A Word from Robin .

July 2007

THE NEW SANCTUARY MOVEMENT

Dear Pilgrims: I have some thoughts on how to approach church in the summer, particularly during the Distinguished Pulpit Series. First of all, our trustees want me to remind you to pay up your pledge before you head out on vacation, because our collections take a summertime dip of their own. We have made great progress this year on pledging and the financial support of the church as a whole, and I want to see if that trend can continue through the dog days. Second, there are so many new members at Mayflower that I owe them all a word of explanation about why I disappear for six weeks from early July to mid-August, and why, as Doug Manning wryly notes, I have succeeded masterfully at persuading the church that itÕs really a vacation for all of you! We take this time to go to the cabin in Colorado to read, hike, take field trips (weÕre taking Cass to the Grand Canyon this year), and to prepare for our fall courses (Shawn now teaches three university art classes at UCO). I also use the time as a writing sabbatical, as there is always a new book percolating. I am doing research this summer on the concept of Christianity as enlightenment, not salvation, by reading classic Jesus Seminar material, and other books that dared to be unorthodox in their approach to the man from Nazareth. This fall I hope to begin writing a book about how we can better follow Jesus instead of worshipping Christ, recovering both his full humanity, and casting him as a teacher of Wisdom, not a God Man on a rescue mission. The working title is: RAISING YESHUA: Christianity as Enlightenment, not Salvation. The Deacons have again prepared a summer pulpit ÒtastingÓ to nourish body and soul. This is the most diverse group of preachers ever to grace the Mayflower pulpit, and they are all gifted theologians in their own right. Opio Toure fought the death penalty in Oklahoma until his last day in the legislature, and never forgot OklahomaÕs weakest citizens. ÒNancy Claire Pittman is a great preacher,Ó says our own Chris Moore, who knows a thing or too about preaching himself. How wonderful to have this new connection between Phillips Theological Seminary and Mayflower. Jesse Williams, Jr. is the other half of the dynamic duo at New Dimensions Worship Center in Tulsa (sometimes in the shadow of Carlton Pearson, but a man with a message of his own). Come to hear what Jesse means when he talks about Òliving on purpose.Ó Our own Doug Manning returns as our favorite recovering Baptist, and one of the most gifted communicators ever to have his sermons stolen by Oral Roberts. Rev. Lance Schmitz makes his debut at Mayflower, and proves that we donÕt just invite liberals, but in this case, a graduate of Southern Nazarene University, and now Minister of Social Justice at First Church of the Nazarene. Lance is one of the most active proponents for the homeless and the poor in our city, and an outspoken critic of both social and economic injustice. Kay Bessler Northcutt teaches preaching at Phillips, and is back to add her distinctive homiletical dramatism to the Mayflower pulpit. Many of you remember her sermon on DavidÕs adultery with Bathsheba. These six preachers are meant to give you a chance to hear fresh voices, and to enjoy different perspectives. Our hope is that if you are in town, you will support the series by going to church, and by urging your friends and neighbors to do likewise. Sometimes the pulpit series provides a Òpoint of entryÓ for people who might not otherwise come, and it makes quite an impression. Shawn, Cass, and I will be regulars at First Congregational UCC of Colorado Springs, where I have the rare opportunity to sit with my family and worship, rather than lead worship. It is restorative time for me, and a real blessing. We leave something precious when we go away, and we come home to people we dearly love. Mayflower is doing wonderful things, and you are a wonderful people. Let your loyalty to Mayflower go because any single preacher, and embrace the work of the whole church, as we continue to speak truth to power, and seek peace and justice in our time.

Grace and Peace,
Robin Meyers

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