Pastor s Column. St. Francis Times. Who is Christ Sophia and why do we sing about her?

Transcription

1 St. Francis Times Evangelical Lutheran Church in America God s work. Our hands. June 2015 Pastor s Column Who is Christ Sophia and why do we sing about her? Occasionally, some of the hymns at St. Francis include a reference to Christ Sophia. What is this all about, and is this a new thing? Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom and is an ancient way to address Christ. It is found in the wri ngs of the apostle Paul who calls Christ the Wisdom of God (1 Co 1:24). Many leaders of the early church cherished this tle. In 360 AD the Emperor Constan ne gave orders to build a church dedicated to Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). This amazing structure with its gli ering mosaics has been destroyed and rebuilt several mes. It received its final form in 538 AD and became one for the great treasures of Constan nople, now Istanbul, in Turkey. In the Middle Ages it was converted to a mosque and today it serves as a museum. Eastern Orthodox Chris ans con nued to dedicate churches to Hagia Sophia, the most famous among them is the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. Among Western Chris ans the tle Holy Wisdom has over the centuries fallen by the wayside, but now many faith communi es have begun to reclaim this ancient tle. What does it mean to address Christ as Sophia? For me, this tle offers two gi s: First it expands my language for Jesus. I have long loved hymns which reach beyond Shepherd, Savior, King, Master, Lord, Redeemer, and Son of God as tles for Christ. I love, for example a hymn called Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life ; or another one called: O Bread of Life from Heaven. And now, there is O Come, Christ Sophia by Jann Aldredge Clanton. Secondly, when I call Christ the Wisdom of God, I am reminded of the limits of my own wisdom, and of the surprising otherness of the wisdom of God. In First Corinthians St. Paul writes: For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is wri en, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclama on, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gen les, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God s weakness is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:18 25). May God's Holy Wisdom bless you today and always! Pastor Bea Chun

2 PAGE 2 Highlights for the 28th Annual Assembly ST. FRANCIS TIMES The Sierra Pacific Synod met at the end of May 2015 in Sacramento, CA. Our congrega on sent Carl Tebell and Glenda Lisk together with Pastor Bea Chun as vo ng members. St. Francis member Elaine Whitney was also present in her role as Synod Vice President, and St. Francis member Cary Bass Deschenes a ended as a visitor. The assembly welcomed special guests from the Taiwan Lutheran Church, which is one of our three partner synods: Bishop Ying ping (David) Wu; his spouse, Nancy, Director of Mission; Pr. Samuel Cheng; and his spouse Pr. Gloria Cheng. Pr. John Rutsindintwarane from the Lutheran Church in Rwanda, another partner synod, brought gree ngs as well. The assembly was grounded in daily worship. On Friday evening, The Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus provided musical leadership. Over $8,000 was received in offerings, which will be divided among the Sierra Pacific Synod for Candidacy scholarships; the Lutheran Social Services of Northern California; and Lutheran Disaster Response. Keynote addresses were presented by The Rev. Dr. Colleen Windham Hughes, a member of the faculty at California Lutheran University. The Rev. Jeffrey Thiemann, President and CEO of Por co Benefit Services presented the Bible Studies. Bishop Mark Holmerud proposed three ways for the Synod to measure progress towards its shared mission: Becoming more culturally competent, culturally humble and an racist Becoming a be er reflec on of the neighborhood and communi es we are called to serve Becoming able and willing to share our stories of Jesus An Assembly Banquet on Saturday evening, emceed by The Rev. Eugene Jewell celebrated the significant anniversaries of congrega ons and rostered leaders. A hear elt thank you and service of farewell was extended to Pr. Jose Luis La Torre Cuadros and Ms. Karen Idler, AIM. They have served in the Office of the Bishop for four years. Their posi ons had to be eliminated as a result of budget cuts. The Rev. Carlton Monroe was installed as Director of Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop. The Assembly passed five Resolu ons, including resolu ons for Mission Support; Gender Iden ty Inclusivity; Compensa on Guidelines; and support for the Campaign for the ELCA. The Assembly also elected new synod council members. Vo ng Members who will a end the Churchwide Assembly next year in New Orleans were also elected. The Assembly adopted the Council recommended Budget which showed an cipated total revenue of $2,070,890 and expected expenses totaling $2,095,929. On a final note, I was struck by the posi ve atmosphere and spirit of joy that was felt throughout the assembly. Pastor Bea Chun

3 ST. FRANCIS TIMES SF Bike to Worship St. Francis PAGE 3

4 ST. FRANCIS TIMES Grant s Send Off In May, the St. Francis family said Goodbye to one it s dedicated members, who moved out of state. Grant Burger wore quite a few hats at St. Francis and he will be missed. PAGE 4 I m moving to there

5 PAGE 5 ST. FRANCIS TIMES

6 PAGE 6 Highlights from the April and May Council Meetings The Congregation Council meets regularly at 6:00PM on the third Tuesday evening of each month. After each meeting we publish highlights in the bulletin and newsletter as a way of keeping everyone informed about actions taken and issues that might be of interest or concern. Reports regarding congregational finances will be provided quarterly. Here are some of the highlights from our meetings on April 21 and May 19: In April, Greg Egertson led a devotional on what it means to say farewell when someone departs a faith community. The word Goodbye is actually a contraction of God be with ye. In May, Randy Thueme led a reflection on the covenant petition: we promise, with God s help and mutual respect to respect and support the work of our pastors and lay leaders, and the decisions we make as a congregation. Sustenance was provided by Ben Sheldon (April) and Greg Egertson (May). As part of our monthly reflection on the St. Francis Covenant, Pastor Bea invited Council to discuss the following petition (April): we promise, with God s help and mutual respect to practice forgiveness and support the compromises necessary to live as a spiritled community. Expressions of thanks were extended on behalf of everyone who helped create such a meaningful Easter season, especially Pastor Bea for worship planning and our wonderful musicians led by Dr. Schofield. Council is also grateful for the tireless work of the Personnel Committee this year, and to the Lydia Circle for coordinating Grant Burger s farewell luncheon on May 17. Following on the success of the Child friendly Easter service, we discussed some initial ideas for making our Sunday morning worship more accessible to children. ST. FRANCIS TIMES Pastor Bea recommended that we find ways to lift up the activities of our various ministries this year perhaps by recognizing one each month. Pastor Bea also offered some thoughts on how we might develop a more structured process for receiving and welcoming new members in the future. We discussed a process and time frame for replacing Grant Burger as financial secretary, and for filling Elaine Whitney s seat on the Council. We approved four grant funding requests endorsed by the Endowment Committee: SFLC AIDSWalk Team ($1,500); Lutheran Social Services Relapse Prevention Program ($3,000); Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries new resources for call committees, candidacy committees, LGBTQ pastors and seminarians ($2,000); and The Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center s new dance and music curriculum ($2,000). We enthusiastically received official notice that the Castro Lions have awarded St. Francis a $8,500 grant to purchase a new freezer and make kitchen improvements, including acquisition of a new commercial stove. We approved a new set of job descriptions and employment agreements developed by the Personnel Committee for all paid positions at St. Francis. We selected Sunday, June 7, as the official launch date for the Stained Glass Preservation and Restoration Fund appeal and related activities. Our goal is to raise $15,000 by September 13. We further agreed that the recently completed restoration of the Jesus window in the narthex will be dedicated to the memory of Gene Clark. (Continued on page 7)

7 ST. FRANCIS TIMES PAGE 7 Highlights con nued We selected Saturday, June 13, for the final meeting of the Healthy Start consultation involving Pastor Bea and members of the council, call committee, mutual ministry committee and transition team. Ben Sheldon introduced a new protocol for reviewing our website traffic each month, and invited suggestions for improving the congregation s web presence. We agreed to ask members of the congregation to identify other church websites that are particularly effective. We adjourned both meetings with the Prayer of Jesus. Financial Report The Congregation Council receives a comprehensive report each month from our Treasurer, Paul Johnson. The report includes yeart0 date information about all revenue and expense categories that were approved by the congregation at the annual meeting. Here is a budget versus actual summary through April 30: Income from Pledges and Offerings Budget = $45,000 Actual = $53,144 (budget positive = $8,144) Total Income from all Sources Budget = 193,446 Actual = $190,427 (budget negative = $3,019) Total Expense Budget = $193,444 Actual = $185,897 (budget positive = $7,547) Balance through April 30 Budget Positive = $4,528 Respec ully submi ed by Greg Egertson, Vice President Contact Us Pastor Bea Chun Pastorchun@sflcsf.org Dave Walda Senior Parish Administrator dave.walda@sflcsf.org Dr. David Schofield Music Director david.schofield@sflcsf.org Beverly Hines Senior Program Director beverly.hines@sflcsf.org Stephen Camarota Community Food Programs Administrator Stephen.camarota@sflcsf.org Dear Rev. Chun, Thank you!!! For making your church available every day to those working on recovery. You give us a place of haven, safety and peace. Please accept the enclosed check as a sign of my apprecia on. I ask that it be used for outreach to the homeless. P.S. We affec onately call our mee ng place Our Lady of Safeway, obviously because of the store. But also because you provide us with a safeway to life. 152 Church Street (at Market) San Francisco, CA Phone: stfrancis@sflcsf.org We re on the web! sflcsf.org A Reconciling In Christ Congrega on, where all are welcome

8 Open Mic! Bring your favorite tunes! Bring friends and family! REFRESHMENTS too! With assistance provided by ST. FRANCIS LUTHERAN CHURCH 152 Church Street San Francisco, CA Evangelical Lutheran Church in America