Grace's Spiritual Leader
Our Pastor Rev. Rafael Cubilette, OSL Staff Secretary - Cheryl Riehle Custodian & Maintenance - Joe Hoffman Treasurer - Marilyn Holmes Ministry Leaders Choir Director- Elizabeth Spees Bell Choir Director- Judie Batterman Christian Education - Sandi Tennessen |
"Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands... They asked Jesus, 'Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?'... Out of your heart come evil thoughts, meanness, deceit... pride, and foolishness. All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God."
~Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Every year I enjoy seeing the Mindset List that comes from Marist College. Located on the banks of the historic Hudson River, on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and at its Florence, Italy campus, Marist College is a comprehensive, independent institution grounded in the liberal arts. Its mission is to “help students develop the intellect, character, and skills required for enlightened, ethical, and productive lives in the global community of the 21st century.” The Mindset List was created to help college faculty members have a better understanding of incoming freshmen. It is not a scientific or demographic analysis, just a simple way to think about this year's college freshman class by looking at some of the things that have always or never been true for them. It is also a reminder of how quickly things change. Here are a few of the items included on this year's Mindset List: 1) They have always used thumb, jump and USB flash drives, but they have never used a floppy disc. 2) The primary use of a phone has always been to take pictures or to text and twitter. 3) Nearly half of their generation is comprised of persons of color. They have witnessed two African-American Secretaries of State, the first African-American President, Disney's first black princess and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. 4) They are as non-judgmental about sexual orientation as their parents were about pot smoking. Only two thirds of their generation identify as exclusively heterosexual. 5) They have always had to take their shoes off when boarding an airplane. 6) Blackboards have never been "dumb", in fact they have hardly ever been black. 7) Face recognition technology has always been used at large public events. 8) By their sophomore year, their generation will constitute one quarter of the U.S. population. If you want to see the entire list go to: https://www.marist.edu/mindset-list Recently, I was talking about the Mindset List with one of the Pastor that I'm mentoring, and he shared me, "Maybe #8 tells us why getting in touch with their mindset is so important." He went on to explain, "I’m so grateful to be a pastor of a church where I don’t have to spend all of my time with other baby boomers. Our church keeps me connected with children, youth and young adults…but it's not as easy. With the Greatest Generation quickly leaving the scene and the baby boomers quickly moving into their sunset years, staying in touch with younger generations becomes important if we are to understand the present and glimpse the future." "We send off this year's freshman class with our prayers and our blessings. We offer them the experiences we have had and the wisdom we have gained over the years, but if we are wise we will not burden them with all of our biases and baggage. We open the way for them to lead us into the future, hoping they will do a better job of dealing with some of our long-time issues like bigotry, poverty and divisive politics than we have. We send them off with our hopes and prayers…but I promise, if you send them a floppy disc, they’ll make fun of you forever." Your servant in Christ, Pastor Rafael |