3. Go for a walk, be in nature.
4. Practice gratitude. Thank what I and others have done that is good.
5. Our culture encourages us to be discontented.
6. Practice contemplative thinking while doing chores.

Group #3

1. Befriend yourself.
2. Be thankful for my present circumstances.
3. Meditate.
4. Be forgiving.
5. Be a conscientious objector.
6. Transform you own idealogy of a situation.
7. Focus on the good and give others the benefit of the doubt.
8. When I serve others, my attention on myself disappears.
9. Work hard outdoors to forget unpleasant emotions and enter into.
10. Ask for ongoing zeal.
11. Create a deliberate plan – a disciplined time commitment to take action steps.
12. Practice some of the observances of Rosh Hashana, such as Tashlich when you toss bread crumbs into water, symbolizing casting away your wrongdoings of the past year.
13. Help churches to unite. Our faith seems so small. Why does it seem so hard to build peace between churches.
14. We need to stop attacking other faith organizations that are trying to make a difference in homelessness. 
15. Communicate directly with the other party to seek resolution.

QUESTION #2: What can I commit to do to build peace? 
Group #1

1. I can be more forgiving. I can be a model of a peacekeeper.
2. We can tell others about peacekeepers, like the conscientious objectors of WWII.
3. We can communicate our belief and act on them.
4. We can be a witness for peace – saying out loud what others may be unwilling to say.
5. Consider our circle of concern vs. our circle of influence. If our circle of concern is too great and includes things over which we have no real control, we will feel terrible. If we focus on what is within our circle of influence, we will feel better.

Group #2 

1. Speak up to legislators about healthcare and background checks.
2. Pray for people around us and for people that do bad things.
3. Try to see the good in people even when you do not like what they do.
4. Try to interact with people who believe differently than you and listen to them even when you do not agree with them.

QUESTION #3: How do we build peace within FCMF and the community?
Group  #1

1. Plant a Peace Pole.
2. Continue to be involved with FFH and Homeless Coalition – the economically disenfranchised. Perhaps we can move into the realm of those who are disenfranchised because of their gender orientation.
3. Our group actions reflect those of the individuals within our community.
4. We are a beacon of light. We need to keep  doing what we are doing.
5. We need to celebrate what we do individually and together. 
6. Remember that we don’t have to face things alone.

Group #2

1. Use our banners and signs, participate in MLK day.
2. Plant a Peace Pole, host FFH families, work for justice.
3. MCC works for peace and justice.
4. Work more with the homeless and support the Homeless Coalition.
5. Practice compassionate listening with people in the workplace and the community.
6. Treat others as if they are loved and valued.
7. Be a part of a broader organization (for example, DOOR, SALT, MCC) that is already building peace in the community and in the world. Don’t try to do everything alone. Partner with other faiths to make a bigger impact and build peace among religions.
8. Recognize and celebrate similarities among other faiths. 

On Sunday, July 3, Annie explained the Biblical passage we’d be discussing:

"Go before the Lord to prepare God's ways." -- Luke 1:76

She then provided context for the verse and then asked us to break into groups and discuss two questions.

QUESTION #1: What is the prophetic message for FCMF?

People discussed times they had experienced a prophetic moment in their lives, as well as what we as a faith community might consider our prophetic message. We learned a lot about what each of us believed in and we also discovered that we often feel alone until we hear others sharing words and feelings that are just like ours. Then we know we are not alone.

Group 1

• “When I heard Bernie Sanders speak about wealth inequality, I felt that finally someone was saying the words I had always heard in my own head, expressing the feeling I’ve always had. It was wonderful!”
•  “I’ve heard these messages most of my life. The messages have come through other people. I believe the most knowledgeable people are those surviving and thriving in a world that is not made for them – people who are re-entering society, such as the homeless, returning military vets, and minorities.”
• “I feel that we need to continue our work with FFH and the Homeless Coalition.”
• “I believe that we need to do this more  -- communicate our perspective about homelessness and the disenfranchised with the rest of the community.”
• “I often see us attacking City Council for not doing more about homelessness. But why aren’t we going after the large churches in Fort Collins who have plenty of money to donate, but rarely participate in FFH or Habitat for Humanity projects?”
• “My prophetic moment came when I was riding a bike at the health club while watching a show about a mother in Nigeria who walked 18 miles to go to a clinic for her baby, but was told it was not malnourished enough for treatment. Unfortunately as the mother walked home, her baby died. I decided then and there that I did not want to live in a work where mothers buried their babies. I was going to do something about it. And that’s when I met someone who told me about a clinic in Nigeria. I eventually ended up going to Nigeria and working there!”

Group 2

• “We need to welcome the homeless into our congregation.”
• “Faith is not abstract, it is hands-on action.”
• “Services need to benefit the less fortunate.”
• “Inspire the entire community to participate.”
• “Let’s provide hope to everyone; don’t exclude anyone.”
• “We are all one people.”
• “When we have an opportunity to volunteer to give, let’s do it.”

Group 3

• “We’ve heard the message about the homeless and it has struck a chord with several people who have made tangible decisions to help.”
• “We’re an open, inclusive community, in a country that is very exclusive. We are an example for the Mennonite Community as well as for Fort Collins. We want to move past gender issues for the betterment of humanity.”
• “We are out-of-the-box radicals in an exclusive culture and world. We  bring the radical message of hope and love. We are pacifists with a firm stance about gun control – we want to turn guns into plowshares. And, we believe it is irrational to always view the world with suspicion.”

QUESTION #2:  Where do we see God moving around our “edges?”

This is where we started talking about actions we could take, services we could provide, or programs that needed to be implemented on the county, state, or national level.

Group 1

• “We need to get more churches involved in providing space (property) for affordable housing development.”
• “Other cities have successfully developed Tiny House communities for the homeless. Why can’t we do that in Fort Collins?”
• “The most important thing is to provide housing first, even if it’s only transitional.”
• “Affordable housing saves communities lots of money. For example, the Red Tail Ponds development just saved the city $300,000 --  the cost of police and emergency room services when dealing with people on the streets.”

Group 2

• “The ‘fringes’ are about what God wants us to do (not what we want to do). It’s about reaching out to others. It’s about living the way Jesus lived.”
• “The greater community needs to remember that everyone has needs and desires.”
• “Any small action we make is a drop in the pond that ripples outward to affect others.”
• “God sometimes makes us WAIT. Transitional times can be uncomfortable because you don’t know what is coming.”

Group 3

• “We need Healthcare for All. Everyone is impacted by the lack of affordable, accessible healthcare, so what can we do to support Healthcare for All? How do we work to make Healthcare for All a reality while working within the boundaries of today’s belief systems and business environment? “
• “Major shifts in consciousness take time. There are cycles and stages that every new idea which challenges the status quo goes through. We need to take a long view.”
• “We are all unique and together our unique backgrounds, ideas, and actions create a healthy community.”
• “We support organizations and causes. But ultimately, the community takes over. We cannot do everything alone. Just look at 10 Thousand Villages and FFH.”

On Sunday I told the story of Jonah. Most folks know the part about Jonah being gobbled up by a whale. But there is so much more to the story than that. We know that it is a story about Jonah running away from God or from the responsibilities that God called him to. But the rationale Jonah actually gives for his action is a bit surprising.  He is an anti-hero in the classic sense and his excuses, self-pity, and myopic viewpoints seem to fit our own modern predicaments in very uncomfortable ways.

Jonah is a follower of Yahweh and a member of a nation who follows the one true God. He is asked by God to go to the capitol of the Assyrian Empire, Nineveh and preach their coming destruction if they refuse to repent.  They are enemies of Jonah's people and a real threat to them.  

Instead of leaving for Nineveh, Jonah runs quickly in in the opposite direction and catches a boat to Tarshish (“the end of the world”).  During a storm at sea, Jonah is tossed overboard and swallowed by the whale. After three days and a minimally contrite prayer, Jonah is spit up on dry land and heads to Nineveh. 

During the 40 days of his preaching in Nineveh, the people of the city repent and God spares their destruction. Jonah is not happy.  In fact, he admits that this was the very reason he didn’t want the job originally – he just knew God would spare the evil foreigners in Nineveh because God is a forgiving God.  

Jonah then goes outside the city to sit in the hot sun and pout … and await God's punishment of the city. Instead, God makes a bush grow to shade him one day and then sends a worm to harm the roots and destroy the bush the next day.

Jonah once again sits in the hot sun, wishing he were dead, and God scolds him for feeling so sad about the death of a bush, but not about the 120,000 people whom God spared from death in the city.

Consider the following questions in your time of meditation or as you reflect in your journal this week:

The cycle of death and resurrection is central to the Christian faith (Jonah falls into the deep ocean and ends up in the belly of a whale – certainly a form of death).

• In what ways is that cycle present in my life right now?  
• Where might there be necessary change, suffering, death and decay and how might new life emerge from those experiences?

​Consider reading the story of Elijah and his 40 day journey to meet God at Mt. Horeb (1 Kings, chapters 17-19).

In the story, Elijah is summoned to come out of his cave to meet God. When he does, he is greeted with a mighty wind (tornado?). Elijah thinks that surely God has come like a strong wind; however, God is not in the tornado. Then the earth begins shaking. Again, Elijah thinks that surely God is in the earthquake since God is mighty enough to move mountains. But again God is not in the earthquake. Finally, a great fire engulfs all that is Elijah. The God we know from other Bible stories often comes like fire! But again, God is not in the fire. And when God finally speaks to Elijah, it is but a whisper in the "sheer silence."

Sometimes we must alter our expectations so we do not miss out on the Divine's activity in our life. Sometimes we must also adjust our hearing so we don't miss those voices God uses to reach us.

This Lent, are you willing to let God to "blow away," "shake up," or "put down" your old routines and expectations?

Consider the words of our Lenten handout:

​"Lent is a time to listen to God, but sometimes God speaks through others, particularly the poor, oppressed, marginalized and suffering.  To whom should you be listening this season?  How can you cultivate a listening posture towards others whose perspective and experiences might differ from your own?"

Consider sitting in silence this week and looking at images of refugees or the homeless in our own city. And just listen...

If you are keeping a journal this, Lent please consider adding some of your thoughts and inspiration/learnings to this blog!

The Daily Examen is an ancient spiritual practice credited to St. Ignatius of Loyola. 
It is a technique of prayerful reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction for us.  The Examen helps us see God’s hand at work in our whole experience.
 
Fr. Dennis Hamm, SJ, a scripture professor at Creighton University, calls the Daily Examen “rummaging for God.” He likens it to “going through a drawer full of stuff, feeling around, looking for something that you are sure must be there.” In other words, we  look back on the previous day, rummaging through all the “stuff,” and finding
God in it.
 
These are the five steps of the Daily Examen, We'd love to hear about your experience with it!
 
1. Ask God for Light: Become aware of God’s presence. Look at your day with God’s eyes, not merely your own. Ask God to bring clarity and understanding.

2. Give Thanks: Review the day with gratitude. The day you have just lived is a gift from God. Be grateful for it. Walk through your day and note its joys and delights. Focus on the day’s gifts. Pay attention to small things.

3. Review the Day: Pay attention to your emotions. Carefully look back on the day just completed, being guided b God. We detect God in the feelings we experience. What feelings did you experience today: Boredom? Elation? Resentment? Compassion? Anger? What was God saying through these feelings?

4. Face Your Shortcomings: Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Face up to what is wrong in your life and in yourself. Examine an experience or mistake and what you learned from it. Pray about it. Allow the prayer to arise spontaneously from your heart.

5. Look Toward the Day to Come: Look toward tomorrow. Ask where you need God in the day to come. Ask God to give you light for tomorrow’s challenges. Pay attention to the feelings that surface as you survey what’s coming up? Allow these feeling to turn into prayer and ask God for guidance, understanding, and hope.
 
For more details, see:

• http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen#sthash.0dgj52kK.dpuf
• http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen#examen-part-of-your-day

Lent is a holy season of preparation for the renewed life promised by Easter. Lent is also a journey of renewal.

It is an intentional season of actions that takes us out of the ordinary and shakes things up a bit. A journey that leaves behind destructive desires, behaviors and attitudes, and embraces new pathways that can lead us to renewed lives.

Let’s shake things up a bit this Lent. Do things out of the ordinary. Make the season intentional by “doing something” to deepen our spirits and inspire us to act. 

This blog is all about our Lenten journey of contemplation and action. 

Each week, we’ll post the “suggested” homework to encourage further exploration and action during the week. Some of the weekly activities might be: journaling, prayer, reading scripture, and other spiritual practices such as meditation, fasting, and tithing.

Feel free to post comments about how your Lenten journey is progressing!

​As promised here is your homework for the first week of Lent!

Here is a question to think about 

“Is there something in my life - a habit, a grudge, a fear, a prejudice, an addiction, and emotional barrier, a form of excess -  that keeps me from loving God with my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and prevents me from loving my neighbor as myself?  How might I address this over the next 40 days?”

Maybe you would like to keep a journal this Lent. Or perhaps you can share some of your thoughts or inspirations in this blog.

And if you want to do some reading:

• Noah's journey:  Genesis 6, 7 and 8.
• Elijah's story about Meeting God is in, 1 Kings 18 and 19.
• Moses' trek through the desert is in, begins in Exodus 13.

After you read one of these stories ask yourself a few more  questions:

How do I live into God's mission?  For me?  For my community?  For the world?

Feel free to share your thoughts!