Where’s Michael: November

Come, Sophia, we believe you are the Shaman of the soul
Break us open to receive you
Fill us up and make us whole.
You inspire us to envision
all the wholeness of shalom
On a new path through tradition
That will surely lead us home.

Miriam Therese Winter and Medical Mission Sisters,  Hymn Re-Imagined, “Come, Sophia.” (2495755 Records DK) 1983.

Thank you.

As Clergy Appreciation Month comes to an end and the calendar turns to November, a month focused on gratitude, I’m grateful for all our clergy in Oklahoma.  Without social media platforms or “the algorithm,” they’ve been content creators and influencers before it was fashionable or considered a profession.

They are:
organizing your community for the common good
volunteering in your community
making hospital visits
preparing a bible study
leading youth group, or a children’s ministry
managing budgets and people
listening to concerns, joys, and questions
standing in the gaps of a polarized culture
praying with families in distress
celebrating lives
teaching radical hospitality, or the bible, or the language of faith
preaching the good news of God
following Jesus
welcoming people to faith
and so much more.

Servant leadership.   A ministry of teaching, pastoral care, and preaching that is prophetic.  Sometimes, it is just presence.  

Oklahoma Disciples clergy, “Thank you” for your work and service in the life of the local, denominational, and universal Church.  You model a faith in action. If you are reading this and haven’t offered your minister a word of appreciation, I encourage you to send a handwritten note, an email, or a text.

On social media, amid all the negativity that drives their profits, you will probably encounter your church, minister, or a friend sharing a practice, a meme, or another activity that might reframe your perspective on gratitude this month.  I receive “The Daily Question” from grateful.org every morning (it’s free).  It offers me a different way to start the day rather than opening a news app.  It invites me to consider a sense of the sacred.

As the government shutdown continues, our congregations with blessing boxes on their properties are refilling them more often, sometimes daily. Our congregations that help with their local food pantry or food bank are seeing more clients each day or week, and some of those clients are new. Our congregations that offer free community meals weekly or monthly are serving more people. Over the next 60 days, you will be asked for financial support many times by snail mail, email, and text.  Be cautious with those asks from unknown sources.  Be as generous as you can with known sources.  There are countless “good” opportunities to give your time, talent, and money.  Remember your Church.  I’ve seen Oklahoma Disciples respond before, and I know you will respond again. It’s one of the examples you set for your communities: using what you have and multiplying it to feed the 5000 near and far.

I trust that God will continue to bless us with gospel to be and ministry to do in our congregations and through this covenant we claim and share: the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma.

Disciples, you are a blessing.  Thank you.