Hyde Park Speaks

Disciple, Leader, Learner…

In our Discipleship Bible Study class this evening, we ran across the following in our book, “Disciples provide a sense of direction and purpose through godly, obedient leadership.” And here’s me going well I’m not qualified then to be a disciple, I mean I would be the last to call myself anywhere close to godly, obedient or a leader when it comes to anything involving religion or Christianity. I mean I hardly feel qualified to write this blog or quote scripture when looking at the Bible (and I do look up every citation!)

My rantings about not wanting to be a disciple if it involved being a leader ranged from everywhere between I’m just not a good Christian, to I’m no where close to being good enough or understanding enough, to well, I don’t want to be one of those Christians that thinks they are good enough, but are so not…

I’m much more comfortable with the derivative of the word disciple, which comes by way of Latin and means “a learner.” I am comfortable enough with being a disciple if it means I am seeking God by learning. Because learning does not imply doing, does it?

“And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27

The truth is no matter how uncomfortable I am about being a disciple if it involves leadership, each of us is an example, a leader when we seek to know God. To lead simply means to guide, to go, to live, to direct on a specific course.

One of the members in tonight’s class, I think it was Jim, mentioned something that made a lot of sense to me as we seek to know and serve God. If we wait for the opportunity to be perfect or good enough in our Christianity, we’d never serve or get involved, or learn or lead. No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, you must carry your cross and go.

Habitat for Humanity: Building Your Spirit In Trying Times

Hyde Park United Methodist member Chris Harrell, who organized the Hyde Park church team that participated on opening day of this week's Habitat for Humanity project (2nd Annual Susie Q. Blitz Build), received this email from Lin Sobkowiak – another participant who has been attending Hyde Park United Methodist recently. Lin has been gracious in letting us share her email and photos from the ongoing project. (Click on any of the pictures in this post to see a larger view.)

Hello Chris,
My name is Lin Sobkowiak and I am not yet a "member" of HPUMC but have been attending for the past two months. It was in your bulletin that I first saw the information on the Habitat Build, and I went to the web site and signed up to volunteer. I have been working on the site for three days now and will continue as many days as I possibly can. I have been unemployed for a year now. Actually 10-24 was my one year mark. So why not make good use of my free time but to give back to the community and help to enhance others lives. I also worked for the past eight years in Spokane WA promoting Breast Cancer Awareness, so this build has a very special meaning for me also. I will attach a couple photo's taken over the past couple days.  ~ Love unto the Lord ~ Lin

 

Habitat for Humanity: The Excitement Is Building!

Take a group of about a hundred volunteers (mostly unskilled in the ways of construction), outfit them with nails, hardhats and hammers, throw in a dash of sunshine and loads of well wishes for two deserving families earning the dream of living in a brand-new, Habitat-built home, and you begin to see the rewarding experience of participating in a Habitat for Humanity event.

Hyde Park United Methodist had nine participants on Day 1 of the 2nd annual Suzie Q. Blitz Build, a Habitat for Humanity event that celebrates Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In just eight days, two homes are being built. If you've been looking for a great way to make God's love real, I'd certainly recommend the Habitat experience. Previous construction skills (beyond being able to swing a hammer) are totally unnecessary. (To view the slideshow below full-screen, click on the "full" button at the bottom of the slideshow viewer.)

If anyone else from the church will be participating this week (there are 400 volunteers from various businesses and organizations involved), feel free to comment to this post to share your experiences.

As the Habitat for Humanity brochure states:

This is not a hand out, but a hand up. The homes that are built by the homeowners, volunteers and Habitat for Humanity are purchased by families who could not otherwise afford to purchase their own homes. Habitat families must qualify for the no-profit, no-interest loans used to purchase their homes.

Each homeowner has to complete at least 500 "Sweat Equity Hours" in the building of their own home and that of their neighbors."

There is a ceremony to dedicate the two new homes this Saturday, October 31, 2 p.m. The Nussa Family, 3206 N. 16th Street and new next door neighbor The Thompson Family, 3204 N. 16th Street, Tampa, Florida (see map below).

For more information about Habitat:
Locally: www.habitathillsborough.com
Worldwide: www.habitat.org

View Larger Map

Photos From U2Charist: Hyde Park United Methodist and Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church

It was a night of love on a global scale as Hyde Park United Methodist and Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church presented its second U2Charist worship event on Sunday, October 4, in the sanctuary of Hyde Park United Methodist. So far, the event has raised more than $13,000 to support Come Back Missions in Johannesburg, South Africa, which provides information, nutritional help and resources to help residents fight HIV/AIDS. Learn more at www.u2charist.org. Thank you to Linda Beavers and Bruce Johnson for these photos.

Note: You can view the pictures full screen by clicking the "full" button at the bottom of the viewer.

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Wonder: Bayshore, Elvis, John and An Altar in my Heart

This past week's DBS (Discipleship Bible Study) focused on wonder. I found myself paying attention to all the wonder that is around me, from the oldest, most intricate trees that I noticed along Bayshore to the depths of the waters all around the Bay area and the multitude of creatures found in them. I noticed parallels between all that I saw and woke up to as well as the scriptures that focused on wonder. "How many are your works O Lord! In wisdom you made them all... There is the sea, vast and spacious teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both large and small," Psalms 104:24-25.

We as humans will never fully comprehend all that God is and has done and how He works within this world as it is simply beyond the grasp of our human understanding and minds. I opened myself up to experiencing the wonder of the talents and creativity that He has blessed so many with and how they give these talents to the Lord. I discovered an amazing performance of "How Great Thou Art" by Elvis, who I have a particular fondness for as he died the same year as I was born, while listening to hymnals that focused on wonder. I visited Palma Ceia Methodist for a performance of the gospel of John. Brad Sherrill spent four months memorizing the gospel of John, and his performance really brought to life the drama that is the Word. Through his performance of wonder, I finally grasped, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things came into being through him... And the Word became flesh and lived among us," John 1:1-14.

In the first chapter of a new book I started,  An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor, she explains the practice of waking up to God by setting a little altar, in the world, or in your heart. "I can stop what I am doing long enough to see where I am, who I am there with, and how awesome the place is... Human beings may separate things into as many piles as we wish--- separating spirit from flesh, sacred from secular, church from world. But we should not be surprised when God does not recognize the distinction we make between the two." 

So I was not surprised by finding wonder and parallels in my readings, the hymnals, and in my daily experience of waking up to the wonder of God. After all, God is the author, creator, writer and designer of all that is... and that is simply wonder.

"May my meditation be pleasing to Him as I rejoice in the Lord," Psalms 104:34.

U2Charist: How Long To Sing This Song?

Hosted by Hyde Park United Methodist and Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church
Sunday, October 4, 7-8:30 p.m.
at Hyde Park United Methodist
500 W. Platt Street
Tampa
Details | Directions

I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long...how long...
How long...how long...
to sing this song.

... from the song "40" (loosely derived from Psalm 40) by U2.

Will you sing this song? We went to the first U2Charist a few years back at Hyde Park United Methodist not at all knowing what to expect. U2 music combined with communion service? Sure, I'll bite. As we sat in our pews in anticipation, a U2 concert played on the video screens. The sanctuary was packed. Once the appointed hour arrived, the videos were turned off and a live band launched into, if memory serves me correctly, Where The Streets Have No Name. The feeling was electric. The flock on their feet, stomping and clapping as I've never seen before in this consecrated space.

The Grateful Dead had Deadheads, Jimmy Buffet has his Parrotheads. Perhaps you could say U2 has its Holy (Rock and) Rollers. Whatever you want to call it, U2Charist for us was an especially moving experience and we were so excited to see it make its return.

U2Charist (the spelled combination of U2 and Eucharist) is a communion service steeped in U2 lyrics. Read more about it at Wikipedia.

The Go Giver: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

Last week I read a book given to me by Holly Tomlin, The Go Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann. "The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself," resonated so well with me that I found myself meditating on that one principle all week long. Then today after my first week of DBS, it finally hit home that if the most valuable gift I have to offer is myself, how am I giving my time, talents and treasures to God?

My time, this is the first time I have made an effort to develop a personal relationship with God, which is why I sought out DBS. I need that commitment. After my first week of study, I am encouraged by how much I enjoyed making time each day to pray and study God's word. And after our first week of group discussion, I left feeling like the time just flew by in fellowship and sharing with each other how the word spoke to each of us. 

My talents, I didn't even realize my church really wanted or needed me to serve until I got involved at HPUMC. I naturally assumed (wrongly) that the church was doing just fine and plugging along, without me or anyone else being involved (also wrong - I didn't realize how many people were serving in the church besides the pastors!!!). The communications team willingly let me offer to blog for the church, and in some tiny way, I get to serve the church.

My treasures, my first personal tithe was part of the exercise in the New Member class, and I was so excited that I jubilantly shared that experience with the whole group. It empowered me to give a portion of the treasures God has entrusted me with to my church. I look forward to continue to give in this way and giving more as I continue to grow financially.

As I continued to think about The Law of Authenticity, I kept returning to a scripture that I read earlier this week: I Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Making God's Love Real is about giving, serving and loving others. But also trying to love, serve and give others so much more than you take.

How are you giving the most valuable gift you have to offer, yourself, to God? How are you Making God's Love Real by giving, serving and loving others?

“What Else Can I Do?"

by Deborah Richards

You have to smile when you see a photo of Miquel Galvan. He looks so happy, it’s contagious. Those who know Miquel say it’s not only his smile that captivates you it’s his spirit. “I can’t remember seeing him get ruffled.” says his Lennard High School Chemistry teacher. “Never a complaint” remembers his honors physics teacher. Both educators say his attitude is even more impressive when you see his schedule. Miquel maintained a 4.02 GPA in high school tackling honors courses. He balanced his studies with school clubs, a part time job at a funeral home and volunteer work. His quick smile and “easy going manner” amazed his boss at the child care center where he volunteered to clean and maintain the playground. Around his school and community Miguel developed the reputation for working overtime and asking, “What else can I do?”

The people closest to Miquel see no limit to what else he can accomplish. Miquel dreams of going to USF to earn a degree in Medical Technology. His teachers say he’s a natural in math and sciences. But even with his gifts it won’t be easy for Miquel to earn a higher degree. He is the first of all the males in his family to graduate from high school. He needs financial help to pay for school. He plans to begin his degree at Hillsborough Community College and will have some financial help thanks to members Hyde Park United Methodist Church. Through Hyde Park’s support of the Good Samaritan Scholarship fund, Miquel will receive $1000 for school. Miquel says this is the first step to making his way to USF and “having a life long career rather than just a job.” And of course as he moves ahead in his life he’ll it with a smile.

The Grace Pyramid

Prevenient, justifying and sanctifying grace, it’s kind of like a three-way pyramid of grace to me. I related well to the story/quote Pastor Jim relayed in "Grace from the Editing Room Floor" this week in his FaithMatters column from a story told by Barbara Brown Taylor.

A Lebanese seminary classmate threw a theological tantrum and said, “All you Americans care about is justification! You love sinning and being forgiven, sinning and being forgiven, but no one seems to want off that hamster wheel. Have you ever heard of sanctification? Is anyone interested in learning to sin a little less?” 

I sometimes feel like that's how my Christian walk has been where I never get off the hamster wheel. It really hit home with me learning that God loves us so much, He keeps meeting us where we are, but won't just let us stay there. I do feel like for the first time in my life, I'm at a place in my Christian walk where I want to seek a bit more grace, and I'm glad I have found a church home where that journey can begin.

Depending on where we are in our walk probably has a lot to do with how we see grace in the pyramid. I can relate to the pyramid in that, God's prevenient grace really has always been there, I kept bumping into Him and turning away, sometimes running at full speed the opposite direction through my childhood, college, and early in my professional life. The justifying part of grace I’ve probably spent the most time with on a see-saw of wanting to somehow earn my faith, but then it’s freely given. I still have a hard time with that one, I want to do good, be good, and earn everything that God has to offer. And then I feel like when the bad happens, that that’s probably why, I didn’t earn the good in the first place.

Now I feel the sanctification part really tugging at me, but I have never really felt comfortable even trying to sin a little less... it sounds so goody-goody to me, all the things I've stereotyped and not liked about Christianity before that kept me running from God's prevenient grace, wanting to justify that I wasn’t good enough to even deserve it. But trying to act from grace and asking for more of it that I can start working on without too many objections.

In the conclusion to the story Pastor Jim references, Taylor wrote, “God’s grace is not simply the infinite supply of divine forgiveness upon which hopeless sinners depend. Grace is also the mysterious strength God lends human beings who are interested in learning to sin a little less. To repent is both to act from that grace and to ask for more of it, in order to follow Christ into the startling freedom of new life.” (Context, March 15, 2000, p. 5).

I’m seeing myself more and more at the center of the grace pyramid, the prevenient part will always be there, justification comes from just having faith and knowing I can’t earn it per say, and that sanctification is the part I’ll spend the rest of my life striving for…

What Does Grace Mean To You? (Day 7 of 7)

The last in a series of reflections as we explore The Ways of Grace (offered by a Tuesday Night Wesley Group of Hyde Park United Methodist).

Grace

by Dana Banks

Grace – trying to define it for myself. Not just saying what the Bible says about it. It's free, it's a gift. It cannot be earned. Is it God's unconditional love, expressing itself through believers? Is it God in us giving us the ability to love one another, and ourself? I know it's that and then some. It's pretty easy to love our friends, our family members, ourself. Even when all these people mess up (ourself included), there are always good qualities to be found. But what about those that don't seem to have any good qualities. God loves them anyway. How do I find the ability to 'love' them?

I have very noisy, annoying neighbors and I often feel really negative emotions about them. I realized recently that even though I feel such strong 'dislike' for them, God sees what is good there and loves them. And He loves them even though He sees the 'not so good'. I know that He loves me in spite of my 'not so good' behaviors.  So, I try to redirect my negative reaction, and tell myself it's the 'behavior' that bothers me. What a challenge to the 'love thy neighbor' commandment.

Grace isn't/wasn't free to God. He paid dearly, on the cross. Because of that astounding act of Amazing Grace, we have the gift of eternity – to spend with Him! Until that time when we are face to face, I know His grace will sustain me and teach me to love others and that He is always extending that love & grace to me.