Saint Matthew's

With the controversy in our community surrounding the cellular flag pole to be built on a small portion of our property and the attacks made my a tiny, tiny group in our neighborhood against the members of Saint Matthew’s, I was asked last night why haven’t we responded more directly and more harshly.

During the past six weeks, many people here at Saint Matthew’s have reached out to me concerning a letter they received at their homes that not only questioned their Christian faith, but also raised some rather personal issues by a letter writer whom they did not know. They’ve all asked how this unknown person got a hold of their address and how they knew personal information about them and their families. Then they asked me how their church was going to respond. I’ve asked members of the church not to storm over to this person’s home and confront her. Urging restraint and prayer, I am thankfully that we, as a congregation, have acted Christ-like in our response rather than acting as this letter writer did by stooping down into the gutter.

And then, a second letter was mailed to a smaller number of members by another letter writer, a letter that also questioned the Christianity of our church and of our individual members. Then, these same people spearheaded a move to further attack our church by putting up ugly signs against us and the first letter writer wrote a sadly vicious letter to the editor of the weekly newspaper personally attacking our church once again and Saint Matthew’s Voters’ Body president and vice-president. Oh, and yes, she attacked me also, which is nothing new since both of these letter writers have used me as their personal pinata for a while.

Even after these letters were sent and the signs erected, within church I’ve been quiet on the matter, instead stressing the importance of loving your enemies though they hate you.

Yet, many members of our church asked me speak out about the cellular flag pole issue, especially about how their privacy was violated by these letter writers. One even suggested that I had to stand up because I was their pastor and they were being attacked. Therefore, this weekend, I wrote a lengthy “Pastor’s Note” in our weekly bulletin detailing and explaining this matter in as most direct way possible. Yes, I used some rather tough language to describe the letter writers, their actions, the use of an old church directory, and where they possibly received the addresses and information about Saint Matthew’s and the private information that was contained in the letters.

I wrote that the use of a directory by anyone outside of Saint Matthew’s family was in fact the use of a stolen church directory.

I explained that I believed these letter writers’ actions were reprehensible since they used this stolen church directory to attack a our membership.

And I spoke of how Christians, those redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, respond when hateful people attack you and your church. In my sermon yesterday, I reminded everyone of the good fruit they produce for God and His Kingdom in their own lives, no matter how many times they are maligned and smeared by hateful people. We Christians — we Lutherans — respond not by acting smarmy or putting up signs attacking our enemies.

Instead, we pray for them, we love them though they spit at us.

And that is what we will do.

We know that our actions as a congregation have been dutiful and proper. We didn’t rush into any contract to lease a small portion of our property without proper study and prayer.

For 115 years, Saint Matthew’s has been a strong neighbor to our New Milford, NJ community. We’ve volunteered and served on numerous community boards and organizations throughout our century-plus existence. We’ve helped our neighbors when they’ve been in pain and struggling. We’ve taken our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and have shown in our actions the pronounced love of God as we’ve fed the hungry, clothed the needy, comforted the mourning, and loved the unloved. None of this changes because of the assaults of a tiny, tiny few.

As many of you are aware, there has been some “controversy” here in the neighborhood regarding the actions of a tiny, tiny number of our neighbors. While we love and respect our neighbors, some do not believe in showing the same respect for God’s house. Their actions have embarrassed a great number of our neighbors. I know this because many of them have told me so.

This weekend, I wrote a Pastor’s Note for our bulletin dealing with one of the issues that has been raised during this “controversy,” namely the use of a stolen old church directory by two of our neighbors who then harassed many members of Saint Matthew’s at their homes.

Continue to read my weekly Pastor Note after the jump.

(more…)

My goodness!!

I’ve been thinking about the “outrage” in New Milford over the borough’s contract with Omnipoint Communication and T-Mobile that has allowed the construction of a huge cell tower (one of those towers with antenna branches) down behind Boro Hall and the DPW yard, which just so happens to be right next to the New Milford Swim Club (where boro residents go to relax, including children), the Elk’s Lodge, a children’s playground, the boro’s Recreation Department, two youth baseball fields, and a lot of homes in New Milford.

Children live and play near this huge and powerful antenna tower. And if you listen to some people, the radio frequency waves that will come from this and any cell tower of any size may hurt children.

Where are the people of conscience in our borough? Shouldn’t they be putting up signs saying, “Shame on you, Mayor DeBari and our Boro Council. Stop the Cell Tower?” Where are the personal attacks in the newspaper against our Boro leaders who are going to profit from cell towers near where children play and live? And property values — those homeowners who live near this new tower will have no choice but to see their values drop since they live near this eyesore, won’t they?

Where are the people of conscience???

Oh, wait a minute, there hasn’t been any “outrage.”

If you haven’t caught on yet, my post is an attempt at irony. While on one hand the Boro of New Milford is spending upwards of $50,000 to appeal a court ruling that they were wrong in rejecting an application by Ominpoint to construct a cellular flag pole (not a tree-type antenna) on a portion of our church’s property, on the other hand they are going to make a nice profit on building a tower behind the DPW building near the New Milford Swim Club, a playground and sports area for children, and a neighborhood with many homes where many children live. That contract was signed quickly and the tower has already been erected (minus the antennas right now).

There were no signs attacking our Boro leaders for agreeing to this contract to build this tower in town.

There were no smarmy and ridiculous attacks in the newspaper against our mayor and boro council for allowing this tower.

And, without any evidence to the contrary, our church neighbor New Milford Mayor Frank DeBari hasn’t been spat upon while walking down the street.

I believe the Boro of New Milford acted properly when it agreed to this contract. They “did their homework,” so to speak. They must have researched the health concerns of some “tinfoil hat wearing” scientists. They probably even researched the possibility that home values could drop, and found that this wouldn’t be the case. Boro leaders probably used the same research we used here at Saint Matthew’s.

To Mayor DeBari and our Boro Council, I believe you did your homework and concluded that this tower, with the service it will provide to the residents and the monetary gain to the Boro (which is facing a rather tough budget), would be beneficial to the residents of New Milford.

After helping shovel out Saint Matthew’s for the upteenth time this winter, I think we, as a congregation, should have some serious discussion about moving the church to Florida for the winter.

Think about it — no more shoveling; no more high winter utility bills; no more worrying about plowing around the cars in the church parking lot; no more aching backs after cleaning off the church steps; no more ice melt. Instead, church can be held on the beach, just like our Lord Jesus Christ did when He preached to the masses from a boat.

For four months a year, we could embark on the blessed work of proclaiming Jesus to the masses tanning themselves on the beaches of south Florida. “Jesus Christ died for you. Join us as we receive Him and respond in prayer and praise. And don’t forget your sunscreen.”

As a congregation, we can fan out throughout the state, especially around Tampa and Port St. Lucie (where the Yankees and Mets have their respective spring training facilities) and raise Gospel awareness and our voices as we cheer on our local baseball clubs.

And as we get close to Easter time, we can celebrate Palm Sunday with really fresh palm branches in our final beach service as we return to New Milford during Holy Week.

By then, God-willing, the snow will have stopped and temperatures would be around 45-50.

Are you with me????

Day 1 of my “No Television” Lenten discipline challenge came and went without a hitch. Even this morning, things are going fine. I have definitely replaced television watching with copious amounts of radio listening while also vastly increasing my time and effort into my writing. I’ve always believed that the first couple of days will be easy regarding foregoing television. It will be days 3, 4, and 5 where I may start pulling out my hair.

On Day 1, over at my personal blog, I wrote about my changed morning routine that included National Public Radio.

Today, Day 2, after checking my phone for overnight messages, I penned a lengthy post on my changed feelings regarding my iPhone, Apple, and AT&T.

I’m headed back over to church. On this beautiful, but cold and windy, Thursday our church schedule includes the start of preparations for our Samaritans who will serve dinner at the Walk In shelter in Hackensack tomorrow. We were told to expect upwards of 150 people, making our God-pleasing task more blessed. Additionally, tonight at 5:30 we’ll be setting up for our Chinese New Year’s Dinner scheduled for Saturday night. On my schedule, I have to finalize my weekend sermon structure (essentially, I will be outlining my sermon that I will flesh out tomorrow morning), clean up my church office, attend the New Milford Senior Advisory Meeting at 1:30, and respond to someone who sent me a text message at 3am.

Cooking, preparing, texting, and sitting in a meeting — my Thursday schedule.

Our Wednesday Divine service followed by Bible class is canceled this evening. Today’s snowstorm is the culprit.

Yesterday afternoon, I joined with the chairwoman of Saint Matthew’s Samaritans, Evelyn Comer, at the new Bergen County homeless facility on East Broadway in Hackensack to gauge how the new facility serves dinner. Through the Interreligous Fellowship for the Homeless, Saint Matthew’s will serve dinner at the facility on February 19th. Our collective intentions were simple – to see the kitchen, how dinner and dessert are served, and maybe meet some of the directors, though I didn’t think this was possible.

We arrived at 4:30pm, about a half-hour before the start of dinner service. The newly constructed facility (it only opened last July) houses 90 individuals as they transition themselves to living in permanent housing. Additionally, there is a first-class medical area, offices and rooms for outside organizations to provide services and help to the homeless of the county, and, of course, the walk-in dining area.

Evelyn and I entered the facility through the main door, which opens up into a spacious area where a manned front desk and security guard were on call. After “checking in,” the security guard showed us to the dining area. Nancy Woods, one of the directors with the IRF, showed us around the beautiful kitchen area. As Evelyn and I were on our little tour, we found out that a group from Bergen Catholic High School in Paramus was unable to serve the dinner that night. They delivered their meal — baked ziti, meatballs, salad with Creamy Italian dressing, and apple turnovers — but they couldn’t serve. The bus that was to take the students to the facility was not able to take them back to the school, which, of course, causes a little bit of a problem.

In tight jams like this, IRF volunteers come in to staff the dinner service. As Evelyn and I heard about their little plight, we offered to help them with serving dinner. I was on salad patrol — dishing up the pre-mixed, pre-dressed salad into bowls — and making them available for the diners. Having the opportunity to greet the nearly 125 people who came for dinner was blessing. A smile, a “good evening,” and a “God bless you” go a long way in the hearts of God’s children, especially those who, if circumstances were different, would not be at the facility for dinner.

As the rush died down a bit, the director of the facility, Julia Orlando, came in to see how things were going. After talking a bit, she said she was taking a colleague and friend of hers on a tour of the building and offered me the chance to join them. Evelyn, who was on butter, dish, and utensil patrol, as well as a fellow server, Chris, came on the tour with us. The two-storied facility is really first-class. It houses nearly all of the homeless services and programs offered by the county and outside organizations, which is a real blessing for those who need the help. There is no need to travel across Hackensack or even the county to get help; it is all right there in one building.

After the tour, and learning that they have a donation area for books (if anyone here at Saint Matthew’s has a few books at home that they are not using and they are in good condition, bring them to church and I will deliver them), Evelyn and I returned to our assigned tasks, but by then, dinner service was complete. The volunteer staff had just about finished the clean up of the kitchen area, so Evelyn and I took our experiences and returned home.

The Samaritans will serve a dinner at the facility on Friday, February 19th. To help defray costs, we will be taking a collection next week during the Souper Bowl of Caring. All of your donations go to help those in need. Next Sunday, please remember the Samaritans. Please remember those in need here in Bergen County.

This week, I went to the hospital to visit someone from another church (the pastor asked me to look on them while he was not around). As I checked in, I was asked if I could go to the emergency room to talk with a nun who was brought into the hospital. Of course, I said I would take the assignment. In the ER, I walked over to the cubicle and found it empty.

As I turned around to go and find out where the sister was, she was standing behind me. We spoke briefly, she laughing that the pastoral care office would send her a Lutheran and I laughing that the pastoral care office would send me, a Lutheran pastor, to a Roman Catholic nun. Her illness wasn’t too severe, but others thought she needed to get checked out, hence her appearance in the ER. She said she felt fine and was out doing her job visiting the sick, which made me smile.

During our short visit (at times I didn’t know if I was supposed to be the one doing the pastoral care work or was she), the sister asked me to go visit a homeless man she just finished visiting.

When I entered the man’s cubicle, he was laying on the bed, an oxygen mask on his face and an IV in his arm. According to the nurse, he was very sick. I pulled a stool up next to the bed and began to talk to him, reminding him what the nurses instructed — “Keep the mask on.” Yet, he continued to lift off the mask to talk with me.

He was homeless, living on the streets and in shelters for a number of years. He said he didn’t have enough education to hold down a good job in order to afford some place to live, so he lived in shelters when it was cold and in alleyways when it was warm. But with this economic downturn, he lost the job which he considered “not so good,” making his economic troubles worse. He stayed away from his family because he said he didn’t want to be a burden. Later, he told me that his family actually disowned him when he was a teenager because he got into drugs, something he wasn’t into any more.

I was surprised at his age – 38 – because he looked so much older. I guess living on the streets will do that to you.

His feet were cold. He had a couple of blankets on his bed, but it didn’t matter how many, his feet were still cold. He said that earlier in the week, somewhere he lost a bag of his clothes, a bag that contained his socks. That why, he said, his feet were cold. After several coughing bouts, the nurse came with an orderly to take him for some tests. I said a fast prayer with him and watched as they wheeled him out.

I left the hospital, completely forgetting to visit with the person from the other church. My mind was racing, thinking not only about a sick nun who ignored her own well being in order to pray with one of God’s children, but also about the very sick homeless man with cold feet. For the past couple of weeks, we have been collecting donations for Haiti earthquake relief. We’ve been bombarded by the sadness coming out of Haiti, and as a collective people we’ve responded. Our nation has donated millions upon millions of dollars to charities who are trying to relieve the incredible suffering in Haiti. We’ve prayed for Haiti and the relief workers. Nearly all of us know of someone who has travelled to Haiti to serve as a relief worker.

Yet, here in Bergen County, one of the wealthiest counties in all of the United States, there are homeless living on the streets and in shelters; there are people living in substandard housing. This is not a cry for more government funding to help with the homelessness.

I think that maybe we, as God children, need to recognize and stand up more to help God’s children in our own midst.

This weekend’s readings center on the theme of love, how God shows an incredible love to each of us sinners by sending His own Son to die for us, and in turn, we are to show that same kind of love for those around us. The Samaritans here at Saint Matthew’s are preparing to serve a meal at the Walk-In Shelter in Hackensack in a couple of weeks. Our church has always stepped up and helped – donating money during the annual “Souper Bowl for Caring” drive that will take place next Sunday, by baking and donating desserts, and cooking an incredible pot roast meal.

But the man with the cold feet got me thinking.

Can we do more?

Ugh.

The light snow that has blanketed the region has caused a lot of stress for morning rush hour drivers. The roads, in many places in Bergen County, are extremely slick. I can only imagine the hillier areas of the county — this morning is really not hot for driving. I do hope that the local governments will eventually drop some road salt to ease the travel problems. Whether they salt and sand or not, I still have to leave for a local visit at 11am, no matter the road conditions.

Sometime this afternoon, the cold front from out west is going to push through the region, pushing temperatures into a range I loving call “this isn’t right.” An easy translation is that wind chills are going to make it feel zero or below. One positive weather story is that we’re not going to get that snowstorm that the central Middle Atlantic states are gearing up for – from an area just north of DC and southward, heavy snow accumulations are expected.

For us New Jerseyans, while it will be cold this weekend, there is no threat of snow. Therefore I look forward to seeing you in church on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

I remember in my pre-pastor life, Tuesdays were practically the longest day in the week. For some odd reason, I always found myself aching for time to go by a little faster on Tuesdays. My Mondays were always good work days since it really was a terrific day to prepare for the week. Interviews, writing assignments, copious research projects, et.al, all could be meticulously planned out on a Monday morning. By around noon on Monday, my week was neatly laid out in Outlook, including what seemed like an endless “to do” list.

Yet, come Tuesday when my calendar was in full-bloom, it always seemed like it took forever to accomplish anything. Back then, I tried waking up earlier to try and tackle projects, but that never worked. No matter the various getting-things-done strategies I used to help me get through my Tuesdays, it always felt like time was ticking slowly away. Ugh.

Fast forward to today and my life as a clergyman and things are different. In theory, my Mondays are days off where I don’t spend any time preparing for the week. No studying. No writing, No church telephone calls. Oh, that is “in theory.” Recently, I have been trying my best to turn off the Monday work clock (to some success, I must say).

Therefore, my prep-day has now become Tuesday. It is no longer a day that drags. Instead, it is a day that flies. For instance, this morning, I accomplished a number of things:

1. I prepared my weekly schedule (meetings, visits, lunch dates, etc.) and to do list.

2. I made a number of telephone calls to set up home visits this week.

3. This coming weekend’s worship services have been finalized.

4. I started outlining my sermon study for the week.

5. I actually started writing this post (a miracle after being away for more than a week)

I couldn’t believe when I stared at my computer’s clock that I had already worked 3 and half hours (started at around 6:30am; I checked the clock at 10:00am). My week is planned, some work is already done, and now I get to go home and get another cup of coffee.

Yes, I am in the church office. This afternoon, I will be working from home (easier to study in the home office where my books, both physical and electronic, are available).

After what seems like forever, our Wednesday night bible study begins anew tonight. In November, the week before Thanksgiving, we ended our nearly eight month study of the book of Romans. After reflecting on this course, while enjoyable, I decided to make our Wednesday bible study/class more topical.

Therefore, tonight we begin a study on comparing religions to Christianity. First up in our study is Mormonism.

Also, starting on Sunday, we’ll begin an after-church bible review of our weekly readings. If you don’t want to stay for it, then you can take home a weekly lessons review sheet. But more about this later this week.

Last night around 7, I walked into the house, went upstairs to the bedroom, changed my clothes, and crashed. Sitting in that old recliner never felt so good (OK, maybe back some years when I bought it).

During the course of any pastoral ministry, there is most assuredly a “long stretch” that tests any clergy person. It just so happened that my stretch came during a rather busy time in the church calendar – Christmas through Epiphany 1. And yesterday following our memorial service for Rev. Jack Wangerin, I hoped that this stretch has come to an end. While being taxed physically, having the opportunity to share the grace of God in Jesus Christ with so many emboldened me spiritually during this period.

Yet, I was tired last night. Watching the final moments of the Green Bay Packers – Arizona Cardinals playoff game, I realized that I haven’t really watched a complete football game in a long time, not that this bothered me at all. Last night, I was a little surprised as I watched the Cards give up what was considered a rather comfortable lead and being forced to go to overtime, and being stunned as they stole a victory after a terrific defensive play. But that is what makes sports so fun.

Now to shake out the cobwebs (and probably clean them out of the corners in the house) and get ready for what I hope to be a normal week…whatever normal entails, that is.

The days leading up to Christmas Day are particularly busy for clergy people. If we’re not running around visiting people or providing pastoral care, then we’re trying to bang out three or four or even five sermons before the start of Christmas Eve services. A clock is only used to ensure that our next item on our “Get This Done Before Dec. 24 at 3:00pm” list is completed in a timely fashion. Yet, even in this rush to do so much, there is a calming peace that hangs over this period.

The peace that comes from Jesus Christ.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of my pastorate comes when I visit people in the hospital. Whether members of Saint Matthew’s or those on a hospital’s visitation list, to bring that essential peace of the true meaning of the coming of Jesus Christ to to the sick, the struggling, and the overwhelmed is an act that strengthens me, both spiritually and physically. Even when tears roll down cheeks, it is that message that brings comfort and peace, even in times of hurt and pain.

This week, as I’ve spent the last four Christmas’ since my ordination, I visited with cancer patients, including children, at our local hospitals. With both my parents having been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, talking with those who are suffering from the same dreaded disease and reminding them that they are not alone is something that my inner clergyman pushes me to do.

I’m always reminded at this time of the year of the many Christmas’ that I’ve missed with my mother, who was diagnosed and succumbed to lung cancer in 1990. Regularly I wonder what my mother would think of me and how I’ve turned out, being a pastor and all. And my father, who is battling back after a bout with colon cancer, a proud man who lives with a colostomy and always gets anxious each time he goes for cancer screenings, can see me in the pulpit every now and then. In those times he comes to visit here at Saint Matthew’s, I always wonder what he’s thinking as he sees his son standing there proclaiming Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

So at Christmas (or more specifically during Advent; I’m an anal-retentive pastor when it comes to the proper church season), I try to spend some time with people who are battling the same disease my mother died from and that my father battles still today.

I met with a young 6-year old girl who was, as the nurse explained, on an emotional roller coaster. One day, she has a good day; the next day, not so good. One day, the doctor brings hope. The next day, caution replaces optimism. The up-and-downs of battling cancer are hard, but this 6-year old was doing the best she can. After talking with her for a short bit before she headed off to treatment, she asked me if I could thank Jesus for her.

It was a startling moment. Of course, I promised her that I would thank Jesus for her. She smiled and went off to whatever treatment was scheduled for her that day.

Thanking Jesus. Now isn’t that truly what our response to Christmas is truly about?

It is not about gifts, no matter the cost. It is not about Christmas cards in the mail or email. It is not about eating too much on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

It is truly about thanking God for coming to us and saving us.

Join us tonight at Saint Matthew’s as we thank our Lord for coming to us. See you at 8:00pm.

As we mentioned in a earlier news post, our Saturday Night Divine Service will go on as scheduled this evening at 5:00pm.

However, after discussing the snowstorm situation, we’ve decided to cancel church tomorrow morning. Traveling conditions will be worse than treacherous in the morning. With the storm starting later than was expected, the storm is going to stick around a lot longer. In addition, snow totals for our Bergen County area have been upped to nearly 15 inches. Clearing that amount of snow from the church will be impossible.

If you read this in time, please come to church this evening.

The sad part about canceling our worship service tomorrow is that it was scheduled to be our Children’s Christmas Program.

This is the second year in the row when weather has played havoc for our Sunday School program.

REMINDER – church is being held this evening at 5:00pm. Please join us.

Earlier today, weather forecasters said that the pending snowstorm would start around 11am, noon at the outside. However, as anyone can tell, it only really started in New Milford around 2:00pm.

Therefore, our Saturday Night Divine Service will be held its normal 5:00pm start time.

Tomorrow, that’s another story. According to Accuweather.com, the storm is taking its sweet time getting formed and is moving very slowly. Stay tuned to the blog for updates on tomorrow.