Well, it is the season, the season for Christmas music! Love them or hate them, these familiar tunes fill the air during this joyous time. One does not have to look hard to find them either; it seems that many of our local radio stations started playing these songs even before Thanksgiving! You hear of white Christmas’ and stars dancing across the sky, but my favorite nonchurch hymn is “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.” You know the tune, “Jolly old Saint Nicholas, lean your ear this way, don’t you tell a single soul what I’m going to say…” This song reminds us of the fun of Christmas – Santa Claus, gifts, and family. As pastors (at least in my tradition), we try to keep the two separate: Christmas in its true sense and the coming of Jesus the Christ child, and that of Santa Claus and his reindeer’s in the secular/ commercial sense. But believe it or not, there is a lot that we can learn from jolly old Saint Nick.
Now St. Nicholas was not always St. Nicholas. Born Nicholas of Bari in the early third century, he grew up in what is now modern-day Turkey. Raised in a Christian home, he was a person of devout faith in Christ. Nicholas lived out his faith in all that he did and held strong to it after losing his parents as a young man. Legend has it that rather than taking his inheritance and spending it on himself, he devoted his life to the poor and less fortunate in his community. Leaving small bags of coins on the doorsteps of those in need, Nicholas worked to ensure people, especially children had the necessities of life. One story tells of Nicholas caring for a family who was being forced to give their children into servanthood, but rather than seeing this family torn apart, Nicholas paid the debts that were owed. Again, leaving three small sacks of money over the course of three nights, one for each of the children, Nicholas ensured this family would remain together.
Nicholas went on to become Bishop of the Christian churches of Myra in Asia Minor and continued to do many great things for the good of God’s people. His reputation and example of selflessness for children and the poor lived on long after his death. So much so that he was canonized in the early fifteenth century, and his feast day is celebrated by many of the mainline denominations today. On this day, we are invited to place our stockings or shoes by the door in hopes of finding a few gold coins left there the next morning (chocolate ones, of course).
During this holiday season, St. Nicholas offers us the perfect example of how to enter this festive time. No matter our faith tradition – rather than simply marking the days off the calendar, waiting for Christmas to finally come. Jolly old Saint Nick reminds us to actively wait by caring for all God’s people in need.
This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.
Chanukah, or Hanukah or any of 14 other ways to spell it (because they are all transliterations from the Hebrew), is a Jewish winter holiday. This is intentionally very vague, because there is so much more to explain.
First, what Chanukah is not. It is not the Jewish Christmas. Although it became widely celebrated in the late 1800’s due to its proximity to Christmas, this holiday is really a minor holiday, coming from the Book of Maccabees which didn’t make it to the Jewish Bible (Tanakh). The Book of Maccabees is one of the 14 books in the Apocrypha, from the Greek word meaning “hidden”. Scholars are still arguing about why it was left out, two possible reasons were that it was too new (written near the end of the 2nd century BCE), another that it wasn’t politically correct; fearing the alienation of the Romans with a story of the Jews who fought and beat another ruling power. And, that is what the holiday is all about. The Maccabees fought the Seleucids for freedom of religion, and won.
To celebrate the victory, the Jews went to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem which had been taken over by the Seleucids and defiled. The anniversary of this rededication is how the date for the Chanukah celebration was determined. Chanukah is always on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which is on a different calendar system than the one we use. This means that the actual date for the beginning of Chanukah on the Gregorian calendar changes every year and can be as early as November 28th, as it is this year, or be as late as December 25th, which will happen in 2024.
Another name for Chanukah is the Festival of Lights. The story is that when the temple was finally cleansed, they found only enough oil to last one night, but by a miracle, it lasted for eight, and that is the reason for eight days of Chanukah.
Like all holidays and festivals, traditions abound and they can be different in different parts of the world. Fairly universal are the following: lighting the Menorah (officially called a Hanukiah), starting with one candle the first night, lighting two the second night, etc.; eating foods that have been fried in oil such as potato latkes here, jelly donuts in Israel; giving gifts, traditionally gelt, the German and Yiddish word for money; and playing a game with a four-sided spinning top called a dreidel.
The lighting of the menorah in public goes back to the beginning of the holiday itself. The sages instructed that the menorah be lit at the entrance to one’s home to publicize the miracle.
Chanukah was first celebrated in the White House by President Truman in 1951 when Israel’s Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion presented him with a Hanukiah. It has been celebrated by every president since then. In modern times, lighting of the public menorahs started in 1974 in Philadelphia at the foot of the Liberty Bell. The largest Hanukiah in the world is in Grand Army Plaza in New York City. It is 32 feet tall and weighs 4000 pounds.
This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.
Thanksgiving Day is almost upon us!
The best things in life are unexpected gifts dropped on us through grace alone. In the Lutheran faith tradition, we believe that we are to treasure the time we spend with God more than the requests we want him to fulfill. We are to be grateful for every day that we have been blessed with life.
We give thanks that we are part of a larger community that hears the cries of people and responds in love. With deep gratitude we thank God for all who give of their time and resources to help people in need.
For the gift of friends and family we give thanks.
For the beauty of creation that shows itself in this season we give thanks.
For the gift of a new day we give thanks.
It has been found that people who live their life with gratitude are generally happier and healthier.
Being grateful for our blessings help us to be happy and spiritually strong. In our prayers of thanksgiving, we see how God is present even when we struggle. And as we pause to give thanks, we understand that we experience God everyday through the love and care of others.
As we enter fall and winter months, have you been thinking about starting or joining a book club? Here are reflections from a book club at my church on books they read on an important topic and how they went about organizing their book club.
Over the past year, a group of Redeemer Lutheran members met to read and discuss books focusing on social justice. One member volunteered to set up the zoom meetings and then summarized the discussion in an email back to the group before the next meeting. The emails deepened their experience and helped them retain important parts of the books. They met weekly and discussed assigned chapters of the books and found this pattern allowed them to discuss the contents more thoroughly.
They are sharing their experiences with the congregation, first by providing a list of the books they read. They are also building a lending library they hope to offer soon.
Here is a list of the books they explored together, with a brief description:
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson: May have been the most influential book our group read in that it challenged us to think about how our entire social structure is an unrecognized caste system.
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem: Written by a licensed clinical social worker who explores the complex effects of racism and white privilege on all races. Provided many exercises to work through our own reactions to racial trauma.
Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King: The winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction: A historical account of how Thurgood Marshall (before he became a Supreme Court Justice) and the NAACP brought civil rights cases to courts throughout the country. It highlighted the huge legal challenges that took place to correct injustices, how fragile some of those victories were, and how it could have all gone wrong.
His Truth is Marching On by Jon Meacham: A biography of John Lewis. We were moved by his unwavering bravery and commitment to civil rights, as well as his deep Christian faith.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates: A moving account of how a young man felt about growing up Black in America, written in the form of a letter to his young son.
Dear Church, a love letter from a Black Preacher to the whitest Denomination in America (ELCA) by Lenny Duncan: A very challenging book which made us consider our own implicit racism and what our responsibility might be to address it in our church and in our neighborhoods.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: Our only novel. It introduced the subject of colorism and what sacrifices people make to integrate into the dominant society and what it costs to leave your family behind.
I am grateful to the members of my church for sharing their experience. I’ll be picking up a couple of these titles soon.
Today, we Sikhs celebrate two holy occasions. One is Diwali, the festival of light. Diwali translates as “row of lights.” In the darkest time of year, people celebrate life and love and the beginning of the Hindu New Year, with many forms of light: candles, fireworks, oil lamps, and electric lights. It’s a time of rejoicing in the midst of darkness. People gather together in joy and share many types of sweets. The Hindus honor Lakshmi, the goddess of blessings and prosperity.
At this time, we Sikhs also celebrate “Bandi Chor Diwas,” the day the Guru freed many people from prison.
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in India, there were ten successive Sikh Gurus, each of which was a pure channel of God’s love and wisdom. They all taught people how to live righteous lives of devotion, service and joy – to live in God-consciousness. Today, I’d like to share with you a story about Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Sikh Guru.
Guru Hargobind Ji was willingly imprisoned for a year, joining 52 princes who had been previously imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes to the emperor. Devoted Sikhs came there daily, and sang holy songs as they walked around the fortress where the Guru was imprisoned. After negotiations, in 1619, the emperor agreed to let the Guru go free. But the Guru refused to leave unless he could take the other prisoners with him. The emperor didn’t want to release the other prisoners, so he set what he thought was an insurmountable condition. The Guru could take out as many prisoners as could hold on to the hem of his robe. So, the Guru had a cloak made with fifty-two trailing panels. Each of the other prisoners held on to the end of one of the panels, and they all were released. The poor old emperor had to accept it. The Guru exemplified putting others before ourselves, and we can live by his example.
There were big celebrations on the Guru’s release, which happened at the same time as Diwali. Those light – filled celebrations continue annually today. Guru Hargobind Ji became known as Bandi Chor – the releaser of prisoners. The special holiday is called Bandi Chor Diwas – the day of Bandi Chor. We Sikhs celebrate Guru Hargobind Ji’s love for all, and the inspiring example he gave us all of making sure everyone is cared for, not just ourselves. He put others’ well-being before his own. May we all live in harmony with his divine example!
So, it’s a fantastic gift from God that we are able to combine two holy events into one uplifting celebration. We join others of Hindu faith, and those who celebrate the ancient tradition of Diwali, and also honor and celebrate the glory of Guru Hargobind Ji, the liberator. A very happy and reaffirming time, indeed! May you all experience the light, love, and joy of this auspicious time of year. You are always welcome to join us at Raj Khalsa Gurdwara, in Sterling, VA. God bless you all with love, light, and prosperity!
This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.
In the Tysons region, there are excellent non-profit groups serving the needs of the population. Many of our faith communities partner with these non-profits in their work. A list of some of these great groups can be found at the bottom of the Tysons Interfaith website Resources page.
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn particularly to people in our community who are experiencing food insecurity. FACETS, one of the non-profits listed on our Resources page, is sponsoring a Thanksgiving Food Drive with the goal of ensuring that 450 of our neighbors have food on their tables this Thanksgiving. They are collecting food and gift cards through Tuesday, November 16. To learn more, please visit: http://facetscares.org/thanksgiving1/.
Other local organizations who distribute food for families and individuals who are experiencing hunger are SHARE of McLean and Food for Others.
As we continue to emerge from the Covid Pandemic and disruptions to supply chains, it is critically important that we deliver food to our neighbors. What better time to do this than November, the month when we pause to give thanks for our many blessings? On my list of things to be grateful for are the Tysons area non-profits doing such dedicated and important work, and deserving our support.
Reading an account of a dialog between a pagan clergyman and a pastor from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (‘We’re all interconnected’: Pagan, Christian clergy urge interfaith understanding (religionnews.com)) reminded me of some reflections on “Pentecostal Theology,” particularly as it applies to churches like the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, one of the largest in the world.
In his article, “The Contribution of David Yonggi Cho to a Contextual Theology in Korea” (Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 12.1, 2003), Allan Anderson rejects both liberal and conservative critiques of the church’s founding pastor, who recently passed away (Korean pastor David Yonggi Cho, founder of one of the world’s largest churches, has died (religionnews.com). These critics use either the American “prosperity gospel” or what some call “indigenization” to explain the growth of Cho’s church and Pentecostalism more generally outside of Europe and North America and assume that the Christian message is the same in all cultural contexts.
Even as Pastor Cho criticized the Buddhism of his youth – he had particularly harsh words for Zen – he also talked about a “fourth dimension” akin to the miraculous “healing” powers of Korean shamanism, Buddhism, yoga, and Japanese religions like Soka Gakkai. Cho also talked about an “evil spirit world” that he placed “under the power and authority of almighty God,” a view that enraged many non-Korea evangelicals. While Cho clearly distinguished Christian revelation from the traditional Asian religious view, his “experience of this Asian religious spirituality and its element of the miraculous” can be seen as the basis of a theology in which visions and dreams act as language, drawing the nascent believer in to what he called a process of “incubation” or “pregnancy” as a foundation to faith.
To develop his view of prosperity and the gospel, Anderson avers that Cho did not borrow from the North American “health and wealth” preachers. Rather, he relied on his personal experience of South Korean poverty and inequality, still depicted in movies like the Academy Award-wining “Parasite” and the new Netflix hit series, “Squid Game.” Cho preaches that prosperity “as an end in itself is evil, for God blesses his people only so that they may meet the needs of the poor and the needy.” And Cho criticizes western churches for becoming too secularized, particularly in their obsession with entertainment.
This is all pretty much foreign to many Americans, even people like me who have had extensive experience in Korea and China. But the great Christian philosopher, St. Anselm of Canterbury (aka “The Second Augustine”) noted that while unbelievers strive to understand because they do not believe and believers strive to understand because they do believe, both have the same object. For Anselm, faith plays the part of experience and precedes all reflection and discussion concerning “religious things.”
The conversation between the pagan and the pastor is scheduled to be repeated at the upcoming Parliament of the World’s Religions (October 16-18), which will be held virtually for the first time since it initially convened at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago 2021 VIRTUAL | Parliament of the World’s Religions (parliamentofreligions.org) In the worlds of the pagan preacher, it’s a matter of being “interconnected” and “inseparable.” For “regardless of a difference of one God or many gods, we are still — at least to us theists — children of the divine, be it a single parent or a divine family that kind of watches over you.”
This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members.
On a recent October Sunday, the Reverend Fran Gardner-Smith and people of St. Thomas Episcopal celebrated the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi with an outdoor service attended by about 50 people and 11 dogs! Following this service, Rev Gardner-Smith shared the following communication with her congregation:
“Francis is known for his love of all creatures and for creation. At our outdoor service, we heard this reading from one of Francis’ sermons entitled “Peace, birds, peace!”:
‘My brother and sister birds, you should greatly praise your Creator and love him always. He gave you feathers to wear, and wings to fly, and whatever you need. God made you noble among his creatures and gave you a home in the purity of the air, so that, though you do not sow nor reap, he nevertheless protects and governs you without your least care.’
At the service, our choir sang one of my favorite choral pieces, “For the Beauty of the Earth” arranged by the English composer John Rutter. You can hear youth from the Milwaukee Vocal Arts Academy singing it here.
I hope you can find a small way to honor St. Francis today. Take a walk outside. Admire some leaves that are beginning to turn color as we move into October. Snuggle with an animal who shares your home. Whatever your day holds, may you find beauty. “
On that same October Sunday, across town at Redeemer Lutheran, Pastor Sandy Kessinger delivered a sermon also reflecting on this beautiful time of the year and on Psalm 8 that is excerpted here:
“O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?”
On this important topic Pastor Kessinger had this to say (summarized from her sermon, full text can be found here.):
“Who are we that God is so mindful of us? A better question is – Do we value ourselves as much as God values us? How quick we are to look at our faults and not see our gifts.
We need to look up at the heavens and the sky, the moon and the stars, the mountains, and the oceans, and place ourselves among the manifestation of God’s glory. God orders all things and gives us infinite value and worth in spite of ourselves.
Who are we? We are children of God, a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honor. And in his infinite wisdom God also gave us partners so that we do not need to go it alone. May we live into what God intended for us when God created us in his image.”
As the trees begin to turn, I will reflect on Rev. Gardner-Smith and Pastor Kessinger’s messages. I will give thanks for the beauty of the earth, my sometimes silly and beloved animal companions, and the wonderful friends I have made through Tysons Interfaith – all members of the same human family, valued and partners in spiritual living.
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In terms of population, the “hundred pound gorilla” in the Tysons area is the McLean Census District, home to 50,000 people according to the latest numbers, about twice that of the next largest district, Tysons. Like Vienna, Wolf Trap, and Great Falls, McLean is older and “whiter” than most of the area, three out of every four households identifying as white. Median house values and incomes are a bit lower than in Great Falls, but higher than in Vienna or Wolf Trap. The percentage of foreign-born persons is about the same in these areas, around 24 percent.
A founding member of my church used to live in central McLean when he first moved into the area in the 1950s. He rented a wood-frame house next to the Old Fire House and told me that what is now the parking lot of the Giant Food Store used to be a field of beautiful wildflowers tended by his landlord.
Many other changes have occurred over the years. St. Johns Episcopal Church, for example, used to be downtown but moved to its current site on Georgetown Pike long before Langley became a suburb. I once carpooled with a colleague whose family broke the Catholic “bans” on Kirby Road; he told me that in the late 1950s Langley was nothing but farmland and he used to ride his bicycle up Lemon Road to swim in a quarry in Pimmit Hills! More recently, the McLean Islamic Center (MIC) moved from an office building in central McLean to its current location right on the edge of Tysons west, off Route 7.
My neighborhood near McLean High School was developed in 1959 but is changing as the old houses are knocked down and replaced by much larger units. Still, it retains a lot of history, like the old McLean Fire House, which is now a youth center. You can see photos of old McLean at the Dolley Madison Library or at my barbershop on Chain Bridge Road or at these neat websites: research.fairfaxcounty.gov/local-history/mclean-history-portal and www.oldmclean.com/index.html.
Chain Bridge was built before the Civil War and was crossed by the Union troops as they twice crossed the Potomac to meet their doom at Bull Run (Manassas).
McLean has many different neighborhoods that sport an interesting variety of street names I enjoy reading as I cycle through the back roads. All the streets in McLean Hamlet, which borders Tysons on the south side of Lewinsville Road, have references to Shakespeare, my favorite being Agin Court! On the northwest side of McLean across Dolley Madison in the Churchill Road area, there are names like Dead Run, Capitol View (I doubt they can really see the Rotunda), and apropos of Congress and not a few lobbyists who live in the area, Carpers Court. (I have hoped in vain but never found a Cavil Lane.)
And the district encompasses all of Langley and the Scotts Run Forest Preserve, including the CIA, and the entire extent of Balls Hill Road, which as it approaches the Potomac affords some excellent rolling hills for cyclists and is lined by some of the most luxurious properties in the district. Closer to my neighborhood, there is perhaps the most apt, yet politically incorrect street name, Wasp Lane. Just so you know, there’s also a Hornet Lane, so that’s what the developers were thinking when they came up with it.
Closer to my church at the corner of Brook Road and Lewinsville, the likes of Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin have taken up residence, right beside a home built by the former congregant of my church mentioned above. His home went through a second owner before it was purchased and expanded by a current member of my parish vestry. That said, many of the members of my church come from outlying areas like Reston, which the large McLean Census District nearly reaches, extending all the way down Route 7 to Difficult Run. You can find the map here: www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/map/mcleancdpvirginia/PST045219
My wife and I recently drove west, toward the Shenandoah mountains, to enjoy the beautiful early Autumn weather and the scenery.
On our return, we stopped at the parking lot of Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville to stretch our legs and admire the architecture. Tacked on a wall near the church entrance was the following appeal to people of all faiths, as we collectively work through the pandemic:
- May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.
- May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
- May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health and paying their rent.
- May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close remember those children who will go hungry with no school meals.
- May we who have to cancel our trips remember those who have no place to go.
- May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.
- May we who settle in for quarantine at home remember those who have no home.
- As fear and divisiveness grip our country, let us choose love.
- During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us find ways to become the loving embrace of God to our neighbor.
This community of faith is not exactly a poverty-stricken rural parish. I was therefore especially moved by the words on the slightly weathered sheet of paper reminding me to be mindful of the needs of others.
When things are not going well for me personally, I become upset with the world around me and complain – under my breath or to whoever will listen. The above phrases remind me, however, how fortunate I am. My personal “woes” are mostly self-centered and trivial in view of the realities faced daily by the women, men, and children alluded to above. I must not forget them in my haste to serve myself.