As we gather together there is some technical information that most of you already know, but just in case someone doesn't: There is a copy of the service in the red book next to the door to the sanctuary. The service will be in voice and text. Worship music will be in the media player. If the player isn't working in your viewer, please follow the YouTube link! Frequently in my worship service, folk end up dancing right here in the aisles or in the back of the sanctuary, so if the mood strikes you—I say go for it! GATHERING: Believe it or not, the theme of today’s sermon is not Halloween. It’s not. No, really. But I’m still starting with this scene from _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. It’s not about Halloween. It’s not! "Jack's Lament" ~Danny Elfman Lyrics: https://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/classicdisney/jackslament.htm YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouAt_5UO83s Please feel free to type any announcements you have for us into Local Chat. I invite you to receive a Memorial Stone from the bulletin giver at the back of the sanctuary, if you haven't already. WELCOME Welcome to First United Church of Christ and Conference Center, Second Life. We have official standing with the Eastern Association of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ as a Real Life church located in Second Life. And I still think that's pretty cool, because I have sat in South Central Pennsylvania—I have sat in Northern Maine— and I am currently sitting in Central Connecticut— and I still think it's pretty cool that we can partner with my brothers and sisters and non-binary siblings all across the country and all of you wherever you are! Speaking of wherever you are: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." Most churches have a time of offering. Making an offering, sharing what you can in God’s name, is a spiritual practice. That offering can be one of prayer or of presence, of work on behalf of the church doing things like reading scripture or serving on the board of directors, of helping with any of the many things that are needed for the church to function, and/or, that offering can be one of money. As a UCC church, we support the work of the wider church both with prayer and with donations. And it's true that we don't have a physical building, but there are monetary costs for this ministry to function. So if you would like to make an offering by participating in leading worship or social events, or if you would like to become a member of this church, let any clergy or staff member know. If you would like to make a financial offering to support this ministry there is a donation bowl by the door to the sanctuary, or if you prefer you can make a donation in RL currency on our website: www.firstuccsl.org And since we are a 501(c)(3) public charity, monetary donations are tax deductible in the U.S. We thank you for the blessing of your presence and your offering of support. SERMON "Stories Are Sacred" I’m going to play with the order of things again today. There will be scripture, but it’ll be embedded in sermon… somewhere. I’m going where the Spirit leads me, you could say. I associate the Holy Spirit with creativity. In the beginning, when the world was formless and void, the Spirit moved—and then came creation! Author William Bridges correctly points out that creativity comes out of the kind of chaos that you find in that liminal space between the world as you knew it and the world as it will eventually become. He calls that place “The Neutral Zone” and basically wrote a whole book about it entitled, _The Way of Transition_. I have always found liminal spaces absolutely fascinating for more reasons than I could possibly tell here. So maybe I should try to cut to the point: We’ve finished (for now) with the Book of Joshua. We had our fun with All Hallow’s Eve. We honored those who have died with All Hallow’s. And now I find myself having room for two or maybe three sermons before Advent starts. What am I going to do with that space? And the only thing that kept popping up in my head, over and over again, was Tim Burton’s _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. Why? Well, think about it. It’s not really a Halloween story, because the narrative starts just as Halloween has ended. It’s not a Christmas story, either, not exactly. Most of the narrative occurs in the barely two months between Halloween and Christmas. It is a story for right now. In this weird, liminal space between holidays. Now, whenever I find myself going this whole-heartedly down a pop-culture path, I hear two voices from my seminary days pop up in the back of my head. The first is the pastor of the church where I did my field education, who once said to me, “Dickens is interesting, but it’s not the Gospel!” The second is one of my classmates from my preaching course asking me, “Where is the Gospel in all this?” Older and wiser heads and all that. Thank God they made me think about what I was doing. I really do hold their positions in highest regard. And thank God I had the wherewithal to do my own thing! Because here’s the thing: I believe that stories are sacred. My story. Your story. Our stories. All important. All sacred. What about made up stories, fiction, like _The Nightmare Before Christmas_? Well, Dr. John Savage tells us that we cannot help but reveal our own stories in the stories we tell. Even made-up stories. Even sermons! And I recently learned something about a piece of _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ that absolutely has to do with the Real Life story of its creator. You see, the character of Jack Skellington was voiced by two people. His spoken lines were performed by Chris Sarandon. But his singing voice was none other than Danny Elfman. Now, today we know Danny Elfman’s work as a composer on films like Men in Black, Goodwill Hunting, Milk, two or three superhero movies and just about every other Tim Burton film. But from 1979–1995 he was also the front-man singer-songwriter for the band— Ok, I’m curious. Do any of you know off the top of your head? Yeah, Danny Elfman was the lead singer-songwriter of Oingo Boingo. “Dead Man’s Party” “Weird Science” All of that good stuff. I recently saw an interview with Danny Elfman where he spoke about voicing Jack Skellington and writing the songs for _Nightmare_ as two years of his life. And he spoke about how he was at the center of Oingo Boingo and how people loved him for it—“And I wanted out.” So when Jack sings, “And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King / Have grown so tired of the same old thing…” Well, that’s a song about Jack Skellington and his motivation for walking off into the forest in search of… he knows not what. But it is _also_ Danny Elfman’s story. And this is where I hear those voices from my past. Shut up, voices, I got this! The way I see it, Jack’s story—and in all likeliness, Danny Elfman’s story underneath it all—is a story of calling. Now, as someone who started off in youth ministry, who has served in associate positions and in solo pastorates, and who is making the transition into hospital chaplaincy—I have spent a _lot_ of time thinking about call. There are a lot of great scriptures about call. I could name several that describe the normal human reactions to being called by God to do—well, anything, really. But the description of the nature of the call itself that resonates most strongly with me is the call of Samuel: I Samuel 3:1-10 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ That repetition! Over and over and over again, God calls out, “Samuel! Samuel!” Over and over and over again, Samuel takes a stab at what’s going on. He doesn’t quite get it, hence the repetition, but—it wouldn’t be a satisfying story if he doesn’t eventually get there. Incidentally, that’s why I find the story of Jonah to be truly depressing, but that’s another sermon for another day! My point is this: I hear that same repetition, that same struggle, in the song “Jack’s Obsession.” Though I try, I keep forgetting Like a memory long since past Here in an instant, gone in a flash What does it mean? What does it mean? In these little bric-a-brac A secret's waiting to be cracked These dolls and toys confuse me so Confound it all, I love it though Simple objects, nothing more But something's hidden through a door Though I do not have the key Something's there I cannot see What does it mean? What does it mean? What does it mean? The other piece about calling that I really resonate with in Jack’s story is the struggle to explain to other people exactly what it is that you’re feeling—what it is that is driving you to go a different way. Especially when you’re asking yourself the question, “What does it mean?” over and over again. This struggle is beautifully depicted in the “Town Meeting Song” Listen, there were objects so peculiar They were not to be believed All around, things to tantalize my brain It's a world unlike anything I've ever seen And as hard as I try I can't seem to describe Like a most improbable dream But you must believe when I tell you this It's as real as my skull and it does exist And of course he tries to show them. And they cannot help but see what he shows them through their own lens—interpreting a new thing in such a way as to make it snugly fit into the same old thing. “Everyone, please now, not so fast / There's something here that you don't quite grasp!” I won’t go through the whole story, but I will say that Jack comes to an epiphany that is almost only right— realizing that I’m telling my own story, too, I recognize this has parallels to my brief but strong interest in Intentional Interim Ministry— and Jack makes some pretty epic mistakes! But in the end, it turns out that he has ushered in a new age for himself and his people. He realizes his own calling— what he is meant to do with his life— and he goes about it with a joy and an excitement that I wish I could bottle when I get worn out and tired! As for Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo retired after a farewell concert on Halloween, 1995. But he is creating music, still. If I can go out on a limb here—after all, I don’t actually know him personally—I’d say that music is his calling. And I highly suspect that he will continue to find ways to answer that call over and over and over again. And that is my prayer for you, as well. Find your calling—what you were meant to do. Keep asking yourself, “What does it mean?” Work through your mistakes, so that you can come out the other side with something magical and good. What do you say? Amen? PRAYER PREPARATION: “Jack's Obsession“ ~Danny Elfman Lyrics: https://genius.com/Danny-elfman-and-cast-of-the-nightmare-before-christmas-jacks-obsession-lyrics YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTtZ1ck8YzE We have come to our time in worship that I really do believe is the core of what we do here together, and that is where we uplift our joys and concerns with one another in prayer. And so I would like to invite you to enter this time of prayer with a sense of reverence. We're about to enter into a conversation with God, and that shouldn't be done lightly, but rather "... with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:2-3) Please type your prayers into chat, or if you need to use voice simply emote raising your hand so everybody can have a voice. And as we pray together, you may wish to respond to others with words like, "God hear our prayer," or with any other words the Spirit leads to you use. COMMUNITY PRAYER If there was a prayer inside of you that you couldn't quite get out, it's ok. Because the Psalmist tells us that God knows what we are going to say before the words can even form on our tongues. And so we know. We _ know _ that God has heard our prayers. Those spoken out loud, those typed into SL chat, and those spoken only in the silence of our hearts. And that we pray them in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. LISTEN! We have done a lot of talking. Let us take a moment of silence to listen to what God might be saying. Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening... PASTORAL PRAYER We near the turning of the year, O Wondrous Creator. As our earth revolves around the sun, help us to look all around and perceive how You are still at work in our world and in our lives. You have not given up on us yet. You have not given up on this one earth You made for us. You have not given up on creation. Help us to not give up. Call us to roll up our sleeves, to sweep away and clean, to build and plant, to pluck up what needs to be taken, to make space for what needs to grow. Help us to look all around and know that You are doing a new thing. Amen. (Rev-o-lution Resources by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell http://rev-o-lution.org, (c) 2021. Used by permission.) BENEDICTION: And now it really is just this simple: God loves you So don't forget to love each other Go with God Go in Peace And amen! CLOSING: “Finale / Reprise“ ~Danny Elfman & Catherine Ohara Lyrics: https://genius.com/Danny-elfman-catherine-ohara-and-the-citizens-of-halloween-finale-reprise-lyrics YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z2Ignq93nE