Sermon—My Opening Farewell
First Congregational Church of Houston
Preached 12 October 2014
Scott Lovaas
A loud knock pounded on the door next to ours in the middle of the night. Suddenly there was screaming, rustling and a lot of commotion. This was not normal, what was going on? Looking outside my window the military had surrounded the room with machine guns drawn. They had come to take away someone staying next to us in a small little pension/posada. Anne, my wife, and I were staying in the highlands of Guatemala on the shores of Lake Atitlan. The village we were staying in had a lot of local people abducted during the war in Guatemala.
Twenty-five years ago in 1989 Anne and I traveled extensively in Central America. We had made several trips. As you recall, it was a tense time in American foreign policy. There were three wars in the area—one in Nicaragua, one in Guatemala, which I mentioned, and another in El Salvador. The place was a bloodbath—over 350,000 people died in those wars.
Several weeks after our time in Guatemala, we tried to go to El Salvador. We had visas. We were initially turned away at an eastern border, partly because the country was on high alert. Several weeks earlier six Jesuit priests, their cook and her daughter were brutally murdered by government forces. The opposition forces, the FMLN had mounted an offensive and made their way into the capital, San Salvador. As a result, we had to traverse up and around Honduras and we went in through a border crossing in the north.
The first night we stayed in the mountain jungle frontier town of El Poy, in Chalatenango Province. Chalatenango witnessed some of the worst fighting during the war. That first night we heard gun fire in the hills.
The next day we boarded a yellow school bus to head down about a hundred miles to the capital, our flight back to the states left from San Salvador. About every ten miles the bus was forced to stop and unload, we and those on the bus were searched extensively. As we travelled toward the capital we saw columns of soldiers on patrol, we witnessed dozens of school buses that were torched as the opposition forced tried to cripple the economy.
We made it to the capital in the afternoon and you had a sense something was up. There was a dawn to dusk military curfew. We found a place and settled in for the night. We heard sirens all night. During the offensive, the opposition would move up city blocks by going through the walls of houses. For example, they would go through the meeting house move over to CE building then the church offices, to wall by wall. People would hang white flags over on their houses showing that there were no opposition forces there. Yet, during that time the military would fire bullets down from helicopters onto corrugated barrios, other neighborhood were simply bombed—it was awful. The day we arrived the government and opposition forces called a 10-day cease fire over Christmas. The next few days we went to poor barrios, met with journalists, church workers and human rights workers. We met some amazing people during this intense time. We went to where Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed while he was saying mass.
The Christmas Eve service we attended in a Catholic Church will be forever etched in my mind. It was a simple church, cement floor, wood benches with no backs, corrugated tin for the roof, a few light bulbs, it was about twice the size of this meeting house. For me, it is the essence of the church—it was about the people, not the church. Anne and I were the only North American’s in the service, there may have been a few hundred people, most were scared and tormented, some had lost family members, others disappeared. The people attending mass were hoping and praying the war and repression to stop. In the midst of all their suffering and losing their friends and comrades, people turned to faith for support and sustenance. The church ministered to a fatigued and war torn society.
The people we met who were involved in the struggle for peace, justice and freedom were quite remarkable. They walked the talk. They laid their lives on the line. They all had a conscience that prompted action. There was new thinking about the role of church and society. And it was the church that was at the heart of the struggles in Central America—Liberation Theology in particular.
As you may know, liberation theology has as a central idea that: God is revealed as having a preference for those people who are "insignificant," "marginalized," "unimportant," "needy," despised" and "defenseless." Liberation Theology has it’s foundation in the early church as they too helped the poor. It was the church that tried to change the social and political structures of the day, just like Lech Walesa did in Poland. Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia. However, there was one difference between Walesa and Havel and those in Central America, they were deemed heroes in the West while priests, union organizers, and teachers in Latin America were deemed as subversives.
Over the years I have received a great deal of inspiration from those in Central America, Africa and the developing world or what is called the Global South. If you have travelled in the developing world, off the tourist circuit, you run into an amazing group of people. They are risk takers, adventurous, forward looking, they often have clear values, they have a different kind of hope, often with a religious conviction. They view the world with a different set of lens. I find it incredibly stimulating. I love being on the frontier.
As you know, Oscar Romero, was killed in March of 1980. He was the Archbishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He provides a different framework to think about faith. He states,
Do you want to know if your Christianity is genuine? Here is the touchstone: Whom do you get along with? Who are those who criticize you? Who are those who do not accept you? Who are those who flatter you?
I think these questions are helpful as we struggle to be faithful to the gospel. What are we going to be about here at FCC- Houston. What do the next few years hold for us? Personally, I see tremendous opportunity.
Returning back to my love of the frontier.
This is a frontier church. Like the flax water bag on the car radiator, this church has provided water in a desert. It has repeatedly provided new, innovative, and bold thinking and people for this community.
First, The church has been a thought leader from the very beginning. They have been innovator and early adaptors of new thinking.
Did you know this church was born out of the McCarthy Era? Wyn and Tom Gracean wanted to ‘build an open church‘ in Houston amidst a time of great disruption, racial tension and fear mongering. When the Gracean’s asked if Houston needed a liberal church, the response they received was –more than the darkest Africa. The year—1954.
The church wanted to be between Bible Belt folks and the Unitarians-they wanted to be theologically liberal congregation with a message. I love these pioneering folks. The flowers on the altar are given in memory of these Wyn and Tom Gracean. Ed- their son. We owe a lot to these folks.
It was daring to be liberal in Houston in the 50’s. Yet, this bold action set the tone for this church.
FCC was one of, or the first church in the South Central Conference to be open and affirming. Long before it was cool to do so.
The second remarkable thing is this church has produced some great community leaders-
Carl Umland stated Houston Habitat for Humanity. Diane and Roger Bub help start Westside Homeless Partnership. Bob Tucker was instrumental in starting Memorial Assistance Ministry. David Nussbaum and Maggie Tucker produced a new hymnal Bill and Mary Sue Fairchild help start Settegast Heights Village Jan Wilbur help start The Metropolitan Organization-a community organizing agency. Steve Rosencranz started Woods Project German Amador and Burton Bagby Grose started Poimiano Community Meal The church has prodded well over 30 people to go onto seminary-most during Bob Tucker leadership.
Third, this church has engaged with the world.
For many years this church was in dialogue about the Middle East with a Christian Ministry of the West Bank and Father Chacour
Susi and Hans Jahn brought forth the work of UCC missionary Dr. Joyce Baker in Honduras. This church helped with her health clinic- ODECKO and the building of 2 room schools. This church provided sewing machines to women who came from abusive relationships so that they can support themselves
The Church built a dental clinic in Mexico.
What a fabulous history. Well done. Or is it well done y’all. We are very fortunate to have these mavericks set the tone for us.
Now the hard part---their gift is our burden—we must uphold that tradition of raising up community leaders, engaging with the world and providing new thinking amidst a changing American landscape.
The church has also had some dry spells or periods of drought, like all institutions and organizations. Apple computer really struggled for a period of time as did IBM. Kodak, Blockbuster, TWA were not able to survive. We have some challenges ahead; we need to continue to provide new thinking in a new era. This church is surrounded by evangelical churches that provide quick easy black and white understanding of the world. It is not a world I live in. I live in a very complex world. Unfortunately life is not like that.
The DNA of this church is rich, diverse and important. We need to once again be a leading thoughtful alternative voice in this community. Today, the Bible passage comes at the end of the sermon. It comes from Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. The people above and hundreds of others in this church drew upon the teachings and wisdom of Jesus.
So as I wrap up I need a little participation.
I want you to come forward
Music of this church?
Adult Education program
A mission project
been bothered or upset with the church
want to be apart of something greater than yourself
You all are the church.
You are part of a dynamic and rich past.
We will be co-creators in God’s vision for this
community in a new era.
To paraphrase one of the statements on our
Heritage Walkway—
FCC has more truth and light to break fourth
from this church.
Amen.
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