Ringing the Bell in Memory & Honor

The Governor has asked every church in our state to ring their bell 26 times at 9:30 am in Friday - a week following the tragedy in CT. 

Of course we want to do this......but would you believe that we have no way to ring the bell as of today?

On the first Sunday of December,  the rope to the bell broke. I asked a child to ring the bell to start off worship and when she pulled on the rope it rang once and then snapped. The rope dropped through the small chiseled hole in the ceiling.  We both were surprised. With a limp rope in her hand, she looked at me sheepishly as if she wasn't sure if I would scold her for pulling to hard. "Wow! You are strong!" I exclaimed. We laughed together and worship began without the toll of the bell.

"How can we reattach the rope" I asked John Davis and Bob Watson. They investigated to see if the rope could be reattached or if it would need a new rope, etc. The best solution was to get up in the tower (again) and install a new rope. Sounds easy, except that the tower is 60 feet high. It is easy to get to the roof of the church, but still a climb into the "portico" where the bell hangs. 

A smart mother of three told me to call the fire department. A neighbor suggested we use the cherry picker that she is renting in January when they "undecorate" the neighborhood Christmas Tree. John said he might have a friend with a ladder in the meantime. None of us want to send John up on a 60 foot ladder. None of us want to wait for the safer solution of a cherry picker in January. So we go back to the suggestion posed by the mother of three children under age 5. She was right. Call the fire department.

And in light of the Governor's call to communities, we all felt that the fire department would be more than willing to come out. The Fire Chief has said he is coming out tomorrow with the ladder truck. 

When we gather on Thursday Night as a community for the Olivet Tree Lighting and Community Dinner, we will  have a time of ringing the Bell  as well. At about 6:30, we will conclude our dinner with the tolling of the bell. 

Then on Friday, at 9:30am, we will join others around the state and possibly the nation in this solemn act of remembering.

Where ever you are, remember to go outside and listen for the bells.

The Nightmare of Yesterday

            Yesterday I was like most every parents across the nation -  hurriedly getting the children to school. Dealing with their excitement about a Friday so near Christmas vacation. Talking to other parents about the many things we must do to get ready for Christmas. Stressing but enjoying the hustle of a holiday coming up.
            But by the afternoon, everyone one of us were changed. The day began like any other; with certainty.  It ended in uncertainty.

We started the day trusting the world, trusting that Christmas would be like any other. The day ended with my own questioning of God and humanity. 

It was the worst shooting, they said, in our nations history. In talking to my friends, we all questioned the safety of our own community and schools. The day started with confidence but by the end of the day, we wondered if safety was just an illusion.

            As I held my children last night, it felt unfair that parents would not be able to do that because of this unspeakable act. As I went to bed, I had tremendous heart ache for a world that our children now live in. Our world was probably never completely safe but now all I could picture is the school now instituting not just fire drills and tornado drills but shooter drills as well. Even down to the age of kindergarten. Juli was so afraid of fires in kindergarten because of those fire drills. What fear would be upon Sophia if we now had the added discussion that a shooter may enter her cheerful kindergarten class?

Like most people, I went to bed after seeing so many images of panic from that horrible scene in Connecticut. Later that night, I awoke from a nightmare. I can’t explain it completely but at the center of the deep sorrow I felt was a closet. Yes, a closet.  When I awoke I was crying about the closet where I hide the Christmas presents (and other surprises) for my kids through out the year. I was crying because I thought about the closets that these parents must have. The gifts planned for their children to find under the tree this year. The smile that they expect that is so joyful at that young age when they believe in the miracles and joys of this world.

Every parent has a closet. Literally and figuratively we have a place that holds those experiences we look forward to sharing as a family; the smile that you count on seeing, the joy that you count on when they one day will score a goal, or graduate from school. The tragedy of yesterday is not just the loss of life, but the loss of a future. In my unsettling dream, this closet became meaningless as I realized it was the death not just of a person, but of a future. A future for the child and a future for the parent who had her closet robbed forever.

            As your pastor, I want to tell you that I am still rattled by the tragedy. I still cry when I read more about it. But I am also still seeking God’s comfort and peace to make sense of this massacre. I keep talking to God and asking why. I keep talking to God asking what can we do. Perhaps you are in the same place. Perhaps you have lost a child and are in a much deeper pain than I as you can relate to these parents even more.

            What I do imagine though – is that if I, an earthly flawed human parent have a closet of unknown gifts of joy for my little girls, than certainly our heavenly parent must have this also. I do not know what is behind the door. On this side of the door, there is pain, fear, distrust and sorrow. But our Heavenly Father has promised us peace on the other side. I must place my trust in Him for he has a future for each of us that cannot be robbed from us. May this keep our hearts in expectation of his peace even in the midst of turmoil and confusion.  

Fair Trade Items and Human Trafficking

At our meeting today of the United Methodist Women, we learned about how much human trafficking occurs in the United States. We think that human trafficking is something that mostly happens in other countries where kidnapping occurs. But our group learned today that it is common in the US that humans, especially children, are trafficked as well.
Based on a book by Nita Belles titled "In Our Backyard" we explored the many dimensions of this very disturbing truth that most of us do not even know happens. The book explained how we can impact this in a simple way: We can purchase Fair Trade Items which will help reduce the commerce. That may not seem like it would make a difference, but it does. Thanks to the women who met this morning to discuss current events, missions, and how we can make a difference in the world.