Dear Members and Friends of the Ark and Dove Community,

You know I have already started my broccoli and cauliflower plants by seed inside the house and the garage. It is no secret that I am gardener. I may have mentioned it in a sermon.  Well maybe two. And in the northern hemisphere the promise of Lent just happens to come along when the snowdrops are blooming and any day now the forsythia.  It proves too irresistible to compare Lent and Easter to spring. We even have an Easter hymn in the hymnal called “In the Bulb There Is a Flower,” by Natalie Sleeth. As you can imagine, I love it. 

Maybe that’s why over the years at least fifteen people have suggested to me that Ark and Dove should use some of its land to grow food for food pantries. “I’m all in favor of pulling a strong team together to tackle such a worthy ministry,” I tell them.  “Who would be a good team leader?”  Hmmmn that is always the conversation stopper.   At Ark and Dove, we are a permission giving church. If you want to start a ministry at the church, and it aligns with our values, and you are willing to put together a team and fund the project, you mostly likely will get a pretty quick yes from one of our seven elders. (As long as it is not evicting the kids from Sunday School, etc.)

This garden idea has popped up again, and I’m searching for those 15 people. I remember some names, but I’m not outing anyone.  Lori Kronser, our new Mission Elder, has received some requests to get this garden going, and she is on the hunt for a team leader and ten plus two disciples.  (Might need twenty-two.)  Lori points out that this idea aligns with being a Matthew 25 Church. So keep your eyes open for an invitation to a Mission Ministry Zoom party; bring your own lemonade. This just might be the year that the bulb blooms, and the seeds sprout. 

You get optimistic at this time of the year; especially if you are a gardener, especially when vaccines are rolling out; new life right around the corner.

Isaiah 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Peace of Christ,

tstern@arkanddove.org

Dear Friends and Members of Ark and Dove,

I always keep a book within reach. In intervals between responsibilities, I love to step into a story or an argument. There are few things more gratifying than grappling with big ideas put to page. This week, I commend to you three books I have read (beyond my pastoral studies) in the last few weeks.

Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation by Andrew Marantz. After the Capitol riot, I wanted a better understanding of how people come to believe harmful things. I picked Antisocial on the recommendation of Ibram X. Kendi and Suketu Mehta. Journalist Marantz investigated alt-right and "alt-light" leaders, bloggers and influencers, and internet innovators. He spent much time with people who say hateful things and the people who guarantee their ideas get spread. His reflections in Antisocial had me questioning the way we come to believe the things we see online and the inherent value of "free speech."

The Children's Bible by Lydia Millet. This short book begins with what a group of children do on vacation while their parents get drunk all day (among other things). I spoil little in saying that the story shifts course as a major storm hits and the parents continue to evade responsibility. Rich with biblical imagery, Millet gives us a fable about our climate crisis. Older generations have made decisions that have put our environment in jeopardy and many will not accept responsibility. Younger generations are already dealing with the effects. The Children's Bible had me thinking about the world I leave to my children.

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang. These connected essays reckon with the reality of living with mental illness. Wang reveals her experience of being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. In doing so, she talks about the way medical professionals differ over diagnosis, the stigma attached to mental illness, a society and its institutions ill-equipped to not only accommodate but also affirm a person who suffers as a person. Wang has me thinking broadly and deeply about mental illness while symptoms are exacerbated by this pandemic.

What are you reading? What are the big ideas with which you are wrestling? I hope you are discovering the comfort and challenge of a good book.

Peace,

jnelson@arkanddove.org

PRAYERS OF HEALING AND SUPPORT for Arlyce Lohr; Annetta Fenstermacher; Amy Richarme; Patty Plander; Krista Klohr; Gary Myers; Christa Kronser; Merlin Berry; Dick Paronto; Bob Johns; Richard and Edie Budd; Vaughn Brown; Debbie Saylor’s sister, Christine; Ryan Stavely’s father, Brian; Brooks Emrick and her sister, Susan; Dotty Kaufman, her son, Bill, daughter-in-law, Carol, granddaughter, Sarah, and grandson Nathan; Steve Debus' cousin-in-law, Stephan; Kathy Miller’s brother-in-law, Jeff Miller; Lewis Shorter and Lewis Shorter’s niece, Jennifer Schwandt-Gayle; Bob Fuller’s brother, Joe Fuller; Dot Forloines’ family and her great-grandson Luke; Donna Anderson's brother-in-law, Tom Brown; Debbie and Bruce Arey’s family in Connecticut and daughter, Allison, and niece, Naomi; Linda Taylor’s mother, Izola; Grant Kirby’s mother, Caroline, and Julia Kirby's mother, Margaret Floyd; Clarke Beaudry’s mother, Judy LaMarque; Kennon Bauman’s uncle, Dan Johnston; Amy Goldberg’s grandmother, Ruth Cooper; Christy Yeager’s mother, Linda Jordan; Diane Johnson's Uncle Ed, Aunt Janet, and cousin Richard; Shelley Franklin's father; Hollis Butterworth’s daughter, Rachel Mershont; Amanda Wehage’s sister and father, Dave; Laurie Barrow’s nephew, Gunther Kurtz; Sabonna Keeney’s mother; Bernabe and Griselda Solano, and Griselda's sister, Irma; Laura Doughty’s brother-in-law, Carl Hahn, and Paul Doughty’s mother, Ruth Doughty; Laura Willoughby's father, Norman; Bill Ruble’s mother, Mary Jane Weathers; Ann Hirschy’s aunt, Cindy, and brother; Christina Nelson’s grandmother, Pat Dole; Kelly Burnett’s nephew, Justin; Patriceo Green’s cousin, Philip Brown; Lou Kareha’s aunt, Judy Kochis, and cousin, Thomas; Cheryl and Doug Walcutt’s grandchild, Gray Adacutt; Cheryl Walcutt’s mother, nephew, and sisters; Erika Sealing's son, Trip, and grandmother, Margaret Schade; Kathy Miller’s friend, Sandee Dickson; Sue Hanburger's friends, Barb, Phyllis, Martha and Craig; Linnie Girdner and Jan Hof’s friend, Grace Ligon; Ylonda Fauntleroy’s friends, Alma Hinton and Tanya; Rob Yeager’s friends, Lisa and Kearston; Scott Howe’s friend, Jen Miller; the Gaurins’ friends Nyla and Danielle; Kim Young’s friends, Pat and Joyce; Catherine Chambers’ friend, Seamus; Michelle Schoonmaker’s friends Duane Thomas and Bri Ree; Jen’s father; and Kathy Emmert's friend, Patty.

PRAYERS OF HEALING for those with COVID-19 including: Christine Connally’s cousin, Karen; Kelly Stern’s friend, Lisa Brown’s father; Jim and Judy Cooper’s friend, Tim McNutt; Margaret McGillivray’s friends, the Sanders family; Michelle Schoonmaker's Auntie Bernice; Josephine Girdner; Paul Doughty’s uncle, Dan, and cousin, Elizabeth; Doug Walcutt’s father, Chuck Walcutt, and stepmother, Linda Walcutt; Diane Johnson’s grandson, Avery Woods; Ed Barrett's friend, Joe Bogner; Julia Kirby’s great niece, nephew, his wife, and friends, the Speer family, the Coffey family, and April and Sam; Amy Hagemann’s friend, Mary Hurt Werner; Rob Yeager’s friends, David Palombo, and Jeff and Ana Siegel; Lisa Marino, Jay Mulholland, and their 4-month-old daughter Lily; Ylonda Fauntleroy's family, Annette and Leah Turner, and friends, Sandra and Elijah Williams; Debbie Saylor’s friend, Frank Williams; Michelle Schoonmaker's colleague, Ajita Robinson; Yeni, her husband and their six children; Jennifer Roman's aunt, Laura Clay, and grandmother, Louise Nothdurft; Kathy Emmert’s friends, Chuck and Cheryl; and Lori Kronser’s friend Debbie and her family.

PRAYERS OF LOVE, SUPPORT AND PROTECTION for all essential workers around the world, including: Mike Stiegler; Bill Gaurin; Tricia Gray’s mother, Sabrina Johnson; Becca Distad; Jack Burnett; Caitlyn Bussey; Emily Sanders; Audrey Miller; Linda Jordan’s nephew, Russell; the Ralston’s family members and friends; Simone Stiegler’s friend, Jean Marie; Amy Grimm’s mother; Jeff Grimm; Amy Goldberg’s brother, Joseph Alexander, and parents, Michael and Maryann Cooper; Judy Cooper’s daughter; John Mikeska’s son, Jonathan; and Hollis Butterworth’s sister-in-law, Cyndie.