The Little Free Pantry

November 11, 2019

Today we placed the Little Free Pantry at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Winchester, KY. It is a way for people who need just a bit of food to have access to it. I am really honored and grateful for this project. The congregation has been really supportive of the effort and I can't wait to see what blessings may result.

Of course it's possible it will be vandalized.

Of course it's possible someone will abuse it, clean it out and take everything.

It's worth the risk.

Thanks to Meredith Peck Guy for the idea. Cecil Walson for building it. (I helped a little.) Mason Guy for financing it and helping get it installed. Lee Kidd for helping get it installed. Kelly Johns for the graphics work she does so well. The youth and children of the church for filling it up for the first time.

May the Little Free Pantry be a blessing.

The Week of the Ministry, 2019

October 17, 2019

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) annually celebrates this week as the Week of the Ministry. I am so grateful to the people who have given their lives to professional ministry; whose lives have intersected with mine in some way and left a lasting impression on me. Among them, I am the least of these, but I am deeply grateful for their example, their mentoring, and their friendship.

At First Christian Church in Tulsa I benefited greatly from Dr. Eugene Brice, Dr. Roy L. Griggs, the Rev. Kim Clements Hames, the Rev. Richard Ziglar, and the Rev. Michael Passmore. Their work at First Christian Church was a model to churches around the country. And it heartened me and gave me solid footing when all the world around me was sinking away. I owe them my very life.

During my time at Southwestern College I came under the influence of two outstanding United Methodist pastors: the Rev. Dr Cecil Findley who was my Professor of Religion, and Dr. George Gardner who was pastor of First United Methodist Church in Winfield, KS. They both introduced me to a strain of progressive thought and practice that has stood the test of time.

At Brite Divinity School I was privileges to study with Dr. William Baird, the Rev. Cy Rowell, Dr. James O. Duke, Dr. William Countryman, Dr. Newell Williams, and Dr. Jack Suggs (the Dean!). Wow, when I look back on those days they were a time of dynamic learning. So very grateful for Brite Divinity School and its ministry. I also had the pleasure of serving alongside yet another United Methodist pastor, Dr. Kent Marrs at St. Stephen UMC in Arlington. He and that church taught me a lot.

Since being in Kentucky I have to give thanks for so many that the list that follows is in no way exhaustive. Dr. Olivia Bryan Updegrove, Rev. Larry Metzger, the Rev. Rick Rintamaa, Dr. Terry Ewing, Rev. Greg Alexander, Rev. Linda Jones, Rev. Michael Davison, Rev. Dr. Lisa Wilson Davison, Dr. Paul Jones, Rev. Dave Carr, Rev. Mickey Anders, Rev. Jim McLean, Rev. Shannon Cook, Rev. Rob Shrader, Rev. David Blondell, Rev. Kory Wilcoxson, Rev.David Emery, Rev. Michael with whom I share the love of the Mustang, Rev. Chana Tetzlaff, and Rev. Rachele Royale Holmes.

Thank you to each and every one of you for all you for the church. Your dedication and faithfulness are noteworthy. May the peace of Christ be with you.

Peace and Love,
Jerry

Mom, Post 1

February 15, 2019

Mom left this earth about 9:00am central time on January 31, 2019.

Mom entered this life on May 23, 1937. She joined her father, Guy Otis Dallas, her mother, Maxine Grimes Dallas, and her older brother, Guy Dallas Jr. She was born in Helena, AR. A couple years later her baby brother, Barclay Davidson Dallas was born.

The family moved to Tulsa about the time Mom started first grade. They moved onto Resevior Hill in Tulsa. It is a neighborhood of mid-sized brick homes, parks and winding streets high above downtown Tulsa just a bit to the northeast. Granddaddy Dallas worked for the Corps of Engineers. It wasn’t long before they moved to Brookside in Tulsa. All three kids graduated from Tulsa Central High School. Uncle Guy attended the University of Tulsa. Mom started at Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University, and finished one year.

Mom and Dad met at a roller skating rink in Tulsa. They were married on June 20, 1958. Magic happened on the honeymoon and I joined the family in February, 1959. Mom and Dad didn’t have much time for life before I came along. Mom and Dad were both 21 years old when I was born. So, we grew up together. First, living with Mom’s parents, then renting a horrid green shack on the bank of Joe Creek, which was prone to flooding. Then, to a duplex near Riverside Drive where my sister Melanie and not too long after, my brother Richard joined us.We moved to Horseshoe Hill in the summer of 1964 and Melissa joined the family. And the family was complete.

In those early days Dad worked at steel companies, then sheet metal companies. It was a near always broke experience. I used to tell people we were poor, but when we moved to Latimer Pl we had a mortgage. Lots of times an unpaid mortgage but our name was on a deed. If you own property you may be broke but it isn’t;t the same as being poor.Mom stayed at home and took care of the four of us. We were good kids but four kids in five and a half years is a handful. She had to take us everywhere she went. Grocery. Shopping. Laundromat — and that is a whole blog post in itself. Doctor. We always had four kids and a mom in the car. Her ability to handle us amazes me still.

She made cheerleading costumes for the girls. She cooked. She sewed. She did a tiny bit of housework. She watched soap operas. She took us to every practice, every game. She attended games, concerts, everything., And she loved us more than we could comprehend.

If she complained about anything I never heard it.

Dinners were on the cheap. We ate a lot of tunaroni. Peas. Mashed potatoes. We drank hot tea like the
British every morning.

When I graduated from high school and went on to college she sent me letters. She sent me care packages. She decided to be an LPN. She went back to school for a year and graduated with her Licensed Practical Nurse. Her kids were so proud of her. And it changed her fortunes, and Dad’s too. For the first time there was a bit of financial breathing room.

They loved to travel to see their kids, and so they did. They often came to Kentucky to see me or to North Carolina to visit Mel and Dave. They traveled to cemeteries in search of dead relatives. They went to see people. In the last thirty years of Mom’s life she and Dad fell in love all over again, and it showed.

Trying Too Hard

December 13, 2018

I try too hard to get along with everyone, to be well-liked, to get past conflict. Sometimes when I try too hard to get along the center of me becomes too fluid, weak, and loses its influence. This is a personality flaw that I carry with me; have carried with me for a very long time. Most of the time it doesn't cause too much grief, but sometimes it does cause a problem.

 One of the main reasons I chose ministry as a profession was that in Christ, and in the encouragement of the Church, I found self-worth. I came to believe that I was indeed a child of God, equal to any other on the planet in God's eyes. What I found I wanted others to find as well. God loves us all. I believe that. God values us all. I believe that, too. In Christ, there is not one thing that can separate us from the love of God. I deeply believe that.

Those beliefs give me a core from which I can begin to feel better about me, and yet, I sometimes try too hard to get along, to be liked, to please. I wish I had moved past it by my age, and I am better than I once was, but I still have a ways to go.

I can assure you, dear reader, of this. I will encourage, aid, come alongside, and pray for you. Because God has been gracious to me I enjoy every opportunity to make a difference in the way you see yourself and believe in yourself -- because, believe me, God sees you as valuable, and God believes in you enough to invest a life in you.

Thanks for listening.

Peace be with you,
Jerry

A Bunch of Little Things

December 5, 2018

It’s a bunch of little things that make a difference. Oh, sometimes the big things matter too, but day to day it’s a bunch of little things.

Sailing is something I enjoy. There is a quietness to the boat running through the water with the aid of the wind. Sailing a boat well takes a combination of people and skills and choreography. Sailing well is a combination of a lot of little things happening together.

Life is like that too. It's a dance of a lot of people doing a lot of little things, almost every one having some effect, known or unknown; negative or positive, on others. Day to day living together on the same planet requires a lot of little things going well.

Kindness is a little thing. It’s always worth the effort required. Even when kindness is not reciprocated, it is still the right way to be, the appropriate thing to do. Kindness means treating people as if they were beloved children of God even when they act like hellions. Our instincts tell us that when we are hit we should hit back; that when we are insulted we should insult back; an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Jesus reminded us that we should endeavor to do for others what we would have them do for us — and when they are mean to us he encourages us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Not easy. Sometimes it requires a massive effort, but it’s worth it.

Showing up where and when you are needed is a little thing. Employers like employees who show up for work when they are supposed to. We like to elect congresspersons who are on the job and ready to vote on bills and proposals. Friends sometimes need a friend to be with them; deaths, surgeries, illnesses, events with their children. Showing up means something. You don’t have to come bearing gifts or with the right words to say in every situation. Showing up speaks volumes. It’s a little thing, but it matters.

Listening is a little thing that feels like a very big thing to someone who needs to have their voice heard. Listening to someone makes a huge difference, but it may be difficult to do. African-American citizens in this country need to believe that people in power and in uniform are listening to them, paying attention to what they say. Sometimes they need to say things that people in power do not want to hear, but listening matters. The friend in a difficult relationship may need someone to hear their side of the story. Not easy to hear what they may have to say, but important to listen. It matters. Older people who feel they have been pushed to the side, and younger people who feel like they have no say — need to be heard. Listening is a little thing but it feels like a very big thing to the one who needs to have their voice heard. One doesn’t always have to offer solutions. Sometimes listening is enough.

Kindness. Presence. Listening. These are just little things we can do in our lives but they can matter so much to those whom we know and work with, those whom we love. Kindness, presence and listening are gifts that when offered speak to the way we value others. If we can operate from a place where we deeply believe that every human is a beloved child of God, then we will value them as God does, and the little things, which can sometimes be difficult, become big gifts to those who receive them.

What little thing do you value? What little thing can you offer?

A bunch of little things can make the world a better place to live.

It's the Little Things

Peace and Love,
Jerry

The Kingdom of God Is Within You

November 28, 2018

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is within you.’ -- Luke 17:20,21 (NRSV)

All that you need, God has already provided. 

You are a visible expression of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

The Light is within you.

These are phrases I often use when talking to people who need a bit of encouragement. Encouragement is a big part of what I do. It's a part of the fabric of who I am as a pastor and who I am as a human being. I try to see the best in people and I try to help them see the best in themselves.

This is not accident. It is gift -- from the Holy Spirit, and it is intention. 

I believe people should believe in themselves because I believe that God believes in us. So, I set about every day to help people remember this. God created us in love. God created us in the image of God. God desires, and we also desire for God's Reign to come on earth as it is in heaven. We pray it. We believe it. We work toward it.

I do not consider that this is anything special or unique or lovely in any way. I consider it simply responding to my call to ministry among God's people. There are so many ways I fail and fall short of that calling. Encouragement and seeing God in people are deeds that I can repeat and they are a calling to which I try to be faithful. 

May God be gracious and near to all who need to hear a word of encouragement today.

Peace and Love,
Jerry

Heraclitus of Ephesus and Change Theory

November 20, 2018

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a Greek philosopher. He lived from 535 BCE to 475 BCE. Likely you, dear reader, have never heard of him. He isn't a household name like Aristotle or Socrates, but Plato knew of him and his thoughts about the universe and quoted him often. Heraclitus was best known for his novel idea that the nature of the known universe is change. That is; everything in the universe is always changing. If something is a part of the known universe then it is in a constant state of change. 

Everything in the universe is changing constantly? Yes.

That has some fairly broad implications for our understanding of all that is. 

Are rocks changing? Yes. 

Is the universe changing? Yes.

Is time changing? Yes.

Constantly. Without ceasing. Everything in the known universe is in a state of change.

Heraclitus of Ephesus

Plato, borrowing from Heraclitus quotes him several times in his work, Cratylus. He quotes Heraclitus saying, 

"All entities are moving and nothing remains still."

"Everything flows and nothing stays.

Everything flows and nothing abides.

Everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.

Everything flows; nothing remains.

All is flux, nothing is stationary.

All is flux, nothing stays still.

All flows, nothing stays.”

“You could not step twice into the same river.”

Kentucky River dam at Valley View

It was that last phrase that came to my mind this morning as I was meditating in the office at the church. So much has changed. So much is still going to change. You cannot step into the same water twice.

Yesterday was yet another memorial service for yet another beloved saint of the church. It was a difficult service for me because the person who passed away has figured in so much of what the church has been doing during the years I have been here. She made a point to consult me, include me, value me. She passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly. It has been a shock to the system of the church, and to my system – and even more so to her family. Today I have finally found some time to explore my own shock, grief, loss and to ponder the bigger thoughts about time and life and change and death and, par for the course with me, what it all means to the universe in general.

I don’t consider that I have never been averse to change. As a child I loved new buildings, newer houses, new cars, etc. I didn’t have a whole lot of appreciation for older things. Now that I am an older thing even that has mindset has changed some. What I am learning to process over the span of my life is how change sometimes takes away things that we hold precious – never to be held or loved or touched in the same way again. The resulting losses leave holes that cannot be filled with new things. Sometimes change can bring negative consequences. Not all change is positive or progressive. Sometimes change is destructive and harmful, but one cannot stop the changes. RUSH sings this so eloquently in their defining song, “Tom Sawyer,” “He knows changes aren’t permanent, but change is.”

You simply cannot step into the same river twice.

One can be sad about that at times, while rejoicing in it at other times. One can receive negative consequences from that reality and one can reap benefits from that change too. Life isn’t comprised only of positive changes. Sometimes the changes hurt. But the changes are still going to come. No stopping that.

I think about the Qoheleth who wrote the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Thanks to ole Heraclitus of Ephesus we know that nothing is stationary, nothing stays still. Everything will change in its season. 

And I believe that God, who is outside the known universe and not subject to its physical laws, is in charge of the times and the seasons.

Peace and Love,

Jerry