“Two Roads”

These are my thoughts for the Saturday morning worship service at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen at Grace UMC (Newburgh, NY). We open the doors at 8 am on Saturday morning, have a brief worship service at 8:10 and then serve breakfast at 8:30. Generally, we stop serving at 9:45. Everyone is welcome to come and be a part of this Saturday morning community.

I am using the Scripture readings for the 6^th Sunday after Pentecost (C), 30 July 2013 – 2 Kings 2: 1 – 2, 6 – 14; Galatians 5: 1, 13 – 25; Luke 9: 51 – 62.

I will have these thoughts posted sometime next week.

Right With God

This is the message that Gary Gomes of Goshen UMC (NY) gave at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen on Saturday, May 25^th. The scriptures were for Sunday, May 26^th, Trinity Sunday (C).

Romans 5:1-5 (ERV)

We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us.

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Hey, the short of it is, God loves us. Yeah, there are times when that might seem hard to believe, but what we have to remember is that God never promised it was easy. We mess up, we all mess up. One way or another in life, sooner or later we get it wrong. But faith brings us closer to Christ and Christ made sure we all got a share of God’s grace no matter what. If it seems like you have nothing else, know that you have that. Then, with that, move forward learning from our mistakes and taking each day as it comes. You see when we give thanks to God for our troubles, we are doing the opposite of what everyone else does…complaining to God and blaming Him for their problems.
In complaining we think God allows bad things to happen to us. This is not the case. Our troubles are the result of our earthly existence. Trials and heartaches are a part of the human condition that allow us to appreciate the good things in life. Besides, when it comes to our troubles, these things too, shall pass or as Charlie Chaplin, one of the greatest stars of the silent movie era, once said “Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles” and I can’t help but think he got this message well.

Now this all comes about because of God’s Grace or Love. Now, this Love of God is True Love. I’ve often wondered what the difference between Love and true Love is but I guess it can mean different things to different people at different times. For instance, right now I am thinking that Love is when someone makes you fresh hot ‘_________________’ on a Saturday morning. True Love is when they actually melt the butter to put on them!

Now knowing that this Grace of God is True Love it seems silly that we of so little faith are always asking ourselves the same question. “Yeah, but what if God gets fed up, what if God decides to stop loving me?”

But this is what Paul is trying to tell us when he says we are happy with the troubles we have. That through our faith we must realize that God still loves us, that these troubles only draw us closer to him. From that we will gain patience with our challenges and hope to overcome them. Maintain that hope and you will overcome disappointment. As was quoted by John Wesley, a man folks in this church should certainly be acquainted with, “Hope does not shame us. We glory in this our hope, because the love of God is held abroad in our hearts.”

Yes, Give Thanks to God! He has blessed us and everything that has been given to us, He has given freely with His love. Yet we take Him for granted because we forget. We forget how great He is and how much of a blessing it is to have such a great God who loves and nurtures us every day despite our shortcomings, a God who never forgets us, but forgets our sins, a God who loves us without reservation even when the world may shun us. He is truly the Light of the World! It is easy for us to give him thanks when things go right for us and we feel the light of God shining on us, but we must remember that he is there even when things seem to be going all wrong. God’s Grace is with you. God loves you. You are Right with God.

Lord, we thank you for this day and for your Love. We know we are not perfect and we know you don’t care. What you care about is that we remember your Love and let it build the patience in us to face our most troublesome days. We thank you for this time together in fellowship, for this opportunity to serve and be served as we were taught to do by Jesus. We ask you to look over all of us gathered here and elsewhere today and guide us on your path to greater Glory. We ask for all of this in the name of our savior Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

“The Sound Of A Great Wind”

Here are the thoughts for Pentecost Sunday that I presented at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen on May 18^th. The Scriptures for this Sunday were Acts 2: 1 – 21 (I used the Cotton Patch translation), Romans 8: 14 – 17, and John 14: 25 – 27.

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When you grow up in the South, you learn real quick the signs of a possible tornado. In Georgia, for example, it is said that you should listen very carefully when the wind goes silent.

In Missouri, they will tell you that a tornado is probably eminent when the sky is green.

And every person who has ever survived a tornado will tell you that you will never forget the sound of a tornado as it roars by your house.

And whatever the signs might be, you learn quickly to heed them and to know what to do if one should come. Unfortunately, we were reminded of this with all of the death and destruction that took place outside the Dallas/Fort Worth area this past week.

As we view the destruction that took place in Texas and which will undoubtedly see again through this summer, we can begin to imagine what the people gathered in Jerusalem must have felt when they heard the roaring winds that Clarence Jordan described as a tornado.

And surely they must have thought they were in the midst of a summer thunderstorm when the room was filled with fiery bolts of lightning.

And what did those outside the room think as they rushed to see what was happening, imagining death and destruction but finding celebration and rejoicing? We know that they were confused and convinced that those who had just experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit must have been drunk.

Here were all these people, gathered from every part of the world, speaking in their own language and yet understanding what everyone else was saying. It was a reason for rejoicing, a reason for celebration.

Peter will speak of the prophecy of Joel and how the young will once again have visions of the future and the old will again begin to dream. He will speak of the new community that begins on this day.

For those who remember, there was once a time when all the people of the world basically spoke the same language. But their own pride, their own greed, and what the Greeks called hubris lead them to build the tower of Babel and seek to be the same as God. God, perhaps rightly so, created the different languages to separate the people and force them to find new ways to work together.

Our history tells us how well we have done in that regard and how well we understand the cultures and personalities of other countries.

And so it is on this day, this Pentecost, that people have come together and the Holy Spirit gave each one the ability to hear others and speak to them. It brought back the sense of community that was torn apart so many years ago but which Jesus sought to build during his ministry.

Howard Snyder points out that Jesus probably gave as much or more to building a community of disciples as He did proclaiming the Good News.

He did this because it is in the community where individuals can grow in faith. Our task today is to recognize each individual’s responsibility before and to God (and not God’s responsibility to the individual as many people think) and recognize that we gather as a community so that Spirit can grow in all who gather together. (adapted from The Community of the King by Howard A. Snyder)

Pentecost will have no meaning for us if we see the church as a collection of saved souls and not as a community of interacting personalities.

Paul wrote to the Romans about the life we received when we came to Christ,

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him

We have said before and we will continue to say that this time together on Saturday mornings was never meant to be just a meal but the beginning of a new community.

Jesus told the disciples before He ascended into Heaven that He had shown them the way to the Father and He would send the Holy Spirit to give the ability to show others the way.

The challenge before us is perhaps daunting but not impossible.

For some, it is to help the church today regain the sense of community that it once had. It means tearing down the walls, both physical and spiritual, that keep people apart. It means seeing worship in a new way, offering new opportunities for people to come to Christ.

For others, on both sides of these spiritual and physical walls, it also means removing the barriers in their own lives that keep Jesus from being a part of their lives.

Today is the day 2000 years ago that the church began. It began as a community, a community for all, not just some. It was community that offered to all, not just some, the Hope and Peace that is Jesus Christ.

Today, in 2013, we celebrate that community of Christ and we invite all who seek Him to join this community today.

Dedication of the Grannie Annie Kitchen Banner

This was a special day at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” as we dedicated the banner that will now hang outside the door to the building announcing to the neighborhood and community that “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” is open.

The following is the litany that we used to dedicate the banner (the banner was created by Leetha Berchielli, a member of Grace UMC and we want to give our thanks for the work and love she put into making this banner).

 

And I know that you are asking, “What banner?” This is what it looks like hanging outside the door. And that is Grannie Annie herself.

The Grannie Annie Kitchen banner with Grannie Annie herself

Dedication of the “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” Banner

Pastor Frank: And the preacher said, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

People: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

There is also a time to feed the body and a time to feed the soul.

Pastor Frank: Let us pray

Everyone: We have come from afar and waited long and are wearied.

Let us sit side by side, sharing the same bread drawn from the same source to quiet the same hunger that makes us weak.

Then standing together let us share the same spirit, the same thoughts that once again draws us together in friendship and unity and peace.

Pastor Frank: Grannie Annie’s Kitchen began as a response to a need, to feed the hungry of this neighborhood and community. It has been done much in the way that Jesus told His disciples that they should feed the people who had come to the mountain side so many years ago.

Ann: Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”

But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”

Tony: Just as Jesus commanded His disciples to feed the people gathered to hear him supper, so too do we feed the people breakfast.

But it is not just a meal that is shared these two hours on a Saturday morning but the fellowship of community just as it was on that mountainside some two thousand years ago.

Pastor Frank: Today we dedicate this banner that tells the neighborhood and the community that Grannie Annie’s Kitchen is open and all are welcome to come and enjoy the breakfast and the word.

Everyone: Let us pray – Our heavenly Father, you sent Your Son to save us from a life of slavery to sin and death. You sent Your Son to remind us of Your love for us and how we must love others as You have loved us. Let us hang this banner proudly outside the door so that all who see it may come and let their body and soul be feed. Let those who see it come be reminded that Your Son, our Lord and Savior is a part of our lives now and tomorrow. AMEN

The Message for April 27th

The following is the message that my wife, Ann Walker, or as she is perhaps better known, “Grannie Annie” gave on Saturday, April 27^th, for the Saturday morning worship service at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen”.

This morning, May 4^th, we dedicated a new banner to announce that “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” was open for business. I will post the litany of dedication along with a picture of the new banner in the next post.

Scheduling note – I will be at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church tomorrow (May 5^th). The message is “What Does Your Church Look Like?” and is based on the Scriptures for this Sunday, Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. Services are at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

I will be at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) on May 12th; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend. The message for Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday is “The Gift of Love” and is based on the lectionary readings for May 12^th, Acts 16: 16 – 34; Revelation 22: 12 – 14, 16 – 17, 20 – 21; and John 17: 20 – 26.

And now, Ann’s message for April 27^th:

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ. First let me say I am not a minister or a lay speaker/servant. I’m not a Biblical scholar but have read the Bible since I was a child in school. I went to CDC and Sunday school classes, confirmation class and studied the Bible in classes while in college. The first thing I remember from my reading of the Bible is that God is my Heavenly father and always loved me.

So why am I standing here talking to you this morning? All my life I have wondered why, if God spoke to so many of the people we find in the Bible, He did not talk to modern day people. From Genesis 18: 1 – 8,

“God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”

They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”

Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”

Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.”

You have Moses (Exodus 3: 1 -11) at the mountain of God which was called Horeb,

“The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.” Moses couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!.”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

God said God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

“The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Now, I don’t expect God to appear to me out of a burning bush. I don’t think I could take the shock, but I know that throughout my life He has spoken to me on many occasions. It took some years for me to figure that out. He was always with me and always speaking to me. He speaks to us through the Bible. We speak to Him when we pray. But there is another way He speaks to us. Like the angel who came to Joseph to warn him to take Mary and the baby Jesus we can hear Him if we listen.

When I was a child and a teenager I would often get into trouble with my parents for disobeying. I had a choice to obey or disobey because there was this voice that would warn me not to do something, i.e., to be home at a certain time or not to go some place my parents did not want me to go. Many times I didn’t listen to that voice and as a result I spent many hours sitting in my bedroom contemplating the errors of my way. Eventually, as I got older, I started to listen to that voice and staying out of trouble.

My first memory of God warning me to do something was when I was four. My grandfather was the superintendent of a luxury building in Buffalo and we lived in a beautiful apartment in what was considered the basement even though it was above ground. My sister and I shared a bedroom above the boiler room. The rest of the apartment along with the bathroom was on the other side of the hall, about 80 feet away. The year I was four the building was being converted from coal to gas heat. I had a habit of waking up during the night to go to the bathroom. I would usually go alone. No sweat. However, one night during the conversion of the furnace I woke up and a voice told me to wake my three-year old sister up and take her with me to the bathroom. Normally my sister would have objected. That night she didn’t. She grabbed her “blanky” and with thumb in her mouth, followed me to the bathroom. We weren’t in the bathroom more than a few minutes when there was a horrific explosion. What had happened was gas had been leaking and somehow caused an explosion. Our bedroom was gone, nothing more than a gaping hole in the floor. Something or someone made me get up and take my sister with me. Looking back I believe that it was God who warned me to get out of that bedroom.

As I grew up I began listening to that voice more and more. Some would say it was my conscience but I don’t think my conscience warns me. It might make me feel guilty or sorry for doing something but it’s not a warning alarm or a guardian.

I often have to make important decisions in my life, decisions that are life changing. I start to pray to God that I make the right decision. If I listen to that voice I will often hear it tell me what the right thing is to do, just as in Acts 10: 9-16,

“The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”

Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”

The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”

This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.”

Some years ago I had to make a decision about taking a job that I had been offered. I had just returned from living abroad and my brother-in-law who was the CEO and President of a major insurance company told me to go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and apply for a job. It had tremendous opportunity and a great salary. However, I had worked in international health prior to going to Norway to live and I loved the work I had done with the developing nations. I was offered a job with a non-government organization. It was at a much less salary but I knew that the work was worthwhile and would bring me life satisfaction. I also didn’t like working in a building higher than the 7th floor. You could say I didn’t like the feeling of being high in the sky. I chose the job at the non-government agency. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was attacked when two planes slammed into the two towers. Had I taken the job with Blue Cross/Blue Shield I would have been on the 86th floor of the one tower. I remember thanking God for helping me to make the choice I did as I watched the plane hit the Trade Center. I knew God had warned me and I had listened.

We are faced with making choices and decisions everyday of our lives. As young people we make the choice of whether we take that first drink or smoke that first joint. If we listen to the “voice,” the warning that says “don’t,” we understand that that voice is coming from God. Like a good father, He helps guide us through life if we are willing to listen.

I answered God’s call when Tony and I decided to open “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen.” Many times I have wanted to quit but that voice of God keeps telling me “no, feed my people. “Love each other as I have loved you,” as Jesus told us to do.

Jesus listened to His Father in Heaven as He preached and died on the cross for us. He didn’t have to obey His Father; he didn’t have to die but He chose to do so because in doing so He was saving His Father’s children. God spoke to Jesus too – From Matthew 3: 16-17,

“The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

You too are chosen and marked by God’s love. You too are the delight of His life. You will always be His child; He will always love you but you need to listen to Him. He gave you life. You are His miracle. He talks to you through the Bible. Pray for His guidance and love but also listen to the voice.

God loves you and saw do I.

The following is the message that my wife, Ann Walker, or as she is perhaps better known, “Grannie Annie” gave on Saturday, April 27^th, for the Saturday morning worship service at “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen”.

This morning, May 4^th, we dedicated a new banner to announce that “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” was open for business. I will post the litany of dedication along with a picture of the new banner in the next post.

Scheduling note – I will be at Sugar Loaf (NY) United Methodist Church tomorrow (May 5^th). The message is “What Does Your Church Look Like?” and is based on the Scriptures for this Sunday, Acts 5: 27 – 32, Revelation 1: 4 – 8, and John 20: 19 -31. Services are at 11 and you are welcome to attend.

I will be at Monroe UMC (Monroe, NY) on May 12th; services are at 8:30 am and 10:15 am and you are welcome to attend. The message for Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday is “The Gift of Love” and is based on the lectionary readings for May 12^th, Acts 16: 16 – 34; Revelation 22: 12 – 14, 16 – 17, 20 – 21; and John 17: 20 – 26.

And now, Ann’s message for April 27^th:

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ. First let me say I am not a minister or a lay speaker/servant. I’m not a Biblical scholar but have read the Bible since I was a child in school. I went to CDC and Sunday school classes, confirmation class and studied the Bible in classes while in college. The first thing I remember from my reading of the Bible is that God is my Heavenly father and always loved me.

So why am I standing here talking to you this morning? All my life I have wondered why, if God spoke to so many of the people we find in the Bible, He did not talk to modern day people. From Genesis 18: 1 – 8,

“God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”

They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”

Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”

Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.”

You have Moses (Exodus 3: 1 -11) at the mountain of God which was called Horeb,

“The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.” Moses couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!.”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

God said God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

“The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Now, I don’t expect God to appear to me out of a burning bush. I don’t think I could take the shock, but I know that throughout my life He has spoken to me on many occasions. It took some years for me to figure that out. He was always with me and always speaking to me. He speaks to us through the Bible. We speak to Him when we pray. But there is another way He speaks to us. Like the angel who came to Joseph to warn him to take Mary and the baby Jesus we can hear Him if we listen.

When I was a child and a teenager I would often get into trouble with my parents for disobeying. I had a choice to obey or disobey because there was this voice that would warn me not to do something, i.e., to be home at a certain time or not to go some place my parents did not want me to go. Many times I didn’t listen to that voice and as a result I spent many hours sitting in my bedroom contemplating the errors of my way. Eventually, as I got older, I started to listen to that voice and staying out of trouble.

My first memory of God warning me to do something was when I was four. My grandfather was the superintendent of a luxury building in Buffalo and we lived in a beautiful apartment in what was considered the basement even though it was above ground. My sister and I shared a bedroom above the boiler room. The rest of the apartment along with the bathroom was on the other side of the hall, about 80 feet away. The year I was four the building was being converted from coal to gas heat. I had a habit of waking up during the night to go to the bathroom. I would usually go alone. No sweat. However, one night during the conversion of the furnace I woke up and a voice told me to wake my three-year old sister up and take her with me to the bathroom. Normally my sister would have objected. That night she didn’t. She grabbed her “blanky” and with thumb in her mouth, followed me to the bathroom. We weren’t in the bathroom more than a few minutes when there was a horrific explosion. What had happened was gas had been leaking and somehow caused an explosion. Our bedroom was gone, nothing more than a gaping hole in the floor. Something or someone made me get up and take my sister with me. Looking back I believe that it was God who warned me to get out of that bedroom.

As I grew up I began listening to that voice more and more. Some would say it was my conscience but I don’t think my conscience warns me. It might make me feel guilty or sorry for doing something but it’s not a warning alarm or a guardian.

I often have to make important decisions in my life, decisions that are life changing. I start to pray to God that I make the right decision. If I listen to that voice I will often hear it tell me what the right thing is to do, just as in Acts 10: 9-16,

“The next day as the three travelers were approaching the town, Peter went out on the balcony to pray. It was about noon. Peter got hungry and started thinking about lunch. While lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the skies open up. Something that looked like a huge blanket lowered by ropes at its four corners settled on the ground. Every kind of animal and reptile and bird you could think of was on it. Then a voice came: “Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.”

Peter said, “Oh, no, Lord. I’ve never so much as tasted food that was not kosher.”

The voice came a second time: “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”

This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the skies.”

Some years ago I had to make a decision about taking a job that I had been offered. I had just returned from living abroad and my brother-in-law who was the CEO and President of a major insurance company told me to go to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and apply for a job. It had tremendous opportunity and a great salary. However, I had worked in international health prior to going to Norway to live and I loved the work I had done with the developing nations. I was offered a job with a non-government organization. It was at a much less salary but I knew that the work was worthwhile and would bring me life satisfaction. I also didn’t like working in a building higher than the 7th floor. You could say I didn’t like the feeling of being high in the sky. I chose the job at the non-government agency. On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Center was attacked when two planes slammed into the two towers. Had I taken the job with Blue Cross/Blue Shield I would have been on the 86th floor of the one tower. I remember thanking God for helping me to make the choice I did as I watched the plane hit the Trade Center. I knew God had warned me and I had listened.

We are faced with making choices and decisions everyday of our lives. As young people we make the choice of whether we take that first drink or smoke that first joint. If we listen to the “voice,” the warning that says “don’t,” we understand that that voice is coming from God. Like a good father, He helps guide us through life if we are willing to listen.

I answered God’s call when Tony and I decided to open “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen.” Many times I have wanted to quit but that voice of God keeps telling me “no, feed my people. “Love each other as I have loved you,” as Jesus told us to do.

Jesus listened to His Father in Heaven as He preached and died on the cross for us. He didn’t have to obey His Father; he didn’t have to die but He chose to do so because in doing so He was saving His Father’s children. God spoke to Jesus too – From Matthew 3: 16-17,

“The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

You too are chosen and marked by God’s love. You too are the delight of His life. You will always be His child; He will always love you but you need to listen to Him. He gave you life. You are His miracle. He talks to you through the Bible. Pray for His guidance and love but also listen to the voice.

God loves you and saw do I.

“The Greatest of These Is Love”

Monday, April 22^nd, was Ann’s (“Grannie Annie”) birthday. The following poem was written by our pastor, Frank Windom, and was read to the people who came to Grannie Annie’s Kitchen on Saturday the 20^th. The youth of the church were engaged in the “30-Hour Famine” and, as part of the effort, came up to help serve the people. They provided what was the first of many surprises that day by leading the group in singing “Happy Birthday” to her. She will tell you that it was the best birthday she has ever had.

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And The Greatest of These Is Love

Ann Marie Mitchell

April 20, 2013

There are those whom we meet whose life says love.

There is Mother Teresa of India who committed herself in love to the peoples of the streets and poverty.

And there is Ann Marie who gave herself to the children and women of India to better their lives through developing and using their God given gifts.

There was a man who immersed himself in the tranquility and beauty of nature: the flowers, the butterflies, and the birds.

And there is Ann Marie who digs in the garden of the church, plants the seeds that give new life, and feed the birds that bring their songs.

There were some women who called themselves Methodist who saw older women who lived in the street and they started The Methodist Home for Older Women.

There were some women who called themselves Methodist who went to Ellis Island with food to feed the new arrivals and to welcome and assist them to their new home.

There were some men who saw that the sailors from all over the world had no safe and decent place to stay or eat when in the Port of New York. They started The American Seamen’s Friend Society and Sailors’ Home and Institute. This place near the waterfront of Manhattan served as home for many transient voyagers.

There is Ann Marie who cooks the finest breakfast on the banks of the Hudson and opens the doors with of cup of Joe, a beautiful smile, and the Word of Love to all.

Come, ye who are hungry. Come, ye who have no family. Come, ye who have no church. Come, ye who seek peace from the street.

Grannie Annie’s kitchen is open. Come and be fed.

THANK YOU ANN FOR BEING YOU, FULL OF LOVE.

Happy Birthday,

Pastor Frank

“Where Are You Going?”

Here is the message I gave for the morning worship at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen (Grace UMC, Newburgh) on Saturday, February 23, 2013. I based this message on the Scriptures for the 2^nd Sunday in Lent (Genesis 15:1-12, 17-21; Philippians 3:17-4:1; and Luke 13:31-35. I emphasized the reading from Philippians.

Writing these Saturday messages is interesting. The people who come are not always interested in the message, desiring more the food that is offered. They perhaps have only a basic understanding of the Bible, Christianity, and Methodism; there is also the possibility that they have rejected the church, both the traditional and non-traditional forms. To preach the same message that one would preach to a Sunday morning service doesn’t always work. It may very similar to what transpired for John Wesley when he moved from the prepared multi-hour sermon of the Anglican church to the extemporaneous sermon of the fields and factories.

If you are interested in giving the message some Sunday morning, let me know (either through my regular e-mail – TonyMitchellPhD “at” optimum.net or on Facebook). Dates in March are still open and I will be opening up April in a couple of weeks. We open the Kitchen (and please do not even think of this as a traditional or typical “soup kitchen” because it is most definitely not that) at 8. After everyone has settled in, we offer this worship and then begin serving. We will serve until around 9:45 or when we run out of food. We close the doors at 10.

To me, this time of Lent is a time of a journey; of a change sometimes in place that we are but most definitely a change in who we are. Many people are uncomfortable with those changes, never wanting to move from where they are and, most definitely, never wanting to change who they are.

Perhaps that is why we have this season called Lent and why it takes some forty days to prepare for Easter. To change who we are is not always an overnight thing but one that requires time and focus. Paul writes the Philippians and tells them that those who are more concerned with the material world or life on easy street are headed in the wrong direction.

As I read those words that Paul wrote, I wondered about who he was talking about. Most of the people I know would tell you that life is nowhere near an easy street and that life is a struggle. But I know many people who will tell you that you have to grab everything that you can because you don’t have too many chances in life. And it is what you have that, in the end, counts the most.

We all know people like this. Interestingly enough, it is a broad spectrum of individuals. It is the individual who stole a radio out of my car many years ago. I don’t know what drove him to do it but I am pretty sure that the word desperate would have been involved. For this individual did it between 2 and 5 in the morning on a night when it was something like -20^o F. And, yes, when I went out to my car that morning to go to work and school, I was mad and angry. But I also had to smile a little bit because I am not sure what that individual was going to get for his efforts; I know that he probably took it to a pawn shop somewhere but how much was he going to get for a tape player that didn’t work? For all his efforts, this individual probably didn’t get much in return.

But is also those individuals who say that they are Christian but who are unwilling to do the things that come with saying that they believe. I haven’t quite figured out how to respond to these individuals but I should because there are so many of them. They have no desire to come close to the Cross because it means to them that they must give up everything that they have gathered together. How are they any different from the people Paul writes about who are only interested in their bellies and their appetites?

But what is that you have “in the end?” Paul also wrote, to the effect, that if you have everything but your soul is empty then you have absolutely nothing.

That’s why Paul also speaks of one’s life in Christ. Paul does not want people to follow him but to follow Christ because in doing so, their lives are transformed from the mundane and boring to the beautiful and exciting.

I was introduced to a saying yesterday that goes like this, “Christ is in each one of us; we just have to recognize Him.”

When Ann opened up “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen” it was with the purpose of feeding people. But it was to be more than just a quick breakfast. Some people come here on Saturday morning expecting something entirely different from what they get. But that is because of how we see this kitchen and how we see our lives in Christ.

How you see this kitchen depends on where you are in this journey called Lent and in your own life. You can see this place as a good place to get food on a Saturday morning and that is fine. But we hope that you see this place as a place where not only your physical body but your soul is feed as well.

How you see others depends on how you see yourself. You have the opportunity this day to decide which way you want to go in your own personal journey. You have the opportunity this day to decide that you want to change your life.

Next Saturday, as you are preparing to come to this place once again, someone may ask where you are going. I know that many of you will say that you are going to get a good breakfast at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen; but I would also hope that you are saying that you are going to a fellowship of people gathered together to find and know Christ.

Where are you going this day? Where are you going tomorrow? That is what this journey is about.

The Journey Begins

On Sunday, I will be at Grace United Methodist Church in Slate Hill, NY. Service is at 10 am and you are invited to attend.

And then on Sunday afternoon, I will be at Grace United Methodist Church in Newburgh, NY, to begin the Lenten School. I have served as the Lenten School Coordinator for the past six years and this will be my last year in the position. For myself, it has been an interesting journey but one that must end; hopefully, someone will answer the call and begin their own journey in this position.

The Lenten School will start each Sunday during Lent with “soup and sandwiches” at 4 and classes that run to 7:30. The meal will be provided by “Grannie Annie’s Kitchen”. If you are interested in taking the Basic Lay Servant Ministry course or courses in sermon planning, spiritual gifts, leading in prayer, leading small groups, or the history and polity of the United Methodist Church, this is a good place and a good time to do so. One can still register at the beginning of the course.

The Scriptures for this Sunday are Deuteronomy 26: 1 – 11, Romans 10: 8 – 13, and Luke 4: 1 – 3.

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to travel across this country back in the mid 19^th century, when the west was just opening up and people were moving from the east and mid-west to the new territories of California and Oregon? What must have it felt like to leave practically everything you owned behind as you gathered together the provisions for a four or five and possibly six month journey across the central plains of this country?

And what must have it felt like to be walking and walking as the wagon train you were a part of traveled westward with the terrain that you walked on looking the same day after day? And how would you have felt as you approached the Front Range of the Rockies and saw that there were even higher mountains behind them and you knew that you had all of that to cross before you could even think of arriving at your destination?

From my own experiences, I know that the plains of Kansas are not necessarily flat but you can literally see almost to the horizon and there is nothing in between.

Several years ago, I was in Billings, Montana, and my mother and I went out to see the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. And there on the high plains of the west, I got the impression that one could see almost all the way to New York. And then my cell phone rang and it was the lay speaker covering for me at my church asking a question about the service on Sunday.

Even Ann, my wife, will tell you that she couldn’t tell the difference between the corn fields of Iowa and Nebraska or the wheat fields of Nebraska and Kansas; it just seemed to go on and on and on. Even the home movies (ah, remember the good old days of Super 8 film) that her dad insisted on taking and showing made everyone car sick.

So you can begin to imagine how the Israelites must have felt when, after forty years of wandering in the trackless desert that we call the Sinai, they crossed the River Jordan into the Promised Land.

Ours is a journey in life, sometimes in place and most definitely in time. We can take the attitude of the Preacher, the one who wrote Ecclesiastes and live each day for the moment, not worrying about the outcome. Or we can realize that in our journey, we are apt to encounter individuals and experience events that will change our lives and that individuals who encounter us will find their lives change as well.

What we have to realize, as we begin this 2013 season of Lent, is that part of our journey ends on Easter and that a new part of that journey begins.

There are two themes, I believe, in the Bible; themes that run throughout the pages of both the Old and New Testament. The first, and most definitely, the major theme is our relationship with God and the people we meet each day. To borrow an idea from Jim Wallis, if you took out the passages in the Bible that deal with the relationship between God and us and those passages that deal with our relationship with others, there would be virtually nothing left. It would be filled with holes and it would fall apart.

The second theme that is expressed throughout the Bible is one of a journey. Sometimes it is not the best of all journeys, as in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden or the Babylonian Captivity. Sometimes it is a journey of exploration, as Abram journeying to the land that God directed him.

There is the journey of Joseph to Egypt and the journey of his brothers a few years later. It was this journey that set the stage for today’s Old Testament Reading.

We have the journey of Jesus across and around the Galilee; in six weeks, we will begin the journey into Jerusalem.

The season of Lent is a season of preparation, of preparing not only for Easter but what comes after Easter. What we must understand, what we must realize is that we are preparing for the most wonderful change in our lives. We have the benefit of knowing that Easter brings the Resurrection and in the Resurrection, we gain the victory over sin and death. But the journey does not and never has ended on Easter.

There is the journey of Paul around the Mediterranean telling people about Christ and building churches. There is the journey of the disciples to places beyond their home country, to take the Word to far-off lands, to places beyond the hills of the Galilee and perhaps never imagined.

Many people began the journey with Christ some two thousand years ago but they fell to the wayside when the effort became too great. When you stop to think about it, those that began the journey but quit probably understood what the cost of the journey would be and how it would change them and they didn’t want to change. They liked their old life; they had adapted to the life of trouble and strife that so marked their daily lives.

I am afraid that happens even today. Too many people, I am afraid, will say that they have given up something for Lent, perhaps they will not watch so much television or they will quit eating chocolate or something similar, but when Easter comes, they return to the old ways, of watching their favorite television shows or eating chocolate.

It is easy to understand why that is the case. There are only two instances in the Bible where we know that Jesus is tempted. Of course, today’s Gospel reading is the first time that we know that Jesus was tempted. But as he was growing up, would he not have experienced the same sort of things that we have experienced? And on that night when He knew what was to come, would it have been just as easy to invoke the same powers that Satan tempted Him with and rebuke not only the Romans but the Pharisees and Sadducees as well? Temptations do not leave us just because we deliberately set them aside for a short period. Temptations come to us in many forms, some we often don’t recognize.

Ben Gosden, on his blog, wrote about an individual who was faced with a choice. This individual had an opportunity to take a job which would provide the financial security that he needed to take care of his family but it would take him away from his family for 4 – 5 days a week. What was this individual to do? (From “Journeying to the Cross: The Power of Temptation”)

As Pastor Gosden wrote, Lent is a time, a season that reminds us of our priorities and the temptations that inevitably follow. There must be a deliberate effort made to make sure that we don’t fall to the temptations that confront us and this we can only do when we change our lives.

The Israelites spent forty years wandering around before entering the Promised Land. They did so because they weren’t prepared to enter the Promised Land when they first arrived. But I wonder how prepared they were when they discovered what was now required of them once they entered the Promised Land.

Did they not understand that their lives had changed and one of the things that they had to do was recognize how it was that they had arrived at their destination? So too is it for us. If our lives do not change during these next few weeks, how can we even think to continue this journey?

Yes, it is going to be tough. Jesus told the twelve that only one would live to an old age but even that individual, John, was in prison when he died. Each of the other disciples would in fact die in the course of their mission work, far from their home land but never far from Christ.

John Wesley and the other early Methodist preachers could probably tell you about the struggles they endured with the beginning of the Methodist Revival. Francis Asbury made it very clear that the life of a circuit rider was not and was never going to be easy. I am not so sure that it is that much easier today.  The temptations that people face each day, sometimes without the support of the church, in its various forms, often make it easier not to think about Christ.

But we take the words of Paul to heart. Ours is a life not found in the strict interpretation of the word but in living in the faith and trusting in God. As Jesus hung in agony and pain on the Cross that fateful Friday afternoon some two thousand years ago, he trusted in God to comfort and guide him.

We will, I trust, never be asked to endure that type of torment but I also trust that we are able to trust in God to guide, direct, and support us in whatever we face as we undertake this journey. Paul would write to the Corinthians

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; Jesus will never let you be pushed past your limit; The Spirit will always be there to help you come through it. (1 Corinthians 10: 13)

Let us not worry about what lies around the bend or the next corner or even on the other side of the mountains that seemingly block our way. Let us take heed of all those who have gone before us; let us go to the Cross and let us go beyond.

Let the journey begin.

“Rut Ro Raggy!”

This is the message that Maria Busse of the Monroe United Methodist Church will present at this Saturday’s (February 16^th) morning worship at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen. We open the doors at 8, begin with the worship and then serve what some say is the best breakfast in Newburgh. You are welcome to come for the worship and the breakfast.

After hearing those verses I am sure that some of you out there are sitting there squirming just a bit…I know I squirmed when I read them myself. Immediately what came to mind was that old cartoon “Scooby-Doo, Where are You?” with the voice of Scooby speaking in dog talk to his pal Shaggy – “Rut Ro Raggy!”(meaning-Uh-Oh, Shaggy!) which surely meant that trouble was coming.

I am also sure that some of you now are thinking- “Great, now I have to sit here and listen about all the things I am doing wrong because of my sin to my flesh…Couldn’t she have picked another set of verses that won’t make me feel guilty about how I live my life? The excuses we make to ourselves may now be forming a list in your head and growing so rapidly that you are not hearing me even now. I’m here to tell you now…RELAX… because just like anyone in this room and for that matter anyone who has ever walked this Earth besides Jesus is guilty of misdeeds to the body.

So very quickly let’s get the list out of the way so that we can put it up on the shelf to be worked on at another time. Let’s all be bold and fill in the blank. In your minds I would like you complete the following statement- “When it comes to sins of the flesh-what I need to put to death is my addiction to_______.” In my research for this sermon I needed to answer my own curiosity (an addiction in itself) about how many different types of addiction there are out there. I can’t and won’t read the list now…it would take waaay too long! Here are a few I came across: Body building, applause, self-help books, coin collecting, husbands, people pleasing, X-Box and even prayer without action. I bet you thought I was going to read the usual suspects didn’t you?

Put plainly – anything that we overly do is in itself an addiction. Why? Because all addictions simply block positive energy flow to the body. Even something as harmless as coin collecting can become an obsession that leads to other negative behaviors for example- stealing to buy a rare and much sought after coin that has come on the market. ALL addictions usually start with a positive result but end up becoming a commitment in themselves. Chocolate cake? Very yummy, but if you are eating it morning, noon, night and in between, going to sleep dreaming of it- that is what we can say is overdoing it.

Paul says this in verses 10 and 11:

But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

In these verses Paul says if we believe that Christ is in us then our bodies are righteous beings, living a life that is right with God. That the Spirit of God lives in our earthly bodies.

So why do we sin? Why do we sin to the flesh especially? Is it about control or is it about situations we can’t control? We try to cover bitterness in our lives with any and everything out there that might take it away. Be it drinking or smoking or overeating or promiscuity…these separate us from those around us who we don’t want to hear anyway or get no answers from. And they separate us from God who in our own self righteous need for control are not listening to anyway. There is a saying that goes like this: “If God seems far away…who moved?”

Michael Jackson, with all his afflictions, sang a song called ‘The Man In the Mirror‘. One line in it says; “I’ve been a victim of a selfish kinda love.” When we sin against the flesh that is just what we are-selfish. We think only of ourselves and forget how much God truly loves us. We forget how wonderfully we were made to be everything that our Father wants and means for us to be. We separate ourselves and forget to trust in something else Paul taught us later in Chapter 8 of The Message Bible, states it as so; and I am paraphrasing…

Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worse sins listed in scripture….None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us…Absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our master has embraced us.

Paul says that we have an ‘obligation’. That if we live to the flesh surely we will die. But if we live by the Spirit we will live. This can be a very easy thing to do when we are around those whose opinions we value and care about. But when we are alone and those old or even new, what I like to call demons show up-What do we do?

We all have what is called ‘good face’ and ‘bad face’. Good face is the bright and shining one we show to our loved ones, to our friends and family and to those in the public life who can enhance our own lives. This public face for the most part is easy to show because it gives value to our lives and uplifts us in one way or another be it love, friendship or even a paycheck.　

Bad face though turns it’s ugly face on us inward. It, through our own self-vision does not see the beauty in ourselves. It only sees our doubt, confusion, rage and frustration…leaving us defenseless, willing and able to do anything not to see what we perceive to be our true hearts. This view is not seen through rose colored glasses but with spectacles that are tarnished by hurt, self hate and low self esteem. Bad face also has a voice. This voice tells us it is O.K. to try anything that will fix our hurt. This is when the separation of our souls from God begins.

What can we do when those voices start their whispering; perhaps even building to a loud roaring voice that tears us away from those we love and most important- a God who loves us? First and foremost-pray.

Reach out and up to the God who has loved you so much since before you were born. Reach out to others to stop the isolation. Be it a trusted friend or family member. Remember- you are not alone, even if you think you are. Do all in your power, to as Pink Floyd once sang about, turn away. Turn away from the feeling that you are all alone, turn away from the coldness inside.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with the words of another song called The Words I Would Say by Sidewalk Prophets. I hope that these words fill you with hope and the realization of the Spirit of the one who lives in you. “Be strong in the Lord and never give up hope. You’re going to do great things, I already know. God’s got his hands on you so don’t live life in fear. Forgive and forget, but don’t forget while you’re here – Take your time and pray. These are the words I would say.

Amen

Catching up and planning ahead (perhaps?)

I finally posted “Removing the veil” this morning. Sorry for the delay but it got hectic over the weekend. You cannot imagine what several inches of snow does to your time frame.

This is going to be a busy week. We will be at Grannie Annie’s Kitchen this Saturday, unless, of course, the weather doesn’t allow us to do so. Maria Irish from the Monroe UMC will be presenting the message “Rut Ro Raggy!”.

On Sunday, I will be at Grace United Methodist Church in Slate Hill, NY. Service is at 10 am and you are invited to attend. The title of my message is “The Journey Begins”.

At 4 pm on Sunday, we begin the 2013 Lenten School. We will be offering courses in Basic Lay Servant Ministries and advanced courses in sermon planning, leading small groups, leading prayer, spiritual gifts, and the history and polity of the United Methodist Church. The early registration fee is $35.00; registration on the 17^th is $40.00. Ann will again provide the afternoon meal (4:00 to 4:30 each Sunday) during the school. We open the school with a worship service from ~4:30 to 5:00 and I will present the message, using some of the same thoughts from my morning message.

Registration information can be found at NY/CT District – 2013 Lay Servant Lenten School; if you have any questions, leave a comment and I will try to answer them.