November 10th 1972 “The members of the
Valley Study Group Presented their petition to the board of Home missions at
the District Conference and were given Mission status by the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches” We are a long way form 1972.
That day in History we had “The hijacking of
Southern Airways Flight 49 started on November 10, 1972 in Birmingham, Alabama,
stretching over 30 hours and 4,000 miles (6,400 km), not ending until the next
evening in Havana, Cuba.”[1]
The cover of life magazine Questions for a peace 543
POW’s what shape are they in? 1271 MIAs;
how many are alive? Where does it leave
us? An Ohio town talks of the war. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated
25 years
The Dow would just clear 1000 that Monday of course
today it is over 18000. The dollar had
the buying power of 5.75 today, the inflation rate was at 4.06%.
The median price for a new home in the USA was just
29100[2]. Yet in California it was 28,100 [3]we
were actually lower than the national average.
President
Nixon was just reelected as President of the United States
The hottest day of 1972 in Los Angeles was October
6, with a high temperature of 93°F. For reference, on that day the average high
temperature is 74°F and the high temperature exceeds 82°F only one day in ten.
The hottest month of 1972 was August with an average daily high temperature of
78°F.[4]
Happy anniversary 44 years of growing together of
seeing pastors come and go some of you have witnessed it all some of you all
this is still very new. We have been a
strong congregation and at times we have been a burdened congregation.
So that is just a little bit of our history there is
much more on the altar behind us. I left
it up because technically this is all saints Sunday.
Today’s reading from Luke Jesus is questioned by the
Sadducees who do not believe in the resurrection. This story appears in Mathew and Mark’s
Gospel
. I am the
God of the Living Jesus is referring to eh promise of the resurrection or the
promise of Life after this one. Whether
or not you believe in a physical or a spiritual resurrection there is more to
this life than. Well this life! We just
celebrated day of the dead, all souls, all saints. We celebrate because we know deep down that
though are loved ones may be lost to us in this world they are very much alive
in the next.
“In almost every culture there is a belief that the
dead should be honored, be it out of respect or a fear of ghostly retribution.
In some cultures there are holidays set aside specifically to commemorate the
dead, which vary from reserved veneration to a killer party.”[5]
The Inuit people believe their ancestors would visit
them and appear as the northern lights. The Lakota people hold the tradition
that the dead ones spirit lingers for a year after passing and “a special place
is set up for the spirit, who is fed every day.
Members of the family and community can come and visit, eat, and sit
with the spirit and family. After a year
the spirit is released.”[6]
The Japanese celebrate the Obon festival, “the
Japanese believe on the interconnection and interdependence of almost
everything on earth from humans, nature, the elements and including the
spirits. They give honor and express their gratitude not only to their
immediate relatives who have recently passed away but also to their earliest
human ancestors who lived decades, centuries and millenniums ago.
The Japanese believe that at the start of Obon, the
spirits of their relatives and ancestors come back to the physical world and
visit them. Aside from offering prayers and holding memorial
services at Buddhist temples, individual houses and establishments hang
lanterns believing that their lights will guide the spirits. And on the last
night of Obon, people send off the spirits back to their world with the help of
floating or paper lanterns, candles, bon fires, etc.”[7]
So we just celebrated all hallows eve, all souls day,
all saints day there is obon in Japan, Chuseok in Korea, Gaijatra in Nepal,
QingMing in China, Pitru Paksha in Hindu Tradition, [8]
Just to name a few. Many of these
festivals include leaving out food for the visiting ancestor. Okay I know it’s symbolic but you do not feed
the dead. Our God is the God of the
Living! From long before Christianity to
faith traditions all around the world there is an inherent knowledge that there
is life beyond this plane of existence.
There is a promise of something more and not just something more but a
place where we are united with those who have gone before us, a communion of
saints if you will.
So today as we celebrate the anniversary of this
congregation we share in memories and lives of those who have gone before
us. Who built this road that we are on
and allows not only to look at the past but look at where we have gone.
I came to this congregation not knowing anyone. Bob and I were starting to date and we knew
what ever and how ever our lives were to evolve it would involve our
congregation. We were married here, I
was ordained here. We have had quite a
few couples married here. You all have
shared your lives with this community.
We built a garden, planted seeds for a going greener
way of being with changing out the lights bulbs, reduced paper, put solar
panels not only on this building but on Las Memorias Hospice and rehab center
in Tijuana.
We have put on plays, made our space available for
movie shoots, important films like sinners and Corpus Christi playing with
redemption. We have put on festivals and
yard sales. We have fed our community.
But first and foremost we are a loving community who try to do our best
to welcome all. We are human and we have
failed at time, we make amends and move on.
We have so much to be proud of and so much to look
forward too as we grow and change. The
future is unknown and perhaps scary but we need to face it and be active in it.
We have become a very active part of the united Church of Christ and they are
very happy to have us. WE are their
first ECO Justice Church, we were just proclaimed and Accessible to all Church
one of four in the nation according the United church of Christ Disabilities
Ministries website.
We, as a congregation, have put scarves and hats and
socks on the homeless. Brought toys to children affected by HIV. Helped out a women’s shelter. Provided underwear and socks to an orphanage
in Africa one year.
We provide a safe place for outreach and support
groups dealing with recovery form multiple abuses. We are a space for the over
50’s group of the LGBT Center of Los Angeles. We have a working relationship
with our local police station in north Hollywood as well as the LAPD. We are represented at Clergy and laity united
for economic justice, united church of Christ AIDS Network and Claremont school
of Theology.
For a small congregation you are powerful and should
be proud. You prove that God is a God of the Living and this Congregation is
very Much alive!
[1] Wikipedia,
Southern Airways Flight 49,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Airways_Flight_49.
[2] Census, median
price of a home, http://www.census.gov/const/uspricemon.pdf.
[3] ABC real-estate,
California Real Estate Median Prices of Existing Homes since 1968, December 15,
2005, http://www.realestateabc.com/graphs/calmedian.htm.
[4]
weatehrspark.com, Historical Weather For 1972 in Los Angeles, California, USA,
https://weatherspark.com/history/30699/1972/Los-Angeles-California-United-States.
[5] Carissa McDonald,
10 Festivals that Honor the Dead, Medium, accessed November 2, 2016,
http://listverse.com/2013/01/19/10-festivals-that-honor-the-dead/.
[6] Jack Eidt, Life
and Death; Lakota Spiritual Practice, Medium, accessed November 2, 2016,
http://www.wilderutopia.com/traditions/life-death-lakota-spiritual-practice/.
[7] Nathan Glover, the
Japanese festival of the dead: Obon, Medium, accessed November 2, 2016,
http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/buddhism/the-japanese-festival-of-the-dead-obon.
[8] McDonald, 10
Festivals That Honor the Dead.
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