“We Are the Church: Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good” at Westminster Presbyterian Church 

On October 8, 2023, Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, Senior Pastor at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church, delivered the sermon, “We Are the Church: Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good,” which was the fourth of his final seven sermons before his retirement at the end of October.

Scripture: Joshua 1: 1-9

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:  ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.’”

“’Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’”

Sermon[1]

“The text we just heard recounts the conclusion of the Exodus, the foundational story of identity for Judaism. Moses leads the Israelites out of enslavement in Egypt into the wilderness for forty years, on their way to the Land of Promise. Jews around the world spent the last week remembering the Exodus during the Festival of Sukkot – and yesterday they awakened to the news of an attack on Israel. Let us pray – yet again – for peace for all the peoples in that region of the world.”  

 “In their wilderness sojourn the Hebrew people encountered hunger and thirst, doubt and rebellion, fear and anxiety, but through it all, Moses kept the faith. He followed the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. Moses was clearly an early adapter in using the cloud as a navigational system.”  

 “They finally reach the Jordan River, and the Land of Promise – I call it that because it should be a land of promise for all who live there – the Land of Promise is within sight. On Mt. Nebo, on the border between present day Jordan and Israel, Moses looks out over the Jordan Valley and the West Bank, sees the town of Jericho, that Joshua will take in his first conquest, and then up the hills on which the City of David will rise. And then he dies, leaving the people without a leader at a critical point in their journey.”  

 “But God has a succession plan.

 “The Lord  spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, ‘My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them.’” (Joshua 1:1-2) 

 “Transition in leadership can be challenging, and when it accompanies a risky new venture, it can be doubly difficult.”

 “Now it’s Joshua’s turn to look out over the coming conquest of the land of other nations. I wonder if he senses that entering that land would be the start of unending geopolitical conflict still present today, much of it rooted in how this text has been understood and implemented. Joshua is overwhelmed by an uncertain and frightening future that lies ahead.”

 “Did you hear how God prepares Joshua to cross the river? Three times God tells him to be ‘be of good courage.’ I will be with you. You are not alone. My word will go with you.  

Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good. We’ve heard that line every Sunday in worship in the closing Charge and Benediction since I began serving this congregation. I often think of those words when I find myself facing some river over which I need to cross, knowing it will not be easy.” 

“We are the church. We’re the ones who are of good courage. We’re those who hold fast to that which is good.”  

 “What is ‘good’ courage? It’s the determination to stand for what is right and just and fair even when it’s hard. For Moses, and then Joshua, it meant holding fast to the law of God, not turning away from it. Good courage is the bravery that comes from unwavering commitment to pursuing God’s vision of a world built on kindness and justice and love, a world where all are respected, and hope does not disappear.” 

 “We all need courage like that at times in our lives. Any one of us can find ourselves facing situations that loom large and threatening, moments when we’re not sure we can keep going. In those moments we can look for help beyond ourselves. To get through whatever we face, personally or together, we can remember that it’s not only up to us. That’s one of the gifts of faith: we know we are not alone as we seek courage to get through difficult circumstances beyond our control.” 

 “We hear that theme in our music today. The text for The World Beloved reminds us that God’s love never leaves us. Bluegrass music sings of the strength from a power greater than our own that allows us to live through hard times.”  

 “I’ve made two Civil Rights pilgrimages through the south, and both times I came away astonished at the courage of the young people of that day… Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old Black girl walking alone through angry adults into an all-white school through a crowd of angry adults in New Orleans. …Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on the bus eight months before Rosa Parks did the same thing… The students who faced police dogs and water canon in Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham as they protested for their parents’ right to vote…That is good courage.

“Courage is evident in large and small ways in our time. The growth in the hospice movement is a sign of courage to face squarely the reality of the end of life. Teenagers seeking help for a mental health crisis – that takes courage. Those standing up to powerful interests to try to stop climate change are demonstrating courage on behalf of the planet. Trans kids and their families who face bullying from school boards and politicians and yet refuse to back down are showing good courage.”  

“As I think about the church and its future – and here I mean not only this church, but the Christian Church, and for that matter, all communities of faith – in coming decades we will need good courage in new ways, to hold fast to that which is good, because of future challenges we cannot yet even fathom – there are many, but I want to focus on one that may surprise my colleagues, knowing my limited knowledge of computers.”  

 “I’m thinking of the coming impact of Artificial Intelligence. I spent the summer reading about this; if you’re not either fascinated by it or fearful of it, then you’re not paying attention. The view from Mt. Nebo today looks out over a landscape that will soon be altered by astonishing new technologies that will affect all of us in significant ways.” 

“Some are comparing the coming of Artificial Intelligence to the discovery of electricity or humanity’s harnessing of fire. After spending months with the developers of AI, Ross Andersen wrote recently in The Atlantic that the goal of artificial general intelligence, which goes far beyond the currently available AI, is ‘to summon a superintelligence into the world, an intellect superior to that of any human.’” (The Atlantic, September 2023, p. 54) 

“If we don’t readily see the implications of this new technology for people of faith, it becomes apparent in listening to those engaged in developing it. One person working on superintelligence refers to it as ‘the final boss of humanity.’” (The Atlantic, September 2023, p. 66)  

 “That sounds like religious language.

“The Internet and our use of it today will seem quaint and naive in merely a few years. Changes in technology only recently predicted to be here around 2050 are now expected by 2026. Economies and social and political systems will face enormous upheaval in coming to terms with the power of AI. It is both hopeful and ominous.”  

 “The technologies that emerge over the next decade represent for people of faith a mid-21st century Jordan over which the human community will soon cross, not knowing where we are going. Will AI be a force that benefits or harms humanity? Will the new technologies help us cure disease and clean up the planet and learn to live together peaceably, or will they serve as new means of control that diminish human meaning and purpose, expand existing inequities, and lead to catastrophic uses?” 

“On Mt. Nebo, God reminds Joshua and the Israelites they have reason to hope in the future because they take good courage with them as they cross into the unknown. This congregation has the chance to do the same – to step into the next chapter of its life with courage and hope, not knowing what lies ahead. I’m not referring to the short-term transition of a retiring senior pastor. I’m pointing to the much larger and more consequential challenge and opportunity to live into an as-yet undetermined future together.” 

“That future will be shaped by technologies only now being developed that will have profound impact on systems that could move humanity in more just, equitable, and sustainable directions – or away from them. The Church and other people of faith and goodwill can and must play a part in determining a new course for the human community.” 

“The word to Joshua and to people of faith everywhere and in every age is a word to which we, too, should listen as we cross a new Jordan into tomorrow, with the song of God’s love in our hearts: Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good.

“Thanks be to God.” 

 “Amen.

Prayers

Rev. Alanna Simone Tyler led the congregation in the following Prayer of Adoration and Confession: “God of grace, you brought the Church into being long ago. Across the ages people have loved you and followed you. We join them in praising your name, but we confess the Church needs renewal today. We are confused and afraid. We do not trust your Spirit can still stir the Church. Awaken us, we pray. Give us good courage. Summon from us a response that sings your praise and holds fast to the hope that is ours in Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.”

After the sermon, Rev. Alexandra Jacob offered a Pastoral Prayer and then led the congregation in the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen”

Music

The church choir opened  with a “Bluegrass Hymn Sing” and “The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass.” The choir and congregation sang “Prayer of Good Courage” from “Mountain Vespers” by Kent Gustavson and “Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song” accompanied by the church organist, who concluded the service with the Postlude “When the Angels Carry Me Home.”

 Conclusion

This sermon does a wonderful job of making a profound theological point in simple language that is tied to words in the Old Testament. “Be of good courage. Hold on to that which is good.”

Three times God tells Joshua “Be of good courage.” And God gives Joshua three reasons to “be of good courage. You are not alone. I will be with you. My word will go with you. Hold fast to that which is good.”

What is good courage? “It’s the determination to stand for what is right and just and fair even when it’s hard.” It’s “the bravery that comes from unwavering commitment to pursuing God’s vision of a world built on kindness, and justice and love, a world where all are respected, and hope does not disappear.” (Emphasis added.)

Moreover, Westminster and all other churches (and indeed all communities of faith) ”in coming decades . . . will need good courage in new ways, to hold fast to that which is good, because of future challenges we cannot yet even fathom,” especially Artificial Intelligence. A recent article in The Atlantic magazine said that “the goal of artificial general intelligence,  . . . which goes far beyond the currently available AI is “to summon a superintelligence in the world, an intellect superior to that of any human” or “the final boss of humanity.” (Emphasis added.)

Such future changes “could move humanity in more just, equitable, and sustainable directions—or away from them. The Church and other people of faith and goodwill can and must play a part in determining a new course for the human community.” Thus, all of us need to “Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good.” (Emphasis added.)

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[1] Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, Sermon, “We Are the Church: Be of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good,” Westminster Presbyterian Church (Oct. 8, 2023); Bulletin of the Worship Service, Westminster Presbyterian Church (Oct. 8, 2023).

“The Benediction Never Ends” at Westminster Presbyterian Church

On September 17, 2023, Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, Senior Pastor at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church, delivered the second of his last seven sermons, “The Benediction Never Ends at Westminster Presbyterian Church,” before he retires at the end of October. Here is the text of that sermon along with a summary of this Sunday’s worship service.

Call to Confession and Prayer of Confession

(Rev. Alanna Simone Tyler) “O Holy One, you wear a thousand different names, but we hesitate to use any. Forgive us. We depend solely on ourselves, as if you were a figment of someone else’s imagination. We go through the motions, yet our faith has little depth or staying power. We long to be renewed. Help us discover the deep joy that comes from trusting in you, and following Jesus, in whose name we pray.”

Scripture

Isaiah 25: 1-4:

“Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall.”

 Romans 8: 32-35, 37-39

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.  Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”  

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Sermon[1]

“Religion has always tried to help people face the mystery of mortality. Dealing with death is the one constant in every age and culture. It happens to everyone; I hope that’s not news to you!”

“Humanity’s capacity to create symbols, and our need to bring order to the world, gave rise to rituals around death long ago. Those rituals offered the cultures in which they developed ways to find meaning in life and in death. Over time, different religious traditions evolved, each with its own understanding of what happens at death and how to treat the end of life.”

“This summer we visited several archaeological museums in Europe. Each one introduced us to ancient ways of navigating the loss of life. We saw mummies, complex burial vaults, carefully selected items placed in graves – jewelry, drinking vessels, weapons, amulets, and other items. All of that tells us something about how our ancestors dealt with death. We can imagine the gatherings held on such occasions, where laments were lifted, stories told, exploits recounted, gratitude expressed, and religious response offered.”

“That is essentially what humans still do at funerals in every culture and religion, but when death comes in sudden and overwhelming numbers that is not possible. In Derna, Libya, there are now more than 11,000 confirmed deaths from the catastrophic flooding last week, and that number could grow to more than 20,000. Body bags stacked anonymously in mass graves violate the rituals we long for at the time of death and extend the trauma. Let us keep the survivors who have lost so many in our prayers. To offer help, look for information on our website tomorrow on how giving for Libya relief through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.”

“Death on that scale is not common, but mortality is never very far away. There’s no way to avoid facing death. What matters is how we attend to it. That’s a basic task of any religion, certainly ours. Responding to death with courage and hope is at the heart of Christian proclamation.”

“We may think of our congregation as being primarily engaged in Sunday worship, in justice and service, or education, or music and the arts. We’re known in the community for those things, and they are part of our mission, but there’s another dimension to our ministry that may not be as widely known. We help families move through the loss of a loved one, and we do it often.”

“Last week Westminster held five memorial services or funerals – the latter being when the body is present. And this week we have two more. That pastoral work is central to our life as a Christian community. We have something to say at the time of death.”

“Today’s scripture lesson from Romans affirms the power of God’s love. The Apostle Paul is confident that God’s love conveys us from this life to the next. ‘Who will separate us from the love of Christ?’ Paul asks. ‘Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?’”

“Then he answers his own question – and this is our response to the age-old wondering about life and death.”

“’No,’ he says, ‘In all these things’- the stuff that happens in life –

‘We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

“I’ve preached on that biblical text than any other in my 40 years in ministry – some 300 sermons. That’s because it’s the scripture of choice at memorial services. It’s the funeral equivalent of the ‘love chapter’ in I Corinthians used at almost all weddings.”

“For that reason, I’ve been reluctant over the years to preach again from Romans 8 on a Sunday morning. But with retirement coming at the end of next month I decided that the text offers such a strong affirmation of our hope in life eternal it needs to be heard one more time.”

“Most people would rather attend a wedding than a funeral; in contrast, as I’ve said before, most ministers would prefer leading a memorial service. At a memorial service pastors play an essential role in helping those assembled to face death and not be undone by it.”

“A Christian memorial service does three things. First, it invites us to name the sorrow and acknowledge the loss. The pain is real. No matter how long and wonderful someone’s life may have been or how welcome their release from suffering in this world was, there is, nonetheless, an absence, and absence in the heart they once occupied in our lives. So, we express our grief and do not deny it.”

“Second, at a memorial service we remember the life of the one who died. We tell stories of their legacy, the love they shared, the values they lived, the difference they made. We laugh, we cry, we revel in our memory of who they were to us.”

“Memorial services, especially when in a more secular setting, are often called a celebration of life and sometimes the subject of death itself can be oddly taboo. In a Christian funeral, we do not avoid mention of the end of life. This is the third piece: a memorial service gives us the opportunity to face death squarely and proclaim the core of our faith: that God’s love carries us from this life into the mystery of life eternal.”

“During the construction of the US Bank Stadium back in 2016, a worker fell to his death in an accident. I was asked to speak to the workers when they came back onto the site for the first time two days later. I was there at the start of their work day, very early in the morning. The workers assembled on the future football field, in their safety vests and hard hats.”

“I was introduced, and when I stepped to the microphone, 1200 hard hats quickly came off. It was their way of making that construction site sacred space. That moment transcended time. It could have been any community gathered anywhere in any age, to mark the loss of one of their own.”

“I looked out at them and did what I do at every memorial service. I acknowledged the pain of losing a co-worker. I said his name to honor his life. And I spoke of the hope we have in the unseen force of love that is stronger than death. Then I offered prayer for his family and friends and all bearing sorrow that day. With my “Amen,” the hardhats came back on, and a new work day began.”

“I imagine most of those workers were grieving that day, and also  have been facing their own mortality. A construction site, especially a massive one like the stadium, can be a dangerous place. However difficult, that’s important for us to do from time to time.”

“Jews are preparing today for Yom Kippur. It begins at sundown this evening and continues for 25 or 26 hours until nightfall on Monday. Yom Kippur invites Jews to remember those who have died and to examine their own lives as they enter a day of fasting.”

“It is something like our Ash Wednesday, when we reckon with reality and remember that from dust we have come and to dust we shall return. Ash Wednesday invites us to consider the inevitability of our own deaths. We hear that again at memorial services in a part of the liturgy called the Commendation. “

“Imagine for a moment these words being said at your memorial service:

  • “All of us go down to the dust; Yet even at the grave we make our song, Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with all your saints, where there is neither pain nor sorrow nor sighing, but life everlasting.
  • “Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant…Tim, Steve, Mary, Alan, Bob, Nancy.” Drop in your own name. “We commend your servant…”
  • “Receive them into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light.”

As is often true of anything we don’t fully understand, we tend to avoid the subject of death, as if it might not notice us and slip by. We may not like talking about the end of our lives but ignoring it can lead us to fear it and cause anxiety when it does comes near, as it will. Our time on this earth is fleeting; coming to terms with that truth helps us live with more purpose and live more fully in each day.”

“The Bible is not afraid of human mortality. Throughout the texts of the older and newer testaments we hear the repeated promise that God intends to do away with death.”

“The ancient prophet Isaiah imagines an invitation to a mountaintop feast – and this is proof that even back then when someone dies people started to eat together as a way to process their grief –

‘On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines…

And God will destroy on this mountain

the shroud that is cast over all peoples…

God will swallow up death for ever (and) …

wipe away the tears from all faces.’ (Isaiah 25:6-8a)”

“In Revelation, we hear that same promise this way: ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.’ (Revelation 21:4)”

“The Apostle Paul puts the promise like this: ‘Behold! I tell you a mystery…We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.’ (I Corinthians 15:51-52a, 54c)”

“The old hymn echoes the promise: ‘Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, glost in wonder, love, and praise.’ (Charles Wesley, Love Divine, All Loves, Excelling; 1747, vs. 4)”

“That is the promise we bear as Christians. We will hear that promise in a few minutes at the font, when we baptize little Roselyn Natasha.”

“The common thread is that death is not final. ‘I am the resurrection and the life,’ Jesus says. (John 11:25)”

“With that assurance we take our place with people of every age, every time, every place who have faced death either on a small or large scale, and wondered what it means. Our response is to hold fast to the Easter promise of eternal life. That’s why we call a memorial service a Witness to the Resurrection. We share the Apostle Paul’s conviction that nothing – nothing – can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good.”

“In this season as I wind down my ministry with you, we’re thinking a lot about benediction. A benediction is a blessing. Our faith claims that the blessing of life from God continues after our earthly experience into the mystery that ultimately awaits us.”

“Love never ceases. It’s the final blessing. Hope is fulfilled.”

“Life after life. The Benediction never ends.”

“Thanks be to God.”

“Amen.”

Congregational Affirmation of Faith

(United Church of Canada) “We are not alone, we live in God’s world. We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust in God. We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.”

Music

The congregational hymns were “Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty,” “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” “You Belong to Christ” (after the baptism of an infant) and “Love Devine, All Loves Excelling.”

The choir sang “Hallelujah” by William Walker and “Rest” by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The organ Prelude and Postlude were the “Sarabande and Gavotte” and “Rigaudon” from Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite.

Conclusion

This was another inspiring sermon. Thanks to Tim.

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[1] Sermon, The Benediction Never Ends, Westminster Presbyterian Church (Sept. 17, 2023). Bulletin of Service, Westminster Presbyterian Church (Sept. 17, 2023).

 

World Communion Sunday at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church Celebrates Its Global Partners

October 1 was the Sunday for Minneapolis Westminster Presbyterian Church’s joyous celebration of World Communion Sunday and its global partnerships in Cuba, Cameroon and Palestine.[1]

The Calls to Worship

The three Calls to Worship were provided in their native languages by Joseph Mukete (a Westminster member from Cameroon), Reinerio Miguel Arce (a Cuban pastor involved with our Cuban partners and the General Secretary of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba) and Rihab Fitzgerald (a Westminster member from Lebanon). Here are the English translations of those Calls:

  • “From the nations of Africa, we come to worship the God whose image we bear, and who created us to be one community, united in love.”
  • “From the islands of the Caribbean, we come to worship the God whose image we bear, and who created us to be one community, united in love.”
  • From the ancient land of Palestine, we come to worship the God whose image we bear, and who created us to be one community, united in love.”

The Call to Confession

 The following Call to Confession was provided by Westminster’s Rev. David Tsai Shinn, who is Taiwanese:

  • “Merciful God, in your gracious presence we confess our sin and the sin of this world. Although Christ is among us as our peace, we are a people divided against ourselves as we cling to the values of a broken world. The profit and pleasures we pursue lay waste the land and pollute the seas. The fears and jealousies that we harbor set neighbor against neighbor and nation against nation. We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, of intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression. Lord, have mercy upon us; heal and forgive us. Set us free to serve you in the world as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus Christ.”

The Holy Scripture

Matthew 28: 16-20: “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen’s Sermon: “We Are the Church: Go forth into the world in peace” [2]

“As I enter my final month with you before retirement, I begin a five-part sermon series on the Charge and Benediction I have used to conclude worship every week that I have preached here. I learned it from my father, and always figured he thought it up, only to learn later in seminary that it’s actually from scripture – that’s even better.”

“I heard it every Sunday growing up. It starts like this: “Go forth into the world in peace”.

“That line echoes the scripture text from Matthew 28: ‘Go, therefore, into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’”

“We call it the Great Commission, and that one sentence has had more definitional impact on how the church engages with the world than any other particular part of the Bible. It has had profound impact on the Church and the world. In the 19th century, Christian churches in North America and Europe heard the words of Matthew 28 as a compelling call to move out across the globe to bring the good news of Jesus Christ.’

“So we went. We taught the faith, started churches, set up schools, established hospitals, and spread the practice of Christianity. We also brought Western culture and ideas to those living in the global south and other areas of the world. It was the theological corollary to the doctrine of Manifest Destiny.”

“When Jesus says, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,’ many in the Church mistakenly heard that as ‘all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to us.’ We tended to assume that authority unto ourselves. Well-intentioned or not, the impact of this missionary zeal often caused abrupt, and even devastating change – the opposite of what the love of Jesus would have wanted.”

“Some American churches sent missionaries overseas; others focused on North America. The westward movement of white settlers in the 1800s brought the new nation into conflict with indigenous peoples living on the land. As we know from our history lessons, military conflict and violence accompanied the displacement of first nations. A different, lesser-known kind of violence followed, often with the church’s complicity.”

“The ‘educational’ institutions established by churches in collusion with the federal government were part of a 19th century systematic campaign of assimilation. The federal government aimed to take away Native culture, language, religion, practices, and traditions in order to Americanize and Christianize them. And they started with the kids; we started with the kids. Children.”

“The federal Commissioner for Indian Affairs said in 1886, ‘The government aid furnished (to churches) enables them to sustain their missions, and renders it possible…to lead these people, whose paganism has been the chief obstacle to their civilization, into the light of Christianity.’” (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/national/u-s-report-details-church-state-collusionon-indigenous-schools)

“Ben Sherman, who was taken as a child to Oglala Community School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, remembers the pain. ‘The government was not done with war,” he said, “So the next phase involved war against the children’”

“At one point in the late 19th century, 85% of school-age indigenous children in this country were living at one of the nation’s 523 boarding schools. According to a report by the U.S. Department of the Interior, “thousands” of children likely died while at the schools. The cemeteries are now being uncovered. Half of those schools were operated by churches under a contract with the federal government, or run independently by religious groups, including Presbyterians. Some of them kept operating through much of the 20th century.” (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/30/us/natice-american-boarding- schools.html) (https://www.pcusa.org/news/2022/2/23/restorative -history/)

“American Christians went ‘into all the world,’ intending to bring the Good News, but the news was not always good for those on the receiving end. Denominations – including ours – are only now coming to terms with what they did in the name of God. Repairing the harm begins with facing the truth and listening.”

“Missionaries brought with them, wherever they went, their predilections and prejudices. The impact of the coming of Christianity was traumatizing in some contexts. Dutch Reformed leaders, Presbyterians from the Netherlands, provided a theological rationale for racist apartheid policies in South Africa, much as Christian preachers had done in this country in support of the enslavement of Africans. Missionaries cut people off from their own language and culture and indigenous religious practices.”

“Jesus did not command us to take children from families and send them to boarding schools and strip them of their culture, their identity. Nowhere does Jesus tell us to reject long-established traditional ways of life that had been sustaining and identity-giving in communities for multiple generations – to wipe all that out, and insist that one culture or ethnicity or race would dominate others.”

“In the 19th century, in an act of ecclesiastical hubris, major American Protestant denominations divided up the globe as if it were theirs alone, in order to be efficient and not duplicate efforts. European Christians were doing the same, and our collective efforts were successful. There are 75 million Presbyterians in the world today; only 1.1 million are in our denomination. On any given Sunday in South Africa and South Korea and in Cameroon, there are more Presbyterians in worship than in the U.S.”

“What about Westminster? We were established in 1857, right at the time when the great missionary movements were gaining steam, and we joined in with enthusiasm in trying to fulfill the Great Commission. We “went into all the world.” In the 1870s our congregation began supporting missionaries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and continued doing so into the middle years of the 20th century. The work centered around education, healthcare, and evangelism. We had a story to tell, faith to spread, information to teach, and help to offer. We don’t know much about the specifics of the efforts of the people we supported, but we can imagine they had both positive and negative effects.”

“The helpful impact of efforts to fulfill the Great Commission is evident in the lands where Westminster engages in global partnerships today. In English-speaking Cameroon, for instance, the country’s towns and villages are covered by a network of Presbyterian schools, clinics, hospitals, and training centers. In Cuba the best high schools in that island nation before the 1959 revolution were run by Presbyterians and Presbyterians have played a key ecumenical role there since the triumph of the revolution. And in the Holy Land, in ancient Palestine, Presbyterians started churches in those places – Syria and Iraq – where we were giving the assignment in agreement with other denominations. We had historic relationships with other denominations in the region, which includes the Lutherans, which led us to partner with Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.”

“Our current global partnerships began in early 21st century with a visit to Cuba. That visit marked the shift of our congregation’s understanding of the Great Commission, a movement that had begun in Protestant churches across the north in the latter half of the 20th century. We began to change from the old ways of doing ‘mission.’”

“In Cuba we met a pastor named Carlos Piedra. He had attended La Progresiva, the top Presbyterian school on the island before it was nationalized by the revolution. From there he went on the seminary. Piedra was raised as part of the extended family of our two Cuban guests here today, Reinerio and Dora Arce.”

“When we met him, Piedra was serving as pastor of a Presbyterian congregation called El Redentor, The Redeemer, in the city of Matanzas. We spent several days with him, and he opened our eyes to a different understanding of the Great Commission, new ways of encountering and engaging the world. Piedra helped us see that so often in ‘going forth into all the world’ the North American church defines ‘mission’ by what we think is needed, without pausing to listen to people in other contexts – as if Jesus Christ did not exist in other lands and other cultures until we brought him there. This re-thinking has happened not only in global mission but locally, as well, including right here in our city, in our own outreach beyond the church.”

“I remember how Piedra said to us, ‘We don’t need your solutions to what you see as our problems. We don’t need your answers to what you see as our questions. We don’t want what you think of as your abundance to resolve what you see as our scarcity. But if you want to come pray with us, worship with us, study the Bible with us, eat and drink and dance with us, please come. What we want with you is amistad cristiana, Christian friendship, and solidaridad, solidarity.’”

“He was dismantling – deconstructing – the old way we had been doing ‘mission,’ and guiding us into a new way. That visit set the trajectory for Westminster’s relationships with the three global partnerships that developed and are still active, in Cuba, Cameroon, and Palestine – and also for how we would try to live out our ministry right here in Minneapolis, in the local context. We don’t parachute in to do something that we think needs to be solved and that will make us feel good about ourselves, and then move on to solve problems elsewhere.”

“Instead, we have created covenants with the local partners in each nation, five-year commitments to a defined mutual relationship, primarily about respecting and listening to each other. We agree to share our lives with one another – either in person or, now, through the Internet – as an expression of the love and grace of God.”

“From our Cameroonian partners we have learned the joy of praising God in music and dance. On our first visit to Kumba Town Presbyterian Church there were 11 adult choirs, and they all sang in worship – dancing and praising God. We saw their emphasis on educating children as we visited the elementary school the congregation supports. We visited agencies where they teach young people to develop job skills. We saw clinics and hospitals and their work to diminish the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The Presbyterian Church is strong and growing across the country.”

“From our Palestinian partners we have learned the importance of creative resistance to injustice. When Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem was shot up and occupied by the Israeli military to use as a base for assaults in other parts of the city, they gathered up the colorful shards of glass and created beautiful things. They discovered the power of art as a way to persevere through trauma, a different way of responding to violence that can lead to healing. Today the university they started, Dar AlKalima, focuses on the arts, and thrives in that context as a beacon of a different way through conflict.”

“From our Cuban partners we have learned a theology of resilience. Congregations there have held on and continued to worship God and serve God through many difficult decades. The seminary has persisted in spite of enormous obstacles, and is now planning to expand to Havana, with the help of Westminster’s Enduring Hope capital campaign mission component. The people in our small partner congregation have virtually nothing, so they depend on and support one another. We are part of their WhatsApp group and watch as they seek and offer help, especially around medicine, asking who has a couple pills of this or that, or if anyone has a particular treatment a neighbor needs. It’s like a first-century Christian community, freely sharing the little they have.”

“Each of the churches with which we have developed partnerships finds itself in a nation living with conflict of one sort or another. And each shows bountiful signs of deep, unwavering desire for peace and justice. In Cuba, the longstanding U.S. policy of economic blockade causes significant suffering. In Cameroon the English-speaking minority finds itself in conflict with the French-speaking majority, backed by the U.S. In Palestine, the Israeli occupation supported by the U.S. continues to harm Palestinians.”

“We hear about these struggles and recognize the importance of trying to influence our government’s positions, as we can. The covenants with our partner churches include a commitment to advocate for change in our government’s foreign policy toward their nations, for the benefit of both nations.”

“ When we visit our partners, and then return again and again, and when they come visit us as they are today, we are building bridges of hope for change for a more just world.”

Go forth into the world in peace. Go forth not to dominate, not because you think you know what others need, not because you see yourself at the center.”

Go forth into the world in peace. That line casts the Great Commission in a different light, making it less triumphant, a bit more gentle and modest, respectful, willing to listen and learn.”

“And isn’t that how the church should live here and everywhere! That is what Jesus was after in the Great Commission.”

“We are the church. We are the church. We have a message to share as Christians – and we are called to do that in ways that reflect the love and justice of God.”

Go forth into the world in peace – knowing that Christ is already there, at work in the communities and in the lives of individuals we will meet.”

“Thanks be to God.”

“Amen.”

Music

 

Beautiful music during the service was provided by Charanga Tropical (a Cuban jazz group led by Doug Little, a Westminster member); CamChoir (a Cameroonian choir), which led the congregation in singing a Cameroonian hymn (“Bend Low”), whose refrain is “Bend low . . . and see what the Lord can do”; and by Community Sing (a Westminster choir) led by Dr. Amanda Weber (Westminster’s Director of Worship and the Arts). This choir sang “ Ghanu Lil Hayat (A Hymn for Life) in Arabic and “Santo, santo, santo” in Spanish (the latter’s English translation: “Holy . . . holy is our God. God, the Lord of earth and heaven. Holy, holy is our God. God, the lord of all history. Holy, holy is our God. Who accompanies our people, who lives within our struggles, of all the earth and heaven the one and only Lord. Blessed are they who in the Lord’s name announce the holy gospel, Proclaiming the good news that our liberation comes.”)

Post-Service Reception

 After the service, a reception was held in Westminster Hall to celebrate our global partners with comments, videos, coffee and snacks.

Conclusion

 What a wonderful, enriching worship service!

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[1] Westminster Bulletin, World Communion Sunday (Oct. 1, 2023),

[2] Rev. Tim Hart-Andersen, Sermon: We Are the Church: Go forth into the world in peace, (Oct. 1, 2023).

The Lord’s Prayer at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church

Here is the Lord’s Prayer that is said in every worship service at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. “

In addition, our Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, recently delivered the following sermons about different passages of this Prayer:

Subsequent posts will discuss each of these sermons.

Minneapolis Religious Leaders Condemn Killing of George Floyd

The Downtown Interfaith Senior Clergy of Minneapolis have condemned “in the strongest possible terms the May 25th killing by a police officer of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man in Minneapolis.”

“As leaders of faith traditions that include Judaism, Islam, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Humanism, we affirm our common conviction that all life is sacred and that every human being is our neighbor, worthy to be loved. Not killed. “

“Our hearts break, going out to the family and to those in our community who continue to bear the historical brunt of racially-motivated oppression that too often leads to violence and even death. In a press conference, Mayor Jacob Frey phrased it well: ‘Being black in America should not be a death sentence.’ We all say amen!”

“We call for a swift response by city officials and Minneapolis law enforcement leaders, and a deeper addressing of the systemic issues that led to this and similar killings. We say “enough and more than enough!” Law enforcement must interact with all our neighbors in all our neighborhoods fairly and equally.”

“We are all called to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

The following are the 12 senior clergy who signed this statement: Imam Makram Nu’Man El-Amin, Masjid An-Nu;  Rev. Dr. David Breeden, First Unitarian Society, Rev. Dr. Dan Collison, First Covenant Church; Rev. Jen Crow, First Universalist Church; Rev. Dr. Laurie Feille, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Imam Dr. Hamdy El-Sawaf Islamic Community Center of Minnesota/Masjid Al-Imin; Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, Westminster Presbyterian Church; The Very Reverend Paul Lebens-Englund, St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral; Rev. Dr. Paula Northwood, Plymouth Congregational Church’ Rev. Peter Nycklemoe, Central Lutheran Church; Rev. Judy Zabel, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church; and  Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman, Temple Israel.

This group also established the Minneapolis Interfaith Relief Fund to provide financial support to communities of color and indigenous affected by unrest in the city following the police killing of George Floyd. Westminster Presbyterian Church will act as the fiscal agent. Donations and requests for assistance should be directed to its Director of Stewardship, Mary Hess, 1200 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403; (tel) 612-332-3421.

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Downtown Interfaith Senior Clergy, Statement on the Killing of George Floyd.(May 29, 2020); A Letter from the Downtown Interfaith Senior Clergy in Minneapolis, Episcopal News Service (May 29, 2020); Minneapolis Interfaith Relief Fund, Westminster Presbyterian Church.