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.
In the last couple of days, a caring church member overheard me saying that I love Holy Week, to which the response was something like, “Really?!? I would think you would find it exhausting.”
“Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat.” This prayer by a youth pastor inspired a youth-led movement to help hungry and hurting people around the world.
The church staff enjoyed a day of service today, including the pastors, music, program, facilities and support staff. We went together on a bus this morning to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Philadelphia to do some sorting of furniture, organizing and painting.
“The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” -Isaiah 2:1
Isaiah didn’t hear the word. He saw it in powerful images. A word image, just as it did for Isaiah, can conjure up a new world of story for us to see. For instance...
This Sunday, March 23, at 10 a.m., the walls of our church will resonate with the sounds of singing, country fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and double bass. Those of you who are familiar with this combination of musicians will immediately recognize it as a Bluegrass ensemble. What is unusual is that the folk music style known as Bluegrass is paired with sacred texts.
At the first week of the Genesis series this past Wednesday, we took note of the refrain in Gen 1—as God creates the sky, the stars, the fishes in the sea, from time to time we hear: “God saw that it was good.” What, someone asked, does the text mean by “good”?
In my newly-discovered exercise class, as we were struggling to do one more pushup after what felt like a hundred and counting, and just as I was about to let myself collapse onto the mat, our instructor sang out, “Oh yes, you can!” I believed her. She would know, I figured. So I did the next pushup and kept going, with her words in my head like a mantra, “Oh yes, you can!”
