hope-united-church-of-christ

From Where I Sit...

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 18:23:41 GMT

“To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are too weary

To reach the unreachable star.”

- Music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion

I’ll bet you were singing along as you read that, weren’t you? For those of you who don’t know those words, they are from the show stopping number from “Man of LaMancha,” the musical theatre telling of the story of Don Quixote, the slightly mad knight who tilted at windmills. It was his dream to bring righteousness into the world, to be brave for all those who could not, to care for those who lived on the fringes of life, forgotten.

Kinda like what Jesus did. Kinda like we’re supposed to do.

Such a weekend we had last week! The last report I heard was something over seven million people (although I have also heard eight!) who proclaimed loudly through voice, presence, and signs that we are a culture, a country who cares for those on the fringes, forgotten. We care for our children, our elderly, our sick, our poor, our lonely. We showed up and stood up for, well, everyone - without regard for color, language, or situation. I hope it made you as proud as it made me.

I hope it reminded you of some other words from over sixty years ago.

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

“So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.” - The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

There is more to the song, more to the speech. It is our sacred duty to add even more. It’s not a matter of patriotism, it’s a matter of faith.

We all have a dream. Impossible? Not at all.

With prayers for peace and HOPE,

Rev. Wally

From Where I Sit...

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:19:26 GMT

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains. And, if you’re Kevin Costner in “Bull Durham”, sometimes you make it rain at night by turning on the sprinkler system.

If you know me you know that I am a baseball fan. Not just my Cubs - but any baseball. Little League, Pony League, and all the other leagues. Some of my favorite games are minor league games. A bat, a ball, something to use as bases (a jacket, a frisbee, a paper plate, an X scratched in the dirt) - and you’ve got yourself a game. Hall of Famer Billy Williams tells stories about playing “Bottlecaps”. Get a broom handle and a beer bottle cap and same thing - a baseball game!

My Cubs (a fandom I share with Mr. Will) did not get any farther than the second round of the playoffs. They made it past the Padres who had their number in 1984. Following that they lost two quick games to the Brewers. Then, on Tuesday, they came home. The Friendly Confines. And, in front of roaring crowds, they won twice. Returning to Milwaukee for the deciding game, the Brewers proved to be the better team that day. As I said at the time, “Still a good season.”

Here are some important things for all of us baseball fans to remember.

1. There are thirty Major League Baseball teams. The season will end in disappointment for twenty-nine of them. 2. Baseball is an elegant game, open to replaying games in our imaginations all winter long. And 3. It’s only four months until spring training.

Let me go back to the beginning. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains.

That’s not just on the baseball field.

That’s the way life is. There will always be wins and losses. Life is elegant and we are blessed by our memories. And we will always have a chance to be forgiven for our errors and have another opportunity tomorrow.

God’s bless all the teams left to play. Thank God for all the teams that played at whatever level and got us to this time in the season. And may God keep all of us - players, fans, casual observers - safe.

With prayers for peace and HOPE,

Rev. Wally

From Where I Sit...

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 14:28:19 GMT

“If you don’t have oxygen yourself, you can’t give it to anyone else.”

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From Where I Sit...

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:14:27 GMT

“You can only do what you can do.”

One of my favorite television series is the Jesse Stone series. It stars Tom Selleck in what I think is his best role. Chief Stone is a police officer on the east coast and beset by personal problems, town council relationships, and a variety of dark and brooding mysteries to solve. One of the Deputies is an eccentric young man named Luther Simpson, almost immediately given the nickname of Suitcase (which is a whole other story). On a variety of occasions Suitcase tells Jesse, “You can only do what you can do.” He tells Jesse that so often that Jesse starts to say it himself.

I increasingly have to remind myself of that.

There are so many things to fix. The list is long - people are still hungry, children are still sick, teachers and students still struggle with poorly supplied schools, shootings still happen at an alarming rate in churches and schools, people are still judged by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character. A church member recently said to me, “When I was in my teens and twenties I marched and rallied and protested for peace and justice and civil rights. I can’t believe I have to do this [stuff] again.”

Overwhelming, isn’t it? Still, you can only do what you can do.

Or, in other words, no-one expects any one person to fix everything. No-one can do it all.

But everyone had to do something. Perhaps it’s writing cards to legislators (like we did last week). Perhaps it’s planting flowers for the pollinators (like my grandparents did). Perhaps it’s picking up trash and aluminum cans in a parking lot (which our grown children still do after they were taught by their mother).

But even small efforts can wear a body down. It is difficult to live in the jet stream of God’s will. Elijah whined about it in 1 Kings 19. “Nobody listens to me! Nobody cares! I might as well eat worms and die” (My own translation.) And God said to Elijah, “Settle down. Have a snack, take a nap.” So Elijah rested and ate - and then got back to work.

Remember these. First, you can only do what you can do. Second, when you are weary, rest and eat. Third, then get back to work.

With prayers for peace and HOPE, and rain,

Rev. Wally

From Where I Sit...

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 17:08:58 GMT

It's been quite a week.

Not just for me but for anyone who happens to be paying attention. Such conflicting emotions, such a test of ethical constructs, such a challenge to anything I preach that I believe. Ugh.

As I normally do, I turned to some writers to find some guidance and direction.

There is a stable of authors and thinkers I keep at hand when I need help or consolation. John Wesley, as a young man, used the words of Thomas Aquinas and declared himself to be an “homo unis libri” - a man of one book. Later on in his life he changed his mind and quietly found help and inspiration from a number of thinkers. Like I do.

This time, though, I turned to the Bible. Using the lectionary (a schedule of Bible readings), I looked for comfort. I was directed first to a couple of psalms - both of which talked about God or about God directing someone else to beat the bejeebers out of someone. No help. Then I was sent to Jeremiah and Amos, two of God’s prophets that were always looking for someone they could smack, all in the name of the Holy. Nope, no help there, either.

This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Finally I was sent to 1 Timothy 1:18-20 (NRSVUE)

Or, in other words, “Hang in there. You know what to do - keep doing it. There are some who have lost sight of their faith and have crashed and burned. Let God take care of them.”

Yeah, it has been a tough few days, weeks, months, years - or more. Anyone with any understanding has to cry with the psalmist, “How long, oh Lord?” But that’s not a question that will ever be answered. We are, blessedly, not called to be successful in our work and ministry but simply to be faithful. That doesn’t mean we don’t work like the dickens for peace and justice and God’s love. It does mean that there are some forces outside of our control. We must do the best we can - and then sleep at night as best we can.

You know what to do - keep doing it. Love God. Love one another. 

With prayers for peace and HOPE,

Rev. Wally

From Where I Sit...

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:04:39 GMT

We’re getting to that season.

A friend sent me a cartoon. It’s a guy in robes (probably Jesus) saying to a woman on her knees and tugging at Jesus’ robe (I’m guessing she was the woman who needed to be healed or maybe Mary or Martha). The contemporary caption to the picture is, “I already told you. I’m not turning your water into pumpkin spice latte!”

I have nothing against pumpkins or the sporadic, seasonal obsession with pumpkin spice anything. Or against latte, for that matter. It’s just not one of my top ten flavors. (Now, put some apple in my doughnut instead of pumpkin spice and I’m calling that a winner!) It’s my bias, I’ll admit that - and I’m okay with that. I’d rather watch baseball than any other sport and, blood thinners notwithstanding, I’d rather the temperature be 25 rather than 95. Quick, tell me your favorite rock and roll band - and that will lead to some spirited discussions!

Sly and the Family Stone once sang, “Different strokes for different folks and so on and so on and shoo bee doo bee dooby” (I put that last bit in just to give you something to sing all day.) What a great idea! You do you and I’ll do me and we’ll get along just fine! Up to a point, though. My mom used to tell me, “Your rights end at the beginning of my nose.” I don’t think I need to explain that.

Starting with the Garden and moving to Moses and his 613 commandments and then the alterations that Paul put into his own understanding and then the directives that have been passed down through more than two millennia, we have rules. Yet Jesus said that all of those rules can be summed up by two: love God and love each other. (Matthew 7:12) (Interestingly, Paul said the same thing.) All the rest is explanation.

Let’s get theological for a moment.

So, go ahead and have your spiced latte. Shucks, use it for breakfast in July if you want. Have it on ice in the middle of the winter. Or even use it for communion (gasp!) It’s okay. You will have to make it for yourself, because the cartoon says Jesus won’t. (Maybe.) And that’s okay, too.

As long as you love God and each other.

With prayers for peace and HOPE,

Rev. Wally