CJ's REFLECTIONS

I enjoy it when people ask questions. I don’t care if I’m teaching or if it’s two of us talking by ourselves. Questions tell me that I have connected with the person and that they want to know about something. Sometimes I don’t have all the answers to the questions I am asked and that’s okay too because, that gives me the opportunity to look something up and learn something new. Most often questions are a good thing and give both the asker of the question and the receiver of the question a chance to learn something new and learning something new is always a good thing.
Recently I was asked a question about the robe, I wear on Sunday mornings. The person asking the question is also a minister and is looking to get one as well. She likes the one I have and wanted to know where I ordered it from and why I chose that robe over the many others available. I told her that my robe was chosen because of the meaning behind it. The style is a little different then most robes but then I’m a little different too, so I guess we were meant for each other.
My robe was a gift from my home church in Lynchburg Va. where I was ordained. It is called a Shepherd’s robe. This robe is worn as a sign of being the shepherd of God’s sheep. My flock of course is the congregation I serve. The way this robe is designed makes it impossible to put on without crossing yourself and it came with a prayer that is said as you put it on. The prayer is simple and I recite it in my mind every time I put that robe on as I make the sign of the cross over my heart. It goes like this: Dear God in Heaven be with me as I shepherd your sheep. Help me to love them as you love them. Help me to feed their souls with your words. Now and always, Amen.
I chose to wear this robe because it is a reminder to me that I am just the care taker of the flock I shepherd, but the flock belongs to God. It’s not my church that I serve but His and His people.
The stoles I wear have meaning behind them as well. They are all hand made and I know the people who made them. This fact makes them very special to me. They are in the Liturgical colors and I wear them depending on the season of the year we are in.
On Ash Wednesday the season of Lent began. The Liturgical color is violet. Violet represents repentance and Royalty. (Christ is King.) Lent is a season when we are called to reflect and repent of our sins as we prepare for Christ to rise from the dead on Easter Morning. (The season of Lent lasts for forty days.) This, of course begins the season of Easter (it also lasts for forty days) and the colors well change to white the color for holiness. My robe also changes. This one is white and represents the fact that I am the servant of God as we all are. (This robe was made for me by my mother. It is worn also for baptisms and weddings, because they are both Holy Sacraments.)
On Pentecost the colors change to Red representing the flames that danced on the heads of the Apostles. Pentecost is the shortest of seasons and lasts for only one day. The red Stole is worn only on Pentecost or as a sign of prophesizing. (Meaning here speaking forth God’s word not telling future events.) I wear my red stole only on Pentecost and the one I wear was a gift from the first church I served as pastor. It was presented to me by the chair of the board of that church when I was ordained and she drove from Kentucky to Virginia to do so.
The longest season is called the ordinary times and the color for that season is green, which stands for growth. I have two Stoles that can be worn during this time. One is green with white butterflies (the butterfly is a sign of the resurrection). The other depicts the story of Noah’s ark.
Advent is the next Liturgical season but really it’s the first because it is the beginning of the Liturgical year. The color is blue, it stands for a waiting the coming King. My blue stole has candles on it in keeping with the Advent candles we light each Sunday of Advent. Lastly there is the season of Epiphany and the Liturgical color is green. Epiphany lasts for eight weeks.
Only the ordained clergy normally wear robes, because they have been set aside to serve the Lord in this special way. There are a good number of responsibilities that go with putting on that robe. Preaching and teaching are the least of these responsibilities. More and more Lay Ministers are beginning to wear robes and for the same reasons they to have been set aside by the church for the task of shepherding Gods flocks. The robes are not robes of honor, rather a sign of servanthood. When I put a robe on and pray that prayer I am putting myself a side to do God’s work in a special way which He has called me to do and which the church has called me to do here. The stole is like the yoke used to guide oxen. The oxen are bound to the will of the farmer when they wear the yoke. When I put on a robe and or a stole I am asking God to have his way in me and through me. After all I am just one of His servants.
Hope to see you Sunday
Pastor C.J.


It is not often that I bring you news from the Cluster but this time I am making up for lost time. There are three up coming events for the cluster and Chariton Christian Church is taking a lead roll in all of them. The First is a cluster meeting to be hosted by Chariton Christian Church’s Seeker Class on March 28th at 7:00 pm. The entire Cluster is invited here to meet with Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning Regional Lead Minster during Transition. Bill will be leading a presentation of the new purposed changes for how the Regional Church operates. It is important that we know about these changes and how they will affect us. There is a called Assembly to be held in Des Moines on April 9 to vote on them. We can send the pastor and two lay people to this meeting as voting delegates. Please mark your calendars and do your best to attend this meeting. IT IS IMPORTANT!!
The second event in the cluster will be on April 1 and will be held at the Christian Church in Osceola. It is for children wishing to know more about what baptism is. Four churches are joining together and developing a retreat like PASTOR’S CLASSES for 5th graders through High School. The four Ministers will be teaching classes on baptism, what it means to be a church member, Church History, Communion, & prayer. It will be an over night retreat. (Lock in style) It will begin on Friday night and run though Saturday afternoon the participants will be home early afternoon on April 2. Pastor CJ is organizing the event with the other ministers now and anyone who is interested in attending should contact her for more information.
Third we will be Making Health Kits for Church World Services and having a blessing service for them. These Health Kits will go to Church World Services to replenish there supplies of kits which have been sent to Japan. There well be a service of dedication location and time to be announced. These are the same health kits that we put together when Haiti was hit by the Earthquake.


Attention all Campers! The camp information for this summer is in and its time to start making plans. If you are wanting to go to camp this summer, please see Pastor C.J. or Ella for the forms that you need to fill out. The sooner you get your reservation in the better. There are camps for all ages and from grandparents to third graders. You can go Canoeing or Horse back riding. There will be crafts and swimming, a goofy golf course, bon fires, a fishing pond and singing around the camp fire. It all means fun, fun and more fun. Which camp do you want to take part in?

Special Called Regional
Assembly to be held April 9th
The "Called Assembly" will gather to ask questions about, and ultimately vote on, new ways to do ministry as Disciples Together. Some of those ways are outlined in the Vision Task Group's "Proposed Regional Redesign". The assembly will be held at Highland Park Christian Church in Des Monies. You can learn all about this Event by attending the Listening Station hosted by our Church on March 28th.


General Assembly
July 9-13 Nashville TN
Those wanting to attend general Assembly need to register now to save $50.00 per registration. This is where the general business of the greater church takes place and we are allowed to send two voting delegates to assembly pus our pastor. If you want to attend please talk to CJ or Ella and get registered before April 1st.
General Assembly is much more then long business meetings though they are an important part of Assembly. There are all kinds of learning opportunities and wonderfully enriching Worship Services which well touch your heart and your soul. You will hear from the leaders of the Church how Disciples of Christ are making a difference in the world and how we truly are being “a movement of wholeness in a fragmented world.”
This is a wonderful opportunity to attend a close by General Assembly. The next General Assembly will be in 2013 in Orlando FL.