[APRIL 16, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Blagojevich will join religious leaders from the Springfield community for "A House United" service to celebrate the dedication of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum on Sunday. The service will bring together six distinct faith traditions -- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Unitarian-Universalism and Buddhist -- to signify the museum's ability to be uniting force in the community.

"As a people of diverse faith we will come together on Sunday to celebrate the opening of an institution that will continue to unite us, both physically and emotionally, through our historical past with the hope of reaching a greater understanding for the future," Gov. Blagojevich said. "It's an honor for me to join faith communities from Springfield and beyond in celebrating such a historic event for the state of Illinois."

"We are extremely grateful to the Springfield religious community for coming together to celebrate the life of Abraham Lincoln and the opening of this museum," said Richard Norton Smith, the museum's executive director. "The interfaith service will give us an opportunity to reflect on the journey of a Springfield man who changed the direction of this country and will continue to bring us together through this institution."

"The Greater Springfield Interfaith Association is pleased to be a part of the celebration of the dedication of the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum," said Pastor Kreston Lipscomb, president of the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association. "‘A House United,' the theme for our Sunday afternoon service, reflects the diversity of faith traditions which have come together to honor Lincoln with song, prayers and words of gratitude, as well as President Lincoln's own belief that our nation could not be a house divided. We are grateful for the participation of so many religious leaders and youth from the various faith traditions in this service. We hope the residents of Springfield will join us as we bid welcome to the opening of this new museum."

The service will be an afternoon of music and prayers from religious traditions and is sponsored by the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The service begins at 2 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Participants in the service will include the following:

Rev. Leslie Bradshaw, Unity Church of Practical Christianity
Rabbi Michael Datz, Temple B'rith Sholom
Mr. Rudy Davenport, past recipient of GSIA Humanitarian Award
Ms. Bonnie Ettinger, music director, Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation
Ms. Amina N. Everett, Springfield Baha'i Community
Ms. Char Fanning, Sangamon Zen Group
Rev. Clifford Hayes, First Presbyterian Church of Springfield
Rev. Jean Hembrough, Douglas Avenue United Methodist Church
Rev. Kevin Laughery, ecumenical officer, Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Ms. Mary Link, First Church of the Brethren, Springfield
Rev. Kres Lipscomb, First Church of the Brethren, Springfield
Rabbi Barry Marks, Temple Israel
Rev. Berkley Moore, minister emeritus, Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation
Ms. Maryam Mostoufi, D. Min., Islamic Society of Springfield
Mr. Ken Page, president, NAACP, Springfield Branch
Rev. Tim Rowles, associate pastor, Abundant Faith Christian Center
Mr. Richard Norton Smith, director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum
Mr. Clayton Whitmore-Penrose, Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation
Rev. Martin Woulfe, Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation

[Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum news release]

[APRIL 16, 2005]  HARTSBURG -- Recently, we had a quite spirited discussion in our adult Sunday school class about the issue of baptism -- its purpose, its importance, its relevance. We looked at Scripture. We expressed opinions. We referenced different family and church traditions.

As the teacher, I had a blast. This was mostly because of the spirit of the discussion. When Christian brothers and sisters get together to study or just to fellowship, there ought to always be a spirit of humility, mutual respect and community. This is something that I have always appreciated about Prairieland, and it was no different on this particular Sunday.

But I feel like I should make some further comments about baptism and also about the practice of the Lord's Supper. I never know what to call these two practices. Are they sacraments? Are they ordinances? I don't really like either of those terms. Each of those words comes with too much theological baggage. I prefer to call them "things that Christians do that no one else does and everyone else looks at as a little weird." I know. It's not concise, and you won't find a definition like this in any theology textbook, but I think it's a good definition nevertheless.

Think about it. Imagine you are a totally unchurched person who shows up at Prairieland one Sunday. We sing songs. That isn't necessarily weird (although you won't find organ and piano music in many other venues). We pray. A lot of people pray. We greet each other. Still not weird. We take an offering. Not strange at all to an unchurched person. Why wouldn't the church ask for an offering? You have to turn on the lights, don't you? We listen to a guy in a tie give a prepared speech. Pretty normal.

But then all of a sudden two trays are passed. One has tiny pieces of bad-tasting bread. The other has tiny plastic cups of juice (at least this is the tradition in our church). And the Christians reverently and seriously eat this supposed "meal." Then at the end of the service two people go into a big bathtub and one of the people dunks the other person in the water and everybody thinks this is the greatest thing ever. Weird.

And that is one of the things that I truly love about communion and baptism. I love the fact that they are simple (there is after all nothing elaborate about water, bread and juice), but yet they are also unique and filled with mystery.

Space simply doesn't permit an in-depth study of these "things that Christians do that no one else does and everyone else looks at as a little weird." So for now let me just make one point about these two practices: I think that we all need milestones in our faith. The unique celebrations of communion and baptism provide these milestones.

When you are driving anywhere that is unfamiliar, a recognizable milestone or landmark is not only helpful; it is essential to keep from becoming lost. I think that it's safe to say that life sometimes (perhaps often) seems very unfamiliar. On our journey through life we often find ourselves in new territory, faced with new trials, challenged by new temptations. Sometimes we lose our way. Sometimes we get disoriented. We need a landmark to call us back to the "ancient ways" (Jeremiah 6:16). Baptism and communion provide us with such landmarks (and aren't the best landmarks noted for their strangeness anyway?).

In baptism, we celebrate and affirm the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We also declare publicly his lordship of our lives. And no matter where our lives may take us, we can look back on that baptism and recall the relationship with Christ that was started on that day.

In communion, we also celebrate and affirm the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. In our church, we come together in the Lord's Supper every week "to declare the Lord's death until he comes" (I Cor. 11:26). Week after week, we are provided with a milestone -- a landmark calling us back to our Lord.

I thank God for the wonderful weirdness of baptism and communion. They are never burdensome. They are never an embarrassment to be explained away. They are instead wonderful milestones always calling me back to my Savior.

[Chad Ragsdale, minister, Prairieland Christian Church]

[APRIL 16, 2005]  HARTSBURG -- Special activities at Prairieland Christian Church:

• Sunday, April 17 -- Rekindle the vision. Our annual "vision night" will start at 6:30. We will spend time in worship and prayer. We will also be updated by the leadership of the church on important matters such as finances, missions, preacher search and goals for the coming year. Everyone is encouraged to come and learn more about the state of their church.

• Wednesday, April 20 -- Prairie Men's Band of Brothers, 7 p.m. at the church.

• Sunday, May 15 -- The May Ladies Banquet will be at the church on May 15, starting at 4 p.m. The theme this year is "Live in the Light." Guest speaker this year will be Debi McMorrow from the WCIC "Morning Show." Please put this date on your calendar. You may give your reservations to Blanche or Natalie.

• Saturday, May 21 -- Family Fun Day. Children's games, picnics, a churchwide garage sale, even a revival style-sermon from Chad Ragsdale. This day is going to have a little bit of everything. Stay tuned for more details.

• Monday, June 20 -- The first day of Vacation Bible School. Once again this year we will be putting on a communitywide VBS in conjunction with both the Lutheran and the Methodist churches in Hartsburg. We will be using Group Publishing's "Serengeti Trek --Where kids are Wild about God."

Upcoming sermon series: "Forward in Faithfulness!" On April 10 a new sermon series from the book of Hebrews begins. Hebrews is a book about perseverance and faithfulness and the superiority of Christ among all other things. As we continue to move closer to a time of transition in our church, I believe that Hebrews has much for us to hear.

• April 3 -- Surrender at LCC; leave at 5:30, return by no later than 8 p.m.

• April 10 -- Youth group at the church, 5:30-7 p.m.

• April 17 -- Youth group at the church, 5:30-7 p.m.

• April 24 -- NO youth group

• Sunday school every Sunday morning at 9:30 for both junior high and high school.

[News release]

Back to top