Publications 
Memorial United Methodist Church
White Plains, New York 10605
Follow Me – Plan 09
A Sunday Sermon by Joe Agne, Pastor
Based on Mark 1:14-21
Janauary 25, 2009 (Not edited or proofread)
The Elliott family makes a change
The movie, Billie Elliott, tells the story of young boy growing up in a working class family and neighborhood in northern England. This is not a neighborhood or family that would ordinarily think of itself as a training ground for dancers. Billy Elliott discovers he loves classical dance and that he wants to be a dancer, much to the chagrin of his father. Billy becomes an excellent dancer. This takes Billy into a world that is entirely different from that of his family. His father’s first impulse, and it is very strong, is to try to keep him in the “world” of his family of origin. Billy feels that in order to be Billy Elliott he has to live in a new world. The movie is about Billy’s life in this new world and his father’s growth to entrust Billy to this world the father doesn’t understand at all. Near the end of the movie, the father comes to London and watches his son dance. He sees beautiful and joyful leaps, turns and steps he didn’t know any person could do, let alone his son. Then we, the viewers, see something we never expected to see – Billy’s father watching his son dance and the father’s face is filled with sheer pride and a joy that matches the joy of his dancing son.
The Zebedee family makes a change
Zebedee was a fisherman. He had a family fishing business that employed his sons, James and John. This gave them work and kept them in the ethos, the “world,” of the fishing community of the father. Plus, the father’s retirement security was guaranteed as the sons would take over the business when he was too old to work. One day the sons were working in their boats mending their nets, which meant they probably had just had a really good catch and the weight of the fish left the nets in need of repair. All was well in Galilee for the Zebedee family. Jesus came along. He saw the sons working in the boats and called them to follow. They dropped their nets and left. They left their work. They left their family. They left the “world” of their family and village. They became disciples of an itinerant preacher, teacher, healer, mystic and organizer. Can you imagine the conversation they had with their father before they left? Or do you think they just left not knowing how to help their father understand? I like to think their father sent them into this new world.
The United States makes a change
A couple of years ago, friends of mine from Chicago started calling me and emailing me saying that the next president of the United States was going to be Barack Obama. They made a decision to go to Iowa and work for Obama in the Iowa caucuses. Later, as retired people, they went to Detroit for 5 weeks to work in the election. You know the story. Obama won the Iowa caucus, the nomination of the Democratic Party and the election. Last Tuesday I was in Washington DC with 2 million of my closest friends and Barack Hussein Obama became our president. There was joy all over DC, our country and the world. President Barack Obama. Just savor that for a moment.
According to the New York Times, President Obama and Michelle’s family is of African, European and Asian descent. They speak French, Cantonese, Indonesian, German, Hebrew, Swahili, Luo, Igbo, Gullah and Creole. President Obama’s step grandmother only recently got electricity and running water. Their family includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and people proclaiming no faith. President Obama’s father was a Kenyan. His mother was a Kansan. As her family had abolitionist roots they was chased out of Missouri and they settled in Kansas. There is a rabbi in the family. Not so long ago Barack Obama would have been dismissed as a mulatto and his parents guilty of miscegenation, a jailable offense in some places and a lynchable offense in others. Michelle’s ancestors were slaves. Then they were sharecroppers, cooks, domestic servants, coal sorters, dressmakers. Michelle’s father worked on a milk truck at age 11. Both sides of the family served in the U.S. military.
The Cosby family makes a a change
I heard the comedian, Bill Cosby, describe how he voted last November 4. He got ready to vote by gathering together family pictures – a picture of his brother who had died before either of them were ten years old, a picture of his mother and a picture of his father, both deceased. Bill Cosby took these pictures into the voting booth. After he closed the curtain, he carefully placed the three pictures in front of him by the voting lever. They he whispered to his brother and mother and father, “We are going to vote now.” He pulled the lever for Barack Obama.
Billy Elliott’s family from England experienced change. The Zebedee family of Galilee experienced change. The Obama family experienced change. The Cosby family experienced change. Our country experienced change. Our world experienced change.
The Memorial family makes a change
Memorial United Methodist Church is experiencing change. We are in a crisis. Because of the economy and the financial hit experienced by so many of our households, our pledges for this year are lower than last year. One of our space-sharers that gave us $110,000 toward the expense of our building has relocated. We do have the Loft and a new Portuguese congregation with give us about $70,000 toward the expense of this building. This weekend God will be worshipped in Spanish, Korean, Creole, Portuguese and English here at 250 Bryant Avenue. A Muslim group is considering a move here and they might offer $20,000 in shared expense. The White Plains Youth Bureau might locate some programs here (via a contact on the bus on the way to the inauguration). We are probably still short $50,000 to $100,000 at this point. That’s the difficult.
The good news is we have three new rooms, each with bright light from our courtyard, for our Seasons of the Spirit Sunday School. Come next Saturday and help us paint. We have thirty leaders in our Sunday School, youth group and WOW (Wednesdays of Wonder) program. We have many opportunities for adult education and worship throughout the week. We have movie nights and jazz nights. We are planning a bowling party in honor of our new president. We are starting a “Matthew 25” program, coordinated by Phil Moore and our Outreach Journey Group. We have committed ourselves to the Memorial Experience which has four foci: worship, study, service and having fun. We have set a goal of welcoming 30 new member households per year.
We need you for all of this. Come today to our budget hearings, called “Plan 09,” by Alex Ungerer, our finance committee’s chairperson. The youth are serving us lunch, in exchange for our contribution to their mission work team next summer. For the last 30 years Memorial has underwritten 50% or more of its ministry by sharing space with others. We have been “landlords,” in some sense of the word. We have been landlocked in our own building, without adequate space for our own ministry. Now, we are leaving our old ways. We are taking back the church. We are declaring, “Let the church be the church.” Can we count on you? Can we live in a new way like Billy Elliott and his father – like Zebedee and his sons – like the Cosby family – like the Obama/Robinson family – like the United States. I think we can. We just need to respond like James and John, when the call comes to each of us and to our congregation. It is a call from Jesus. It is a call for change. It is not complex. It just says, “Follow me.” Let’s do it.
