Bonus post! We Go to Church at a Boy Scout Jubilee in Nebraska

“I hear there are Scout troops that take a French press for coffee on their camping trips.”

The conversation wasn’t an indictment of the Scouts for becoming soft, but rather a discussion of the importance of coffee in people’s lives. The coffee was especially appreciated that morning as we waited for the worship service. For many of these parents, it had been a long weekend without lots of sleep at the Boy Scout Jubilee.

So no one was doubting the value of coffee, but there was concern about the glass in the French press breaking in a backpack.

We were at the Mid-America Council Jubilee at Mahoney State Park in Nebraska along with over 5,000 Scouts and Scout-related people in attendance. We learned there is a regional Jubilee every two years (not the every 50 years found in Leviticus 25) and a national Jubilee every four years.

We were just looking for a place to pitch our tent when we went to the park office to make reservations at Mahoney. The woman at the desk warned us that during the weekend we’d be surrounded by Scouts. We thought that would be a good thing and it was. Certainly the Jubilee provided much entertainment. We missed the animal demonstrations, the lumberjack show, the concert by Hairball, and much more. But we did get to hear a live radio conversation with astronauts on the Space Station, watch an Omaha steak eating contest (Scoutmasters tackling 48 ounces of beef), and a pretty decent fireworks show.

On Sunday morning, two worship services were offered: a Catholic service and what was called both a Protestant service and an interfaith service. We went to the latter. While all of us were waiting outside for the service to start (after the coffee discussion), a woman from the park asked for help with the worship service. She told us that the Deacon who was scheduled to lead the service was sick. Someone had volunteered to give the homily, but readers and a song leader were needed. Since I don’t have any relation to the Scouts (besides being a Cub Scout as a kid), I didn’t feel right about volunteering. Another man volunteered to do the reading. But no one volunteered to lead singing. So I did.

Wagon Wheel District Chaplain Joe Haggerty arrived, and the service began. By this time there were about 180 people gathered outside the Mahoney Conservatory. There was first a reading of Psalm 100, and then Haggerty read an invocation from the bulletin.

I asked people to turn in their bulletin to “America the Beautiful.” In churches, I’m sometimes uncomfortable with patriotic songs. I become concerned about whether glory and honor is going to the country rather than to God. But I’m okay with such songs at a Scout service, because that is something all gathered have in common. And now seems like a good time to be asking God to “mend thine ev’ry flaw” and “confirm thy soul with self control.”

Next came a responsive reading. The adults read affirmations such as “The Good Samaritan showed the spirit of doing a Good Turn,” and the Scouts responded with “A Scout is helpful.” They also affirmed that a scout is trustworthy, loyal, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.  (The affirmation before “clean” read “Cleanliness is next to godliness”. I’ve always said that if that’s true, why settle for second best?)

The Scripture reading was Jeremiah 31: 27 - 34, which is not an easy passage. It speaks of God’s coming judgement and includes verses such as “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth set on edge.” Perhaps the Reverent Deacon who got sick had great plans for that reading, but it seemed an odd choice for this crowd.

Chaplain Haggerty then read a different Scripture for his message, the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10, from the Message (“this is a paraphrase of the Scripture many of you may be not be familiar with,” he said in introduction). Haggerty said that it is important for Scouts to follow the example of the Samaritan. He told about a troop of Scouts who found a baby floating in the Platte River. They rescued the child, providing CPR and a trip to the hospital.

We then read together the prayer of Saint Francis (I wonder if they read that at the Catholic service as well). We sang “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” and closed with a benediction.

It was a brief service, barely twenty minutes. If Chaplain Haggerty hadn’t been there to speak from the Gospel of Luke, I’m not sure Jesus would have been mentioned in the service at all. But God was honored, along with Scouting.

There was an interesting image at the end of the bulletin. It looks like this:

It means “Gone Home,” and it’s on the tombstone of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts It’s not a bad symbol for the conclusion of a service, a Scout weekend, a life.

We Go to a Shrine in Nebraska

You wouldn't expect to see it in the fields above the freeway in Nebraska: a glass and wood structure that seems to float above a hillside west of Omaha. But there it is. The tall, spiky crucifix at one end of the building confirms that it's a Christian house of worship, but what is it?

A little research (and the nagging suspicion that we'd heard about something like this back when we were planning this trip) identified the building as a Catholic chapel, Holy Family Shrine. The chapel, completed in 2002, looked to me like buildings designed by E Fay Jones.* The branching wooden supports are intended to represent the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) as well as resembling the grain growing in fields all around. The channels of water running through the rocks in the floor are intended to remind worshippers of the water of baptism.

The site is probably requested as a wedding venue, but it's not allowed. However, Mass is celebrated every Saturday morning. We attended with about 70 others. We were glad when the priest prayed for those who would see and be inspired by the sight of the shrine as they drove by.

The shrine is open every day, and the visitor center displays information about the development of the property. Visitors approach the center through a door in the hillside, which is intended to remind them of Jesus' tomb, and the inside is designed to encourage guests to be still and seek God. The Shrine's website says it's a place for travelers "to seek out the intervention of the Holy Spirit, to be at peace, to heal, to be comforted, to pray, and to discover or rediscover the saving power of Jesus Christ."

Even from the road, it seems a place of peace.

*an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, Jones designed Thorncrown Chapel and Mildred B Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas. Thorncrown Chapel was closed the week we were in Arkansas (and we didn't know about the other chapel), so it was especially good to see this building.

10 Nebraska Churches You Really Ought to See

Our old friends, Transport for Christ, have a
Mobile Chapel in Chaska

Ashland United Methodist

The ROC Youth Center
Ashland

Word of Hope Lutheran
Ashland

 

Immaculate Conception Church,
Boyd Memorial Catholic
Boys Town, Omaha

First Christian,
Ashland

First Congregational
Ashland

Chambers Protestant Chapel
Boys Town, Omaha

Southwest Church of Christ
Omaha

Saint Mary's Catholic
Ashland

We Go to Church in Nebraska (twice)

The Rock, Candlewood Church Omaha and Candlewood Church, Lincoln

I don’t know how, but people at The Rock, somehow figured out that Mindy and I weren’t students at the University of Nebraska Omaha (or UNO, like the card game.) If anything, they seemed to they thought we were parents of students. That being said, students and leaders still greeted us cheerfully, making sure we felt welcome.

The Rock is Candlewood Church’s ministry to college students. Just as the church has congregations in Omaha and Lincoln, they have ministries to students on both the Lincoln and Omaha campuses. We attended the Rock’s 8:00 pm Wednesday service in Omaha and Candlewood’s 10:00 am Sunday worship service in Lincoln.

Mindy met Sarah just after entering the Thompson Alumni Center, where The Rock meets at UNO. They chatted for a few minutes, then she headed to her post as an official greeter.

Micah welcomed us as well. He’s a senior at UNO and has been attending the Rock since early in his college career.  There are other Christian groups on the campus, and he tried a couple of them. He said the various groups are good, but he saw the people of the Rock living out their faith. And he very much liked the music. He warned us the music would be loud “so people aren’t afraid to sing.”

We told him we would be going to the church service in Omaha that Sunday (We ended up going to the service in LIncoln because, well, plans change). He said he wouldn’t be at church on Sunday because he was going on an Autumn break trip, and that many of the students would be going on a Rock group trip to Minnesota to do service projects, discipleship, and sightseeing. So MIcah introduced us to Deante who would be at the Candlewood service in Omaha Sunday (but again, we weren’t. Sorry, Deante.) When he heard we were from California he asked, “What is it like in California where the people are so liberal?”

It was time for the meeting to begin with singing. There was an announcement time, with some discussion of the trip to Minnesota and a video about an upcoming conference. Everyone was invited to go together to Old Chicago after the service. It’s a local pizza place (“$2 a slice”). The guy doing announcements also said, “There will be a Candlewood football game.  Sorry, those are the only details I was given.”

There was also an announcement that the Rock would soon be meeting in another location. Candlewood Church had been meeting at a local high school, but they had just purchased their own building in Omaha near the campus. The church would soon be meeting there and the Rock would as well.

There was a greeting time in the midst of the service, and I talked with an young man named Zach. I asked him why he attended the Rock and he said, “I can feel the Spirit, I can feel God’s presence.” His family attended Candlewood Church when he was young, but quit going. When Zach began to attend UNO, he attended the Rock. He then began to attend Candlewood again. And now his family had begun to attend Candlewood again as well.

Mike Whitney, who’s Campus Director of the Rock Ministries and a Candlewood pastor, was speaking that evening. He was continuing a series on the Sermon on the Mount entitled “Jesus Uncut.” The focus of the message was Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge other people, then you will not be judged.” He called this the verse most commonly misquoted by college students. Mike said this verse didn’t refer to “moral judgements, but rather personal preferences.” He argued the context of this verse is believers living in community.

He said that living in community brings warmth, but it also brings friction. We need to learn to deal with that. Living in community means being transparent, but we must learn to not be judgemental of each other. He used the example of some of his Christian friends who don’t watch television. For Mike and his wife, television is a major means of entertainment and relaxation. Believers can differ on such things. (He also used alcohol as an example.)

Mike encouraged students to discuss these issues in their small groups. We were told that until a couple of years ago, the Rock’s small groups were divided into men’s and women’s groups. But now there are co-ed groups with both a male and female leader for each. Most groups average a dozen people.

The Candlewood Church in LIncoln began in 1983 as a Great Commission Church called Harvest Community Church. Four years ago, the church merged with people from Candlewood Church in Omaha who had come to plant a church in Lincoln. The combined group is now called Candlewood Lincoln. (Candlewood is also a Great Commission Church.)

Candlewood Sunday morning services start at 10:00 am, but their advertising and signage notes that coffee time begins at 9:30 am. I was happy to discover that along with the coffee, very good donuts were also served (I had a maple topped, cream-filled triangle; Mindy had a chocolate topped triangle. Yum.)

A young woman named Natalie was part of the team serving the treats. She’s been attending the church all her life. I asked what kept her at Candlewood, and she said she appreciates the depth of relationships in the church.

I also talked to Shane, a staff member who oversees ministry to young couples and single professionals. I asked him to tell me about his history. He became a Christian shortly before going off the school at UNO. His roommate was Mike Whitney, who introduced Shane to the Candlewood. (That’s the same Mike who spoke at the Rock when we attended and, it turned out,  preached in LIncoln that morning.) Shane, like Natalie, mentioned the depth of relationships as the greatest attraction at Candlewood.

There were quite a number of children running amuck before the service (safely and happily amuck, I should say). Children up through the age of eight stay in the worship service for the first few songs and then are dismissed to Sunday School during the greeting time.

MIke was preaching on John 17, the prayer of Jesus the night before he was crucified. He said the prayer was divided into three sections, Jesus’ prayer for Himself, for His disciples, and for those who would come later. The sermon was on that first section found in verses 1 - 8.

He spoke of Jesus’ submission to the Father, how everything He did was for His Father’s glory. “Jesus didn’t go rogue with one miracle, healing or teaching; everything went through the home office of Heaven.” Mike said said we, too, should be first concerned with glorifying God.

Mike said he had a book that would help people with that task. He asked ushers to hand out copies of the book Victory Assured to everyone in the congregation who wanted a copy. “Don’t worry about the price tag on the book,” Mike added. “This is a gift.”

There was no offering taken during the service. Instead, a box in the lobby labeled “Tithes” was available. The church is currently raising money to buy the church building where they’re meeting. Until recently, they had met in a local community center. A Methodist congregation offered their building to Candlewood at a greatly reduced price, but Candlewood must come up with the money by a certain date or the property will go on the general market. Mike is confident God will provide.

Before the worship service, a woman named Shirley had introduced herself. She’s had a connection with the church building since its Methodist days, when she was part of the church’s food distribution program, which Candlewood is carrying on. That is how Shirley learned about Candlewood and has been attending for the last year and a half. Shirley shared food with us, too, inviting us to lunch at her house.

Relationships are important at Candlewood, and both the church and the college ministry reach out to make sure people learn about the most important relationship: a relationship with Jesus.

Statistics

The Rock UNO / Candlewood Lincoln

Service Length: 1 hour and 2 minutes / 51 minutes

Sermon Length: 30 minutes / 21 minutes

Visitor Treatment: at both, we were welcomed by people as we entered the building and during the greeting time in the worship service. There was no particular welcome for visitors and no record of attendance.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: Dean had sent a message to Mike, which Mike responded to immediately.

Our Rough Count: 51 / 90

Probable Ushers’ Count: 75 / 125

Snacks: none / donuts, coffee, decaf, hot water for tea or cocoa, ice water, lemonade

Musicians: The Rock

electric and acoustic guitar (man), keyboard (man), vocal (woman), drums (man)

Candlewood Church Lincoln

Vocal (woman), acoustic guitar (man)

Songs: The Rock

“As we Tremble”

“White as Snow”

“In Tenderness”

“Head to the Heart”

Candlewood Church Lincoln

“You’re Beautiful”

“Scandal of Grace”

“How Can it Be”

“Jesus I Come”

Miles to Church: 27 miles / 28 miles

Miles from Start: 38,855

Total 2016 Miles: 38,569

Church Website: candlewoodrock.com
 candlewoodchurch.org

6 Things You Need to Know about Nebraska

1. 89% of Nebraska cities have fewer than 3,000 people.

2. Spain established trade with Apaches in what's now western Nebraska in the 1690s.

3. By forcing Native American tribes to cede their land and settle on reservations, the U.S. government opened huge areas for settlement. The prairie in the western part of the state was settled quickly in 1870s, due to its value for grazing cattle and newly developed farming technologies.

4. 90% of people in Nebraska identified themselves as Christians in 2010.

5. The state name is a transliteration of a an archaic Ote word (or an Omaha word) meaning "flat river" after the Platte River.

6. Because good jobs were available, many African-Americans migrated to the state in the late 1800s. More recently, in 2010, about 4.5% of the population was of African descent. About 1% of Nebraskans were Native American.