BMUC Homevisitor Online



This is the online version of the Homevisitor newsletter that is distributed every month. Some information included in the Homevisitor is not posted here due to privacy issues. Other information, like announcements or basketball information is posted on the respective page.

A Word from the Pastor
It is no surprise for me to say that this year our Bazaar had a number of changes: the biggest change, of course, was for the first time in its history (I am guessing) there was no chicken teriyaki!!! Instead, we had delicious barbecue ribs. No chirashi in the box lunch, but onigiri. . . The Bazaar was a great success (as usual), and our leadership thought quickly on their feet to respond to some of the challenges that always come up when things change. The ribs tasted great, the box lunches were all sold, and things went very smoothly; I think our guests had a wonderful time and enjoyed their food. But. . . I am sure some people wish we hadn't made the change, chicken teriyaki is a TRADITION, after all. In churches, people have a lot of history together, and so tradition is very important: "this is how we've always done it" is a phrase that carries a lot of weight. Tradition helps us in a lot of ways: we know when we are doing things correctly (because we've done them so many times before, we know exactly how things should go), we can predict success. In general, we know what to expect. However, when we introduce a lot of change, we can be filled with uncertainty: will it be successful? What will people think? What if we make too many mistakes? Because of our desires to do well, to control as much as possible the outcome of our efforts, we often resist change. On the other hand, to be a Christian means being open to change: to listen to God, who may lead us in unexpected directions. Yes, the Christian church has many traditions that we treasure, but our founder, Jesus Christ, was too busy going about God's business to worry if what he was doing would be acceptable to the guardians of tradition (such as the Pharisees). As you know, Jesus got in a lot of trouble for breaking traditions. Some of the customs and laws he broke included: eating with non-Jews; healing on the Sabbath; interacting with a woman. Jesus valued tradition, but didn't consider it more important than serving people in need. He believed God created those laws and traditions to bring full life to all people -- and kept that goal as more important than "how we've always done things." Jesus' faith was rooted in Jewish belief in a God who leads us into a unknown future: out of slavery in Egypt to a far-off and mysterious "promised land" that is only described as "flowing with milk and honey." There was no travel brochure and no road map for them. Getting to that promised land took forty years and a lot of struggles of faith -- and plenty of people wanted to turn back. Changing traditions can make us uncomfortable, anxious and uncertain. But when we set out on a journey to an unknown place, we can trust that God will guide us. If we make a mistake, or don't know what to do, God will show us a better way. In our Bazaar, as in all parts of our lives, let us walk by faith! --Rev. Naomi

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