April 29, 2007
The Virginia Tech tragedy has brought us face to face with the troubled soul who pulled the trigger. Buried within all the sadness and tragedy of this event is this basic human moment – face to face with another person. Through the media we are positioned to listen into his life, surmising this and that until issues, themes and feelings take us beyond the face to face moment.
The face to face moment is the Jesus moment. It is the listening deeply into the heart of the other. This Jesus moment is one that does not understand as much as acknowledge, does not fix as much as hold another’s incompleteness in love.
Some of us feel that the most important moment in worship is the moment after the organ postlude when we turn to face another person. This Jesus moment becomes richer the less we speak and the more we listen, the less we stereotype and the more we look deeper into a story we don’t know, into gifts we don’t yet see, into darkness that is not ours to address.
Pictures have shown us that the Virginia Tech campus, sequestered in the western part of that state, is populated by persons from across the world: Asian, African, European, Latino…. We live in a time when the world is us and we are the world, even in western Virginia. Gone are the days when we could safely hole up with our own kind and not look and not listen and not know. Our smaller world now begs the bigger heart of the Jesus moment, face to face listening into each difficult and diverse life before us. And it begins with those with whom we share a home…or a neighborhood….or a church….female and male so different, generations so different, personalities so different. Face to face. Listening with our eyes and our minds and our hearts. And yes, not understanding as much as acknowledging, not fixing as much as holding in love.

April 22, 2007
Writing this Reflection is more difficult some weeks than others. Sometimes the blooming tulips and other gifts of Spring seem proof enough of God’s presence and love. And then there are times like this week when our rose-colored glasses are shattered, and our hearts with them. The horrible violence at Virginia Tech, on the eve of Columbine’s anniversary, can shake our faith to the core. In such times, the tulips do more to confuse than to heal. How can a world of such beauty and joy also contain such violence and cruelty? The breadth of experiences we are asked to embrace every day can test our ability to make sense of our world. Sometimes all we can do is offer prayers. All we can do is hold one another and cry. All we can do is name the consoling presence of God we have known before. Reflection will come. And perhaps in time, understanding. But not this week.

April 1, 2007
      Some say that our nation is a nation of immigrants.  Yet for over 230 years, each wave of immigrants has upset the status quo.  And today’s wave of immigrants, both legal and illegal, is just as upsetting, if not more so.  While the politics of immigration are fought out across government and politics, as well as across an American economy that greatly needs certain workers, here we are as people of God in the name of Jesus Christ with our faith confronted by immigrants in our time.
      Most of us don’t get involved in the matter of immigration today, in part because it is a political matter. Some of us are concerned for the Biblical teachings of welcoming the stranger, caring for the least among us, being as just and fair as the spirit and love of God.  Yes, this is one tough issue. How does our faith in God meet the world?  How does our world meet our faith in God?
      A month ago, a New York Times editorial put it this way: “Hopelessly fixated on toughness, the immigration debate has lost its balance, overlooking the humanity of the immigrant.  There is a starkly diminished understanding that hospitality for the stranger is part of the American ethos, and that as much as we claim to be a nation of immigrants, we have thwarted them at every turn.  We must do better.”                       So here we are, called to the Gospel of justice and kindness, yet afraid of the social and political tensions that may result.  What would Jesus do?  And if he did it, would he be crucified for doing it?  This tension is an old yet resilient theme, particularly as we approach Holy Week.

March 18, 2007
       Bill is a regular chaplain for the Colorado Senate.  Cindy is the Wednesday Chaplain for the House of Representatives.  Greg has filled in offering the morning prayer for the House.  Why would the three of us be found praying at the beginning of the work day of our State Legislature?  Doesn’t such an act constitutes a flagrant disregard of  the separation of church and state?  We don’t think so.
       In the first place, the legislators need prayer; no tongue-in-cheek intended.  The job they undertake is often difficult and exhausting.  For each decision they must balance their personal values, the needs of the people of Colorado and party loyalty.  They must be creative, attentive, bright, wise and courageous as they draft, deliberate, and debate legislation that will affect thousands of lives.  In offering a prayer for them at the start of each day, we ask God to give them strength, vision, clarity and compassion as they engage in their work.
       Sometimes the legislators are too full of themselves.  Just like any of us, we begin to believe that ours is the right or the only way.  We resist changing our minds and become angry with those who do not agree with us.  Often the prayer reminds each legislator that we are all made from the same clay, that each one of them brings a needed perspective, that decisions may be good but are rarely flawless and that the goal of the common good is higher than the goal of any individual.
       If you’ve ever seen the Senate or the House in action, you’ll know that it is an incredibly busy place.  There is constant talking, movement and rushing about.  The prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance provides a few precious moments of quiet and silence as the legislators begin their day.  It affords them a pause for centering and reflection before they jump into action. 
       Finally, the prayer confronts them with a reality beyond themselves, reminding each one of the deep mysteries and profound realities that lie beyond our limited human understanding.
      We offer the prayer in God’s many names, and hope that in some small way, we bring encouragement to the work they undertake on behalf of all Colorado.  The prayer is not about forcing everyone into the same system of belief, or confusing church and state.  It is an offering to support the work of our public servants.  Hopefully God’s people and the legislators say, Amen.

February 18, 2007
Evolution Sunday Reflection
      The phrase “God vs Science” communicates a widespread fear that spirituality is dying at the hands of secular science.  At the center of this fear is the scientifically accepted theory of evolution.  To a scientist, evolution describes the natural processes governing the distribution and diversity of life on Earth, but says nothing of the existence of God.  In fact, the most prestigious scientific bodies in the world have stated clearly that there is no conflict between evolution and Faith.
      Our Presbyterian and Reformed tradition, like modern science, is borne of the Enlightenment.  Inquiry and curiosity are honored.  “If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth itself, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God.”  (John Calvin, 1536) Or in our time “God’s Spirit leads us into Truth. ...into increasing knowledge of all existence.” (a contemporary confessional statement of the Reformed Church in America). Thus for us, “God vs. Science” is an oxymoron.  While the teaching of evolution fits our faith perspective, for others evolution is a threat to belief in God.  Need it be so?
      If the Bible is the word of God, then the universe is God’s art, and studying that art opens windows to God. Evolution bears witness to the grandeur, completeness, and order of creation, but also invites us into our physical truth and our spiritual trust. We are tied to all life on Earth by 3 billion years of evolutionary history in which we have played only a recent role and this makes us feel smaller.  But, evolution does not diminish God. God becomes bigger, more mysterious, and frighteningly unmanageable in our experience of creation.
      Meeting God in creation, we then find in science a gift of God’s Spirit. Science can help us feed the hungry, heal the sick, and protect our world.  Ethically applied, the hands of science can be the hands of God, and so we cannot allow fear to tie those hands: there is too much to do.
- Dr. Jeffery Kieft and Rev. Bob LaFollette

July 16, 2006
Service is a necessary word in our spiritual vocabulary. The Worship is over; the service begins. Jesus had a great idea when he began all that foot washing. It was about the dusty roads of ancient Palestine and the way feet get tired and need relief after hours of walking. Foot washing was a sign of humility, respect, even love - a way to provide comfort for a guest. It was his way of saying minister by action and not by just talking. Our senior high group (MOB) just returned from a week of service in New York City working with Youth Services Opportunities Program (YSOP). They fanned out in the city's four boroughs in groups of 7 to Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan. The days were spent at POTS (Part Of The Solution), Hour Children, Love Gospel Assembly, Fraternite Notre Dame, All Souls, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, Neighbors Together, Food change, CHIPS, Help One, Trinity Lutheran, Broadway Presbyterian, St. John's Bread and Life, and St. Ann's. We listened to Raymie Farmer's story about growing up on the NY streets and descending into his self made hell - making bad choices but also caught in a system that proved hard to escape. We walked and walked the streets of the city. We listened, talked, played, and served many people that live different lives from our own. We celebrated the 4th of July with fireworks and questions about what makes people free. We reflected and talked about the face of hunger and homeless in NY and in our country. MOB decided it is the world God loves - the whole world…not the white people of God, not the rich people of God, not the straight people of God - but all the people of God.
I had the privilege of watching these young people minister to the world and to each other through their actions and words, music, ability to love and imagine, to stand up and be counted where some other human being is discriminated against. I see them serve on church committees and other organizations. They sing, teach, collect food and clothing, go off to impoverished parts of our country to encourage people and rebuild. I have seen their lives begin to glow in the darkness.
Jesus calls us to awareness and into action. Acts of justice are not easy; working for peace and all that means does not come without sacrifice - a giving of you. Our Montview youth have a passion of the spirit…they look for significance and success. They ask the questions - does their life action reflect their faith? What will they do to transform the world? What will they say? How will they pray? Rarely will we find one "just" position and one "unjust" position. We need to keep searching our hearts to discern what actions to take. And as we act and speak and pray, we would be wise to remember that the prophet Micah knew that doing justice went hand in hand with kindness and humility. As we respond to the call, and as our prayers are turned into action, may our choices always reflect this ancient truth.
Peace, Sheri Fry