Author, Marilynne Robinson is the most important Presbyterian thinker of the 21st century. Her fiction has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. She lectures at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and those lectures usually include references to John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Shakespeare and Jesus.

This fall, one of those lectures was condensed into an op-ed piece in The New York Times. As a result of that piece, President Obama arranged to sit down with Ms. Robinson in Des Moines last November in an open-ended conversation that was recorded in the pages of the New York Review of Books.

The lecture/article that caught the President’s attention was entitled, “Fear.” Robinson lifts up a few verses from the Book of Leviticus that seem particularly appropriate for our world today. These verses speculate on what may happen to us should we depart from our loyalty to God: “The sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues. They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues.” In other words, those who forget God can be recognized in the fact that they make irrational responses to irrational fears. Fear of fear itself can result in a people who “have no power to stand before your enemies.” Robinson looks at our world today and cautions that it is a “very costly indulgence to fear indiscriminately, and to try to stimulate fear in others.”

Ironically, it was the Protestants inspired by John Calvin – the Pilgrims, Puritans, Moravians and Huguenots – who more or less filled the same place in the European imagination that Islam does

now. Many felt that it would be these Protestants who spelled the end of Christianity and culture in the 16th century, but John Calvin counseled restraint, reason, and courage on all sides.

Poor Calvin is forever etched in our imagination according to a couple of paintings that portrayed him as a sober, dour, and severe personality. But as a preacher, Calvin taught that while power is brutal in this world, Christians are intended to practice gentleness, generosity, love,

restraint, vision and faith that make it possible to stand against the forces of

unbridled power. Robinson interprets Calvin’s preaching as this: “Justifiable homicide is confessed as a sin. Vengeance is forgotten, and courage is expressed in the refusal to press

advantage or to have recourse to violence.”

Calvinists carry the reputation for restraint, but restraint has a lovelier name—grace. Calvin taught that it is not the will of God that anyone should be lost. And if God loves even those who hate Him and despitefully use Him, then Jesus teaches us to be like God in this. We had best show the patience, the restraint, and the grace to one another that God wills for each one of us. Hence, the fear of God casts out all other fears.

Christianity is to be sustained by our mortal love and loyalty; it can only be thought of as a living faith if it can be passed on to other generations. We owe it to our heirs to remain calm and clear, to hold fast to what is good, and to hate the thought that we may leave behind an impoverished and lethal heritage.

See you in church,

TTTHEHEHE GGGRAPEVINERAPEVINERAPEVINE T h e P r e s b y t e r i a n C h u r c h o f O k e m o s

February 2016- Volume 16, Issue 2

Some Thoughts on Faith

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JOYS AND CONCERNS

Congratulations on the birth of Anna Josephine to Krista and Chris Loose on January 12. Grandparents include Kara and Neal Schmitt.

We Hold in Prayer Bill Boberg, Mike Morgan’s brother-in-law Bob Brittain Chris Doemel Larry Carlsen Rev. John Duley Lowell and Jo Ewart Paul Freddolino John Geske Rick Gierman David Hoekstra Ann Kutak Rev. Clyde and Harriett McDaniel Phil Prygoski

Barbara Schaberg, Tom Schaberg's mother

Pete Weinert

Sympathy to Peter Cobbett on the death of his father, John Cobbett.

THANK YOUS Dear Brothers & Sisters, Thank you so very much for all of the love, prayers and support that you have given me as I continue this journey through life. I would not be doing very well without all of you! Your support means a lot to me. It inspires me to hold God close to my heart, and to keep trying. God bless you all! Rick Gierman

Many thanks for the prayers and best wishes during my recent hospitalization and surgery, and for the deacon visit, flowers, and cards during my ongoing recovery. They are all very much appreciated.

Paul Freddolino

Marilyn McEntyre is a writer and professor of medical humanities at the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. She is coming to the area in March. She cares about connecting spirituality, politics, food, healthcare, care for the earth and its creatures, care for language and public discourse, and finding new ways to live together on a planet that needs healing.

Her writing has appeared in The Christian Century, Weavings, Sojourners, Prism, Conversations, Christianity Today, Academic Medicine, Medical Humanities, Literature and Medicine, and a variety of other academic and trade publications. (see her website: http://marilynmcentyre.com)

Schedule Saturday, March 12 - Speaking at Presbytery of Lake

Michigan meeting in Dimondale Sunday, March 13 – Giving the Briner lecture on art

and poetry at 3:00pm at First Presbyterian Church of Kalamazoo.

Sunday, March 13, 6:30 - Tuesday, March 15 at 10:30 – Leading a series of five presentations directed towards clergy on "Talking the Talk: Beyond and Behind Christian Cliches." the fee for this is $100.

If you would like to carpool to hear her, See Alice Townley.

2/7/2016 Jake 2/14/2016 Olivia 2/21/2016 Rob 2/28/2016 Brendan Grace

DATE AUDIO TECH NURSERY Help Needed: Below is the Audio Tech and Nursery Helpers Schedule. Notice, there are some blank spaces. If you can help us out on the dates left blank, please sign up on Sue’s door.

Summer Church Camp

Mark your calendars now for Family Camp May 27-29 at Camp Skyline

Consider sending older children and youth to a Presbyterian related summer camp such as Greenwood or Skyline. Schedules and registrations are available on the camps' websites. Scholarships may be available. See Chandra Juarez for more information.

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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Getting Involved with God: Experiencing the Bible Using All Our Senses Lenten Series

Dwelling with the Text Sunday mornings following worship, in the Chapel

February 14: Class discussion about how we read scripture led by Rev. Rob Carlson February 21: Pastors Reflect: Rev. Rob Carlson and Rev. Alice Townley February 28- March 20: Stories of how members of our community encounter the text

Loving God with our Hearts, Minds, and Bodies Tuesday Evenings

6:00pm potluck 6:45—7:00pm program

February 16: With Our Ears: Music led by composer Philip Rice February 23: With Our Eyes: Creating with color, led by artist Eunice Creswell March 1: With Our Minds: Literary reflection led by Rev. Rob Carlson March 8: With Our Whole Bodies: Movement led by dance therapist, Sarah Zichi March 15: With Our hearts: Poetry led by writing professor Dr. Ron Dorr

Men’s Group – Fellowship Hall Meets weekly, Tuesday

mornings at 6:45am. Discussion topics vary, as does the breakfast menu. See Ron Dorr for more information.

Contemplation & Conversation – Room 108

Wednesdays at 10am with Rev. Alice Townley. Join us for centering prayer, silence, sharing, and praying. We are currently discussing “Wearing God,” by Lauren Winner. All are welcome. Childcare available upon request.

Adult Bible Study – Room 108 Meets on Thursday mornings at 9:30am, with

Rev. Rob Carlson. We are reading the epistles of John, James, Peter and Jude this winter.

Writing Life Stories—Room 108 Sunday, February 7, 12:30pm; writing,

reading, and talking about stories and experiences in our lives. These sessions are open to anyone, whether or not you have brought something to read.

Book Club - Room 108 On Sunday, February 21 at

12:30pm; open to all. February’s book for discussion is: Hannah

Coulter, by Wendell Berry.

Women’s Supper Out All women are invited to supper

out at Leo’s Lodge (corner of Grand River & Okemos Road) on Monday, February 15 at 5:30pm. Please let Dorinda VanKempen know you’ll be attending so she can make arrangements.

Women’s Connection is Sunday, February 28

at 12:30pm. After a time of fellowship and enjoying lunch together, Zora Todd will be our speaker. She spent a year in Lebanon with her husband Ewen, and they have already given a presentation for Adult Hour. If you missed it, or want to hear much more of what Zora has to discuss, please plan now to join us. All women are welcome and encouraged to invite friends. Questions: Shirley Rumminger 655-4123 or srumming@yahoo.com.

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A big thank you to those who participated in PCO’s mission activities over the holidays, including the Thanksgiving baskets, Alternative Christmas, and refugee gifting. Your generosity helped many individuals and families have a happier holiday season. Thanks to a recent late donation, PCO has contributed $2900 to Advent House. Additionally, the Mission Committee is very grateful to Doug Paterson for having set up and to those of you who participated in the Playmakers’ “door greeter” drive, which will result in an additional contribution to PCO’s Mission Committee.

The next big opportunity to participate in a mission activity will be February 27-28 at Cass Community Social Services in Detroit. We will be working in the Activity Center in which a range of services are provided to developmentally impaired adults. We will be cleaning, painting, and doing repairs that help make the center a safer and more pleasant place for people receiving these services. Adults and youth 12 and older are welcome to join this trip; upper elementary kids are

also welcome, providing that a parent comes with them. The plans are to leave from church at 9:00 Saturday morning and return at around 3:00 on Sunday, the 28th. On February 7, members who are interested in participating will have a chance after church to

get information and sign up. Sign up opportunities will continue until February 21. Members are welcome to stay both days or choose one of the two days to help out. If you cannot come on this mission trip, we ask that you support us in one or more of these ways: providing lunch for us to take with us, praying for us, donating some of the supplies we will need, and sending notes of support to individual participants. The committee is very excited about this opportunity to help people receiving services do so in a site that is safer and more cheerful looking.

The Mission Committee held a retreat on January 17. We spent the afternoon evaluating PCO’s mission priorities and efforts and planning upcoming activities. More specifically, we discussed how to make the best use of the visit in April from mission co-workers Glenda and John Fletcher. We also made plans to increase our communications within PCO and in the broader community, including website improvement and social media. Additionally, the Mission Committee is planning quarterly topical speaking events on issues related to our core mission activities, such as welcoming refugees and resolving food insecurity.

MISSION COMMITTEE NEWS

Parish Life News Happy New Year from the Parish Life

committee! We finished the year strong with two events, both hosted by Roberta Glaser Carlsen! On Christmas Eve, we served wassail and cookies following the Christmas pageant at the early service. The next day, over 30 church members and guests gathered at the church for Christmas dinner. Thank you to Roberta for enabling both of these traditions to continue this year!

On January 17th, 31 bowlers of varying ages (and skill levels!) gathered at City Limits in East Lansing for two hours of fun!! Everyone seemed to have a great time and we hope to offer this opportunity again in the future!

Looking ahead to February, we hope that you will join us for our annual pancake brunch, immediately following the Jazz Sunday worship service on

February 7th. Pancakes with all the trimmings will be served!

Our February birthday celebration will take place on February 21st. If you were born in the month of February, please make sure that your name is on the birthday list on the kiosk, so that we can include your name on the cake!

Volunteers Needed Andrea Kaitany will be

traveling to Kenya July 2—10 to conduct literacy outreach workshops for primary school children near the town of Iten.

Volunteers are needed to help with the workshops, primarily reading stories and doing simple art activities with children ages 4—12 years. Other possible volunteer activities could include cleaning , painting, taking photos or other maintenance-related activities depending on interests. For more information contact Andrea Kaitany (517-351-8958) or pick up a flyer from the literature rack by the front entrance. Deadline for application is May 20, 2016.

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MORE ABOUT JAZZ On Wednesday evening, April 6th, PCO will host

Jason Bivins, author of Spirits Rejoice! Jazz and American Religion. Bivins, Professor of Religious Studies at North Carolina State and an accomplished jazz guitarist, will discuss the connection of jazz and improvisation with religion and spirituality.

When considering this juxtaposition of jazz and spirituality, the life and work of the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane is perhaps one of the best examples. Considered to be one of the greatest jazz albums of all time, Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" was recorded in December, 1964 and released the following year. This work follows Coltrane's spiritual quest which grew out of his troubled life involving drugs and alcohol addiction. The suite is divided into four movements or phases, Acknowledgment, Resolution, Pursuance, and Psalms illustrating the composer's spiritual journey and reaffirmation of faith.

The anthem for Jazz Sunday will feature the second movement, Resolution, from "A Love Supreme".

Marlene

Youth & Children’s Ministries January has been the great start to the

year!! Even though we had a cold winter-mix Sunday, 20 of our children and youth went to Arts Unlimited to decorate their bowls being sold at the Souper Supper for Caring. This year we will have new kinds of soup, more soup, containers for take-out and high hopes for a great donation towards water bottles for the city of Flint. They did an amazing job!

Our Outer Space Lock-In was a lot of fun. Eunice Creswell, Jennifer Gordon, Dan Bollman and Mike Townley did an amazing job with the decorations. Our two student interns each put on education sessions and game times. There was an active discussion convincing the "Dark Side" to move into the "Light" from the character's perspective. Blindfolded space-travelers were verbally directed through a meteorite storm, a great trust exercise. Lessons on diversity were explored on our mission. Rick Gierman finished up our adventure connecting a lot of dots between Faith and Science, complete with amazing photos from the Hubble Telescope, a real meteorite and posing questions on where God could be in all this.

February Overview

3 7:00pm—Teachers’ meeting in the Upper Elementary room

7 10am—Jazz Sunday Worship 11:30am—Church School (no Confirmation Class) 6-7:30pm—Youth Group

10 7pm—Ash Wednesday service, nursery available

14 President's Day weekend 11:30am—Church school no confirmation no youth group

21 11:30am—Church school 5pm—confirmation class resumes 6-7:30pm—youth group

28 11:30am—Church school 5pm— Confirmation Class 6-7:30pm—Youth Group

Choral Conducting Recital

On Saturday, February 20 at 4pm my colleague Stuart Chapman Hill and I will be having a joint choral conducting recital in the PCO Sanctuary. We would love to see you there. The choir will be performing music by Brahms, Britten,

Schuman, Cloud, and others. Email me with any questions. —josh.palkki@gmail.com

Stormy Weather Policy Once again, let us remind you of the weather policy for our office and for weekday events. If the Public Schools announce a “snow day,” please assume that the office is closed and that other events scheduled at our building are cancelled as well. We will not cancel Sunday morning worship (except for some extraordinary weather event). Our snow removal service makes our parking lot their highest priority for clearing snow on Sunday mornings, but we are a low priority for clearing the lot on weekdays. Ice melt is always available for use on the sidewalks and is found in the storage area outside the kitchen.

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SUN

DA

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6 6:45

pm Bell Cho

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6:45am

Men

’s Group

7p

m Deacons’

meeting

10am

Con

versation &

Contem

plation

6pm W

orship & M

usic

Committee

7pm Parish Life Com

mittee

7pm M

ission

Com

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9:30

am Adu

lt Bible

Stud

y 6:15

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7:30

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9am – 4pm

Foun

dation

for

Fighting

Blindn

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Craft Day

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ANSFIGURATION

10am

Worship &

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ion

11am

Pancake

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6:45

pm Bell Cho

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6:45am

Men

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7p

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Plan

ning

10

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versation &

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7pm W

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nfirmation Class

No Youth Group

Presiden

ts Day

5:30

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omen

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Supp

er Out

6:45

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6:45am

Men

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6 – 7:30

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10am

Con

versation &

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plation

6pm Adm

inistration

Committee

7:30pm

Session

9:30

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Retreat

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Recital

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deadline

10am

Worship

11:00am Birthday

Celebration

11:30am CE Hou

r 5p

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firmation Class

6pm You

th Group

6:45

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6:45am

Men

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6 – 7:30pm

Len

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Stewardship

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10am

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7pm Personn

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Trip to Cass Co

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Detroit

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firmation Class

6pm You

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Book Nook: BEING MORTAL, by Atul Gawande Review by Ron Dorr

Here is a chapter-by-chapter summary and brief evaluation of Atul Gawande’s book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (2014).

Introduction. Making mortality a medical experience is simply not working for the patient or for the doctor.

Chapter 1: The Independent Self. Old age has changed. The relationship between the young and the old has shifted. Opportunities for the young have blossomed. Veneration of the independent self (Alice Hobson) has replaced veneration of the elderly (Sitaram Gawande).

Chapter 2: Things Fall Apart. In the span of human life, dying of old age is unnatural. The body simply wears out and falls apart. We can’t fix the problems, but patients and health carers can manage them more effectively. We need to accept the fact that we are not ageless, to change our priorities, and to make the small changes that will manage our decline more attentively.

Chapter 3: Dependence. To eliminate the problem of poorhouses for the elderly, Congress created national pensions with the Social Security Act of 1935. Yet too many old-age homes remained frightening, desolate, odious. More and more hospitals became more attractive to the infirm. But hospitals couldn’t solve the problems of chronic illness and advancing old age. Nursing homes were not the solution, either. Nor was Medicare. Such institutions didn’t feel like home. They didn’t make life worth living for the weak, frail, and dependent oldest.

Chapter 4: Assistance. At 88, Lou Sanders had to move in with his daughter, Shelley, and her family. Then he was moved to an assisted living facility. Neither arrangement worked. Karen Brown Wilson envisioned a different place for the elderly and infirm: assisted living facilities, where the aged could still maintain autonomy, lots of control, help when they needed it, and a sense of home. The idea became so popular, however, that it became watered down and no different from nursing homes. According to Laura Carstensen, people’s needs change depending on how much time they have to live. To the elderly, family and friends matter, everyday pleasures matter, the here and now matter.

Chapter 5: A Better Life. To combat boredom, loneliness, and helplessness in the aged, Bill Thomas, his wife, Jude, and Jacquie Carson brought plants, animals, birds, and children to Chase Memorial Nursing Home; elderly residents came to life. Devotion to something outside the self is crucial for meaning in living. New Bridge retirement community and Peter Sanborn Place apartment complex enabled elders “to live in their own homes . . . in their way, to the very end.” Responsible autonomy —the freedom to be true and responsible to one’s own life—counts immensely. Home counts. So does sustaining connections with others.

Chapter 6: Letting Go. It is terribly hard to let go: doctors want to fix the problem(s), run more tests, try another drug, and not admit defeat. Family and kin don’t want to lose the person they love. The dying one wants to live, to hope for more time, to triumph over the inevitable. Alternatives to medicalizing the problems of aging and

dying are available: caring, not curing; hospice care; hard conversa- tions in which the dying and loved ones talk about the essential questions.

Chapter 7: Hard Conversations. Such conversations involve asking difficult questions, listening well, and paying attention to what the vulnerable person is saying. “What is your understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes? What are your fears and what are your hopes? What are the trade-offs you are willing to make and not willing to make? And what is the course of action that best serves this understanding?” In his early 70s, Atmaran Gawande, Atul’s father, began to deteriorate. A tumor in his spinal cord changed the rest of his life. Neurosurgeon Edward Benzel, Atul Gawande’s shift from Dr. Informative to sharing decisions with his parents, understanding how much time one had to live as a gift, realizing that surgery had not worked, hospice care—all helped make a more humane ending.

Chapter 8: Courage. Courage, Socrates suggests, is neither “a certain endurance of the soul” nor “wise endurance” nor “knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped.” It is, rather, “strength in the face of knowledge of what is to be feared or hoped.” In sickness, aging, and dying, courage is (1) the ability to seek out the truth of what is to be feared and what is to be hoped as well as (2) the ability to act on such discovered truth. In their own ways, Jewel Douglass, Peg Bachelder, and Ram Gawande found such truth and acted on it. If wisdom is “prudent strength,” they were wise.

Epilogue. Atul Gawande spread the ashes of his father in the Ganges River. His experience with his aging and dying father taught him not only to ensure health and survival but also to enable well-being, not only to persevere against limitations but also to make the best of limits, not only to recognize that life is short and one’s place in the world small but also to link oneself to the chain of history and contribute one’s share in society.

Being Mortal is a brilliant book. It is filled with telling statistics, pertinent comparisons, suggestive classifications, original insights (“The amount of freedom you have in your life is not the measure of the worth of your life”), poignant case studies, sound practical advice, and apt historical judgments. It is well-written: careful, concise, and compelling, filled with expressive touches and sobering food for thought. We need to understand “that our most cruel failure in how we treat the sick and the aged is the failure to recognize that they have priorities beyond merely being safe and living longer; that the chance to shape one’s story is essential to sustaining meaning in life; that we have the opportunity to refashion our institutions, our culture, and our conversations in ways that transform the possibilities for the last chapters of everyone’s lives.” (p. 243)

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The Presbyterian Church of Okemos 2258 Bennett Rd

Okemos, MI 48864-3233

The Grapevine is a monthly newsletter of

The Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church of Okemosof Okemosof Okemos

Sunday Worship: 10:00 a.m.

Staff: Rev. Dr. Robert T. Carlson, Jr.,

PASTOR Rev. Alice Fleming Townley,

ASSOCIATE FOR PARISH LIFE Sue Schnackenberg,

DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN & YOUTH MINISTRIES Laurie Horstman,

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Office Hours: Tuesday—Thursday, 9:00 a.m—2:00 p.m.

Fridays 9:00 a.m.—Noon Phone: 517-349-9536

Email: office@okemospres.org Website: http://okemospres.org

JAZZ RETURNS TO PCO! Jazz Sunday, February 7

For this year's jazz worship service, PCO welcomes back Arlene McDaniel and her quartet with special guest vocalist, Sunny Wilkinson. Sunny is an internationally known jazz artist, and is an active recording and performing artist/educator in the United States and Europe. A pancake brunch with jazz piano music will follow the service.

Please plan to attend this very special worship event and bring family and friends!