1. Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, August 18, 2019
Theology of Party
Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard
Sunday, August 18, 2019

2. Bonfire Blast
An accident (?), a history, some willing folks, some hard work, some risk, some generosity, some talent, some appreciation, some moments of splendor
Why would a church/university/town community go to so much trouble?
What’s in it for the ones who do this?

3. Not much . . .
If you think that the goal is to win more members to your group or to your way of thinking or believing (very little in the way of attempts to influence people politically or spiritually)

4. A great deal . . .
If you think that the goal is to participate with God in order to release creativity, splendor, a sense of belonging for all, and powerful moments that unite us in what it means to be human

5. How did we get here? Clare . . .

6. A wedding experience
The water and wine story about a wedding in Cana of Galilee
God likes to come to our parties
God cares about the small things that we care about
When God gets involved in situations they can become very special

7. A song. Dean Clark . . .

8. Everything is Holy Now (Peter Mayer)
When I was a boy, each week, Sunday we would go to church Pay attention to the priest, he would read the holy word He’d consecrate the holy bread, everyone would kneel and bow Today the only difference is, everything is holy now

9. When I was at Sunday School, we would learn about the time Moses split the sea in two, Jesus made the water wine I remember feeling sad, miracles don’t happen still Now I can’t keep track, cause everything’s a miracle

10. Wine from water is not so small, but an even better magic trick Is that anything’s here at all So, the challenging thing becomes, not to look for miracles But finding where there isn’t one

11. Holy water was rare at best, it barely wet my finger tips Now I have to hold my breath, I’m swimmin’ in a sea of it Used to be a world out there, heaven’s second rate hand me downs Now I walk it with a reverent air, cause everything is holy now

12. Read a questioning child’s face, say it’s not a testament
That’d be very hard to say
See another new morning come, say it’s not a sacrament,
I tell you that it can’t be done

13. This morning outside I stood, I saw a little red wing bird Shining like a burning bush, singing like a Scripture verse It made me want to bow my head, I remember when church let out How things have changed since then, cause everything is holy now

15. Some reworking
“Born again” should be “born from above” A continual country dance of learning how to participate with Spirit in creativity and all of life
The idea of “hell” (that became hellish over the years) should be reconsidered as “an age of restorative justice”
Every “us and them” that can be broken should be

16. A conviction
What God wants is not adherence to a religious doctrine or group that sees itself as some kind of elite form (Jesus broke out of that prison)
What God wants is people who, like Jesus, will treat every other human as though they, too, could participate with God and make life richer

17. What God wants is communities that welcome everyone and care for everyone and create platforms of splendor so that we’re all drawn towards beauty and LIFE and can be strengthened to work together towards a miracle: Mountains being brought low Valleys lifted up

18. Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,     make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up,     and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level,     and the rough places a plain. 5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,     and all people shall see it together,     for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”