Clairemont Lutheran Church: to experience God while being grounded

Clairemont Lutheran Church

Contact: 4271 Clairemont Mesa Blvd,

San Diego, 858-273-7423 www.clairemontlc.org

Membership: 130 in person/40 online

Pastor: Cyndi Jones

Age: 72

Born: Terra Haute, IN

Formation: University of California-San Diego; Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA; Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN

Years Ordained: 4.5

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend preparing your sermon?

Pastor Cyndi Jones: Usually, I read the Scriptures and think about it. Then I look at what other people think about it and decide whether what I’m thinking is too far outside of the box. What I normally try to do with my sermons is have people experience God. I also want my sermons to be grounded. For example, we all know our Lord’s words, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are heavy-laden, and I will refresh you” (Matthew 11: 28). Knowing Jesus said that in the summer, when Jerusalem has 14 hours of daylight, and people worked from sunrise to sunset for those summer months, you realize that people were very weary. Knowing that, doesn’t that change your understanding of that passage? It turns out, San Diego is about at the same latitude [32.715736] as Jerusalem [31.771959], so we have about the same amount of daylight as Jerusalem does. We enjoy the sun and the beach, but if you were working sun-up to sun-down, you would have a different experience... The gospels record what happened 2000 years ago — what does that have to do with me today? But there are some things that don’t change much, and that makes everything more tangible. I usually take at least ten hours preparing my sermons, sometimes more.

SDR: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

PJ: The crux of the whole gospel is seeing God in everyone, including, sometimes, the least of these. We walk past people on the street and ignore those in need. I have to say, it doesn’t bode well for our spiritual future if we don’t recognize this… Everyone can visit someone in prison, or someone who is sick. It doesn’t mean we’re going to set that person free or cure that person, but we can be with that person — we can accompany people on the road.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

PJ: I was called when I was six years old — and I knew that, even though I had polio. I have a disability; I use a scooter to get around… But I was late in being ordained, because the church doesn’t deal with disability very well. But God loves people with disabilities, so I want the church to be open to people with disabilities… I’ve written a lot about theology and disability. I have this vision that sometimes we may be delaying the coming of the kingdom because we have not prepared so that all can see the glory of God.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PJ: We say, “It’s God’s work, our hands.” One Sunday every year, for example, we work in the community. One year, we cleaned up someone’s yard and rebuilt a fence. We also participate in food distribution every Friday — a long-standing sandwich ministry for places downtown. We served 250,000 sandwiches over the course of 30 years.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PJ: We’ll be welcomed into God’s life. Heaven and hell are the same thing; if you like serving God, you’re going to think it’s heaven, and if you don’t, you’re going to think it’s hell. But in the end, God loves everybody — it’s all good news.