Posted by rrindfuss    3 Comment(s)    Add a Comment 
Aug 10 2017

A decade ago I received a very special Christmas gift from a congregation member: an 1894 edition of "The Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South." When a new member joined the church, this book instructed the pastor to say, "All, of every age and station, stand in need of the means of grace which [the Church of God] alone supplies; and it invites all alike to become fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God." The invitation to "all alike" was expansive and welcoming, yet the word "South" in the title of the book reminds me that the all-inclusive invitation existed in the context of a Methodist Church that had split 50 years earlier, north and south, over slavery and would not re-unite for another 45 years. The all-inclusive invitation existed in a context that had also created the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in the south and the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the north. Even as the church wanted to be a place for everyone, it was deeply divided around race. Today, Methodists have similar words that affirm our aspiration to be a church for all races and also guide us towards how to become that.

The newer editions of that 1894 book now instruct pastors to ask:

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?

The words put a definite responsibility on us, but they also acknowledge Christ's role when we take on that responsibility. We acknowledge that Jesus is our Savior. We acknowledge that we and the world we live in are broken, not what God desires, and that we can't fix ourselves or the world on our own. We need a Savior. And we have one in Jesus Christ.

Those words speak of grace. God's grace is the gift of God that welcomes us and empowers us to welcome others even when it's difficult, when it requires us to change, and when we don't even know what we need to change or how.

Those words also speak of trust. They challenge us to put our "full" trust in God's grace. They challenge us to build bridges of understanding and welcome across racial lines. They challenge us to see and learn how race affects church and society. And they challenge us to make changes that will bring our reality closer to God's vision, all the while trusting that God's vision is worth striving for and trusting that God's grace will enable us to do what we couldn't do on our own.

I'm grateful and excited that Pastor Julie will help us explore race relations as she preaches this Sunday. I hope you will join her and me, the Access band, and the rest of the Access congregation as we all gather to affirm our faith and seek God's grace to help us grow into the people and church God would have us be.

In Christ,
Rich

Rich Rindfuss
Access Pastor
First United Methodist Church Richardson

Posted by jklossner    1 Comment(s)    Add a Comment 
Aug 3 2017

The phrase “mind the gap” is a warning issued to rail passengers reminding them to take caution while crossing the space between the train door and the station platform.  It’s a more kind and caring way of saying, “don’t fall in this hole and break your ankle.” As I’ve considered the mindfulness it takes to keep my ankles safe, I’ve started to wonder what other gaps may need my attention. These gaps might also exist in our understanding around issues of justice in our society. What holes do we fall into that keep us from connecting our faith more fully to the world around us?

In a TED Talk last year, Arthur Brooks asserted that one of the holes we fall into is thinking that it’s enough to simply tolerate each other. He says that tolerance is a way justifying having low standards for not being able to understand someone with a different perspective. The National Academy of Sciences recently published a study on what is known as ‘political motive asymmetry.’ This study found that there is a constant gap between us and others because we assume that we are motivated by love, while our opponents or ‘the other’ are motivated by hate. This seems like such a dangerous gap - one that inevitably leads to divisiveness and brokenness. Brooks argues that it’s not enough just to tolerate each other; we need to need each other.

Paul writes in Galatians 6:2 to “bear one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” The Message translation says it a little more bluntly: “Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.” The notion of bearing someone’s burden means to hold their needs, struggles and concerns with the same regard and intentionality that we hold our own.  Finding commonality in our shared needs makes the gap between us a little less wide.

This is a foundational piece of our faith in Christ: that we are called and challenged not to simply tolerate each other, but to need and even love each other. This does not, and will not, minimize our differences, but it can help us to become more aware of the predictable pitfalls that keep us from one another. If we are actively working to ‘mind the gap’ in our reactions, assumptions and understandings of each other, we might find that this gap could be not only minded, but bridged - a bridge, with God’s help, over which we are able to ‘seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God’ (Micah 6:8).

This Sunday, we are starting a new sermon series called Building Bridges. Over the coming weeks, we will be asking these questions: What does it mean to be a Christian when it comes to issues of justice in our society?  Does God care about politics? How can two people on opposite sides of an issue both claim God's support? Our prayer in this series is that we find ways to build bridges over gaps in our knowledge and experience and connect our faith more fully to the world around us.

See you Sunday!

-Julie 

Posted by rrindfuss    0 Comment(s)    Add a Comment 
Jul 27 2017

This photo shows a prayer blanket. Members of our church hand-made it for a man whose son is battling cancer. Before being delivered this blanket went to church services at FUMCR. People there prayed for the man and his family, and then each of them tied a knot in the fringe of the blanket. Prayer blankets and the knots in their fringes help make our prayers for others very tangible.

Prayer blankets began as part of our sanctuary worship services, and now they're coming to Access.

You can read more about the prayer blanket ministry, how to request one, and ways you can support the ministry at www.fumcr.com/blanket. When you request a blanket, members of the prayer blanket team will bring it to the Access worship space on the Sunday after it's made. Our Access congregation will pray for the recipient and tie knots in the fringe. After the worship service you can pick up the blanket and deliver it.

This Sunday will conclude our Games We Play series of sermons with "Solitaire vs. Spades." It's all about why the Bible pushes us towards others and some practical ways we can respond. Prayer blankets are a great way to connect with people, and on Sunday we'll share some other ways too.

In Christ,
Rich

Rich Rindfuss
Access Pastor
First United Methodist Church Richardson