What does it mean to Cross Borders?
Typically, borders are lines that separate two geographical areas. For this exploration, we are considering borders as points of separation, the lines imagined or real that separate us from them and you from me. In drawing these borders, we lose the diversity that leads to creativity and beauty and increase divisions in our world, which lead to conflicts. To cross a border is to erase the line, embrace the diversity, and learn from each other so everyone can flourish together as one sacred creation of God. Our faith challenges us to cross these borders so that we can learn more about God from different people and faith traditions. Crossing any kind of border will require courage, a desire to accept, and a commitment to loving and being open to that which is unlike our own experience.
Learn more about Cross Borders
Learn more about the theological foundations for this practice.
Foundational essay |
Introduction video |
Cross Borders practices
Borders can be many different things: geographic borders, limits on our emotional comfort zones, and encountering cultural expectations that are different from our own. Our faith challenges us to cross some of these borders so that we can learn more about God from different people and different faith traditions. Crossing any kind of border will require courage, a desire to accept, and a commitment to loving and being open to that which is unlike our own experience.
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Other ways to Cross Borders
EVEnts
Church Picnic & Street Fair
Sunday, September 10 at 12:00PM
FPC Parking Lot (between garden & Welsh Apartments)
Join us in the small parking lot for a delicious lunch and fun activities – street fair style! Fried chicken, baked beans, and drinks will be provided. Please bring a salad or dessert to share.
Sunday, September 10 at 12:00PM
FPC Parking Lot (between garden & Welsh Apartments)
Join us in the small parking lot for a delicious lunch and fun activities – street fair style! Fried chicken, baked beans, and drinks will be provided. Please bring a salad or dessert to share.
Gallery Hop: Art of Eric Iversen
September 15 from 5:00-8:00PM
FPC Gallery
Art can be border-crossing, helping us as viewers see the world (or a particular subject) through a different lens. Join us for Gallery Hop and consider how the late Eric Iversen's art might help us get outside of our comfort zones and cross borders.
September 15 from 5:00-8:00PM
FPC Gallery
Art can be border-crossing, helping us as viewers see the world (or a particular subject) through a different lens. Join us for Gallery Hop and consider how the late Eric Iversen's art might help us get outside of our comfort zones and cross borders.
Sunday Supper: Game of Stories
Sunday, September 24 at 5:45PM
Assembly Room
Step outside of your comfort zone and embrace relationships by planing the Game of Stories! Join us for dinner and game time. All ages and stages are welcome to this fun, free meal! (Please RSVP so we can plan for your participation.)
Sunday, September 24 at 5:45PM
Assembly Room
Step outside of your comfort zone and embrace relationships by planing the Game of Stories! Join us for dinner and game time. All ages and stages are welcome to this fun, free meal! (Please RSVP so we can plan for your participation.)
Just Lunch
Saturday, September 30
FPC Kitchen & Assembly Room
Housing can be a border that separates us from our neighbors. Come cross that border by preparing lunch for our neighbors experiencing homelessness, and by sharing that lunch with them around tables. Click the button below to email Mike Skidmore, FPC Just Lunch Coordinator, to RSVP to help out.
Saturday, September 30
FPC Kitchen & Assembly Room
Housing can be a border that separates us from our neighbors. Come cross that border by preparing lunch for our neighbors experiencing homelessness, and by sharing that lunch with them around tables. Click the button below to email Mike Skidmore, FPC Just Lunch Coordinator, to RSVP to help out.
IN WORSHIP
Here's more about how we'll explore the practice of "Cross Borders" in worship this month.
September 3: Leave Your Comfort Zone
Crossing borders to engage others who are different from us always requires leaving our comfort zone, perhaps for a short time, perhaps forever. It can be a small comfort zone we don’t mind leaving, or it can require a total life change.
September 10: Embrace Relationships
The United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world and also one of the most polarized. How do we find common ground when even simple conversations feel explosive? When we look at Scripture, we see a clear option: embrace relationship.
September 17: Challenge Exclusion
Throughout his life, Jesus’ harshest words were for religious leaders who excluded anyone from full participation in religious life. It is tempting to think those rebukes would not be aimed toward us, but we must acknowledge that we bear more resemblance to those religious leaders than we would like to admit.
September 24: Speak God's Language of Love
God has given us a shared language: the language of love.
September 3: Leave Your Comfort Zone
Crossing borders to engage others who are different from us always requires leaving our comfort zone, perhaps for a short time, perhaps forever. It can be a small comfort zone we don’t mind leaving, or it can require a total life change.
September 10: Embrace Relationships
The United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world and also one of the most polarized. How do we find common ground when even simple conversations feel explosive? When we look at Scripture, we see a clear option: embrace relationship.
September 17: Challenge Exclusion
Throughout his life, Jesus’ harshest words were for religious leaders who excluded anyone from full participation in religious life. It is tempting to think those rebukes would not be aimed toward us, but we must acknowledge that we bear more resemblance to those religious leaders than we would like to admit.
September 24: Speak God's Language of Love
God has given us a shared language: the language of love.
ADULT FORUM
You can participate in the Adult Forum class in-person or on Zoom. More details are here.
September 10: Crossing Borders, Moving Neighborhoods
Movement is integral throughout the Bible (example, the Exodus). Scholars have identified that movement, salvation, and Spirit are especially important in the gospel of Luke. In this study, these lenses will help us read the story of the “Good Samaritan” in Luke 10 to see how Jesus invites us to cross borders to be a “neighbor to” others by daring to move into new neighborhoods.
The Rev. Dr. Loida I. Martell is the 18th Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Lexington Theological Seminary and Professor of Constructive Theology who has been teaching for over 40 years. She is an ordained clergy with the American Baptist Churches/USA, a licensed veterinary medical doctor, and a published author.
September 17: Stepping Across a Threshold
What does it mean when we cross physical or personal boundaries? How can a boundary impede or enhance our personal spirituality?
The Rev. Dr. Melissa Bane Sevier is the transitional pastor at First Presbyterian Church, after having served churches in Kentucky and Indiana for 34 years.
September 24: More Than Words
Learning and working in a second language involves so much more than knowing how to translate word for word. When God calls us to learn the language of love, it requires a posture of humility and commitment that we maybe didn’t expect.
The Rev. Dori Hjalmarson is a pastor and mission co-worker facilitating theological education and leadership development with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Originally from New Mexico, she lived and worked as a journalist in Kentucky and was a member and deacon at First Presbyterian in Lexington before going to seminary in 2011.
September 10: Crossing Borders, Moving Neighborhoods
Movement is integral throughout the Bible (example, the Exodus). Scholars have identified that movement, salvation, and Spirit are especially important in the gospel of Luke. In this study, these lenses will help us read the story of the “Good Samaritan” in Luke 10 to see how Jesus invites us to cross borders to be a “neighbor to” others by daring to move into new neighborhoods.
The Rev. Dr. Loida I. Martell is the 18th Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Lexington Theological Seminary and Professor of Constructive Theology who has been teaching for over 40 years. She is an ordained clergy with the American Baptist Churches/USA, a licensed veterinary medical doctor, and a published author.
September 17: Stepping Across a Threshold
What does it mean when we cross physical or personal boundaries? How can a boundary impede or enhance our personal spirituality?
The Rev. Dr. Melissa Bane Sevier is the transitional pastor at First Presbyterian Church, after having served churches in Kentucky and Indiana for 34 years.
September 24: More Than Words
Learning and working in a second language involves so much more than knowing how to translate word for word. When God calls us to learn the language of love, it requires a posture of humility and commitment that we maybe didn’t expect.
The Rev. Dori Hjalmarson is a pastor and mission co-worker facilitating theological education and leadership development with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Originally from New Mexico, she lived and worked as a journalist in Kentucky and was a member and deacon at First Presbyterian in Lexington before going to seminary in 2011.
VIDEOS
Use these videos from our "Follow Me" curriculum resources to spur your own thought, or as discussion starters in your household, small group, and beyond.
Week 1: Leave Your Comfort Zone
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Week 2: Embrace Relationships
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Week 3: Challenge Exclusion
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Week 4: Speak God's Language of Love
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Further video resources on Cross Borders:
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These videos are meant especially for kids and/or their parents.
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BoOKS & OTHER RESOURCES
- Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us by Layton E. Williams
- Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People by Nadia Bolz-Weber
- "How to be an active bystander when you see casual racism" by Ruth Terry
- Implicit Bias Training from the Ohio State University Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity
- The Ecumenical Prayer Cycle from the World Council of Churches (pray with every region of the world over the course of a year to cross borders in your prayer life)
Children's book recommendations
- Be Brave, Little Penguin by Rachel Elliot
- My Leaf Book by Monica Wellington
- The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater
- Stone Soup by Jon. J Muth
- Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
- The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah
- The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Suess
- Who Is My Neighbor? by Amy Jill Levine and Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN
Become a Pen Pal
Embrace a new relationship by becoming a pen pal! Become a pen pal. Visit this website for some ideas on safe ways to find a pen pal who may be from a different country, an elderly person, or even an astronaut! There are also
good suggestions on what to include in a letter and questions to ask. (If you'd like help finding a pen pal within the church, please contact Linda Kurtz at lkurtz@fpclex.org!)
Try New Things: A Goal Ladder
Draw a ladder and, on the top, write an idea of a new thing to try and why you want to try it. On the bottom step, write the first thing you need to do to get to the goal, then on each step, write the next thing to do to make it to the goal. As you reach each step, color or decorate that part of the ladder to celebrate getting closer to your goal.
Storytelling Game
Play a cooperative game so all are included. Invite each person to find an object then join together in a circle. Set a timer for thirty seconds. Have the first person begin telling a story using the object they chose. When the timer goes off, the object is set in the center of the circle and the second person continues telling the story based on their object and including the object in the center. Continue in this fashion until all have contributed to the story. If only a few are playing, have each person gather two or three objects.
Acts of Kindness
We speak love when we do kind acts for others. Challenge family members to do nice things for others, such as smiling at someone new, helping at church, or giving encouragement to someone who is struggling. For each act of kindness add a coin to a jar. When the jar is full, do one more act of kindness by donating the jar of coins to a nonprofit, Just Lunch at church, or another favorite project/service organization.
Embrace a new relationship by becoming a pen pal! Become a pen pal. Visit this website for some ideas on safe ways to find a pen pal who may be from a different country, an elderly person, or even an astronaut! There are also
good suggestions on what to include in a letter and questions to ask. (If you'd like help finding a pen pal within the church, please contact Linda Kurtz at lkurtz@fpclex.org!)
Try New Things: A Goal Ladder
Draw a ladder and, on the top, write an idea of a new thing to try and why you want to try it. On the bottom step, write the first thing you need to do to get to the goal, then on each step, write the next thing to do to make it to the goal. As you reach each step, color or decorate that part of the ladder to celebrate getting closer to your goal.
Storytelling Game
Play a cooperative game so all are included. Invite each person to find an object then join together in a circle. Set a timer for thirty seconds. Have the first person begin telling a story using the object they chose. When the timer goes off, the object is set in the center of the circle and the second person continues telling the story based on their object and including the object in the center. Continue in this fashion until all have contributed to the story. If only a few are playing, have each person gather two or three objects.
Acts of Kindness
We speak love when we do kind acts for others. Challenge family members to do nice things for others, such as smiling at someone new, helping at church, or giving encouragement to someone who is struggling. For each act of kindness add a coin to a jar. When the jar is full, do one more act of kindness by donating the jar of coins to a nonprofit, Just Lunch at church, or another favorite project/service organization.
ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH
We are All Different
Watch the video “We Are All Different—and That’s Awesome!" with someone else in your family or a friend. Share your reactions to how people embraced one another.
Challenging Exclusion
Draw a chart with two columns. Label the left column "Situations Where I've Been Excluded" and the right, "Situations Where I've Excluded Others." Over the course of a few days, fill out this chart when examples come to mind. (Each person participating in your family should make their own chart.) When you're done, share charts. Discuss:
Watch the video “We Are All Different—and That’s Awesome!" with someone else in your family or a friend. Share your reactions to how people embraced one another.
Challenging Exclusion
Draw a chart with two columns. Label the left column "Situations Where I've Been Excluded" and the right, "Situations Where I've Excluded Others." Over the course of a few days, fill out this chart when examples come to mind. (Each person participating in your family should make their own chart.) When you're done, share charts. Discuss:
- How could someone have challenged that exclusion?
- What commonalities do these situations have?
- What can you do differently to exclude others less often?