From the Bridge Pastor
I was honored to be one of the speakers at the March to End Gun Violence on June 11. Media were there to record the event. The following is an excerpt from the Sioux City Journal:
“One of the final speakers of the event was Del Olivier, former reverend for Augustana LutheranmChurch on Court Street. The grayed pastor treated the podium like a pulpit. He started by talking about the major changes in firearm technology since the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791 and wondered aloud if God sits in judgement of those who do nothing of substance after
tragedy strikes. ‘It is way past time for thoughts and prayers. It is way past time for handwringing and scrunched faces. It is way past time for moments of silence.’”
Some of the speech was taken from my sermon at First Congregational Church a few Sundays ago. Here is the latest news from Washington according to this notice from the Seattle Times: “The bipartisan gun-safety deal announced Sunday is far from what Democrats would have preferred in the aftermath of the racist gun massacre in Buffalo, New York, and the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, but it is considerably more than they hoped
for initially.
“The proposal, which still has a long way to go before becoming law, focuses less on the ‘gun’ part of gun control and more on other factors, such as a buyer’s mental health or violent tendencies, in a concession to Republican hesitation and the hard political reality that tough limits on sales, let alone outright bans on firearms, are far out of reach. Although it would not raise the age to buy assault rifles to 21 from 18, the plan would enhance background checks on those younger than 21 before they could take possession of a gun — perhaps the most significant element of the emerging measure. Republicans say enough
sentiment exists for a direct age increase but perhaps not enough to forestall a filibuster. Democrats would much rather ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, impose universal background checks and take other stringent steps to limit access to guns. But they will accept the agreement as a step in the right direction.”
My question is this: How many more innocent children and adults need to die from assault weapons and high-capacity magazines before human life becomes more important that the right to bear arms? How many?
Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory)!
Pastor Del
How Long, Oh God, How Long?
by Aidan Spencer | Jun 7, 2022 | Staff Blog
What can I do next? Send a message to lawmakers through the UCC’s
“Take Action to End Gun Violence” campaign.
Greetings on behalf of the Tri-Conference of the United Church of Christ, including Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. I’m Bob Molsberry, the Acting Executive Conference Minister for just these next couple of months. Until the beginning of August, I’ll be in place. I wanted to share with you a reflection, kind of a prayer reflecting on the recent violence in the news and moving forward into our church-supported anti-violence, anti-racism stance.
How long, oh God, how long?
Another racist attack in an innocent community. This time, with 10 shoppers shot and killed in Buffalo, New York, by a kid with a weapon of war.
How long, oh God, how long?
Another school attacked by another kid with another weapon of war. 19 innocent children and two beautiful teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Followers of Christ grow weary of this carnage.
Our hearts continue to break for the victims, their families, their community, and all at-risk populations. So people of color, immigrants, Asians, women, the LGBTQ community, and our innocent babies. We grow weary, but that’s not enough. We lament, but that’s not enough. We lift up our thoughts and prayers for the victims, but that’s not enough in this climate. It’s not enough to be Iowa nice, or even Nebraska nice or South Dakota nice. Nice is better than mean-
spirited, I guess, but it falls far short of what is needed now, active resistance. Trying to discern and root out racism in our lives is good too. Looking inward, there are lots of resources that we can turn to help us uncover our hidden biases, to repent of them, to vow to do better in the future. There are books to read. There are documentaries to watch. There are workshops to
attend. The conversations to be had. But in a climate of oppression, which is revealing itself increasingly in frequent outbursts of senseless violence, it’s not enough simply to be neutral because neutrality just helps keep this deadly equilibrium in place.
How long, oh God, how long?
Until we become actively anti-racist, uncompromisingly anti-violence and resist the forces of hate, division, supremacy in effective political and cultural ways, then we continue to disappoint God and delay the fulfillment of that peaceable kingdom, peaceable community of Christ’s vision.
How long, oh God?
Well, as long as we permit it. Amen.
Rev. Bob Molsberry
Acting Executive Conference Minister
The Sundays after Pentecost
For many in the northern hemisphere summer is a season of vacation. Warm weather and abundant growth make for an ideal time to experience the great outdoors. School breaks and relaxed work schedules offer opportunities to visit family and friends, and to host guests at
home. Some travel farther afield, seeking adventures abroad. The lectionary texts this summer offer preachers a rich variety of themes related to these experiences.
Hospitality and hosting are major themes throughout the summer lectionary. Jesus sends the disciples out to preach the gospel, instructing them to be guests in the homes of others (July 3). Abram and Sarai host strangers who prove to be angels; that theme is repeated in Hebrews later in the season (July 17 and August 28). Martha works to host Jesus and his disciples, complaining that her sister Mary doesn’t do her share (July 17). Preachers can use these texts
and others to explore the power dynamics inherent in offering and receiving hospitality. What can it mean that God chooses to act in the role of guest and calls on believers to do the same?
Do our churches anticipate the visits of angels in disguise? How do we ensure that everyone, guest and host alike, has access to “the better part” (July 17)?
Those who travel abroad or visit from afar may be interested in how the lectionary texts this summer define insiders and outsiders. Numerous gospel readings this season feature healing miracles: the Gerasene demoniac and the bent-over woman are two (June 19 and August 21). When Jesus tries to restore healed people to their communities, his work is often resisted.
Nevertheless, in Galatians and Colossians Paul proclaims that there is neither Jew nor Greek, circumcised nor uncircumcised, slave nor free, male nor female (June 19 and July 31). Abraham even bargains for the salvation of the communities of Sodom and Gomorrah, whose primary sin is not one of sexual deviance but a lack of hospitality (July 24). The seminal question “Who is
my neighbor?” is answered by the parable of the good Samaritan in a surprising way (July 10).
The preacher might consider where we as Christian people succeed in embracing Jesus’ broad definition of neighbor and where we still fall short. Thinking about people of different abilities, social locations, ethnic origins, sexual orientations, and gender identities, the community can wonder about what it means to be “one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). What work might our communities need to do to be able to see each person as neighbor? Do our worship practices, table fellowship, and neighborhood involvement build up barriers or tear them down? When breakdowns in community occur, are there pathways to forgiveness and restoration? Acknowledging the realities of our sinful world, what challenges might we not be able to overcome this side of heaven?
Finally, as farms and gardens produce their bounty, as field and forest verdantly grow, the preacher can embrace Paul’s vision, “New creation is everything!” (July 3). Reflecting nature’s abundance, the believer too can use the summer to grow and change. Our new life in Christ produces fruit in abundance all year long!
Juneteenth
Juneteenth is the annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. It has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s and New Jersey made it a state holiday in 2020. President Biden signed legislation last year to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.