Welcome
Each week one of our pastors or staff members writes a column observing what is going on in our congregation, the Church and the world, and offering reflections on the Christian life and faith. Through this series of columns, we hope to connect your and our story to the enduring story of Christ; to offer pastoral reflections on our ongoing congregational life and mission; to report on news of the Presbyterian Church and Church universal; and to invite further reflection and deeper discipleship. We welcome your comments and suggestions. In other words, our words here are an invitation to continue the conversation.
God willing, as you read this, I’ll be on a farm in North Carolina with my friend Ben. I will have worshipped with his congregation, one of our mission partners: Farm Church. I am not a farmer; hot, hard labor has no appeal. But I love the earth and being out in nature grounds me. The ducks and the dog and the children fill me with delight. Good friends and good talk renew my spirit within me.
Nearly 26 years ago, in November 1992, a fire broke out in Queen Elizabeth’s private chapel at Windsor Castle, eventually sweeping through the state apartments and various other parts of the ancient building. When it was finally contained some 12 hours later, the flames caused extensive damage to the medieval estate. The ancient castle looked pitifully decimated.
How do we evaluate a year in educational ministry? Is it the 36 lessons covered in the three-year-old classroom? Is it found in the disciple projects presented by this year’s class of Confirmands? Is it in the artwork that hangs on the wall? Is it in the knowledge gained? Friendships formed?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s groundbreaking work, “The Cost of Discipleship,” is cherished by people of faith from across the political, ideological and cultural spectrums. Whether you identify with one political party or another, hold tightly to this or that ethical principle, you are bound to find wisdom in Bonhoeffer’s words.
This Sunday’s Annual Meeting after the 10:00 a.m. worship service will celebrate the good health and vitality of the congregation, and this year we are adding something new! We have three special highlights planned in order to tell the story of our congregation and how our ministry is making a difference for people who are involved.
For the past 10 days, I have been traveling with a group of Christian clergy (from a variety of traditions) as well as Jewish Rabbis (also from a variety of traditions) in Israel and Palestine. During our time together we visited both Jewish and Christian traditional pilgrimage sites and heard from a variety of leaders in both regions who are not just working for peace, but building real relationships. We also worshiped together, experiencing one another’s liturgical traditions, and studied scripture, political statements and even poetry together.
Over my several decades of service to BMPC, I have rarely programmed a major choral work more than once. My rational is that, with such a vast canon of great choral works, a lifetime alone isn’t enough to even scratch the surface. It is far better to expose the choir and congregation to as many masterworks as possible. Over the span of more than 35 years of concerts, I have made a few exceptions to that approach, programming Handel’s Messiah and the Requiems of Mozart, Fauré, and Duruflé more than once.
