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.
It was a Wednesday afternoon, and while members of the Children's Choir and I sat on the steps of the Chancel, we were surrounded by different translations of Hebrews 12:1-3. The sheets of paper were laid out across the well-worn wood and multicolored bluestone.
The work of “mission” is complicated. There are all kinds of ways that we try to organize ourselves to “do” mission and to make it less complicated, but the longer I have been doing mission, the more comfortable I have become with its complications. These complexities do not discourage and overwhelm me, at least on my best days. But the challenging aspects of doing mission mean that we are called to always be learning, growing and examining the how, why, where and when of the work we do in mission as a church.
Christian faith is rooted in hope. The world we hope, work, and pray for is a world that is constantly in-breaking, but not yet. The Bible is a book of hope-filled expectation. From the waters of Genesis to the strange and apocalyptic visions of Revelation, the story of the biblical witness is the story of the creative love of God, winding its way to redeemed fulfillment.
The cover of The Messenger from October 1972 introduces three new BMPC ministers: Cory Loder, Dick Kauffman and George Wirth. Each article shares a snippet from their lives and calls to ministry, before warmly welcoming them to the church. There are even pictures of each new minister with their families, snapshots of what their lives looked like 50 years ago.
This coming Sunday afternoon we will celebrate the Blessing of the Animals on the front lawn of the church, an event that has become a treasured BMPC tradition. The spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi which incorporated a deep love for the creation gave rise to this tradition of Blessing the Animals on or near his feast day. It is also believed that in the 13th century St. Francis began the tradition of holding Christmas Eve pageants with costumed characters assuming the key roles, including the friendly beasts present in the stable where Jesus was born.
Today I write to you with good news! The epic choir tour to the Holy Land, originally scheduled for 2020, took place this past summer. At last, the time has come to tell you all about our experiences in Israel and Jordan.
The poet David Whyte writes that gratitude “is the understanding that millions of things come together and live together and mesh together and breathe together in order for us to take even one more breath of air, that the underlying gift of life and incarnation as a living, participating human being is a privilege, that we are miraculously part of something, rather than nothing.”
