Thandiwe

Ministry Intern Born in Durban, South Africa, I grew up the child of missionaries and moved around a lot while I was growing up. My family lived in South Africa (1984-1990), New Hampshire (1991-1995), Zimbabwe (1995-2000) and Ohio (2000-2003). I attended college in California and graduated in 2006. I am currently doing my MDiv at the University of Chicago Divinity School and plan to finish in June, 2013. It is such a blessing to be serving God and neighbor here at First Christian Church of Greensboro!

With Gratitude

 Posted by on May 9, 2012
May 092012
 

Dear Friends,

What a blessing these last nine months have been.  I am filled with gratitude.  Thank you for allowing me to learn how to lead worship, to practice preaching, to pray with you.  Thank you for being willing to try things you hadn’t done before (like talking to each other during a sermon).  Thank you for letting me share my experiences from around the world.  Thank you for your love and affirmation and for offering me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes whether I got ahead of myself in worship, or missed a meeting that I had said I would attend or spoke carelessly.  We learn not only from the things that we do right but also from the things that we do wrong.  And you all have been such wonderful teachers this year!

A huge part of learning to be a pastor is having the chance to be one, and that is something that we are given, not something that we can claim for ourselves.  Your willingness to treat me as your pastor, to attend the Sunday School class or Lenten series that I led, to let me preach and listen to my sermons, to invite me into your homes and hospital rooms, to allow me to enter into your lives and the life of the church as a minister – this is what enabled me to learn what it means to be a minister.  I think this takes trust and faith: trust that with God’s help, we could grow together, and we would get through whatever challenges faced us.  These last few months, you have taught me so much about what it means to be a community of faith: learning, growing, discerning, disagreeing, worshiping, and walking together as brothers and sisters in Christ with mutual respect and love.

As I return to Chicago where I will be working as a hospital chaplain this summer and then beginning classes at the end of September, I will go having been nurtured by all of you and by your witness into the minister that I will be.  I will go with joy, knowing that you will continue to do the working of teaching and nurturing Christian leaders (be they ordained or lay) in the years to come.

With such gratitude, your sister in Christ,

Thandiwe

Christ is Risen!

 Posted by on April 11, 2012
Apr 112012
 

Christ is risen!  What good news this promise of hope and life is for each of us and for all the world.  On Easter Sunday, we lifted our voices in shouts of Alleluia.  We listened to violin, trumpet and song.  We received the good news of the empty tomb. We celebrated the baptisms of April Murray and Molly Stewart, remembering our own baptisms and the new life of discipleship into which those waters of baptism immerse us.

This Easter and Lent have been particularly special and meaningful for me – being a part of this community of faith, journeying with you, leading our Lenten series on spiritual discipline, and exploring the stories of God’s covenant with us during worship.  Easter is, in many ways, the culmination of those stories of covenant: the bread and cup of communion are signs of this new covenant, reminding us of God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice.  Easter reminds us that death and despair are not the end of our story: indeed, the hope of resurrection and new life shines light into the darkest of times – it offers us hope in the face of illness, the end of a relationship, the loss of a job, even in the face of death.  This is such good news!

As I think ahead to my last month here at First Christian Church, I find hope in the midst of the sadness of this particular ending remembering Pastor Lee’s words from Sunday: that endings and beginnings are often the same, that fear and hope are often the same.  As we each look forward to changes within our own lives and within the life of this community, I hope that we can find ways to share our sadness at endings, also acknowledging that these endings bring the excitement and possibility of new beginnings.  Change is not easy.  But we do not walk the road of change by ourselves.  God is with us always, accompanying us, guiding us, supporting us.  And we also have one another.  I, for one, am so honored to be a member of this congregation – to be able to claim this loving, courageous and, yes, imperfect family as my faith home – a place that has and continues to nurture and support me on my faith journey.

May we each strive to nurture and support one another through change: endings and beginnings, fear and hope, remembering that Easter Sunday is but the beginning of new life with the risen Christ among us and within our hearts.

Lenten Practices

 Posted by on February 22, 2012
Feb 222012
 

In my reading about Lent this week, I learned that the word “Lent” comes from the German word lenz meaning spring, and this seems appropriate as outside my window the daffodils bloom and song birds sing.  Lent has traditionally been a time of fasting, forty days during which we remember Jesus’ fasting in the desert.  We often think of Lent as a time of giving up sweets or red meat, but we need to be careful not to treat Lent like another chance at our New Year’s resolution or a forty-day diet plan.  It’s important that we ask ourselves what the greater purpose of this season of Lent is, and how our Lenten practices (be they giving something up or doing something new) bring us closer to God.

What if we were to approach these forty days hoping to make more room in our lives for God, determined to practice being in conversation with God, open to listening to the ways in which God speaks to us, quieting our own minds so that we can encounter God more often, giving thanks and praise for the ways in which God has blessed us?  What if these forty days were a journey that we committed to walk each day that would bring us closer to God and make God’s movement in our lives more apparent?  What if we opened ourselves up, as Jesus did, to all that God is calling us to do and be?

What can you do to remind yourself of God’s presence?  Try not to take on too much.  Choose one or two things that you can practice in your daily life.  Here are some ideas to get you thinking about what might be good for you:

  • Say a prayer each time your phone rings or when you get a text: “Hi God, I’m listening” or “Thank you God for life” or “God, thanks for your love.”
  • Set an alarm for a certain time each day and when it goes off, take a couple of minutes to sit quietly and admire God’s creation.
  • Give up sweets and each time you say no to desert, thank God for God’s nourishment and sustenance.
  • Set aside 5-10 minutes in the morning to read scripture.
  • Write God an email or text message each day and send it to yourself.
  • Give up a specific TV show or internet activity and do something else that you love instead.
  • Before bed, make a gratitude list and look at it when you wake up the next morning.
  • For every cup of coffee you buy, donate a quarter to a cause that’s important to you.
  • Set aside some time to read poetry each day.
  • Write a letter to someone you love or who has influenced you once a week.
  • Do something extra around the house to help out.
  • If you have a tendency to over-commit, practice saying no when someone asks you to get involved in something else.
  • Meet with a prayer partner once a week to share your joys and concerns and then pray for each other throughout the week.
  • Attend our Lenten Series on Spiritual practice on Monday evenings at 7:00pm.

Dear God, thank you for this Lenten season – a time to reflect on our lives and to be intentional about drawing nearer to you and opening ourselves to the many ways in which you are at work in our lives.  Help us to be disciplined about our practice this season. Thank you for the example of Christ, who showed us what it means to love you and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen

The kingdom of God is like…

 Posted by on January 25, 2012
Jan 252012
 

… someone scattering seed on the ground (Mark 4:26)

… a mustard seed (Mark 4:31)

… a circle of strangers sharing in a word of prayer

… a new day dawning full of fresh possibilities

 

Monday evening: we wait, a little apprehensively, for the clock to read 6:00.  Outside the glass doors, a crowd of women wait also.  Scott, Dorisa and I are volunteering as part of FCC’s young adult group at  the the old YWCA building where a winter shelter has been set up for homeless women.  We, along with volunteers from Our Lady of Grace, are here to greet the residents as they arrive at 6:00pm – women who are homeless right now, trying to put their lives back together, working to find somewhere to live come spring.  I’ll admit that I’m outside my comfort zone, not sure what to expect or do.

Cold air meets warm as Dorisa holds the door open for the residents to make their way inside out of the cold, wet night.  “Good evening,” she greets them with her warm smile.  They line up for Scott to sign them in and then make their way into the gymnasium where beds are arranged and tables set for dinner.  When it’s time for dinner, I find a place in the circle of people – volunteers and residents, holding hands for a word of grace.  As I look around me, I realize that God’s kingdom is like this circle – a place where people who would normally have no reason to cross paths find themselves joining hands in prayer and thanksgiving.

This week reading Mark 4:1-6:29, I have found myself particularly drawn to the parables. Many of Jesus’ parables offer insight about Jesus’ identity, which in Mark even his closest friends do not seem to understand, and about the nature of the kingdom of God.  Jesus’ parables remind us that we can learn about Christ and the kingdom of God through the seemingly mundane and ordinary parts of our lives – the sowing of seeds or watching a garden grow.  This week, standing around a circle with strangers lifting up prayers of thanksgiving to our God reminded me of the inclusivity of the kingdom of God – that it is open for all.  The parables remind us that there are opportunities all around us to hear news of God or to see God’s kingdom revealed.  What in your life today reveals to you the kingdom of God? Think about what in your life can help to finish this sentence:

The kingdom of God is like…

Holy God, we give thanks for all those things around us that remind us of you and reveal your kingdom to us.  Help us to work to build your kingdom.  Help us to shine our lights, that we may share the good news of your love and peace with others.  Amen.

“Have you seen the Christ?”

 Posted by on December 14, 2011
Dec 142011
 

One of the things I find most compelling about the story of Jesus is described by the theological term“incarnation.” The word means to take on flesh, and in Christianity it refers to God coming into human form. We await the birth of a baby, Jesus of Nazareth, Emmanuel, God with us.  As we tell the story, God came in a specific form: Jesus. A boy born in the Middle East, Jesus would have had dark brown skin, black hair, brown eyes. He probably spoke Aramaic with his family and friends. His father was a carpenter, his mother an unwed teenager. The incarnation in Jesus was very specific: it happened in a particular time, place and person.

Yet, there is also something more generalizable about the incarnation, about God revealed in human form. Jesus points his disciples to this generalized incarnation when he tells them, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me…. Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40) God is incarnate in not only Jesus but in all the people around us. This does not mean that they are God, but it certainly means that they were created in God’s image.

So seeing Christ means recognizing God in the people around us, seeing God’s image in the face of a neighbor or a stranger. When we truly do, it compels us to respond to the people around us differently. It challenges us to work for justice in our world, since justice for people in need, we are told, is justice for Christ. It challenges us to listen and to be patient, to reach out with compassion and generosity.  This is not always easy: it means taking time out from our daily routine, it means speaking out for what we believe, it means putting our money where we want our hearts to be.  It means opening ourselves to the transforming love of God.

So, let me ask, have you seen Christ today? When you do, how will you respond?

A Conversation about the meaning of Advent

 Posted by on December 14, 2011
Dec 142011
 

December 4th, 2011: Peace Sunday

Advent Reflection by Neil and Molly Stewart

NEIL:  Molly and I were talking in preparation for today about what Advent means.  Do you remember what Advent means?

MOLLY:  Christ?

NEIL:  It means the Coming. So who’s coming?

MOLLY:  Jesus?

NEIL:  And when is Jesus coming?

MOLLY:  Christmas?

NEIL:  Right.  So we’re getting ready for Jesus to come, right?   That’s what Advent is all about.  So when we think about Christmas and the Advent season, what does that make you think of?

MOLLY:  Going to Cincinnati.

NEIL:  Anything else?  Well, why do we go to Cincinnati?

MOLLY:  To visit our family.

NEIL:  Right. And what else do you think of?  Look around.

MOLLY:   Church?

NEIL:  Remember we talked about the sights and the sounds of Christmas?  What else?  What does Christmas make you think of?

MOLLY:  A Christmas tree with presents underneath it.

NEIL:  What about the smells?  The food?

MOLLY:  Turkey?

NEIL:  Right..those are the sights and the sounds and the smells of the season.  But why do we celebrate Christmas?

MOLLY:  Because Jesus was born?

NEIL:  And Jesus is coming for us to save us, right?  That’s why we celebrate Christmas and what Advent is about – we are preparing and waiting for the Christ child.

Telling the Stories of Advent

 Posted by on December 6, 2011
Dec 062011
 

December 4th, 2011: Peace Sunday

Advent Reflection by Emily Viverette and Mike Wildman

Emily:  While decorating the tree, Mike and I spent some time talking about what we might say this morning.  As we pulled out ornaments and decorations, we began our tradition of telling the stories behind them.  For example, I talked with Jack about the plaster and hand-painted Christmas tree ornament that my mom made for her first Christmas of marriage that now hangs on our tree.

Mike: I retold the story of an ornament that always hung on my childhood Christmas tree that was given to me by a woman from our church and now hangs on my family’s tree.  And, in keeping with tradition, I placed a gift for my Grandfather under the tree, one that he never unwrapped since he passed away at Christmastime over 20 years ago.

Emily: I also showed Jack some of the ornaments from his first Christmas when he was only 2 weeks old.  As I showed them to him, I remembered what it was like to be expecting during Advent and how closely I identified with Mary that year as I, too, awaited something wonderful and frightening and completely out of my control.

As we told these stories, I found myself quite tearful and remembered that Advent is also a time of great tenderness. It’s a time of sharing stories to new generations about those no longer with us.  And yet, these stories are really a reminder of how they are still with us, which, of course, is the promise of Christ.

Mike: Advent then is the time of telling our stories . . . stories of two generations back—our present story to the generations to come and the retelling of the story 2000 years old.  It is the story of hope—of an infant born in seemingly impossible circumstances whose life and death changed the world—the story of Immanuel, God-with-us—the story of one who brought light into the world and challenges us to continue to do the same.

Emily: So, Advent to us is a time of hopeful waiting and preparing through telling stories in community.  It is in the storytelling that we continue to experience the light and hope of Christ. Mike and I tell our history through stories during the Advent season so that our family can remember how the lights of our past continue to shine in our present—so that our children can hear how God has shaped us and how we have hope and faith God will continue to do so through the story of Christ. Last night, after having put lights on our tree and on our mantle, candles in the windows and a fire in the fire place, as I tucked Jack in, he asked me to leave the door to his room open so that all that light could shine in.   And yes, isn’t that what Advent is all about—reminding us every year how we are to leave the door open so that the light can shine in our lives, our hearts and our world.

Thanksgiving Prayer: November 20, 2011

 Posted by on November 30, 2011
Nov 302011
 

God, praise be to you maker of heaven and earth, praise be to you, the ground of our very being, the foundation of all that was and is and will be!  Holy one, you have made us in your own image, and we know that we carry within us your life and your love.  Heavenly Love, today we come before you with thanks in our hearts!   Thank you for the earth, our home, for purple mountains, majesty, for shining seas, for rolling hills, for forests teeming with life, for golden fields of wheat and emerald fields of rice, for the beauty and wonder of your creation.

At this time of Thanksgiving, a time when family and friends gather to share food and fellowship, we know that it will be a particularly difficult time for some of us.  Protector, we pray for those who travel this week, and we ask that your traveling mercies be with them.  As we gather around festive tables, we pray for those who go without, for those who find themselves cold and hungry, for those who cannot afford to share a celebration feast.  Comforter, this is also a time when we really miss those whom we have lost.  We try not to think about empty places at the table, but we our loved ones who have died: those who were with us this time last year, those without whom we have celebrated many Thanksgivings.  Hold us in our grief, Lord, and grant us your comfort.  We are also keenly aware of our loved ones far from home: across the country or across the sea, those in the military, those whom distance keeps from us.   Spirit of Unity, bind us together.  Fill them and us with your presence and love.

Today, Eternal Love, we thank you for the chance to gather to worship you.  Hear now our prayers for protection, for comfort, for grace.  Hear our prayers of celebration and thanksgiving.  In silence now, hear our prayers.

SILENCE

You hear all of our prayers, O God.  And so we give you thanks!  Amen.

Being in the present moment

 Posted by on November 30, 2011
Nov 302011
 

Sometimes, hopefully often, a sermon preaches to the preacher.  That’s how I felt this last Sunday preaching about being in the present moment.  Despite a lovely Thanksgiving shared with new friends, I found myself feeling lonely, missing family and friends who are far away, remembering Thanksgivings and Christmases past, imagining Thanksgivings and Christmases to come.  To be honest, I was having trouble being present, really stepping fully into Thanksgiving and Advent here and now.

Perhaps you, like me, have some trouble letting go of the things that will be different this year from years past: family separated by distance or perhaps death, a new home, a new job, a lost job, a new marriage, a recent divorce, the birth of a new baby, friends who have moved away or new friends you have made.  Some of these changes bring sadness or even anger, some of them bring excitement and joy.  Whatever changes we have experienced this last year, all of these changes offer opportunities for us to confess once more our need of God in our lives, our need of God’s comfort and peace, of God’s mercy and love, of God’s faithfulness and joy, and most of all, our need of God’s presence with us.

Taking the time, as we did on Sunday evening at our Hanging of the Greens service, to prepare our sanctuary for this Advent season helps us to slow down and prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming.  Words of scripture remind us why we celebrate this time with evergreens, banners, candles, Christmas trees and carols.  Working together to hang wreaths, light candles, or hang Chrismon Tree ornaments reminds us that we are not alone in our preparation for Christ, indeed many hands make the work light.  Beautiful music lifts our spirits and reminds us of the beauty and creativity of God’s creation.  As Pastor Lee wrote in this week’s newsletter, “the same story [is] told and retold year after year.  What’s different… is what we bring to this season.”  Let us be sure that with everything else we bring to this season, we bring ourselves, to be fully present to this moment and to God’s coming into our lives.

God of scripture and song, God of love, hope ,and peace, be with us today and in the coming days.  Comfort us as we need comforting, rejoice with us as we rejoice, be with us.  Help us at this time to be present to ourselves, to our communities, and to you.  Empower us with your love and grace.  Amen.

Preparing for Christmas

 Posted by on November 30, 2011
Nov 302011
 

November 27th, 2011: HOPE Sunday

Advent Reflection by Lib Murray

Think of what you do to prepare for Christmas.  The time leading up to Christmas is Advent, a time of waiting and preparation for the way of the Lord.

Think about what spiritual practices help you get ready for Christmas: reading devotions in Secret Place and Upper Room, reading passages in the Bible about Jesus’ birth, singing Christmas Carols as a family.  All these are good to help us keep in mind that we are celebrating Jesus’ birthday.

In preparation for Christmas, I enjoy sending greetings to friends, and I try to have cards that are spiritual or have an illustration of Jesus’ birth.

I also have a nativity scene on display in my living room to help us remember we are celebrating the birth of our Lord.

Last Christmas, my great-granddaughter Chloe was two years old, and I remember so well, her standing in front of the Bethlehem nativity scene and holding baby Jesus in her loving little hands.  She just stood and looked at that tiny baby figure.

All over the world, we shall be celebrating Advent by reading, worshiping and maybe even singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”  May we all feel the newness of life and welcome it into our homes and our hearts.

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