We Go to Church and Talk to Friends about Fire

Hope Chapel and Healdsburg Community Church, Healdsburg, CA

First Presbyterian Church and The Redeemed Life Church, Santa Rosa, CA

When we messaged Mark and Lynn Williams about getting together to talk about their experiences during the fires in Sonoma County, Mark responded, “Our church didn’t do much.”

That’s what he wrote, but I knew Hope Chapel Healdsburg had housed eight Foursquare chaplains who’d come to help immediately after the firestorm. Mark and Lynn didn’t think they did anything much because they felt others had done so much more, but they still had a story to tell. Most everyone who was in the area the week of October 8 has a story, and you’re sure to hear something interesting if you say, “Tell me your fire story.”

For fifteen years before 2016’s year-long road trip, Mindy and I lived in Sonoma County. I was born in Santa Rosa and lived just outside it for the first 19 years of my life; most of my family and a lot of friends are still in the area. We decided to visit -- partly to see the damage that been done, but mostly to see how the Church was helping.

We’d gotten to know knew the Williams family through their son and daughter, who'd been part of the youth group at Healdsburg Community Church when I worked in youth ministry there. None of the families at Hope Chapel, the Foursquare church Mark pastors, lost their homes due to the fires. Nonetheless, everyone in Healdsburg knows people in other nearby communities who suffered greatly in the fire. You can’t avoid that knowledge when one out of every twenty homes in Santa Rosa was destroyed by the fires. Roughly 6,700 homes and businesses in the city were lost, and at least 8,400 structures were destroyed in the various fires that swept Northern California during October.

Pretty much everyone, especially those who weren’t directly affected by the fire, wanted to do something to help. Hope Chapel helped arrange for eight chaplains from the Foursquare denomination to come to the area from around the country. They arrived a week after the fires began, establishing three priorities: 1) Create a resource center with food, water, and clothes; 2) Provide support for local pastors; 3) Help the affected community.

At first, authorities were reluctant to accept their help, but by the time people were beginning to be allowed back into neighborhoods that had been destroyed, the chaplains were asked to accompany them to provide support.

Hope Chapel was able to provide space for the chaplains to sleep, but the church doesn't have shower facilities -- so a local gym opened up their facilities. The church fed the chaplains and provided sanctuary where, after long hard days of service, the chaplains (who hadn’t worked together before) could become a team. Some of the chaplains considered Lynn and Mark as surrogate parents.

When Mark said their church hadn’t done much, we thought it just wasn’t so.

While we were in Healdsburg, we also went to the Healdsburg Free Store. You can probably figure out what it is from the name. Clothes, household goods, and personal care items are available for people who’ve lost their belongings in the fires.

We went so we could talk to Andrea Kladder, co-pastor of Healdsburg Community Church. She was volunteering at the store with friends, and we probably shouldn’t have taken her from her work at the store to chat, but we did.

She told us that Healdsburg Community Church, like Hope Chapel, hadn’t had members lose homes in the fires. Still, everyone knew people who had been hurt. She told about two of her daughter’s good friends who’d had to move from their rental because the owner had been burned out of his own home and needed the apartment to live in himself. That family was moving out of the area because housing is now so scarce and even more expensive than it was before.

Healdsburg Community Church opened their doors during the days of the fire (many in Healdsburg were without power, so the church, which did, was a welcome haven). Now they're providing a series of seminars on active listening with a goal of training people to support one another. People recovering from their losses need to tell their stories. Most of us really don’t have much to say to people experiencing great loss, but we all should be able to listen.

On Sunday morning we were able to worship at two churches we’ve written about before; both are, in a sense, home churches for us (as is Healdsburg Community Church).

After the 8:00 am service at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Rosa I was able to talk to senior pastor Dale Flowers who said that 51 families in the congregation and another ten families that were a part of their day care program lost their homes as well. A positive element, though, was the way people are giving. The church has received $120,000 to help families in need (and some of that money came from families who’d lost their homes.)

First Pres housed people who were evacuated from their homes during the fires. The number of people varied, as various geographic areas in the community had evacuation orders imposed and lifted. Dale’s own home was in an evacuation zone, and he slept at the church. One night, the church itself received an advisory evacuation notice (this meant that people should be ready to evacuate at any time, as opposed to a mandatory notice which meant people were to leave the area immediately). Westminster Woods, a Presbyterian camp about 45 minutes away, offered to take people in, but most staying at the church decided they didn’t want to make one more move.

Later Sunday morning, we worshiped at The Redeemed Life Church, which meets in the home of our friends Todd and Heather Towner. Heather had been awake as the fire came closer and closer to their home, which is a few blocks from the Coffey Park subdivision where about 1,500 homes were destroyed. She told us about listening to reports as the fire raced over the hills along the eastern horizon she could see from her son’s bedroom window, then hearing that the fire was on the other side of the freeway a few miles away, then that the flames had crossed the six-lane freeway and entered Coffey Park. They left that night without knowing if they’d have a home to come back to.

When they were able to return home a day or so later, the area was without power, so Todd, who works from home, bought a generator. They found it was also a tool for serving their neighbors by providing a place for cell phone charging. He and Heather learned the names of neighbors they’d never really met. In the last couple of weeks, there have been two neighborhood gatherings, and the Towners trust God will use this tragedy to open doors for ministry.

It was good to see that in this time of great need, Christ’s Church is responding. As He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, God was with His people through the fire, and He continues to be present as they help one another rebuild.

God showing up in 2016

Mindy and I didn't go to a new church this past Sunday. Instead, we went back to Healdsburg Community Church, which we attended from 2001 to 2013, and where I served as a part time staff member. (We wrote about the church in September, during Old Home Month.) In lieu of a church post this week, here's a summary of the sermon I preached Sunday -- which doubles in the program as a mission statement for our travels to a church in every state in 2016. (I've changed the sermon a bit to include it as a post; the original, complete with Mindy's coughing fit, is posted on the church website.)

Have you ever been stood up? I'm not just thinking of romantic situations, though that has certainly happened to me. I'm  thinking of those times when you think you have a set time and place to meet someone, and they don't come. You start questioning: Were we were supposed to meet today? Is this the right place? Did I say or do something that hurt the other person's feelings?

I believe a lot of people go to church and think God has stood them up. They hear He was supposed to be at the 11:00 am service at the First Whatever Church of Someplaceorother, and they go, and He isn't anywhere to be seen. It can be discouraging.

And yet, Mindy and I expect God to show up at churches in 2016. We find encouragement for that expectation in Luke 2: 22 - 39. In the passage, Mary and Joseph go to church (okay, they go to the Temple), and see God show up in surprising ways -- particularly through two individuals.

All of the people in this passage model practices that make seeing God more likely. First, Mary and Joseph set a model of spiritual discipline by following commands given in Leviticus chapter 12 that acknowledge God's authority over their lives (and the life of their Child) through circumcision, purification and sacrifice. Taking these steps required time and devotion. Following these practices also allowed the couple to encounter two amazing people who spoke to them with blessings from God.

As Christians, we no longer need to practice Law of Moses, with its ritual cleansings and sacrifices, but there are other spiritual disciplines we should practice, like prayer, fasting, studying Scripture, and meeting with God's people. Hebrews 10:25 teaches us that we must not neglect the gathering together of believers (i.e., going to church).  Some people say, "I don't need to go to church, I see God in the forest." Of course you can see God in the forest, but you can see God in the garden as well, so why go to the forest? God speaks to us in unique ways in different places and times, and church should be one of the places we go to find Him.

In the Temple, Mary and Joseph meet a man named Simeon, who is described as righteous and devout. Luke notes that God had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn't die until he had seen the Messiah. We modern people are pretty skeptical of people who claim a revelation from God, which I think is fair. There are a lot of people who claimed to speak for God when they were speaking for themselves, or repeating what the voices in their heads (that were not at all divine) said. The time when Jesus was first brought to the temple was during what church history calls the "Silent Era" because it had been nearly half a millennia since the last prophet, Malachi, spoke for God.

And yet, God did speak through Simeon. God is free to speak when and through whom He chooses, and we should be ready to listen, just as the Holy Spirit spoke to Simeon and then Simeon spoke to Mary and Joseph.

Finally, we come to Anna. She was an old widow without children in a time and place when such a condition was considered a curse from God. Her life was difficult, full of suffering, but such suffering can draw a person close to God.  She too speaks for God to Mary and Joseph, assuring them that their Jesus is indeed God's anointed.

We need to recognize that God can speak through pain. We shouldn't try to cover over our own spiritual pain or ignore others who suffer, since God may speak through our pain as we bring it to Him or speak to us as we minister to others.

So that's what we hope to do in 2016. We want to be faithful like Mary and Joseph, which for Mindy and me means going to church every week. We want to listen for God like Simeon did. And we want to be willing to reach out to those who are hurting, knowing that that's just one more way God may choose to show Himself.

We trust God will show up in 2016. In our journey and in yours.

-- Dean

Statistics:

Service Length: 58 minutes

Sermon Length: about 20 minutes (Mindy can't find her notes in the confusion of moving)

Snacks: leftover Christmas goodies including lots of different cookies, tangerine wedges, pears, coffee, decaf, tea, water

Songs: Angels We Have Heard on High

            Joy to the World

            He Shall Reign Forevermore

            We Three Kings of Orient Are

Miles to place: 47 (it's only 12 from our house, but we had to make several trips to get everybody)

Total California Miles: 17,735 

Church website: www.healdsburgcommunitychurch.com

Healdsburg Community Church

When you leave a place where you worked, there are obviously mixed feelings. If you liked the place, you want to see it prospering. If you did a good job setting up systems and training people, then you can take pride in seeing good work continue.

On the other hand, sin nature may wish to hear, "Things have never been the same without you." I'm happy to report that our visit Sunday to Healdsburg Community Church gave no satisfaction to any such nasty sentiments that might reside in my soul.

I clearly remember the first time we visited HCC -- which was, at the time, called Healdsburg Federated Church. (The former name came about when early in the 20th century the local Presbyterian congregation joined the local Methodist congregation. The congregation decided several years ago that they no longer wanted to sound like a government agency and changed the name to Healdsburg Community Church.) It was the Sunday after 9/11/2001, and there was an open prayer time that was powerful and comforting.

We visited a few other places but by Christmas had decided to make HCC our church home. After participating for a number of years, I was asked to join the staff of the church on a part- time basis. A little over two years ago, we decided to leave the church when Dean and Andrea Kladder were called to pastor the church.

We didn't leave because we didn't like the Kladders. They seemed to be a clear answer to our prayers for the church. We simply believed the transition would be easier if we left, and so we began our current adventure of a church visiting pilgrimage.

A standard element of these reports on church visits is on visitor treatment. I'm happy to report we were greeted quite warmly. Many people shook our hands and hugged us as if we were longtime friends; which made sense because, you know, we are longtime friends. During the announcements, Andrea not only greeted us but let people know where they could sign-up for our blog posts. I wish that would happen in more churches.

Our son Bret came along for worship. After the service we asked him what he thought. He said he appreciated that the service was well designed and everything had a clear purpose. He also liked the sermon (Bret is quite particular about sermons.)

I agreed with his assessment. In the past, the services often had a bit of a shaggy dog nature. Many times the mike was opened for announcements, and anyone could come forward. Rambling was not uncommon (admittedly, on my part as well). Sermons (on occasion) had the dreaded feel of a late Saturday rush -- like those school papers that are written last minute and aren't very well organized. One never knew how long the service would last; it might go an hour and a half, it might go two. One awful Super Bowl Sunday, a guest speaker preached over an hour on the one day people are most antsy to leave.

I talked to Dean after the service, and he said that he and Andrea plan sermon series in advance and craft the sermon well ahead of Sunday (actually, they start working on sermons on Monday morning). On this Sunday, Andrea began a series on the adverbs of Jesus with the word, "Graciously." The text was John 8, the story of the women caught in adultery. I appreciated the point that Jesus not only showed grace to the woman but also to her accusers when he turned his back on them and allowed them to exit quietly.

We had lunch with friends from the church after the service. We asked what changes they'd noticed in the last two years. The first word that was spoken was "energy." Everyone seemed to agree that the place was much more vibrant than it had been for quite some time. Everyone agreed that there were many new people, though the exact percentage of the congregation that was new (25%, 40%, 50%) was a subject of debate. Everyone appreciated the young families with children in tow. (Dean and Andrea are rather young themselves, in their early 30's with a young daughter and a second child to come in just a few weeks.)

The church just adopted a new mission statement, "We are seeking to live like Jesus so others can experience God's love." The missions and outreach committees are looking for ways to fulfill that statement. The goal is to show God's love to people even if they never enter the church walls. One program begun recently is Free Coffee Fridays. The church property is catty corner from Healdsburg High School, so they decided to make coffee available to students in the morning. But the school is also across the street from an elementary school. They soon found themselves serving coffee to the parents of younger students... and serving hot chocolate to those younger students.

Another outreach in the church is to the people of the small nation of Guinea-Bissau in western Africa. One of the church members, Rich Kagel, felt a burden for the people of this poor country. A chemist, he began to research ways to provide clean water, a great need. The church has adopted the nation as well and is looking to do a missions trip there in the spring of 2016.

Somehow, Healdsburg Community Church is not only carrying on without us, but seems to be thriving. And I'm okay with that.

-- Dean

Statistics:

Service Length:  1 hour 10 minutes

Sermon Length:  20 minutes

Visitor Treatment: We were warmly welcomed (see above). Several people in the congregation (as well as the pastors) make it a priority to greet first time visitors soon after they come in. There is a brief greeting time early in the worship service, and "friendship pads" are passed down each aisle so that regulars and visitors can register their attendance and, when desired, request follow-up from the church

Followup by Tuesday Morning: we had lunch with one of the pastors on Sunday

Our Rough Count: 110

Probable Ushers' Count:  125

Snacks: coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water, lemonade, various cookies and breads, fruit, and a garden produce sharing table (surprisingly, no zucchini) on the patio just outside the main entrance 

Musicians: keyboard (male for songs, female as accompanist for the flute solo), acoustic guitar (male), 

bass (male)

 electric guitar (male), female vocalist, flute solo (female)

Songs: Come to Me (prelude by worship band)

            Blessed be Your Name

            Your Grace is Enough

            Alleluia (The Lord God Almighty Reigns)

            In the Garden (flute solo)

            Communion Hymn

Miles to place:  12  

Total California Miles:  12,093 

Four Things I Remember about Healdsburg*

1. For years before we moved here, we loved Healdsburg for four things: The Raven (for movies), the dump (for dumping trash and generally interesting things to see), the Saturday farmer's market (for fresh produce and, in November, locally made crafts), and the Russian River (for swimming, wading, exploring and rare canoe, kayak or raft excursions).

2. Healdsburg's downtown is the best. Tourists swarm all summer (really, people don't you have crosswalks and traffic lights where you come from?), but the rest of the year, the Plaza has toddlers walking the rim of the little fountain, elementary school aged children playing tag in the gazebo, parents sitting on the benches and chatting, people and dogs strolling through, and teenagers criss-crossing the paths. There are art galleries (when our kids were little, we considered them free museums, and we love museums), a fair trade store, two bookstores, a fabric shop with erratic hours, a lot of expensive shops for people who want to spend money, lots of restaurants, a toy store, two tea shops,three dog grooming places, and more.

3. In spite of the tourists, agriculture is a major part of the local lifestyle. It's not at all unusual to have neighbors who raise bees for honey, chickens for eggs, fruit trees and large vegetable gardens within walking distance of the Plaza.

4. Healdsburg Community Church wasn't the first church we visited when we moved to town, and we didn't stop visiting churches after the first time we visited. But within a few months of arriving in Healdsburg, we started attending regularly, and both of us found ourselves employed there. Except for the churches our families attended when we were growing up, this is the church we've been part of longest, and the love the congregation shows is something I will always remember.

-- Mindy

*This is kind of a cheat post, since it's fairly easy to remember a place you see almost every day. Though we've moved out of Healdsburg, both of us work there. Even so, we've grown away from the intimate awareness we used to have. New buildings, remodeled houses and changed businesses often surprise us.

Calvary Chapel Healdsburg

This weekend, celebrating Independence Day, I was thankful for the many blessings of being an American. But I was also reminded of the blessings of being a Californian.

I was talking to a coworker, Steven, who's from the East Coast. He asked where we'd be going to church this week, and I said the month was dedicated to worshiping outside. He said, "Huh, you could never do that back east. You could never count on the weather." Which is true.

 

Calvary Chapel in Healdsburg annually schedules a number of Sundays (this year it's the month of July and the first Sunday of August) for outdoor services on the lawns at Rio Lindo Adventist Academy.

 

The setting of the school is, to understate, gorgeous; in the hills above Healdsburg, it overlooks vineyards, trees and the Russian River. Throughout the rest of the year, Calvary Chapel meets in the school chapel (Rio Lindo, being a Seventh Day Adventist school, uses the chapel for worship on Saturdays, so it's available on Sundays).

People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for the outdoor service, but there are extra chairs leaning against trees for the chairless. The large trees doubled in the program, providing shade as well as working as chair stands. People's chairs were spread out, families and friends in some clumps and some individuals off in a choice patch of sunlight. People were encouraged to move even during the service if they became too cool and wanted sun -- or the reverse of that.

The service started about ten minutes after the official starting time, and people continued strolling in after that. Two song leaders (one with guitar) led a half hour of praise choruses with the aid of an outdoor sound system and lyrics printed in the bulletin.

There was a prayer of thanks for the nation, particularly for our liberty to worship. We were encouraged to struggle: as the founders struggled for independence, so we should fight for dependence on God. (There were flag decorations on the tables for the holiday.) During a time of open prayer, two people started to pray at the same time, and it took a few moments until they realized someone else was praying. The wonderful thing was that they were praying for the same thing.

Prior to the dismissal of children to Sunday School, one of the worship leaders took a panoramic photo of the congregation. There was an announcement for upcoming "Beach Chair Sundays:" 7/12 with Mexican food and piñatas (potluck), 7/12 with a pool party (also at Rio Lindo) and sandwiches (potluck), 7/26 with a Western theme and sloppy joes (potluck) and the final week, 8/2, with tri-tip and a bounce house.

In another announcement, Pastor Chris Blaustone encouraged people to set their phone alarms for 3:20 after he read Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." He asked people to pray for the church at that time for the next month. (Completely irrelevant aside, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors asked for "3:20" to be put on his shoe line in honor of that same verse.)

The sermon was a continuation of a sermon series in Genesis, speaking on chapter 33, Jacob's reunion with his estranged brother Esau. Chris used the passage as a chance to speak on the importance of conflict resolution. He pointed out that it is not fun, and it's something we often prefer to avoid, but it's something Christ has called us to do.

Toward the end of the sermon, Chris said that he would have to be wrapping things up as the smell of hamburgers and hot dogs cooking would ruin everyone's power of concentration, then he closed with an illustration about Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, who went to Ecuador to reach the Auca (now known as Huaorani) people. Jim, along with four other missionaries, was ambushed and killed by the people shortly after making contact. Elisabeth sought to finish her husband's work and lived among her husband's killers, showing Christ's love. Such an illustration of forgiveness makes most of our excuses for not forgiving seem more than a little petty.

Over burgers (veggie burgers were available), hot dogs, chips, salad and dessert, Mindy and I had a chance to talk with Pastor Chris and his wife, Mary. (Full journalistic disclosure here: we've been friends for years and are already convinced the Blaustones are genuine, compassionate and cool.)

I asked Chris why they've made Beach Chair Sundays an annual event. Among many reasons, he said that though their church is usually casual, the extra level of casualness the outdoors provides makes it more inviting to many. Many first time visitors have come on these weeks.

He also said there is something good about being somewhere things are out of control. Though they have had generally good weather, it has at times been a little damp or too warm or a little cool, and it's a reminder that God is in control. They've even had to deal with bees.

That morning, the breeze provided one of the worship leaders a chance to refer to John 3:8, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Chris mentioned that on a trip to the Holy Land, he was reminded that Jesus' teaching was usually given outdoors and His parables and illustrations probably came from the sights that were there for all to see.

As I mentioned, there are many places where worshiping outdoors is not an option. I'm thankful this Sunday, this month, to be in a place where it is.

Statistics:

Service Length:  1 hour 29 minutes

Sermon Length:  46 minutes

Visitor Treatment: we were greeted by several people (and offered food and chairs), and there was a greeting time during the service, but no organized recognition of visitors

Our Rough Count:  72 including children (who left before the sermon to go to Sunday School)

Probable Ushers' Count: 80

Snacks: donuts, lemonade, coffee, tea and hot chocolate before worship, hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, chips, several salads, fruit and a lot of cookies for lunch. Also, water bottles were available in a cooler, and somebody made giant popcorn balls with red white and blue sprinkles.

Musicians: Man on acoustic guitar, woman leading singing

Songs: "You'll Come"

            "Oh, Our Lord"

            "Jesus at the Center"

            "I am Yours"

            "Adoration"

            "I Love You, Lord"

Miles to place:  12

Total California Miles: 9781

-- Dean