By Rev. Kathryn Ray
"Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."... Zacchaeus stood up and said to the LORD, "Look, LORD! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham." -from Luke 19 Public benefits offices are among the most hellish devised by human hands. These are the places you go to apply for food assistance, Medicaid, or financial assistance with housing and utilities. Where you wait for four to six hours under harsh fluorescent lighting in hard plastic chairs, surrounded by dozens of other people who are stressed and in pain, all to spend five minutes with someone who may or may not understand exactly what services you are requesting.
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By Rev. Kathryn Ray
Sunday morning coffee hour has always felt to me like a great act of weaving in and out between different worlds. There is a constant vaivén, the swaying back and forth between English and Spanish, interspersed with what few words of Karen I know that are always received with grace. It is a moving in and out of worlds, mediated both by language and by physical space. This person gets a hug; another gets a handshake; another, a kiss on the cheek. I’ll never forget the moment when I was coming up from Hispanic worship and ran into Cecilia Poenyunt. As I had been kissing people on the cheek all morning, I moved in towards her face, until an alarm went off in my brain shouting “ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!” At the last second, I extended my hand for a handshake. What is a warm greeting for one is an intrusion into the physical space of another. This place never fails to keep me on my toes. This story has always embodied an essential component of my experience at NSBC. With every encounter with another individual at this church, I find a sacred space that I must enter on its own terms. I greet other people on a daily basis without a second thought. This church demands that I be intentional about my greetings. That intentionality reminds me of the beauty and holiness of the act: the welcoming and the being welcomed, the joyful heralding of a shared space. With each encounter with another, I move not only between worlds, but between stories. For each of us, there is a story behind our arrival in this church, and more stories unfold with each passing week, each passing coffee hour. What is your story? What brings you into this space, and what happens for you while you are here? As we enter pledge campaign season, we will be thinking about how much money we pledge to donate to the church in 2019. As we think about money, I also want us to think about stories. What stories that accompany each gift you make to the church? Starting October 4, there will be a display in the Wilbur Warner Welcome Center entitled “Why I Give to NSBC.” I invite you to use one of the large Post-Its provided to share your story. If you are on social media, I also invite you to post your stories, photos, and reflections online using the hashtag #whyIgivetoNSBC. To share my story: I give to the church, in part, because of this absurd and beautiful moment when I was stopped up short transitioning between cultural spaces during coffee hour.
On Sunday, November 4, the entire church will gather to worship in all four languages at 10:30 am in the sanctuary. Pastor Michael Ware, the new pastor of the English language congregation, will be preaching. After worship, a light lunch will be provided.
Howel Hall
Domingo, 21 de octubre, 1:30 pm Una comunidad vive sus valores por medio de sus prácticas habituales. Así que ¿cuáles son las práctices de una iglesia que busca la liberación? En este panel bilingüe, escucharemos las reflexiones de la Dra. Nancy Bedford, teóloga mujerista de Argentina, el Rev. Rony Reyes, pastor de la congregación hispana de North Shore, y Maria Teresa Lopez, una activista con el movimiento de santuario desde hace mucho tiempo. Howel Hall
Sunday, October 28 1:30 pm A community lives out its values through its habitual practices. What are the habitual practices of a church that seeks liberation? At this bilingual English/Spanish panel discussion, we will hear from Dr. Nancy Bedford, a mujerista theologian from Argentina, Rev. Rony Reyes, Hispanic Congregation Pastor at NSBC, and Maria Teresa Lopez, a longtime activist with the sanctuary movement. By Nicholas Fong
School is back in session, and let the learning begin! But don’t fret. There are programs out there that can help you with anything you have trouble with. Like math, english, and history. There are places like a library where you can study in peace with friends or alone. And, there are places where you can let loose, and enjoy a small slice of freedom, just doing what you want to do. In my youth group, at North Shore Baptist Church, we sing songs, eat good food, and have fun with an activity that can lead late into the night. For instance, in December, we made graham cracker houses and used frosting to make a sweet cathedral, or a structure of some kind. Or, we make non heat lava lamps that we can take home and just watch; even when we are studying. We even go out to a farm sometimes and go through a corn maze at night. Some play jokes by scaring others, even if it is breaking the rules, but nonetheless we still have fun. So, even if school is hard or grueling, just know there are places out there that are willing to help students, and there are programs out there that can help ease the stress that is school. Youth group meets Friday nights from 6:30-8:30 pm. By Cecilia Poenyunt, First Lady Emerita of the Karen Fellowship
This year, we will celebrate 9 years of the Karen Fellowship with a thanksgiving worship service and meal on September 16th at 12:30 pm in Howell Hall. Pastor Roger Poenyunt arrived in Chicago on June 11, 2008. Before this, Po Clee and several other families had come to Chicago in 2007and started attending North Shore Baptist Church. The first week we [Roger and Cecilia] came to church, we met the Karen families who had come before us. Po Clee, who came to church first, introduced Pastor Roger to [English Language] Pastors Carol [McVetty] and Doug [Harris[, which is how we came to know each other. A few months later, Pastor Roger began work as Karen Fellowship Pastor, but then we only gathered and worshipped with the English service. On September 13th, 2009, we got room in Kraft Chapel and started the Karen Fellowship worship service. So every year in September, we celebrate our anniversary with thanksgiving in Howel Hall. From 2008-2010, more Karen families arrived. Later, some families moved to Minnesota; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; Waterloo, Iowa; Utica, New York; as well as Rock Island and Rockford, Illinois. We now have only fifteen families remaining in Chicago. By the grace of God, the Karen Fellowship members work and worship together every week at 11:30 am, after fellowship time. In December of 2017, Pastor Roger retired from work because of his declining health, resulting from cancer treatment. From December to June 2018, he returned to Myanmar. Now, by the grace of God, we have a new pastor, Rev. Eh Plo Soe, from Rockford. Rev. Eh Plo Soe’s installation service on July 29 featured guests from many places. Rev. Eh Plo Soe moved to Chicago on August 1, and some members of the Karen Fellowship helped him move into his apartment in Ravenswood. This September, we welcome Rev. Michael Ware as the new pastor of the English Language Congregation. Pastor Michael’s first day will be September 4, and his first Sunday in English worship will be September 9.
Pastor Michael ’s faith journey began at age seven when he was taken in by a Christian couple in Benton Harbor, Michigan, who introduced him to Christ’s mercy, grace, and love. The church has been a central focus of his life ever since. Throughout his college days, secular career, marriage, and raising a family, God’s call upon Pastor Ware’s life has been strong. As he taught Sunday School, served as moderator, sang in the choir, and listened to the struggles of a friend, he knew that God had a plan for him, and sharing Christ’s love was central to that plan. He organized and led local youth groups and became involved in coordinating and leading several state and national youth gatherings for the denomination. Through the years, Michael often contemplated a career in the ministry; finally, he felt God’s call to be irresistible, so he enrolled in seminary. Rev. Ware is wrapping up his pastorate at Webster Baptist Church in Webster, New York, where he has served since 2006 as the solo pastor of an integrated church. He will also be wrapping his service as Vice President of the Rochester/Genesee Region of the ABC. During his tenure at Webster Baptist Church, he also served as a volunteer chaplain and firefighter for the Webster Fire Department. Rev. Ware obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Albion College in Albion, Michigan and a Master of Divinity from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York. Michael enjoys traveling for mission, ministry, and pleasure. Outside of the United States, he has been to South Africa, Swaziland, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Jamaica. Rev. Ware likes to play disc golf, do puzzles, and ride his bike. He is a devoted sports fan, especially the Dallas Cowboys, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Chicago Cubs. Rev. Ware is thrilled to be coming to North Shore Baptist Church as the English Language Pastor. He is dedicated to bringing energy, growth and spiritual renewal to the church through preaching, teaching, mission, and evangelism. Pastor Ware is passionate about making the church and its neighborhood part of the “beloved community.” |
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