That evening after work, Parks took a seat in the front of the black section of a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The bus filled up, and the bus driver demanded that she move so a white male passenger could have her seat.

But Parks refused to give up her seat, and police arrested her. Four days later, Parks was convicted of disorderly conduct.

That same day, a group of African Americans founded the Montgomery Improvement Association and named the young pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church -- the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. -- as its leader, and a bus boycott was begun.

For the next 381 days, African-Americans -- who, according to Time magazine, had made up two-thirds of Montgomery bus riders -- boycotted public transportation to protest Parks' arrest and, in turn, segregation laws.

The mass movement marked one of the largest and most successful challenges of segregation and catapulted King to the forefront of the civil rights movement.

The boycott ended on November 13, 1956, after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a bower court ruling that Montgomery's segregated bus service was unconstitutional.

At the time, Rosa Parks couldn't have realized what was about to happen. But her decision not to move that day sparked a generation of activists, including the young Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and earned her the title of "mother of the civil rights movement."

Something beyond the door is the title of tonight's sermon. As I was looking the poster Lou made for the theme of our stewardship campaign I realized I was draw to those pictures that had something going on outside the door. In one it was a wondrous view of the ocean. In another it was a set of ski prints made in the snow that lead from the front door. It another it was a garden filled with beautiful flowers. Beyond the door lies a world full of wonder. Beyond the door lives a world full of possibilities. Beyond the door is an ordinary day full of the most ordinary events that can become extraordinary at any given moment. Beyond the door.

How we move through life beyond the door will effect what we see and what we do. As Marilyn's poem begins "are you running through the door or is it a walk you choose, are you looking upward or looking at your shoes. Are your senses peaked to what may be around or are you just existing choosing to look down." Marilyn and I were away on a little honeymoon with each other this past week. It is usually during times like these that I realize how fast I'm moving through life. Sometimes I give Marilyn and Sarah a quick kiss and fly out the door to work. Flying along the parkway, making calls, thinking about a thousand things. What a difference things and people look like when we slow down and look up. Taking the time to really look into the eyes of a loved one, a business associate, a stranger. What's really going on in their lives as we look, as we listen, as we are really present to one another. What a difference a day holds when we look up and look around. When we really see the changing seasons around us, when we really hear the birds singing, when we really feel the brisk autumn breeze on our skin. Life is fully alive when we are in the present moment. Using all are senses, our thoughts, to see what's beyond the door. Life is full of miracles that happen at any given moment, when we slow down, when we look up we might be amazed at what's beyond the door.

Most amazing possibilities can happen beyond the door. Rosa Parks has long been one of my heroes. She was an ordinary person like you and me who did an extraordinary thing. Who would have every guessed that an ordinary ride home after a long hard day at work would have been the event that ignited the civil rights moment. Ordinary people, on any ordinary day can touch the world into wholeness and holiness. Your words, your actions, your thoughts, your prayers have the potential to change our world. Having the courage to take a stand for what you believe can make a difference. Taking the time to listen to someone who has a problem, can make a difference. Speaking up for someone who can't speak up for themselves, can make a difference. Giving your money to help a needy cause can make a difference. Praying for someone half way around the world, can make a difference. Using your time to work in our church, can make a difference. Going beyond the door opens a world of possibilities to make a difference. Whose not to say what you do, what you say, your actions, may be what's needed at any given moment in history to bring wholeness and holiness to our world.

Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson at her installation yesterday spoke these words in her sermon "Unfinished World, Unfinished Calling"

"A healthier, growing, strong MCC can become an even greater gift of the Holy Spirit to the world and the church! What God wants is attention paid to the unfinished work of creation:

* to make poverty history,

* make sure that every child growing up can be free to be who they are, with out fear or shame;

* for us to be a force for justice, truth and hope!!

God is still calling us, in Jesus name, to be a spiritual voice of strength and hope to those with HIV and AIDS, to create a world in which all families are valued, to make homophobia, spiritual violence and all kinds of violence, including war, history. MCC, today let us boldly "reclaim our holy identity, advance our call to social justice and action, tell the stow of God's transforming grace, to nurture the value of community and build bridges that liberate and unite! This is our unfinished calling to an unfinished world. Amen"

We as a congregation have been called to this time and place to make a difference in our world. We have the opportunity to go beyond these church doors to bring God's presence to a world who desperately needs what we have to offer. Ordinary people who have experienced freedom from oppression. Ordinary people who have come to know the love of God. Ordinary people who are willing to commit themselves day in and day out to being God's presence of peace in our world. Ordinary people who want to bring compassion to the lonely, the hurting, those people on the margins of life. Someone beyond the door needs what you have to offer. Someone beyond the door needs what we as a congregation has to offer. Our homework, our call is to go beyond the door to reach out, to love, to make a difference. One person, one day, one bus ride at a time.