Category Archives: Ministry

“How Can I Keep from Singing?”: A Reflection from Rev. Dollie Howell Pankey

There is an older American hymn whose first few stanzas offer these words:

My life goes on in endless song
Above earth’s lamentations,
I hear the real, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear its music ringing,
It sounds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?

While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
And though depths of night ’round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth.

This is a question we have found ourselves asking during this pandemic, “How can I keep from singing?” Pastors, Ministers of Music, Choir members, and even those who lead on the Conference and General Synod levels have had to make painful and unprecedented decisions that keep us from singing because of the increased danger posed by singing in our congregational spaces. Many of us feel the absence of singing together, of making music together, very deeply. What do we do with this deep loss?

There are three thoughts I offer to you in this season:

First, I encourage us to take the legitimacy of this loss seriously. The majority of Christian traditions value congregational singing as a central aspect of communal worship. That means that we understand worship to include singing, and more importantly, to include singing together. Here at Beloved, we have all witnessed ways in which singing as a community enhances our worship. Our inability to gather as the people of God and sing together leaves us with a profound sense of loss in three major ways.

This loss affects our engagement of the Subject of our praise. Our sense of praise often feels diminished when we cannot find a song or lift a song in times of struggle or of breakthrough. To be told that we cannot sing together as we worship together may cause us to feel that we can’t fully connect with God in worship. Most of us want to outwardly express our praise and our prayers. Even when we cannot do so in the prayers we formulate or by shouting or lifting our hands and dancing about, we have been able to sing or enter into song.

This loss also affects our sense of community when we praise. We are shaped not just by the texts we sing and by the melodies we sing; we are shaped by the act of coming together and singing itself. We are shaped by listening to each other and for each other. We are shaped by strengthening the weak among us and by lifting up a song for those whose hearts can’t lift up a song for themselves.

And this loss affects the impact, outcomes, and results of our praise. Many of us sing a song when we get a breakthrough or when our hearts are glad in spite of life’s circumstances. One of my dear friends has difficulty learning and following songs in church, but when her heart is happy, she is prone to start humming “Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!” It has never mattered whether it was the Christmas season or not. It only matters that her heart is happy.  We sing a song because we can acknowledge—in our singing, our worshiping, and our gathering—our awareness that God has taken care of our need. We can acknowledge in song that God knows our names. We can acknowledge “God will take care of you” in song. We can acknowledge that “Jesus will fix it,” and knowing these things makes our hearts just want to sing. To not be able to sing together robs us of feeling the presence of God in different and profound ways. “How can I keep from singing?” How can we keep from singing?

Secondly, I encourage us to grieve what this loss means for you individually and for us as a singing community—for those who lead music in our congregation, for our congregation, and for the larger community. There is something about grief when it is not given voice or room for venting. That grief can linger past its time and cause us greater suffering, do greater damage. Grief can remain unresolved. Those of us who work in pastoral care and other helping professions often recognize the impact of unresolved grief in people’s lives. So this is a call to mourn what you have lost. Yet even as I call us and encourage us to mourn what we have lost by not being able to sing together, I am mindful of this wisdom in the book of Deuteronomy regarding the Israelites’ mourning following the death of Moses. That is, mourning comes to an end. It is important that we grieve, that we grieve deeply, and that we grieve fully; but our mourning, our grieving, needs to come to an end so as to not cripple us.Finally, I encourage us to not allow our sense of loss to keep us from missing the opportunities that not singing presents to us. Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline, reminds us that taking up a spiritual discipline refers to something that we intentionally limit ourselves from doing or from having so that we can deepen and broaden our lives and spirituality in other ways. I suggest that this period in which we have lost the ability to sing when we come together as we once did can have positive impact that counters what we have lost.

In this time when we cannot gather and sing as we once did, we have an opportunity to seek God more fully both as we grieve and as we employ or discover new ways of offering our praises and our laments. We can use this time to worship God with more of our body and mind although our voices are stilled or subdued for now. We can take what we cannot sing and pour it out in our emotions, pour it out on paper, pour it out in cooking and gardening, pour it out in things we can create. We can let the words of the songs become our meditations more than they ever have before.

This time of not being able to gather and sing as we once did also offers us the opportunity to not just do the congregational or choral version of “hit it and quit it” or just coming to church to get our a fix for our need to sing. This is now an opportunity to deepen relationships within the congregations and ensembles in which we sing or make music. It is an opportunity to get to know people in a different way, to hear how they are hurting, and to be a support system for each other. If we do this now, then when we are able to sing together again, we will be able to hear each other differently and to feel each other’s pain differently so that we are able to sing and pray differently so we are able to heal differently in our communities.

This is a time to deepen the impact, outcomes, and results of our praise. I know that when I have been in a time of fasting, the first opportunity to break the fast is a joyous moment, not just because I get to eat but because I get to be with those who add joy and community to my eating. The same can be true for our singing. This is a singing fast for us in many ways, but consider how much more joyous our praise will be when we can be together and sing together once again! As I close this moment of reflection, I return to the refrain of the hymn, “How Can I Keep from Singing:”

No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that rock I’m clinging.
Since love is lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?

Amen.

https://hymnary.org/text/my_life_flows_on_in_endless_song




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Adapting to Seasons of Change: A Reflection from Rev. Dollie Howell Pankey

        Perhaps many of us are familiar with the first verses of the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes from the Hebrew Bible.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven—a time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, a time to heal; a time to break down, a time to build up; a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn, a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, a time to lose; a time to keep, a time to throw away; a time to tear, a time to sew; a time to keep silence, a time to speak; a time to love, a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. 

—Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 8 [NRSV]

There is a song I love that speaks of the surety of change. The song lyrics offer these words for our reflection:

“Everything Must Change”[i]

Everything must change.

Nothing stays the same.
Everyone must change.

No one stays the same.

The young become the old,

And mysteries do unfold
‘Cause that’s the way of time.

Nothing and no one goes unchanged.

Winter turns to spring.

A wounded heart will heal,
But never much too soon.

Yes, everything must change.

The young become the old,

And mysteries do unfold
‘Cause that’s the way of time.

Nothing and no one goes unchanged.

There are not many things

In life you can be sure of

Except rain comes from the clouds,

Sun lights up the sky,

And hummingbirds do fly.

Written by: BENARD IGHNER

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

        Yes, everything must change. Immediately before the orders to “shelter in place” were issued, Pastor Jennifer and I were planning how I would come on the staff as “Theomusicologist – in – Residence” at Beloved Community Church. As you were preparing to celebrate the major milestone of Beloved’s 20th Anniversary,  none of us would have imagined observing this major milestone on the Zoom platform in such understated ways. I would not hesitate to say that in all of our dialogue and planning, none of us imagined that we would be where we are today in light of the pandemic that was just around the corner and would have us sheltering at home.

        I would even venture to say that none, or very few, of us imagined that we would concurrently experience a wave of protest during the pandemic. Or as someone said recently, COVID – 19 and “COVID – 1619”, referring to the twin pandemics of the coronavirus and racism. Everything changes, in ways we anticipate and in ways we cannot anticipate. Change is a sure thing!  And now it seems like we will be in this “newness” for some time to come. 

        As the needs of our community are increasing, Beloved’s presence in both the virtual community and in the physical community remains vital. Fortunately for Beloved as a whole, and for us in our respective homes or family units, with change comes POSSIBILITY.  But that possibility is only realized if we are able to ADAPT well in seasons of change. There are a couple of verses that follow the more familiar portion of Ecclesiastes 3 that give me hope in seasons of change:

11 [God] has made everything suitable for its time; moreover [God] has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.  14 I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it …. 

—Ecclesiastes 3:11, 14 [NRSV]

        I am hopeful because I trust that God has made everything suitable—or as one version says, BEAUTIFUL—for its time [v. 11a]. Just as the seasons change, the needs of response change and the provision of God changes for the season we face. I trust God to help us assess our resources—of all varieties—and to bring our best to the task of reshaping our work. And I believe it will be a beautiful work as we look back on this season of change.

        I am hopeful because I trust that the seeds of our flourishing are present in how we adapt to the changing season we are facing [v. 11b].  God has not left us resourceless. We have within us “a sense of past and future.” There are lessons we have learned in past times of crisis and change that will inform our work and help us to flourish today. That requires us to come together by Zoom or by phone or by email, etc., so we find those seeds and carefully tend to them. I can already see us finding and tending those seeds in the way we have cultivated holy spaces of worship, study, and gathering even with the current limitations. I can see us finding and tending those seeds in the continuation of the Brown Bag Ministry, caring for those families who are hungry.

        I am hopeful because I trust that God is doing something in this season of change, in this season when pandemic meets protest [v. 14]. 

GOD is doing something.

God IS doing something.

God is DOING something.

God is going SOMETHING!

And what God does will endure. As we have watched and engaged in the protests and direct actions that came to a head following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, we see that God is doing something. People have coalesced to say that we have had enough. As a result of the escalated protests in Birmingham leading to the removal of Confederate statues in Linn Park, we have seen statues honoring white supremacy come down across the United States and other places around the world. Even locally, we have seen continued pressure on the powers that be in Hoover in protest of harsh policing practices and of the devaluing of Black lives. All of this has happened amid the COVID-19 pandemic. God is doing something, and we have the opportunity to be an ongoing part of what God is doing.

        Change is typically not an easy thing for us, but change is a must if we want to stay in step with how the Spirit of God is moving in the moment and with the needs of the community of which we are part. And so, as we face this season of change for people across the world, in the Birmingham community, and in our congregational life, our ability to adapt well is key. Just as we hear affirmed in the United Church of Christ (UCC), “God is still speaking.”[ii]  In this season of change, may we continue to listen to God speaking to us through scripture, through our shared experience, and through our commitment to be God’s witness in the world.[iii] In so doing, we will continue to “joyfully share with one another hope for the living, comfort for the dying, dignity for those in struggle, and freedom to ask and to seek and to grow more fully

Into the persons we were created to be.”[iv]


[i] https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/30322911/George+Benson/Everything+Must+Change

[ii] http://www.belovedcommunitychurch.org/what-we-believe/

[iii] http://www.belovedcommunitychurch.org/participation-membership/

[iv] http://www.belovedcommunitychurch.org/what-we-believe/

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Pizza with the pastoral candidate Saturday, October 8th

Join us from 5:30-7:30 for pizza with Beloved pastoral candidate Jennifer Sanders. We will have time to mingle, as well as a question and answer period with Jennifer at 6 pm. We’ll enjoy pizza from our neighbors at Post Office Pies. Please call or email to let us know if you plan to attend or if you have any food allergies so we’ll order enough for everyone!

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Congregational meeting for pastoral vote, Oct. 9th

Almost one year ago, the members of Beloved Community Church entrusted a search committee to select a pastoral candidate for the church’s approval. Since then, we have spent hundreds of hours diligently and prayerfully reviewing in-depth ministerial profiles of fifteen applicants, including candidates from all over the United States, the UCC and other denominations. With great consideration, we narrowed our search to a few.

After interviewing each candidate twice, hearing them preach in person and talking to their references, we recommend Jennifer Sanders as the best candidate to pastor Beloved Community Church.

Continue reading Congregational meeting for pastoral vote, Oct. 9th

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Memorial Service for Orlando, June 15th, 8-9 pm

Join us in a vigil of prayer, silence, conversation, and creative expression to remember the lives of those killed and injured at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. We will grieve the senseless bloodshed and pray to end violence and discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people everywhere.

Offered by The Abbey, Baptist Church of the Covenant, Beloved Community Church, Birmingham Friends Meeting, Covenant Community ChurchPilgrim Church UCC, Saint Junia UMC, and Woodlawn UMC.

We will meet outdoors between Beloved and The Abbey, weather permitting (131 41st Street South, Birmingham, AL 35222). If it is raining, we’ll be inside one or both of the buildings.

Contact Jennifer Sanders for more information.

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Central Alabama Pride Parade Saturday, June 11th, 8 pm

Join us to march in the Central Alabama Pride parade Saturday, June 11th, and let our neighbors know that Beloved is a place for all people!

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Lineup and registration at 7 pm on 7th Ave. S (corner of 30th St. S). Parade starts at 8:30.

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We will be walking on foot, carrying Beloved’s banner and handing out brochures.

Contact Donny Humphrey with any questions.

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June preachers at Beloved, Sunday nights at 6

As Beloved continues our search for a pastor, we will welcome incredible guest preachers from our community to share wisdom, guidance, and encouragement for our lives.

Join us Sunday evenings at 6 pm for the message, the company of Beloveds, and the music of our own Beloved Community Orchestra!

Sunday, June 5th, 2016: Rev. June Boutwell, Southeast Conference Minister of the United Church of Christ

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June began her ministry with Southeast Conference in March 2014 bringing experience in local church ministry in Maine, Oregon, and California. Her hope is to listen to as many stories as she can about individuals and churches in the Conference and to explore where the Spirit is leading us in our mutual ministry. She will join us to celebrate our 16th anniversary!

Sunday, June 12th: Rev. Bud Precise
Bud Precise
Bud is an ordained UMC minister with dual Standing in the UCC as the former Pastor of Pilgrim Church UCC. He currently serves as their director of Christian Education. Bud will share the Lord’s Supper. All are welcome!

Sunday, June 19th: Father’s Day Cookout + Rev. J.R. Finney

pastor

Rev. J.R. Finney is pastor of Covenant Community Church UCC in Center Point, AL, our sister congregation. CCC and Pastor J.R. have been the subject of an award-winning documentary entitled The Congregation.” His ministry philosophy is “To lead our LGBT and progressive community in a faith that builds healthy, wholesome relationships with God through Jesus Christ that makes a practical difference in the daily living of their lives, proclaiming loudly ‘the inclusive love of God without the guilt of religion.'”


Sunday, June 26th: Rev. Carolyn Foster

carolynRev. Foster is a deacon in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Birmingham, and also serves as the Faith in Community Coordinator with Greater Birmingham Ministries. She coordinates the interfaith Alabama Faith Council and also organized the recent Moral Revival in Birmingham. Her favorite quote is from Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “In God’s family, there are no outsiders, no enemies.”


Join us Sunday nights at 6 pm or Wednesday nights at 7 pm – all people are welcome and all people are celebrated as Beloveds.

 

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Beloved’s 16th Anniversary Celebration Sunday, June 5th

A celebration of our Beloved Community in our 16th year. Featuring fantastic gospel, R&B, and sacred music. With special guest preacher Rev. June Boutwell, conference minister for the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ.

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All Beloveds new and old are welcomed to join us for a celebration of word, music and song, followed by a potluck supper.

Featuring musical guests David Sea of the Temptations Review, Gold record artist  Roscoe Robinson, Christ Will Enter In, LeNard Brown of the Controllers, Leah Clements and the Beloved Community Orchestra. (Below: photos from last year’s anniversary!)

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See you there, Beloved!

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Beloved Community Church seeks pastor

Beloved Community Church (UCC) is an open and affirming, vibrant church comprised of mission-oriented congregants in Birmingham, Alabama. Our small, diverse congregation is honored and proud to serve as sanctuary for people who have not felt at home in traditional churches while encouraging people from all walks of life to grow in relationship with one another and with God.

We welcome all people who join us in worship as our Beloveds and have a regular attendance of approximately 40 people. Sunday evening worship includes inspiring pastoral teaching and soulful music from our Beloved Orchestra followed by food and fellowship.

Whether it be through our Care Team Ministry that provides support for congregants in need, our Brown Bag Ministry that feeds 50+ families each month, our Family Promise Ministry that helps provide food and shelter for homeless families, or our willingness to stand in solidarity with immigrants seeking better lives, Beloved cares about our congregants and our community in word and deeds.

We are looking for a teaching pastor, who is informed and responsive to community needs, able to coordinate and energize lay leaders to fulfill mission responsibilities, able to maintain administrative duties and assist in growing the church, all while embodying our Beloved Community Church covenant:

With the help of God

We will walk together

In the ways of Jesus,

Creating a community

And striving for a world

Where no one is an outcast

And no one is a stranger,

Where all people are

Celebrated as precious children of God,

Where we joyfully share

With one another

Hope for the living,

Comfort for the dying,

Dignity for those in struggle,

And freedom to ask and to

Seek and to grow more fully

Into the persons

We were created to be.

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February preachers at Beloved (6 pm Sunday nights)

As we search for a new pastor, we will hear from guest preachers each week. Please stay tuned to our email newsletter for weekly updates on who will be preaching and what all is happening at Beloved Community!

Sunday, February 7th: Rev. Chris Hamlin

Sunday, February 14th: Mark Kelly

Sunday, February 21st: Rev. R.G. Wilson-Lyons

Sunday, February 28th: Rev. Dollie Howell Pankey

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