#11 July 15, 2018 Sermon on the Hill

Dear Friends

A week ago, I had the privilege of preaching a sermon on the hill! (St. Mary's is on a hill at one of the busiest intersections in the city.) You are welcome to view it by googling St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Anchorage, clicking on the website, and then clicking on media. It is the July 8, 2018 sermon; forward it to 7 minutes and 15 seconds where the sermon actually begins.

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One of the illustrations I used was this poem by one of our Thomas Center residents:

Questions

How to survive in this latent

period of life------

When death hovers, but refuses

to come into view.

We feel its presence,

but it never allows genuine conversation.

"Just wait" it says. "I will be around

when the time is right."

How can we plan ahead with any assurance

under this condition?

And then, from above, comes a clear voice---

"Live to the fullest of your diminishing capability.

Enjoy the beauty of the earth

which surrounds you.

Feel my presence ever with you,

giving a clue as to what awaits."

This should give you an idea of the wise and wonderful and gifted people we are living with.

This coming weekend we are heading south about 4 hours to take the Sunday service in a beautiful little town. After my sermon on the hill, it's time to do a homily in Homer!  

John 

# 10 July 7, 2018 "Be slow to anger"

Dear Friends

Since we have come to Alaska, the local news has reported, (among other deaths), death by bear, death by rolling rock, death by falling ice (from a glacier), death by private airplane crash, death by skydiving, and death by drowning. 

Fortunately, the biggest challenge we have faced is to avoid being hit by one of the many who ride a bicycle on the shared paths we use with walkers and joggers. It's not that hard, now that we have gotten used to it---we just listen for the warning from behind "bike on your left". We stay in place and then the biker speeds by.

Unfortunately, I witnessed a collision one day between a biker and walker. No one was injured, but feelings on both sides were hurt: "You idiot!!!" screamed the fallen biker when the walker hesitated and veered to the left. "I always make bad choices" said the young man who was also lying on the ground and gently using both hands to clap against his head. By the time I got closer to comfort the young walker, both the biker and I realized he had some learning disabilities. I told him it took me awhile to learn the "rules of the road". The biker, embarrassed by his outburst and confident that the walker was okay, left the scene.

This episode reminded me of the proverbs  (16:32, 19:11) and the Letter to James (1:19) which warn us to "be slow to anger". We all get angry sometimes, without knowing the whole story. But this bible injunction says (to me) to get the facts before getting angry and maybe I won't be as angry.

John

# 9 July 2, 2018 "Won't you be my neighbor"

Dear Friends

When "Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood" made its debut in 1968, I was 16. So although I was aware of his show, I was not a big fan or regular watcher. This past Saturday, at the end of a wonderful week with Emily, we went to the movies and saw the 50th anniversary documentary about the life of Fred Rodgers. I had moderate expectations going into the theater but I came out a big fan. The gospel had been preached so well, loud and clear. It is so timely given the current state of civility in this country, or shall I say lack of civility. Go see "Won't you be my neighbor?". You will not be disappointed. 

It reminded me of a book I bought at "Title Wave", the biggest used book store I have ever seen. (It is an Alaska landmark).  The title is "What the Elders Have Taught Us" and it includes nuggets of advice from ten Native American communities in Alaska. A married couple here at the Thomas Center represent two of these communities.

In summary, the ten lessons from the ten communities are:

Show respect to others; each person has a special gift

See connections; all things are related

Honor your elders; they show you the way in life

Accept what life brings; you cannot control many things

Have patience; some things cannot be rushed

Pray for guidance; many things are not known

Live carefully; what you do will come back to you

Take care of others; you cannot live without them

Give what you have; sharing makes you rich

Know who you are; you are a reflection on your family

       If you get a chance to go see "Won't you be my Neighbor?" (and I hope you do) you will discover that "Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood" was a radical and refreshing entry into the world of children's television.  It proclaimed, in a unique and powerful way, the timeless gospel message that each person is special and loved by God, just as they are. 

Living that message and following the wisdom of our native American elders outlined above will not change the headlines. But it will bring joy and freedom and break down walls. It will expand your understanding of who your neighbor is and where your neighborhood is.

John

June 21, 2018 "You are my sunshine..."

Dear Friends

Happy Summer Solstice! As you can read at the bottom of the Anchorage Almanac in our local paper above, we are enjoying 19 hours, 21 minutes and 7 seconds of daylight!

Before our community dinner tonight, I led the residents in singing 

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, 

You make me happy when skies are gray,

 You'll never know dear, how much I love you, 

Please don't take my sunshine away"

Then, I asked the residents to vote on what activity they would like to do to celebrate, reading to them some of the actual events listed in today's Anchorage Daily News: (These are real...I'm not making them up)

Skydiving Boogie at the Anchorage Skydive Center 

(Just $600 for 13 jump tickets...including glacier jumps, helicopter jumps and a midnight solstice jump)

Ski Jump-A-Thon (Sponsored by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage, it goes all night)

Summer Solstice Ecstatic Dance Party (sponsored by Church of Love, for all ages, "a safe space to dance without talking, drinking or the nightclub vibe") 

Baseball Under the Midnight Sun (A 113 year solstice tradition featuring 24 straight hours of baseball) 

The Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon and Half Marathon (one of several races happening all over the state)

There was nervous laughter but no clear winner!

And finally I gave our cook a bag of "Sun Chips" to serve so, as he put it, "each person could have a piece of the sun."

Of course this special celestial day brings to my heart and mind so many scriptures and songs, too many to include here. But here is the scripture inspired refrain from one of our hymns that is one of my favorites:

In him there is no darkness at all, 

The night and the day are both alike

The Lamb is the light of the city of God

Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus. 

Sunlight is one of the best disinfectants---light shining in dark places can reveal the truth and bring change. Whatever we are going through---individually (and as a country right now), may that sunlight prove to be an effective disinfectant and may our Son named Jesus bring us joy, hope and peace at the end.

John

June 17, 2018 Meeting/Accepting Our Limitations

!

Dear Friends


While surveying various books, DVD's, jigsaw puzzles and games donated to the Thomas Center activity room, I recognized this popular game of yesteryear: Twister! Someone has a good sense of humor I thought. Playing Twister at a senior center?! I brought it to dinner one night, and with a straight face and serious voice announced this would be our after dinner program. There were startled reactions (including from our General Manager), but soon my smile and laughter gave my teasing away.

I learned later that the game had likely been left behind after a youth group meeting. But it reminded me of the fact that as we go through life, we face not just challenges but limitations and endings. Things we used to do, we cannot do forever. I must confess that whenever I see high school or college age kids running through the streets, I am still stung with a slight, if momentary, feeling of envy. I used to be able to run that fast! The cure is to feel their joy (the joy I once knew) and to be thankful I have been able to run for so long and still can run, even if more slowly and with breaks. They are running carefree. I am running carefully (and that includes watching out for moose and bears!) 

As the bible says, "There is a time for playing Twister, and a time to refrain from playing Twister....and just watch and enjoy!"

How blessed I am on this Father's Day. I can't carry Christopher and Emily on my back while crawling to their bedrooms as I used to do when it was their bedtime (while making the sounds of a dinosaur), but I am so thankful that I once did get to do that.  I am also thankful that they each want to and will be with Kathleen and I for a week here in Alaska, to make some new memories. 

John

June 10, 2018 You never know...

Dear Friends

You never know who you may meet. Meeting Angelina Klapperich yesterday at Colony Days (celebrating the founding of Palmer, Alaska) was a chance, unplanned, once in a lifetime encounter. I was in the right place, on the right day, at the right time. And not knowing her (and her not knowing me), it took all the courage this introvert could muster to ask for a picture with her!

Little did she know that she became at that moment a PSI (possible sermon illustration). For now, she is the subject of this blog. She gave me a plastic wrist bracelet with the message BE COMPASSIONATE: EVERY PERSON FIGHTS A PERSONAL BATTLE. I commented how timely this message was, given two celebrity suicides this past week (and the report released this week about the significant jump in suicides between 1999 and 2016, including a 37.4% rise in Alaska).

A card Angelina gave me included this quote from Mother Teresa---"Let no one come to you without leaving better and happier"--- followed by her good advice that "a smile, a listening ear, a compliment, or a small act of caring, all have the power to turn a life around."

Did I mention that Angelina is completing her reign as Miss Alaska and finished in the top 15 at the Miss America contest where she was voted "Miss Congeniality"? The photo below is real, not photo shopped (as if I would know how to do that!)

John

P.S. On to Wasilla...you never know who you may meet there:)

June 4th, 2018 Death and Taxes

Dear Friends

"Nothing is certain but death and taxes", Benjamin Franklin is said to have said, (unless, of course, your taxes are still under audit?!) 

All of us will die, and since my previous blog announcing the unexpected death of two clergy friends in their sixties, I have continued to be reminded of this fact with the expected deaths of a dear member of my previous parish (nearly ninety) and Kathleen's sister (only fifty-nine). 

"Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande, is the book which, along with other factors, inspired the vision behind the Thomas Center for Senior Leadership. I have not finished reading it, but the chapter titles identify the issues it confronts: The Independent Self; Things Fall Apart; Dependence; Assistance; A Better Life; Letting Go; Hard Conversations; Courage. The subtitle of the book is also important to note: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Kathleen and I are more aware of our mortality not just because of the deaths of family and friends in the short eighteen days we've been here, (not to mention stories we have heard about death by bears and climbers falling) but also because we are living in a community where we are daily eyewitnesses to people "aging in place", confronting the challenges that come with that fact, and doing it with grace and courage and yes, sometimes frustration. 

We are being blessed by this continuing education experience more, I'm sure, than we realize. 

John

P.S. Quote from book review: "Gawande reveals the suffering produced by medicine's neglect of the wishes people might have beyond mere survival...this book which has already changed the national conversation on aging and death, shows how the ultimate goal is not to have a good death but a good life---all the way to the very end."