eNews for Thursday, July 29, 2021
Welcoming Rev. Dr. Carla Jean Bailey
Members of Pilgrim voted to call the Reverend Dr. Carla Jean Bailey as the next settled minister at the congregational meeting on Sunday, July 25, 2021. The vote was 66 in favor of the call and 1 abstention. Carla, her husband Warren, and son Joe will be moving to Duluth in late September. Carla’s official start date as our minister is October 1 and her first Sunday leading worship will be October 3, World Communion Sunday. Please join us as we welcome Carla and her family to Pilgrim.
From the Moderator
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Pilgrim Search Committee for a job well done. The seven-member committee consisting of Jane Killough, Carri Hoagland, Parker Tewes, Clyde Johnson, Jack Setterlund, Anne Maclean and Anita Stech did a marvelous job. Their efforts shone last weekend with the introduction of the Rev. Dr. Carla Jean Bailey and the affirmative vote to call her to ministry at Pilgrim. The group provided many opportunities to get to know the candidate and her background. They also provided organization and hospitality for the congregation. We look forward to Pastor Carla's arrival in Duluth in early October.
Much gratitude goes to the seven-member team who not only worked tirelessly but also connected with one another and enjoyed the process that started last December and now has come to a successful completion. You are the best!
Fondly,
Julie Johnson, Moderator
Reflections from General Synod 33
Eighteen voting delegates represented the Minnesota Conference at the UCC’s General Synod July 18–25. Nearly 2,000 people attended this all-virtual event. Below is a reflection from one of the delegates, Rev. Christ McArdle, Anoka United Church of Christ (First Congregational), Anoka, MN.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts 2:1-4, NRSV)
In the story of Pentecost, God’s very breath enters the place where Peter and the faithful have gathered, inviting them into a new relationship with each other and the world. In many ways, breath was a prevailing theme in the 33rd General Synod of the United Church of Christ, promoted as a “Special Edition Synod” rather than a “Virtual Synod.” That theme of breath came up time and again, especially in the final worship service on Sunday evening, as many of the liturgical elements touched upon the breath: our breath, God’s breath, the literal and figurative breathlessness of COVID-19, and the deaths of our siblings who cried out, “I can’t breathe” as the breath left them. As the first General Synod to be held since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on Memorial Day 2020, could we have done aught else? (The photo, “Our Lady of COVID” by Shannon Kearse-High, adorned the online bulletin for that service.)
From where I was sitting in my home office, the breath of the Spirit was not constrained by the digital medium of Synod. The Holy Spirit, so often characterized by its capacity to surprise us, did it again and again. Many I know confessed surprise at how moving the online worship services were; for though they were prerecorded, it was clear that much money and time had gone into their production. Though we watched them from afar, they still gathered us in. (Showing bloopers during the credits helped!) Those services came in three waves: soil, water, and air, all grounded in the overarching theme, “Rooted in Love.” Much attention was paid in the Soil and Water services to the natural world, particularly as it pertained to climate change, with a special focus on creation-service as led by Indigenous participants.
My breath caught from time to time over the week. Though I cry easily, I still was surprised when it happened: when Christopher Grundy sang during an Eden Seminary special gathering; when a new song for worship struck me just so; when LBGTQIA+ delegates rose to speak of their personal history with conversion therapy—and as 99% of the delegates voted in favor of a resolution calling for its abolition.
I cannot speak for others, and even less for those who have known marginalization in this world in ways that I have not. We all breathe in the same breath of God, but our contexts differ greatly. Nonetheless, I am anecdotally aware that I wasn’t alone in feeling surprise at the way our plenary sessions played out. At every General Synod, the delegates consider resolutions that come from Conferences, Associations, or even small groups of local congregations, and there is hardly a Synod that goes by where there aren’t at least a couple of controversial resolutions. Sometimes such resolutions pass, often after working committees or the full Synod amend them. Sometimes such resolutions go down in defeat. Sometimes the resolutions simply get referred to the UCC Board in a parliamentary effort to kick the can down the road a bit, whether because more discernment is needed or because the issue is so painful that the Synod simply cannot see a path through the woods that doesn’t involve people getting hurt.
Two resolutions at GS33 were so fraught. The first was a resolution brought to Synod by the Association of Hawaiian Evangelical Churches (AHEC), a non-geographic Association within the Hawaii Conference. That Association asked the Synod to affirm that the United States of America had been in a perpetual state of occupation of Native Hawaiian land and people since 1893, when President Grover Cleveland had told Congress that the displacement of Queen Lili’uokalani by certain parties (including some from the Congregational Church) had amounted to an act of war. It was clear from the outset that the resolution faced controversy in Hawaii. Several letters from AHEC congregations were published that requested disassociation with the resolution. Native Hawaiians are not of one mind on the matter, and many delegates openly worried that there was no good choice to be made. At the end of that resolution’s time on the agenda, just over 60% of the voting delegates voted to approve it—but the threshold for passage was 66% (2/3). Across the nation, delegates exhaled in either disappointment, relief, or maybe even both.
The next day, we took up a resolution, brought to Synod by a cluster of churches, that would once again express support for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. This time, Palestinian partners in ministry were asking the General Synod to specifically call Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories apartheid. The resolution’s authors also named it sin. In committee, both of those words were deemed too inflammatory and were subsequently removed from the resolution. Jewish interfaith partners had expressed dismay at the apartheid language. Some within our denomination rejected the language of sin, perhaps out of a shared awareness of how sin theology has been used to shame and control people. The exclusion was no surprise; such things had been stripped out of resolutions regarding Israel/Palestine before. But then one delegate moved to reintroduce the apartheid language, arguing that it was a technical, legal term that was both accurate and applicable, and more importantly, it was what our Palestinian partners were exhorting us to say. Perhaps to the surprise of many, the full body restored “apartheid” by a substantial margin. Then our own Conference Minister, the Rev. Shari Prestemon, moved to estore the sin language. She argued that Scripture did not shy away from naming oppression and persecution as sin, so why should we? After others were given time to speak in favor of that motion or against it, again we were surprised when a strong majority of the body voted to restore the language, thereby undoing much of the working committee’s labor. When it finally came time to vote on the final resolution, we collectively held our breath as we waited for our screens to show the result: passage.
I suspect that the surprisingly strong passage of the Palestine/Israel resolution impacted some who had voted against the Hawaii resolution. The arguments in the case of the former had been persuasive. Youth delegates had risen to demand that we listen to the voices of the oppressed before all other voices, even if that vexed our interfaith partners. Some delegates voiced concerns at how white supremacy was so often maintained because delegates feared upsetting one group while trying to help another. In private social media groups in which I am a participant, some remembered times when resolutions were so watered down as to be toothless. Some noted how parliamentary procedure had often been used to erode support for resolutions in a way that maintained the status quo. Determination seemed to grow behind the scenes to not let this happen again; so, as the final plenary on Sunday wore on, we saw multiple attempts to bring the Hawaii resolution back to the floor for reconsideration. Every one of those attempts failed—until one didn’t. And so, late in the day, well into the 6pm hour (CST) when we were supposed to already be deep in our closing worship, the body once again considered the Hawaii resolution. The same arguments were made as had been made the day before—some in the exact same language and from the same people. And yet, something this time was different. We listened to our youth delegates. We listened to what few Native Hawaiian delegates were present. We had set ourselves a surprising precedent. We heard and felt the movement of the Spirit differently. And when the final vote came? More than 66% of the delegates voted to adopt the resolution. I did not see spontaneous outbursts of joy like I’ve seen at other Synods, but I did see a gasping, widespread “WOW.”
And we all kept breathing.
The General Synod looks macrocosmic, but it’s really a microcosm of our churches. It is not monolithic. It is home to political conservatives and liberals, theological traditionalists and progressives, and a degree of diversity that is not on display in many of our local congregations. There are fights and celebrations, joy and sorrow, determination and regret. General Synod 34 in Indianapolis will be home to all these things too, presumably in-person. But I’ll remember GS33 for the breath, the ruach, the pneuma, the surprise, and the flickering light of computer screens that seemed to alight upon the foreheads of the gathered people who were somehow both near and far. For at GS33, in a way I’m still grappling with, it seemed as if each one heard each other speaking in their native languages, and we closed the Special Edition General Synod, amazed and astonished. Thanks be to God, to Jesus the Christ, and to the always-surprising Holy Spirit!
Mask Recommendation from the Church Council
As most of you are certainly aware there is an upsurge of Covid-19 infections nationwide from the Delta variant. The infection rates due to the variant are upwards of 60%. As a result the church council is strongly urging all Pilgrims attending in-person services and conducting business in the church building to resume wearing masks. As all of you are aware masks have been shown to reduce droplet spray from both the wearer and those with whom we come in close contact with.
Many but not all Pilgrims are vaccinated but are still capable of getting the virus with or without symptoms and being carriers to others, especially children under the age of 12, who as of yet have not been approved for vaccinations.
This recommendation has been urged by the World Health Organization, CDC, many American Medical Associations, MN Department of Health,local providers, and the Biden Administration’s Covid-19 task force.
Fall Outdoor Ministry Events
Registration is open for Fall Outdoor Ministry Events from the Minneosta Conference.
- Men's Retreat: "Overwhelmed by Life: An Invitation to Reconnect and Remember," September 24-26 at Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, Sandstone
- Women's Retreat October 15-17 at Camp Onomia, Onamia
- Conference Youth Event October 8-10 at Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center, Sandstone
CHUM Concert in the Parking Lot
Coppertop’s Summer Concert in the Parking Lot scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed until tonight at 6:30. CHUM’s new executive director John Cole will offer a message and donations will go to support CHUM. Come for an evening of fun and great music with Randy Lee’s Jazz Combo, and support a great cause!
School Lunch Volunteer Opportunity
CHUM is looking for volunteers to bring school lunches to the Steve O'Neil apartments from Myers-Wilkins elementary school one day a week, 11:00 am-12:30 pm. If you'd like to volunteer, please get in touch with the office.
Congratulations to Allison Fochs
Congratulations to Allison Fochs on her apointment to Duluth's Commission on Disabilities. The Commission was formed to advise the Mayor and City Council on the needs of disabled persons regarding employment, housing, transportation, accressbility, and equal rights.
August Book Club Meet Up
Since most of us are anxious to get back together, and because during the summer we can meet outdoors, we thought it would be a great time to have our August 9 meeting be a potluck in Lois Heller’s yard at 9129 Congdon Blvd. We’ll meet at 4:30 pm, nosh on the goodies we bring, and then discuss and choose our books for the next 6 months. So come join us with your food contribution and your book suggestions. It would be helpful to know if the book you suggest is available in paperback.
Please get in touch with the office to RSVP.
Sunday Worship at Pilgrim
Join us Sunday at 10:00 am for Sunday Worship at Pilgrim, in person or online. You can view the service on Pilgrim's YouTube channel and Facebook page.
You can download a Bulletin here.
This Sunday's scripture readings:
- Ephesians 4:1-16
- John 6:24-35
If you have an announcement that you would like read during a Sunday service, please get it to the office or directly to Pastor Judith by Monday each week.
Please send in your prayer requests to include in Sunday services. Send your prayer requests, joys, and concerns to Pastor Judith via email by Friday each week to be included. We will use only first names during the service in order to maintain confidentiality, and your prayer requests will be passed along to Marge Fraser and Pilgrim's Prayer Chain.
In case you missed it, you can view last Sunday's worship service on YouTube.
Attendance: 75
YouTube views: 49
Facebook reach: 53
Morning Coffee
Wednesdays | 10:00 am
Join Pastor Judith for your morning coffee! We'll have a time for checking in with each other, prayers, and perhaps a brief meditation. Grab the beverage of your choice and join us on Zoom.
Meeting ID: 497 627 641
Passcode: 926781
Prayers and Condolences
Keep in your prayers:
- Joyce Young's son Michael Rookey, as he receives care for cancer
- Bob Reichert as he undergoes treatment
- Carol Bacig asks for prayer for Matthew, her grandson-in-law, as he transitions to his home from his many days in the hospital
- Anita and her family as she undergoes medical treatment
- Wanda and her family as she continues to receive treatment
- Betty and her family as her son undergoes medical treatment
- Andrew, as he continues with medical monitoring
Show Us Your Walks
A walk in Hunter's Park, from Jean Jacobson
We're lucky to live in a community with so much beauty and access to nature. Send Patrick your photos to share your walks with us in future emails! It's another way to stay connected in these troubled times.
What Patrick's Listening To
I've been rewatching Leonard Bernstein's lectures on "The Unanswered Question." These were formative ideas for me as a college student, and it's been really fun to dive deeply once again into Lenny's musico-linguistic speculations!