CONGREGATION + COMMUNITY NEWS
PEOPLES PRESS
Joyfully Defiant for the Sake of a Just World
A congregation of the United Church of Christ, the Alliance of Baptists & the American Baptist Churches
INTERIM’S INSIGHTS
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
(Galatians 5:1 ,The New Revised Standard Bible)
With the celebration of Independence Day upon us, I want to start by wishing all of you a happy and thought-provoking holiday. Like most of the holy days of our civil religion, the Powers would prefer that we take the day off, grill a few hot dogs, shoot off some bottle rockets and call it a day. We are expected to pat one another on the back and celebrate the wisdom and courage and “right thinking” that prompted our rebellious predecessors to declare their independence. But don’t bother actually reading the document that enshrines that independence in our nation’s history and don’t think too hard about the revolutionary ideas upon which it is founded. If you do either of these things, you will discover how little we value our freedom and how easily we submit to the control of the Powers. After a brief introduction (one sentence) The Declaration begins with these words:
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed.
We are, indeed, “More disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable.” We are also prone to second guess our own freedom or the freedom of others. The Hebrews in the wilderness began to long for the security of food and shelter that slavery had provided. Many in Jesus’ day were content to let the Romans have their day, having acclimated themselves to life under an occupation. How quickly did Reconstruction in the American South back-slide into Jim Crow and racist poverty to provide cover for those who wanted to deny freedom to those formerly enslaved. Freedom always looks good on paper, but the sin of enslavement is fiendishly resilient.
The writer of Galatians (Paul’s authorship of which is hotly contested) laments the fact that many in the church would return to a faith based on laws and punishment. Paul could well have expressed this thought, even if not in this letter. He had been a Pharisee before his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. The Pharisees typically thought that observing the law in the minutest detail would get God’s attention and restore Israel to its former glory (and kick out the Romans in the process). Paul (who was then called Saul) was so convinced of this, that he happily traveled from city to city, rooting out the Christians and convicting them of blasphemy, committing them to prison and even stoning them to death in the process (see Acts 8 & 9). Paul expresses tremendous guilt over this after his conversion. He saw his error as a mistaken belief that being a “slave” to the law was what God wanted when, in fact, it was what kept us from the joy of God’s Realm. We were freed from all that by Christ, why would we submit to that again?
Good question. But we find comfort in predictability and security in rules. And being free is a heavy responsibility. And the more I learn about history, the more amazed I am how often humans will voluntarily give up freedom in exchange for safety and security. (which, by the way, are highly over-rated!).
And if we think about it just a little, the truth becomes obvious (self-evident). All of the human family are equal, that is, of equal worth. There is no aristocracy that has superior intellect, wisdom, or physical prowess. That our Creator (not the Magna Carta or the monarch) has endowed us with the right to “life, liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” (altered from Descartes, who had written “the Pursuit of Property”). The justification and authority of government is the consent of the governed.
Whatever you think of our current government, the laws or court decisions that restrict or liberate us, or the current administration’s priorities and pitfalls, remember that your freedoms exist independent of all that. They are God-given. So don’t be afraid to embrace them. The alternative is live as a captive to earthly powers. Amen.
Pastor Davis Sickelka, Interim Pastor
Pastor Dave’s Schedule for june & july
Except for Tuesday, July 4th, Pastor Dave will be in Flint on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please do call the church office to make sure, because a pastor’s schedule is always in flux.
If you would like to make an appointment to speak to Pastor Dave in person, please call the church office at (810)767-4911 between 10:00 and 2:00 M-F, or email him at david.sickelka@peopleschurchofflint.org. If you have an urgent need for pastoral care outside of office hours, text or phone (515)720-6389.
Where There is Love There is Hope
Recently, the Edgewood UCC in East Lansing made a contribution of $100,000.00 as a faith-based reparation grant to the Justice League of Greater Lansing to support education scholarships, home ownership and business startup ministries. The gift was supported with a substantial slice from the church’s endowment and after seven years of study and discussion in the congregation. Edgewood partnered with All Saints Episcopal Church to share responsibility for a $200,000.00 pledge to the Justice League’s reparation project.
The idea of reparation has been around a long time. In the early 1970’s the UCC Synod met in Boston. To commemorate that event, the Massachusetts Conference, UCC committed a large amount of its endowment to the work of Civil Rights in establishing justice for minorities. To be sure, that action caused considerable commotion among Massachusetts UCC churches!
People still find reparation a tough pill to swallow. (We just can’t stand giving money to someone who didn’t earn it. “Un-American,” say some. And worst of all, we know what it means to earn what we have and we know who the people are who didn’t earn it.) You know the racist script of privilege.
The Lansing area churches learned a few things in their study. Both congregations are predominantly white and don’t deny their privileged status. They studied the value of their members’ homes and compared that value to what the homes of minorities in those areas were valued. In that study they received a picture of the significant discrepancy in the buildup of home equity over the years between whites and their non-white neighbors. That factor alone offers a reason to swallow the pill.
I offer this article to celebrate a happening in one of our sister churches that will probably and sadly not receive wide coverage. This story for me is also another source of a hope-beam which is hard to find in today’s news reports. In our church there are shooting stars of hope in the work we do and support. Praise be.
Kendall Brown, for the Creation Justice Team
Good Things Happening in and around us
The Pastoral Search Committee … continues our work. We have concluded second interviews with some candidates and have more second interviews on our schedule. We are busy conferring so that we can find the very best candidate for Peoples Church. We hope to share our choice for our next pastor in the next few months. We are grateful for your continued patience. Please include the Search Committee in your prayers.
Linda Angus, Search Committee Member
Membership Classes have Started…
New Member Classes have started but you can still participate. Don’t worry if you missed the first class, we’ll gladly get you all caught up. Classes are scheduled for three Sundays in July, the 02nd, 09th, & 16th at 12:15 pm. If you are interested in participating, please contact the church office at (810)767-4911 or email info@peopleschurchofflint.org
Plaza Event Planner…The Patio & Grounds Committee is looking for a volunteer to act as an Event Planner. This person along with the P&G Committee will conceptualize, schedule and organize events to be held on the Plaza. If you’re interested in volunteering please see Dale Emery.
Upcoming Affiliate & Community Activities
IN THE CONGREGATION
Links are on the church calendar. Need more info? Just ask!
Links are on the church calendar: t.ly/ALHB. Need more info? Just ask!
Adult Forum, meets at 9:30 am on Sunday’s. Starting Sunday, March 19th we will be reading The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones. Join us either in person at church or via Zoom .
Vigil for Racial Justice is still gathering 1-2 pm Thursdays on the Genesee Courthouse lawn.
New Text Alert System. We have shifted to a new text messaging service. If you're in our church directory, you're all set. If you're not, go here to sign up!