“The Perfect Getaway”: Winter Retreat ‘10 Recap
January 17, 2010
On Friday night, seven brave warriors from the Transmission church ventured far from the safety of New York City to the wild woods of Marlboro, NJ, otherwise known as “Spaciousville.” Staying with the lovely Godbehere family, (how can a believer go wrong staying with Godbeheres?) we seven entered a state of grace, joy, theological debate, sports, hiking and madcap tomfoolery that lasted long into Saturday morning until our departure Sunday back to the relatively mild environs of New York City.
The warriors: Ula, Johannes, Isaac, Sarah, Paul, Mabel, and me.
Highlights from the trip: Friday night ritual at First Presbyterian Church of Matawan. We explored the different uses of the church space, the narthex and entryway, the nave, chancel and sanctuary, all spaces for different ingredients of worship. We rocked to some music around the piano, and shared a holy communion of a more blue collar style, cranberry juice and Stroehmann’s Multi-Grain bread. (Photos to come.)
2.Holmdel Park On a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, this place seemed like heaven. Between the arboretum, the open fields, the ponds, hills, trails and farm animals, I felt the presence of God. As well as of the Von Trapp family. Who are always welcome.
In all seriousness, though, this was a wonderfully organized retreat thanks to everyone’s contributions. I know we say we’re a leaderless group, but Isaac and Sarah really stepped up to the plate in coordinating our work together. Our reflections on 1 Thessalonians, on the opening praise and closing appeal of Paul to the Church at Thessalonica, made for stirring discussions. We talked about our anger about the tragedy in Haiti and God’s perceived inaction, and the readings led to a great closing ritual for us on Saturday night.
We each stepped up to the pulpit and delivered what we were grateful for in Transmission, and what we would appeal to each other to do to strengthen and maintain our community. Then we praised God for each member of the group and what they have brought to us as part of our church. Sarah’s quiet steadiness. Isaac’s love and honesty. Johannes’ joyful curiosity. Paul’s outspokenness. My anger and determination. Ula’s fearlessness. We thanked God for the gift of each other and went home grateful partners in faith.
Finally, on Sunday morning, we led the Children’s Chat at First Presbyterian Church, the talk with the kids, mostly under 10 years old. The scripture reading was Jesus’ miracle at the Wedding in Cana, where he turned water into wine. We re-enacted the miracle for the kids by giving them water and pouring in instant Crystal Light packets turning it rapidly into a dark pink lemonade. Then we told them that God in their lives could be just like that powder, turning what seems ordinary into something precious. I think the kids got the idea, although some said the Crystal Light lacked flavor. Hey, we ain’t Jesus, li’l guys. So drink it and LIKE it!
Our next meeting is this Wednesday at Johannes’ house for dinner and a movie night. I’m not sure how theological or completely ridiculous the film will be: however, if you come, you will have a vote! Call Johannes if you have any questions, and see you then.
So how many Americans go to a house church?
September 2, 2009
This week, the Barna Group, a Christian research/survey organization, published “How Many People Really Go To A House Church?” a study of house churches in America.¬† Besides looking at the history of house churches, the article includes an interesting examination of American views on hou
se churches.
When asked if they had attended a “worship service” at a home in the past month, about 10% of the adult population said they did so.¬† However, when the wording changed to “religious service,” the percentage went up to about 14%.¬† Then when the question changed to “Have you experienced God or your faith in a house church or simple church meeting,” ONE THIRD of Americans said they had been to such a meeting in the past month.
Perhaps the words “worship” and “religious” are somewhat loaded in our culture, and associated with very specific rites, whereas the experience of faith in the presence of other believers is something separate, seen as more casual.
One of the ideas of Transmission is to merge these definitions and to realize that “worship” is meant to be organic and does not need to be confined to what we do in church pews, that the “experience of God and faith” can be experienced in our living rooms, gardens and kitchens any day, any time: as the Bible said, God is present any time two or more are together in his name.
A recommended viewing: “The Soloist”
August 20, 2009
Dear fellow Transmissioners,
¬†¬†If you are looking to find¬†a state of grace this weekend, I highly¬†recommend renting “The Soloist.”¬†¬† While I thought I’d be getting a typical story of “rich man¬†becomes better by helping poor,” what I received instead was a film that¬†engages the soul.
A film experience like that is a¬†rarity these days, and it’s even rarer to find a film that speaks the wisdom of¬†Christ without preaching at the audience.
¬†¬†”The Soloist”¬†tells the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musical prodigy and a schizophrenic.¬† He¬†was gifted and made his way to Julliard, before¬†his untreated illness brought him into anguish and ruin, leaving him¬†homeless and alone.¬† Years after his collapse, he meets Steve Lopez, a¬†LA Times reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) who is¬†doing fine in his career but is just as alone as¬†Ayers.
¬†¬† The two of them form a friendship, and¬†Lopez¬†learns about Ayers’ past while also learning about the realities of¬†Skid Row’s homeless population and the difficulties of trying to “cure” the mentally ill.¬†¬†At first, Ayers is Lopez’¬†best new story, and then Lopez takes him on as¬†his own private cause, which leads both of them in the wrong direction.¬† It is only in¬†deciding to be his friend, and knowing¬†the limits of their relationship, that he is able to create something that can last.
¬†¬† The film is¬†incredibly done.¬† The acting by Foxx is superb, and Downey continues to amaze me with¬†the depth he¬†brings to¬†his¬†roles.¬† This is one of the most mature performances I’ve ever seen by him.
  I recommend it here because I know that we as Christians feel an obligation to serve the needy, and this film does an incredible job of looking at how that could really look.  It challenges the idea that we can save the poor or cure them, and it challenges the notion that all severely damaged people need is love or faith to get better.  In the end, (spoiler) the steps that Nathaniel makes are just a few steps forward, but the real cured party is Lopez: he is able to see for the first time that true friendship demands integrity, respect, and sacrifice.
   I heartily recommend this film and hope you enjoy it.
GOD AND PAIN ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10
May 3, 2009
Friday May 1-Paul hosted and made us all comfortable. Sarah cooked a mighty fine pasta primavera, and Ulla brought apple pie to finish it off. Dan led the ritual.
¬† From Dan: Given the swine flu scare, it seemed right for this week’s ritual to focus on sickness and healing. I had been feeling the flu all week, a flu that I’ve managed to mostly beat after a week in the dumps. But I noticed that I was very down on myself all throughout, on my own back, irritable, grouchy, cursing everybody who was in a good mood, (especially joggers!) and feeling very sorry for myself.
¬† Then I went to the doctor on Tuesday and she asked me to rank my pain on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being next to nothing, 10 being absolutely exruciating. On the wall was a vertical scale with a happy face next to the 1 at the bottom, and at #10 the face of what looked like agony, absolute friggin’ agony. I don’t think even Christ had it as bad as whatever #10 face went through!
¬† So the doctor asks me “Where would you say you rank?” And my immediate response was “4.” Then I thought, “4? After all this grouchiness and wallowing, it’s only a 4? I demand a recount!” And I realized that my perspective was as much in need of healing as my illness.
  So I wanted to talk Friday about emotional healing in the midst of sickness.
¬† One of the biggest themes was the need to let people in. Paul talked about a surgery he’d had around Christmastime: a group of carolers was making rounds at the hospital and wanted to stop by. At first, he told himself, “Screw them. I’m cranky. I don’t want to hear any Christmas music.” But he yielded to it and actually got into their rendition of “Jingle Bells.”
¬†¬† Ulla talked about how important personal items were to her healing one time when she was hospitalized. The little things like her towels from home that someone had brought her, and hearing Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love Of All” helped her get through an otherwise lonely time at the hospital.
  Isaac had my personal favorite story. He was about to go into the hospital for kidney stones, and he was in agonizing pain, crying his eyes out. Before he left the house, though, he stopped and applied some hair gel. That way even if he was a crying mess, he could at least keep some dignity and style.
¬† The next Transmission will be in two weeks at Bowie Snodgrass’ house.¬† Please e-mail transmissionchurch@gmail.com for further information.
A NIGHT FOR “INTERMISSION”
April 18, 2009
Dear Transmissioners,
Tonight was a very laidback Transmission. Present were a sparse but energized foursome, Katie Everett, Sarah Godbehere, Sarah’s friend Nicole, and I. We met at my place here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, enjoyed some delightful Polish cuisine and relaxed. I think we were all a bit exhausted after last weekend’s retreat and needed something lighter.
So tonight after dinner, we enjoyed a strange little Irish comedy called “Intermission,” which was a mix of a romance and a bumbling gangster movie. It’s basically a story about people trying to find love or success, having illusions shattered, and trying to pick up the pieces afterwards. I recommend it.
And that’s about it for tonight. Some nights it’s best to just sit down with friends and curl up in front of a good movie.
Next Saturday will be our planning/debrief session at St. Michael’s Church: no leaders, just all of us meeting to discuss where we want to put our energies in the Transmissions to come.
Wish you all the best meanwhiles, and God bless.
Happy New Year!
January 2, 2009
Last night, at Isaac and Katie’s cozy apartment in Washington Heights, Transmission held its 2008 New Year’s Eve get-together. Katie prepared a feast of shrimp in a spicy tomato marinade, Greek style mushroom pie, warm French bread, radishes with apple and celery spice, and flourless chocolate cake and pies for dessert. It was the height of delectability.
Present at the bash were myself, Isaac, Katie, two guests from an emergent church in Canberra, Australia, Mabel and three of her friends, Sarah, and Ula and her friend Steve.
We started out with a discussion of circumcision, December 31st being the Feast of the Circumcision, as well as the Feast of the Holy Name. Historically, this day, December 31, or the 4th of Tevet as the Hebrew calendar puts it, was the day the Christ child was circumcised and given the name Jesus. They actually went against the orders of the Archangel Gabriel who had said “His name shall be Emmanuel.” Emmanuel was Hebrew for God is with us. Jesus was derived from the older Hebrew name Yeshua, for God’s salvation. Though the earth didn’t swallow the family up for not following orders, you wonder whether there’d have been any difference if our savior had been named Emmanuel Christ!
Isaac explained to us that circumcision was, in the Jewish tradition, the way of marking the faithful. It was what separated them from others, and those who weren’t circumcised were to be cut off from their people. According to Genesis, God said that any uncircumcised male “has broken my covenant.”
However, in the years after Christ, the apostle Paul wrote that circumcision was meaningless: salvation came through the spirit, and had nothing to do with one’s skin.  He wrote in Philippians, “It is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.”
Yet there has remained debate over whether circumcision should be required or not. As some members pointed out, circumcising newborns used to be custom at hospitals, often done without asking parents. Only in recent years has that shifted.
Then came Isaac’s question: what for us is the mark of the faithful? What shows that we are Christians? And also what kind of judgment have we experienced from other Christians or have we shown towards others based on an outward characteristic?
Mabel spoke of her inability to sit next to homeless people on the subway, because of the smells. She was reminded of a friend who was able to do so without a second thought. I spoke of the word “saved” and the meaning people seem to attach to it as being a kind of rubber stamp of the Christian, in evangelical circles: it seems like saved is a status, a kind of static title one can hold. For me, though, salvation is a process we live throughout our lives. We can fall away from salvation or we can go towards it, and ultimately we never know whether we’re saved or not until our judgment comes.
After singing a psalm that Isaac had put to music, we enjoyed some good long conversation and singing around Isaac’s guitar. When midnight came, it was actually very casual: Isaac and Katie don’t have a TV or radio, so we just counted down ourselves using the clock on Isaac’s laptop. Afterwards, a brief toast and some more talking late into the morning hours before we all headed home. ( I had a strange journey home. Here’s the story…)
Bono once sang, “Nothing changes on New Year’s Day.” I happen to agree, but that line misses the point. New Year’s isn’t supposed to change anything: it’s meant to summon the hope of change, the hope of renewal. The idea that we can start over and wipe the slate clean, however much time it takes. Our new president is channeling that hope. Whether Obama lives up to his promises or not, these last months have brought many of us hope in a brighter future. What some see in Obama is exactly what the shepherds saw in the newborn Jesus: the arrival of a savior who could shake down unjust kingdoms and renew the earth. Let us rejoice in Him now and forever, and fulfill the promises that He made, whether our new earthly rulers do so or not.
Transmitting 12/17/08
January 2, 2009
On December 17, there was Transmissioning, and it was good. The Transmission group headed to Dan Marrin’s swank brownstone in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Mabel Bermejo prepared an Italian dinner, garlic bread and spaghetti, for our group of seven people, and Isaac led the ritual. He started with group songs and then read us a story from The Way of the Wolf, a collection of stories about bunnies, wolves and nature that start out sounding like children’s stories, but end as provocative and mature parables showing what it means to be Christian.
Then came the fun. Our theme for the night was “free gifts” and the free grace that we’ve been given through Christ. We don’t have to earn or pay for the love of God: salvation has been given to us through his son and our love for Him. So, in that spirit we brought each other gifts that cost us nothing and exchanged them. Each gift had its story, like Mabel’s Israeli soap (which she initially mistook for candy), Paul’s Bible Memory Match cards (random religious stuff- yay!) and Katie’s purple scarf (Who’d think Santa Claus would take the form of an Indian tailor?)
Afterwards, we held prayers for any of us who needed consolation and did a laying on of hands for personal healing.  My roommates came in just as we were laying our hands on top of people’s heads and praying: a few of us chuckled and then Paul, who was the one getting “layed on” started screaming out a chant and we all burst out laughing. Yup, we’re a weird bunch, but in all the good ways.
All of us are going through trials and changes. Though we know our blessings, we pray we can face our challenges with grace and faith, knowing that we have friends we can turn to along the way. 
Isaac announced that he’ll be hosting Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve get-togethers. So mark your calendars for those and keep reading the updates as they come in!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!