Heritage Presbyterian Church

Love Grows Here

Sunday’s Sermon – How Long? Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Isaiah 64:1-9

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I don’t mean to alarm you, but it is now December and Christmas is in 22 days. Chances are, this fact hasn’t escaped you too much. There are numerous ways to count down the days, from functional décor to chocolate filled calendars to large placards at the entrance of a store. As an adult, time seems to accelerate during this month, which is extra full of activities and things to do. But as a child, I remember feeling like Christmas was never going to get here. It couldn’t come soon enough, and I, like many children, would repeatedly ask “how much longer?” We have entered into a unique time of waiting in the next few weeks.

In the church year, this is the season of Advent, a time marked by wonder, and expectation. It begins on the third Sunday before Christmas, and is a time set apart for anticipation of the coming of Christ, both the celebration and commemoration of his first coming with his birth and the anticipation and longing for his second coming which has not yet happened. These two Advents are both marked by the common factors of waiting and anticipation. It is a season in which we ask “how long,” as a sign of our deep yearning for God’s to be with us. And each time we ask this question, we voice our faith, and join God’s people throughout the ages who have longed for God’s presence.

This is the setting for both of our texts today, which begin on a more sober note than the twinkling lights, tinsel, and Christmas parades. Psalm 80 and Isaiah 64 voice serious lament and anxiety about the state of the world. With this,

Advent begins not on a note of joy, but of despair. Humankind has reached the end of its rope. All our schemes for self-improvement, for extricating ourselves from the traps we have set for ourselves, have come to nothing. We have not realized at the deepest level of our being that we cannot save ourselves and that, apart from the intervention of God, we are totally and irretrievably lost. . . . The season thus attempts to capture that spirit of hope in the midst of hopelessness, a spirit of yearning for that which would be too good to be true: some new and unique expression of God’s intention to save a world gone wrong[i].

The traditional theme for this first Sunday of Advent is hope, specifically recalling the hope of the prophets. For Isaiah, we hear it in chapter 64, which comes almost at the end of the book after the Israelites have returned from exile. All should have been restored, but the reality doesn’t reflect that. There is still intense oppression and struggle; a life fraught with challenge. The verses we read today are a prayer for salvation that express two components of true Advent hope:

on the one hand, a deep sense of desperation about a situation out of control is sounded. On the other hand, a bold and confident trust in God is voiced, addressed to a God who can intervene (if God will) to make life peaceable and joyous. Life without God is unbearable. That is the present tense. Life with God can be completely transformed. That is the urgent hope of the prayer[ii].

As our call to worship said this morning, this is not a naïve hope or wishful thinking, but one born out of deep conviction and trust. It is, as Vaclav Havel called it, an “orientation of the spirit,” distinct from optimism, in that “it is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of those it turns out[iii].” Advent is about this kind of hope, a conviction held even in the face of adversity, made possible by faith in God.

In a similar way, Psalm 80 voices hope as well. Its setting is similar to Isaiah, with subscript notes that it is a Psalm of Asaph, which puts it among twelve other psalms (50, 73-83) that are a collection “likely of northern origin, reflect[ing] a strong interest in divine justice, Israel’s history from exodus to exile, and Zion[iv].”

The Psalm expresses a deep desire to figure God out as the people wait to see signs of God’s presence. The Psalm gives voice to the grief of the people over the impression that God has disappeared. Rather than remain paralyzed and silent, the Psalm gives the voice to move the people from despair to hope. This movement is found in the question “how long?” that breaks the silence and creates a space for truth telling and discovery among the people. The Psalm demonstrates a deep faith, marked by a questioning of God’s purposes that coexists with the affirmation that God is the one who offers salvation and deliverance. As Talitha Arnold notes:

Psalm 80 is an incredible confession, not of sin, but of faith. It confesses the people’s trust in a God who is big enough to hear their hurt, strong enough to handle their anger and pain. It also identifies the congregation as a people who, even in their suffering, have the courage to call on the Lord God of hosts to help them[v].

Both of these texts remind us that Advent is more than just a counting down the days until we get to sing silent night and remember a sweet baby in the manger. Advent is about a deep longing for God’s presence in the world, one that extends to our lives today. Advent ushers us into a season of communal prayer and petition along with the prophet Isaiah and the Asaphites and God’s people throughout the years who have hoped and called out for God to come into our lives yet again. We do this by offering our earnest cries of “How Long?”

How long will it be before things feel “normal” again after we have lost a loved one? How long before we will have a child after several miscarriages? How long will I be out of work? How long until I am able to do the things I love after a surgery or series of treatments?  How long until a memory is no longer painful? How long until I am taken seriously or respected? How long will my prayers go unanswered?

And, as many “how longs” as we have in our own lives, there are just as many if not more in our own faith community and in the world. How long until we are on solid financial footing and are no longer laden with debt? How long until our pews are again overflowing each week? How long until the need is gone for something as basic as food? How long until our elected leaders can work together without letting political bias and lobbyist agendas set the tone? How long until young girls are not coerced into sex trafficking? How long until “mass shooting” is absent from our news cycle? How long until all women and men are safe from harassment and misconduct in the workplace?  How long until troops come home to their families because there is no longer a risk of war and conflict has ceased?

How long? How long? We cry out to God, over and over again, how long? And then, as the Psalmist does three times, we ask for God to deliver us from the state that we are in. “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” It is a call for a blessing, a longing to receive something only God can offer. It echoes the Aaronic priestly blessing from Numbers 6:22-27, “may the face of God shine upon you” in ways that are only possible for those who are in the presence of God. And the grammar of this request for blessing is both “wish and declaration,” something we hope to happen and something we already know to be true[vi]. This is the posture of living in between the two Advents of God’s coming.

We know God’s presence coming to us is within God’s ability and the way God has engaged with the world, made manifest in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. And, at the same time, it is a hopeful orientation to the world of what is still possible, of trusting that God can, at any moment, break into our difficult and heavy experiences of longing with a fresh vision and presence.

Advent is about being bold enough to ask God to do just that. It is an expression of hope, based on a deep seated belief that what God has done before, God can and will do again. It’s about adopting a posture of expectation and anticipation of God bursting on the scene. It is about watching and waiting, yes, but also actively engaging in dialogue with God marked by our hope in what God can do. It is about making the active choice to hope, even when that looks like cries of “how long”?  May this be our approach to the next 22 days. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
December 3, 2017

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[i] “First Sunday of Advent,” Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, James D. Newsome, Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV – Year B, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993).
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Vaclav Havel, as quoted by David LaMotte in Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness, (Montreat, NC: Dryad Publishing, 2014), 28.
[iv] William P. Brown, “Book of Psalms,” in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. ed. K . D. Sakenfeld (Nashville, Abingdon, 2009), 4:673, as quoted by James K. Mead, “Commentary on Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19,” Working Preacher, December 3, 2017, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3484, accessed 11/30/2017.
[v] Talitha Arnold, “Pastoral Perspective: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19,” Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008).
[vi][vi] Rolf Jacobson, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner,“Sermon Brainwave, #572 – First Sunday of Advent” Podcast by Working Preacher, Posted November 25, 2017, http://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=950, accessed 11/30/17.

Sunday’s Sermon – Well-Fed – Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Matthew 25:31-46

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Today is Christ the King Sunday, one of those lesser known “high and holy” theological days that actually is the last one in the liturgical year.  As you might expect from the name, this Sunday celebrates the rule of Christ as Lord over all creation, the King of Kings. And in this, we have the opportunity to pause and consider what it means exactly to call Jesus our Lord, and what king of King he really is. But frankly, royalty isn’t really a concept we deal with too often nowadays. The most news I seem to hear about royalty revolves around the hairstyle and clothing choices of Kate Middleton, or glimpses of royalty with King Friday and Prince Tuesday in the land of make believe in Daniel Tiger. None of these seem to be particularly helpful to me in understanding Jesus. In fact, that make it quite comical.

Fortunately, the Bible is full of illustrations of kingship, including our texts today, which call attention to Jesus and God as a shepherd. Interestingly, this was quite the common way to refer to kings and rulers in secular settings as well dating back centuries. Leaders were expected to show kindness, protect the vulnerable, pursue justice, and guide people through every difficulty, as shepherds care for a flock. That was the mark of an excellent king. So, to say Jesus or God is a shepherd is to affirm that the very nature of God is to care for all of us sheep, and at the same time, to proclaim the reign of God and Christ over all.

Although Psalm23 might be the first to come to mind with this concept, Ezekiel 34 offers a rich commentary on what it means for God to be a shepherd, reminding us of the very nature of God, the one who came to us in the person of Jesus Christ, has always been interested in the care of the flock. This morning’s text from the prophet speaks words of hope in the midst of many passages that serve as sobering oracles of doom for God’s people[i]. Ezekiel is a book full of visions recorded by the prophet, dated in the opening verses as “in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month,” which most scholars date at the start of the sixth century BCE in the time leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 586, making this a book written to God’s people during the exile and Babylonian captivity, with some even noting it may have come from oral speeches[ii]. The language is complex and themes sophisticated, suggesting the author to be among the intellectual elite of his day, speaking and writing to other leaders from the southern kingdom of Judah who would have been equipped to understand the intricacies of the historical-political situation of the day.

Chapters 34-48, however, contain oracles of restoration, in which Ezekiel insists that Israel’s exile will not be permanent, for that would be a contradiction with God’s reputation among the nations, instead:

God will regather the people from the nations, return them to their homeland, and ensure that the sins of the past are never repeated . . . [and] will enter into a new covenant with the people[iii].

This is the work of the shepherd outlined in chapter 34, with promises for the sheep of Israel and also for us today about the one we proclaim is king.

Shepherds give up all semblance of a normal life to care for animals that may not even be their own. . .This shepherd image is about love and compassion for another living thing – to the point of self-sacrifice. . . . Being a shepherd means getting dirty, sleeping with the sheep, carrying them to safety, binding their wounds, and caring for their nutritional needs. (vv. 11-16)[iv].

The promise here and throughout our Scriptures is that we will be “well-fed”. How many of you experienced that this week as you celebrated Thanksgiving? According to the small sampling from the poll posted on our church’s Facebook page earlier this week, almost half of your enjoy stuffing or dressing the most, followed by turkey, with a three way tie between cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie for third. For many of us, the image of Thanksgiving is an abundant feast, with countless dishes spread on a large table surrounded by family and friends, that usually ends with some sort of “food coma” as we are all well satiated by the meal. Have you heard of “Thanksgiving pants?” (https://thanksgivingdinnerpants.com/) The Stove Top stuffing brand marketed them this season for $20. They SOLD OUT, confirming that for many this holiday seems to bring with it the notion of overconsumption  and extravagance. They are basically yoga or legging type pants with pockets, with a top panel almost like maternity clothing (a familiar joke to those familiar with Joey’s “Thanksgiving pants” from an old episode of the tv show “Friends”), so that as you eat, there’s room for your stomach to literally expand without the restrictiveness of an ordinary waistband[v]. One might wonder what the line is between being “well-fed” and “stuffed” is. I think it might be somewhere around when you order special leggings.

The promise in Ezekiel is that all the sheep will be well-fed by God, but with that comes some commentary about those who have become the “fat sheep.” The second section of verses for today speaks of God’s judgment of those who have gotten too fat and happy at the expense of others, pushing and scattering the other sheep for personal gain. In biblical times, these “fat sheep” are equated with those who have failed to be good shepherds. Scholars debate if they might have reference the royal leaders of Israel and Judah, or even foreign rulers who have dominated or plundered from the Israelites. But even with the exact identities unknown, we might guess exactly what the prophet means. A modern day equivalent might be the image of people pushing and shoving their way into stores on Black Friday, literally trampling one another in order to get a low priced tv. Clearly, something is amiss.

As MaryAnn McKibben Dana notes:

Today’s passage is God’s way of saying, “Step aside, shepherds, and let me show you how it’s done.” . . . Ezekiel is vivid here, but not vitriolic; his words are saturated with detail, but not outright disgust. We find no litany of curses, no ranting, not exclamatory hyperbole. God seems resolute but weary – and almost grieved at once again having to set people straight on the path of justice. . . . Like a parent intent on teaching her child, who remembers that calm consistency is the key, God does not fly off the handle. God just quietly but firmly corrects. Again. And again[vi].

God does this because God is a shepherd, and that is what shepherds do in caring for their flocks.  You know how I said I didn’t know much about kings? I may know less about shepherding. But this week I learned a bit more as I searched for this week’s bulletin cover image.

The photo captured me right away as I looked for an image of a shepherd, and I found that it was posted on the website for a historic sheep farming property known as Tarndie in south-west Victoria in Australia.  I e-mailed the owners, and got this reply from Tom Dennis:

Dear Elizabeth, I’m more than happy for you to use the image of my father Dave.  He does know a thing or two about looking after sheep, and they in turn, look after him.[vii]

What a wonderful perspective on what it means to shepherd. I wondered, if this might not be a great way to look at how this description of God as shepherd is meant to connect to our lives today. God knows a thing or two about looking after sheep, and outlines it clearly multiple times in our Scriptures. And, in turn, might we as faithful sheep, be called to look after him?

Jesus’ parable in Matthew’s gospel seems to answer this question. In these familiar words, we also discover the image of the Son of Man, Jesus, God Incarnate, as a shepherd.  Like God intervenes with the fat and lean sheep in Ezekiel, Jesus intervenes with the sheep and goats of the gospel, ushering in a meal of justice that humbles the powerful and empowers the humble. And, as Jesus has continued the work of God and demonstrated the same nature of God as shepherd described in Ezekiel 34, here he indicates that his followers are to carry on that same mission: feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and incarcerated. That is the essence of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, a sheep in God’s pasture.

It starts by recognizing our shepherd.  A study released earlier this month revealed that sheep, and other animals, are actually able to both recognize and remember each other’s faces and the face of the shepherd, using similar neural networks as humans.  The author of the study, Keith Kendrick, is a neuroscientist at the Babraham Institue in Cambridge, England, and worked studying sheep to find that they could easily be trained to associate the particular faces of others in relation to receiving food. And, more than that, he found that the sheep could retain that memory for up to 600-800 days[viii].

“When did we see you? When did we not see you?” are the questions asked by the sheeps and goats in Matthew, both to the same reply, “As you did (or did not) do it to the least of these . . . you did (or did not) do it to me).”  The heart of this parable is being able to see the face of the shepherd in the face of those in need. And it’s something even sheep can do.

Seeing the face of the shepherd and recognizing other sheep is what enables us to act in Jesus’ name. As Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon write:

We can only act within a world we can see.

Vision is the necessary prerequisite for ethics[ix].

Jesus’ parable in Matthew helps to give us that vision for what the kingdom of God can be, one in which he is present on the throne of glory, the eternal shepherd. Ezekiel’s description of God as the shepherd does the same thing, speaking to those who may have felt like “the least of these” themselves in the midst of exile. To those who have much and those who have lost it all, the message is that God offers care and compassion, justice and relief, working tirelessly until all the sheep are safely in pasture. The Lord indeed is our shepherd, we shall not want. May we receive that care, and also extend it to others, so that all of God’s children are well-fed. That is what the kingdom of God is meant to look like.  Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
November 26, 2017

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[i] For other passages of hope, see Ezekiel 36:1-15; 37:1-14; for examples of the oracles of doom, see Ezek. 5:1-17, 8:1-11:13, among other texts.  As outlined in: Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, and James D. Newsome, “Proper 28,” Texts for Preaching- Year A, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995).
[ii] Katheryn Pfisterer Darr, “The Book of Ezekiel,” The New Interpreter’s Bible: Volume VI: Introduction to Prophetic Literature, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Letter of  Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994).
[iii] Katheryn Pfisterer Darr
[iv] Karyn L. Wiseman, “Homiletical Perspective: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).
[v] Go to https://thanksgivingdinnerpants.com/ for pictures and a video commercial.
[vi] MaryAnnMcKibben Dana, “Pastoral Perspective: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).
[vii] E-mail correspondence between Tom Dennis and Rev. Elizabeth Milford, November 20, 2017.
[viii] Amanda Onion, “Study: Sheep Recognize Other Sheep, Even People,” ABC News,
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98209&page=1, accessed 11/22/17.
[ix] Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon in  Imaging the Word: An Arts and Lectionary Resource, Volume 3, (Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press, 1996).

Sunday’s Sermon – Digging Holes – Matthew 25:14-30

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Last weekend, Matt and I found ourselves in a pretty deep hole, and it was our own doing. While on our camping trip to Raccoon Mountain near Chattanooga, I had the bright idea that caving would be a fun adventure. So we signed up, filled out a lengthy waiver, put on recommended clothing and headed to the Cavern entrance to meet our guide for our “Waterfall Dome” tour and three and a half hours or so of exploring. We soon veered off from the walking, lit portion of the caverns, and after a slippery walk and belly crawl took a short break. Our energetic young guide, Ben, jokingly asked “so, who here is afraid of heights?” I felt my body stiffen. I had not bargained on heights while deep in a cave. He went on to describe the “y-body position” move we’d need for the next section, angling ourselves “like you see in Ninja warrior” over an opening which he guessed had a drop of anywhere from 8 to 20 feet depending on the section. Then he smiled and asked who was ready to go. I was not. I was trying to figure out if it was possible to go back the way we came; after all, we’d only been going for about half an hour. Then I remembered the notes from the website that said the minimum age was 8 and everyone had to be 56 inches tall. How did 8 year olds do this? They must not have any fear. Fortunately, I have a great partner who saw my panic and reassured me he was there to help me get through it. So we moved forward and made it through. In fact, you couldn’t really see the depth of the drops because of the darkness of the cavern, and it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as our guide had made it out to be. Difficult? Yes. Unnerving? Absolutely. But doable. At the end of the day, you have to overcome your fears if you want to get out of the cave.

In today’s parable, only two servants would have made it out; the third servant would still be sitting in the muddy cavern with his one talent. In the first century, this was the largest unit of currency available at the time. Some scholars guess that it would have been worth between 15 and 20 years’ worth of a salary for a day laborer. The exact figure isn’t as important for understanding as it is that this was no small pocket change. Do some quick math – double your current annual salary. Now add a zero to it. Imagine it in front of you, a stunning amount that doesn’t belong to you, but is now in your care. Of course the servant dug and hole and buried it to keep it safe. His actions prompt us to ask:

What’s so wrong with being cautious? Discretion and deliberateness are virtues, not vices. But with this third servant virtues become vices. Prudence and wariness easily become self-protectiveness and restraint. Inhibition turns to fear, and the servant ends up refusing the risk of trading in the marketplace[i].

The third servant simply waits for the master to come back, so he can return it, perhaps like a hot potato, saying “Here you go – it’s all there. Every penny accounted for, just like you left it.” Nothing new to see here.

And yet, when the master returns, the prudent decision of the servant is not rewarded. It seems there were some better options for how to pass the time while the master was away. The first two servants had invested their sums, 5 and 2 talents respectively, and each doubled the amount. They are rewarded and given additional responsibilities as a result. Then, the master turns to the third servant, who immediately begins offering explanations and notes that he was afraid to do anything but hide what he had been given in the ground. And the result isn’t pretty. The master is harsh, calling the servant lazy, saying he at least could have put it in a basic interest bearing account. And then he is punished, banished to the darkness where there is weeping and grinding of teeth; one of the most harsh treatments of anyone we read about in Scripture. It’s a hard story to swallow. It’s not like the third servant squandered these funds away on gourmet dinners and fine wines. He didn’t buy an iPhone 10 or go on an all-night shopping spree on Black Friday. He just maintained what was there; a reasonable and safe venture. And that seems to be the heart of one issue Jesus is trying to teach in this parable. As John Buchanan notes:

The point here is not really about doubling your money and accumulating wealth. It is about living. It is about investing. It is about taking risks. . . The greatest risk of all, it turns out, is not to risk anything, not to care deeply and profoundly enough about anything to invest deeply, to give your heart away and in the process risk everything. The greatest risk of all, it turns out, is to play it safe, to live cautiously and prudently[ii].

This parable is the third in a series of four Jesus tells in Matthew about the end times (eschaton) as he nears Jerusalem and the final events that will lead him to the cross. The tension of this journey is palpable, with a sense of urgency and importance. Here, Jesus expresses what he hopes and expects of them after he is gone while they wait for his coming again. This is a parable about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, faithful to him, even when he’s not there to show you firsthand how it’s done. And so, it is a parable about you and me as well.

Often we hear this parable and think about it as a stewardship lesson of investment, or a reminder to use those skills that we have rather than hide them away. And while these are reasonable and worthwhile perspectives, they fail to capture the larger picture and drama of the context of this parable about the end of time, kingdom of God, and judgment. We might, as Matt Skinner suggests, think about it more as a parable about callings, the “positions in which God has placed you to make a difference; opportunities to be influential[iii].”

The third servant had the opportunity, the calling, to take what had been put before him and do something for the glory of the master. And instead of building up, he dug a hole in fear. Skinner continues:

This parable is about more than just what you can do, or what God has gifted you with, but it’s a parable about what are you going to do in those moments where you clearly know what it means to represent Christ in a moment and you don’t do so[iv].

From the first century until today, God’s people have had trouble stepping up to live fully into Christ’s call to live actively as disciples. In the 1940s, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer struggled with this as he wrote in the midst of the Holocaust. He offered “that the sin of respectable people is running from responsibility[v],” as he wrestled with his own sense of responsibility to speak out against Hitler and the Nazi party, which led to his arrest, internment in a concentration camp, and execution. Running from responsibility looks a lot like digging holes.

This is what Martin Luther King, Jr. railed about in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” lamenting and calling out those who, like the third servant, did nothing. King wrote:

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection[vi].

The middle ground, you see, the ground of inaction and passivity, of the third servant, of the hiding in a hole, is no ground to stand on at all.

This pattern infiltrates our daily lives as well. Fear overtakes our desire and ability to do the things we know are good and right. We don’t speak up when things don’t seem right because we don’t want to create waves. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, this will be tested repeatedly as families with diverse opinions gather.  We hesitate to volunteer because we aren’t sure if we have the abilities, or are selfish with our time and afraid it will take away from the other things we want to do. We don’t want to be inconvenienced. The holes we dig for ourselves are all around us. And, even when confronted with it, we keep digging. Have you ever realized you were wrong about something, but then became even more insistent on your wrong notion, or kept talking and saying things that only made something worse? It seems we think that the holes will somehow protect us a bit, but most of the time they end up burying us instead.

The good news is, we have this parable to inspire us to choose another way; to stare fear in the face and stand on the side of Christ; to be bold enough to take a stand in the face of what tries to render us helpless and say, “not today.” In the wake of yet another story about a shooting during a service of worship, our very gathering here today is a witness to the power of the gospel to triumph over fear. This is what it means to be the church. Our Book of Order even helps define it this way, saying:

The church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life[vii].

As people of faith, we are called to take risks, not dig holes. This is one of our greatest callings as those who follow Jesus and live in anticipation of his return. To live into the kingdom of heaven that these parables describes means being ready to present ourselves to God not as maintainers of the bare minimum, but as faithful investors who lived fully into the lives God gave us.

As poet Marianne Williamson reminds us:

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And as we let our light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others[viii].

Rather than throw each other shovels to make the holes of fear and insecurity greater, let’s throw some ropes down, join hands, and help each other navigate those caverns and holes together, until we all are brought back up again. And in the midst of the darkness we are in, may the light of Christ shine our way, so that we may be bearers of light to the world with good news, the kind the doubles what we have been given. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
November 19, 2017

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[i] Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, and James D. Newsome, “Proper 28,” Texts for Preaching- Year A, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995).
[ii] John M. Buchanan, “Pastoral Perspective: Matthew 25:14-30,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).
[iii] Rolf Jacobson, Karoline Lewis, and Matt Skinner, “Sermon Brainwave Podcast #570 – Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost,” Working Preacher.Org, Posted November 11, 2017, http://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=948, accessed 11/15/17.
[iv] Matt Skinner.
[v] As referenced by John M. Buchanan.
[vi] Martin Luther King, Jr, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963, https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html, accessed 11/16/17.
[vii] Book of Order 2017-2019, Presbyterian Church (USA),  F-1.0301.
[viii] Marianne Williamson, “Our Deepest Fear” from Return to Love, as printed in Imaging the Word: An Arts and Lectionary Resource, Volume 3, (Cleveland, Ohio: United Church Press, 1996).

Sunday’s Sermon – Who Taught You That? Matthew 23:1-12

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“Who taught you that?” When it follows an impressive feat or display of skill, such as a delicious home cooked meal, the tone is quite positive and full of admiration. “Who taught you that?” It can also be skeptical, with an eyebrow raised, questioning the accuracy of a teaching or method. Sometimes it comes when a parent discovers a mischievous child’s surprise (good or bad) – then it manifests as humorous denial. Regardless of tones, this question beckons the rest of the story. It invites us into explanation for our actions and to provide rationale for our skills. It’s like putting a citation in a paper for a class. As teachers are known to say, it is important to “give credit where credit is due.”

In today’s text, it seems the scribes and Pharisees were overly anticipating such a question; and they wanted to be the answer. After all, it was their role to teach and instruct the people on God’s will. They are the experts, and have spent countless encounters with Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, quizzing him on his knowledge of scriptures, perhaps trying to corner him into a moment where the second tone of disapproval might raise the question “who taught you that?” Our opening verses indicate that they have gotten so caught up in their status within the community that they merely spout off their knowledge and righteous answers without actually living in a way that reflects them. Here, of course, is where Jesus takes issue. He is quick to call out those who have become lazy in their ivory towers of religious authority. While their teaching may indeed be sound, they have missed the point.

It is tempting for us to read these passages of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day and make them out to be the villains of the gospels. We gleefully join in hisses and boos when they enter the scene, and smile all too knowingly when they are rightfully called “hypocrites” and “brood of vipers.” In this text, we hear Matthew’s detailed descriptions of their ostentatious display of religiosity and pat ourselves on the back to be on the side of Jesus, knowing just how awful these people are. But, what if, these same tendencies of the first century religions leaders aren’t so far removed from our own? Perhaps the vanity, hypocrisy, and arrogance that trouble Jesus are more universal human characteristics that we all embody more than we’d like to admit.

The lure of power is great for us, too. We all have things we yearn for in life: success, money, status, or simply being liked by others. And in those moments when we accomplish steps towards them on any level, we feel pretty special. We must have done something right to deserve this, right? God must be smiling on us, rewarding us for our goodness. Patrick Gray says:

“It is so easy to confuse our interests with God’s purposes, our power with God’s sovereignty, our standing with God’s glory[i].”

After all:

“human beings like to matter, to be important, to be honored. We all want to be known and loved; this is what it means to be human  . . . How important is it for all of us to feel as if we matter and are appreciated! We want promotions, raises, bonuses, good grades. We are the “they” – the finger points back to us, because we are all human[ii].”

To these authorities in the first century, and to us, it is as if Jesus saying, “who taught you that?”

This passage calls us beyond ourselves. For the Pharisees, Jesus is pointing them to the heart of their faith, and reminding them that they are not God. In our own day to day lives, we sometimes need those reminders, too. We get caught up in the excitement of our own accomplishments and are blinded to others as we beam with our own pride. This passage, though, calls us off of our pedestals to consider that it’s really not about us. For behind any of our accomplishments are a host of individuals who have loved us, nurtured us, taught us, and supported us along the way.

 Who taught you that? It’s the question answered in acceptance speeches for awards, as actors and athletes thank their parents, coaches, teachers, friends, and other important people in their lives. As we reflect on our own lives and accomplishments, I imagine we also come up with a list of others to thank. It is particularly appropriate on this All Saints Sunday of the year to reflect on those who have made us the people that we are. One simple definition of a saint is someone who has shown us the way, often by example, and usually in a way that helps us be better people. Today we give thanks to God for them in our lives. We will lift them in prayer this morning during our worship service – if you have not already, write down their name on a prayer card or scrap of paper and give to an usher during the next hymn. You can also say their names out loud during the prayer as well.

After a death, I have the privilege of being with families as they grieve, and love hearing stories about their loved one. Almost without fail, the stories are not about “stuff” or even “power”; they revolve around how much of an impact the individual had on others, his or her positive example of how to live, and of his or her self-giving spirit. This humility is a common trait among saints, who gave of themselves in big and small ways that taught us more about love and life, and did not put themselves above others in doing so. Saints model how Jesus calls us to be at the end of this passage – the greatest among us who have been servants. On this day especially, we remember that even though they are no longer here with us, they have been exalted in heaven, rejoicing as saints in God’s presence forever. This is the image the Bible gives us over and over again of saints: endless praise at the throne of God. For you see, it isn’t really about the saints either. Saints point us to an even greater “who”– God.

As we honor and remember the saints in our lives, we really are giving thanks to God for the gifts and abilities God gave each of them, and for putting them in our lives. We acknowledge that God is the master creator, ruler of heaven and earth, and proclaim that in life and in death we belong to this amazing God. This is what Jesus is getting at, I think, in his insistence that there is only one father, God in heaven. Everything begins and ends with God. This is the message we proclaim at every memorial service or funeral. We hold our loved ones close to us, yes, but more than anything else, we remind ourselves of the heart of our faith as we gather for worship services that witness to the resurrection – the power God has beyond life on this earth to be in loving relationship with us forever.

Who taught us this? The one instructor and rabbi, Jesus Christ. Through Christ, the power of death is shattered. Because of Christ, we have eternal life, and can be bold enough to say that the saints who have gone before us, our loved ones, are indeed with God. This hope extends to us on earth as well, as we join them in the communion of saints, believers united in every time and place. It is part of what we celebrate every time we gather around the communion table. Our celebration of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is our rehearsal for that time when we are united with all the saints at Christ’s table, our glimpse of what it might be like. Our preparation for this, though, should extend beyond a small cube of bread and cup of juice. It should be modeled in every moment of our lives. As the Saint Theophane Vernard says, “the life of a Christian should be a perpetual jubilee, a prelude to the festivals of eternity.”

This is what All Saints Sunday is truly about: a celebration of the communion of the saints – all people of faith here today, those who have gone before us, and even those who will come after us, connected together by the one who taught us what God’s love was all about, and who led us by his example, and who continues to teach us through his Word. So let us give thanks for the ones who have gone before us, and then humbly take our seats as students of the one true God. Because we still have a lot more to learn. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
November 5, 2017

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[i] Patrick Gray, “Exegetical Perspective: Matthew 23:1-13,” David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors. Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 4 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).
[ii] Jacqueline J. Lewis, “Homilectical Perspective: Matthew 23:1-12”, Feasting on the Gospels: Matthew, Volume 2 Chapters 14-28, Cynthia A. Jarvis and E. Elizabeth Johnson, editors. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013).

Christmas Traditions – November Newsletter

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Few things match the beauty of Christmas decorations, especially the large scale ones in malls and shopping centers. I still get amazed as I look at all of the bright lights and glistening tinsel; looking at these beautiful seasonal displays really gets me in the Christmas spirit. I remember as a child going with my family to the mall this time of year, to do some shopping, and if we had time, to sit on Santa’s knee. There was an excited anticipation for this trip, wishing and dreaming for what would be under the tree, and having the chance to whisper it in the jolly man’s ear.

Alongside this was another tradition in my family. Usually next to Santa’s workshop in the mall was a special tree, full of paper angels. Each year, my mom would help me pick out an angel to shop for – usually a girl my age, although as I got older I had more input. We would talk about how not all children get to sit on Santa’s lap and have presents under the tree, and how we were going to help be Santa’s elves. We would look over the list, come up with ideas, and then go shopping. I would pick out things that I thought she might like – and if I got stuck, my mom would remind me that this was a little girl just like me, so maybe we liked some of the same things. In a small, but tangible way, my parents taught me that this was what Christmas was all about – giving and sharing. One year, my Girl Scout troop even got to help with a Christmas party the local Salvation Army was throwing for those receiving gifts. I was amazed at the room lined up with presents, and the volunteers hard at work to make sure each child had a special Christmas. I remember the faces of those children, too – just like mine had been in line for Santa, filled with the Christmas spirit as we sang carols, played games, and ate cookies. Thinking back on these moments now, I am pretty sure this is some of what the kingdom of God is like, too.

As I interviewed to become your pastor, Santa’s Caravan was one of the first things I learned about Heritage Presbyterian Church. I was hooked, and loved being a part of this vibrant ministry for the first time last year. The angel tree in our Narthex is a wonderful testament to what it means to be the church, reminding us that we are connected with God’s children not just here, but in our community as well. I encourage you to take an angel off the tree this year in honor of a child in your life, or for an extra challenge, one for each of your own children, nieces and nephews, or grandchildren. If they live locally, consider a “shopping date” with them as a part of your Christmas celebration. I can’t wait to let Nathan loose in the toy section as we pick things out for another special 3 year old boy, and have already made plans with my mom to continue our tradition, with some of our gift to each other being a mother-daughter shopping trip to provide for several more angels.

When we take a tag off the tree, we are doing more than just carrying a shopping list – we are carrying the hopes and dreams of a child with us. We are practicing the kind of presence with others that is at the heart of our Christmas season – the revelation of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, our Emmanuel, God-with-us. And we experience it ourselves, too. And that is the best Christmas tradition of all.

 

Sunday’s Sermon – Always Being Reformed

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Let’s play a game. Guess the company based on the slogan:

  • “Just do it.” (Nike)”
  • “Finger lickin’ good” (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
  • “It keeps going . . . and going . . . and going . . .” (Energizer Bunny)
  • “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” (M&Ms)
  • “The quicker picker upper” (Bounty)

Every good product needs a slogan. Advertisers and marketers spend a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money trying to come up with something that will stick with you and help you remember their product in a positive way. This week, we commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Imagine for a moment, those leaders in our faith gathered around a table, trying to come up with a slogan that encapsulated the movement. For example, Martin Luther might have recalled the 95 Theses he had posted, and suggested the slogan, “Nailed It!”

Unfortunately or fortunately, the Reformers never all gathered around for such a session. But as the ideas sparked by Luther and others expanded some 500 years ago, there were some words and phrases that seemed to link together this movement across Europe. By the time we reached the Dutch Second Reformation in a 1674, one emerged in a  devotional written by Jodocus van Lodenstein. He and others were committed to teaching the Reformed confession and catechism, and wanted to see those teachings better applied and more thoroughly understood. The slogan he presented was:  Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei, that is, “The church reformed, always to be reformed according to the Word of God.” It reminded the church, just 150 years or less after the Reformation had begun to spread, that the process of transformation and change was meant to be ongoing, and it insists that it is God, through Scripture and the Holy Spirit, who will bring this change about. Note:

the verb is passive: the church is not “always reforming,” but is “always being reformed” by the Spirit of God through the Word. Although the Reformers themselves did not use this slogan, it certainly reflects what they were up to[i].

The late theologian Phyllis Tickle wrote a book five years ago titled The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why (Baker Books, 2012)[ii]. In it, she posits that every 500 years, the Church goes through what she calls a “rummage sale,” that cleans out the old forms of spirituality and replaces it with new ones. The former ones are not lost, obsolete or invalid, but they lose their “pride of place” as the dominant form of Christianity. She notes events like Constantine’s acceptance of Christianity as a national religion at the turn of the 5th century, the Great Schism of the 11th century, and the Reformation. Then, she goes on to wonder if the Postmodern era in the 21st century might be a new form of Christianity emerging that means that Protestantism in all its denominational forms is losing influence and is giving way to alternative forms of Christian expression. More and more, studies show that this is becoming true. We live in a “post-denominational world.” This is a real challenge for the church as we know it, because it means that change is on the horizon.

Commemorating the Reformation today should remind us that the Spirit continues to prod and pull and move us in new directions. To be Reformed means to be mindful of this history, while at the same time moving forward. It means looking to those foundations of our faith and holding them to the light of Scripture to see what the Spirit is saying to us as the church today – what are we being called to hold on to? What might we be called to let go? To answer these questions, we might look at some other “slogans” that have come to define what it is to be “Reformed.”

By the 20th century, some scholars began to put them together based on recurring phrases found in the writings of the Reformers. Theodore Engelder presented them in a 1916 article “The Three Principles of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fides.” In 1934, theologian Emil Brunner introduced Soli Deo gloriam. In 1958 historian Geoffrey Elton reflected that John Calvin had “joined together” the “great watchwords” of faith and grace, followed by the others. Later Brunner offered that theological Karl Barth had added Cristus solus to the mix. By Johann Baptiste Metz’s 1965 work, The Church and the World, we had the list of five that you see on the cover of your bulletin. These phrases are known as the five “solas,” after the latin that begins each phrase, translated as “alone” or “only.” They have become slogans, if you will, for what it means to be Reformed. Or, as our Presbyterian Book of Order says, are phrases that:

embody principles of understanding that continue to guide and motivate the people of God in the life of faith[iii].

First, Sola scriptura – Scripture Alone. Did you realize that those Bibles in your pews are revolutionary!? Martin Luther himself translated the Bible into German beginning in 1522, and while he was not the first, the Luther Bible became widespread and highly revered. One Wittenberg publisher alone printed 100,000 copies between 1534 and 1574[iv]. At the heart of all of this was the importance of Scripture in the lives of believers, and the desire for everyday people to have access to it in their own language. It is the embodiment of those instructions Jesus gave to his disciples in John 8, to “continue in my Word” that they might discover truth and freedom.

For the Reformers, everything they wrote came back to a firm grounding in Scripture. That is why, practically speaking, we have two sacraments – the Lord’s Supper and Baptism – because those were the rituals the Reformers identified as the ones instituted by Christ himself in Scripture. John Calvin’s systematic theology contains footnotes and references for almost every sentence, setting the bar that belief must be based in the Bible.  Church councils and others followed suit in developing what we have come to know as our Confessions, those statements of faith about what we believe, all with strong phrasing and references to our Biblical text. Even today, this pattern is still very much a part of the life of the church.  Everyone who is ordained in the Presbyterian Church, USA, answers the following question “Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?[v]” We surround ourselves with God’s Word, believing that in doing so we will allow it to inhabit our very being.

We might hear echoes of Jeremiah’s explanation of God’s covenant with the Israelites from the very beginning, as God declared “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” in order that “they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest[vi].” The only way to have God’s law inside of us, written into the very fabric of who we are, is attentive focus on reading and studying God’s Word to us in the Bible. In short, we should be wearing our Bibles out as Reformed Christians, and that engagement with scripture should make some impact in our lives that helps us embody God’s Word each and every day. Sola scriptura.

 As John Calvin did, let’s take the next two together – sola fide and sola gratia – faith and grace alone. This is the heart of the Reformed understanding of salvation, rooted in a close reading of Scripture. Ephesians 2:8 even pairs them succinctly, saying, “for by grace you have been saved through faith.” These phrases emphasize the role of God’s grace over any works we could possibly do or law we could follow. The Reformers knew that, as Paul described to the Romans in chapter 3, God’s righteousness, justification, and redemption are free and good gifts from God. 500 years ago, this spoke to some very specific circumstances within the church, but even today it speaks to us in a world where “there is no such thing as free lunch.” For Calvin, it was clear that this was the only way salvation could work; he knew just how far we as humans were from what God intended because of sin in its many forms. “Total depravity” is the catch phrase that runs alongside these, with the recognition that we are utterly and solely dependent on God. Grace is the means by which God acts and brings salvation. Faith is the way we receive it. Sola fide. Sola Gratia.

It is this dependence on God that leads us to our next slogan, the means by which we understand God’s grace – Jesus Christ. Solus Christus.  Christ alone, is the way through which God is reconciled with the world. Calvin’s favorite title for Christ was “mediator,”  recognizing the intercessory role he played in our salvation. Jesus is the fully human embodiment of God – God’s goodness, righteousness, wisdom, and power to save – in our history[vii].  This understanding of redemption is laid out in Romans. Jesus Christ is God’s gracious self-revelation, through which we come to a saving and transforming knowledge of God. It is the purpose of the entire New Testament, and the fulfillment of the promises for a Messiah from the Hebrew Scriptures. Through Christ, we are justified and made free. Solus Christus.

Finally, soli Deo Gloria – Glory to God alone. In some ways, this slogan is a summary of all the others, reminding us of the one through whom all things have come into being, including our salvation. Like the Psalmist, we are in awe and wonder. This sola calls us to “Come, behold the works of the Lord” (Psalm 46:8). It focuses our attention on praise and honor to God in all that we do, for it indeed is God, not anything we have done or could possibly do who is responsible for our salvation. It is right, then, for us to give our thanks and praise in response. This final slogan prompts us to action, with lives that proclaim the goodness and glory of God. Soli Deo Gloria.

Together, these five solas represent the heart of the Protestant Reformation, as well as a solid summary of what we as Presbyterians believe. Although they might seem simple, once you start digging into them a bit more than we have this morning, there is much to be discovered and discussed. In fact, the Protestant church has been doing just that for five centuries now, as Councils and other gatherings of believers have tried to explain their meaning and figure out how they apply to our lives as individuals and as the church. One would think that this would have all been iron clad and figured out after 500 years, but the truth is, it is a work in progess. We, the church, are a work in progress. And that is good news that returns us to that hallmark slogan: ““The church reformed, always being reformed according to the Word of God.”

If the Reformation tells us anything, it is that God is always at work, reforming and reworking us through the revelations of Scripture, our experience of the risen Christ, and the movement of the Holy Spirit. God is in the business of change. On this 500th anniversary, perhaps we can join the Reformers in digging deeper into questions of faith, continuing to unpack Scripture and figure out what the Spirit is saying to us anew. When we do, we are being “Reformed” at our very best – ready for the changes God has for the future.  May this ongoing re-formation carry us into the next 500 years together. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
October 29, 2017

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[i] https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/ecclesia-reformata/
[ii] An excellent interview that highlights some of the key points can be found here: https://www.faithandleadership.com/phyllis-tickle-anthill
[iii] Book of Order, 2017-2019, F-2.04, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
[iv] For more information about the Luther Bible, see http://www.history.pcusa.org/blog/2017/10/luther-translator.
[v] Book of Order, 2017-2019, W-2.0404b, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
[vi] Jeremiah 31:31-34
[vii] For an excellent summary of John Calvin’s life and beliefs, consider Christopher Elwood, Calvin for Armchair Theologians, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).

Sunday’s Sermon – Show And Tell – Exodus 33:12-23

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“Show me the money!” Perhaps this should have been the start to last week’s Stewardship sermon. Do you know the line? It helped make Cuba Gooding, Jr. famous in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire. Desperate to keep his one remaining client, the once-cocky sports agent lead character, played by Tom Cruise, calls the player who is unhappy with his existing contract, Gooding’s character, Wide Receiver Rod Tidwell. It’s a comical give and take, as Gooding paces around his home with swagger, trying to get his agent in the same groove. By the end of the phone call, there is dancing and shouting from both player and agent in a scene that propelled Gooding to Oscar success.

“Show me the money!” is about more than just financial negotiations. It is a cry for authenticity and connection, even in the midst of mistrust or broken relationships. It is a beginning point for relationship and commitment between these two characters that touches on a theme carried throughout the film.

Our reading from Exodus this morning shows similar movement, as Moses meets God in a tent of meeting outside the camp of the Israelites. God’s people have been in the wilderness for some time, have received the Ten Commandments[i] and numerous other instructions about life together in community. They have gotten the building plans for the structure of the Tabernacle they are to build and the proper making of offerings, as well as all the furnishings. They have created the Ark of the Covenant, where the commandments will rest. And again, God has called Moses up the mountain for more instructions. But this most recent trip reveals impatience and frustration among the people of Israel, who respond under Aaron’s instructions by melting their gold into an idol for worship. You may have caught the reading of this story in worship last week. When this happens, not only does God get mad, but Moses is also furious, breaking the stone tablets he has been given, and Aaron declares that the people are “bent on evil[ii].”

Imagine for a moment a child has done something way out of line, or just something quite ridiculous. Have you ever heard one parent say to the other, “look what your son did!” That’s the premise of some of this conversation. Moses is confronted with the realities of what his people have done, but in partnership with God offers the reminder that these people are also God’s people[iii], and as such, he looks to God as if to say, “so now what are you going to do about it?” He says, “show me your ways.” The subtext here is the same as in that conversation between Jerry Maguire and his athlete client – are you going to be with me or not? It’s a risky question for Moses to ask of God, too. As Dennis Olson wonders:

How can the powerful holiness and glory of the God of all creation live with and in the midst of a sinful people without the surging power of that divine holiness destroying the people (Exodus 33:3)?[iv]

The disparity between what God has intended and how the people have responded is tremendous, and now the entire covenant between them has been called into question. But in the midst of struggle and broken promises, we God and Moses speaking as they always have, friend to friend[v]. In this conversation, Moses begins by trying to figure out what kind of relationship God intends to have with the Israelites after all.

This week, if you are connected to social media, you likely saw numerous posts that included the phrase or hashtag “me, too.” In response to revelations and accusations about inexcusable and despicable actions by Harvey Weinstein, actress Alyssa Milano invited those who had experienced sexual harassment or assault to name it with a post, hoping that it might raise awareness about the magnitude of the problem in our world. In a very different way, it was a call to show, and sometimes tell, about a problem in our society that is too often unnamed or brushed aside. What many don’t know is that the phrase actually began more than ten years ago as activist Tamara Burke reflected on a heartbreaking story she heard from a young girl at the camp where she worked. This experience motivated her to help young women of color who had survived sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation. Burke continues that work today as she serves as director of the Brooklyn-based Girls for Gender Equity. It has been a number of years since she began introducing the phrase “me, too” as a way to express solidarity and compassion to those victims, and this week it became more viral given recent events. Between noon last Sunday and Tuesday afternoon,

the #MeToo hashtag has been used 825,000 times [according to Twitter]. . .
[Facebook] said that in less than 24 hours, 4.7 million people around the world have engaged in the “Me too” conversation, with more than 12 million posts, comments and reactions. According to Facebook, more than 45% of people in the United States are friends with someone who’s posted a message with the words ‘Me too.[vi]‘

“Me, too” carries a lot of implications. It is one expression of the calling out of a sin that exists in our world and give space for those who have been long silenced to be heard. It gives reassurance that those who have experienced brokenness in its most gruesome form are not in fact alone.  And it reminds us of the importance of showing up and telling truths. Underlying all of this is a fundamental question of how we are going to be in relationship with one another in the midst of the brokenness of our world.

As we ponder this question in the midst of our communities of faith, we might look to the conversation Moses has with God in Exodus 33 to guide us. In this moment, as with the stories that precede it in the Exodus narrative, God’s character is revealed. Just one chapter before, Moses has persuaded God to not destroy the Israelites, and it’s not the first time they have screwed things up. But over and over again, God continues the pattern God began with the parting of the Red Sea; God delivers the people from the bonds of slavery and captivity of sin and brings them into freedom and the arms of mercy. We learn again that:

When justice and compassion clash within the heart of Yahweh, compassion prevails[vii].

Moses is the mediator through which this happens, as he represents the people of Israel to God, and also then represents God to the people of Israel as he returns to reveal the fruits of these conversations. The first gleaning of this conversation is the assurance of God’s enduring presence, promised in verse 14 with the word in Hebrew, Emmanuel. This is a promise of dwelling and desire to be in deep and abiding relationship with God’s people, even in the midst of trials.

At the end of our text, Moses gets a glimpse of this God while tucked into the cleft of a rock. This small taste of God propels Moses, and the people of Israel, into a renewed relationship with God again, which will lead to worship and a renewed proclamation of God’s graciousness and steadfast love. This is a pattern that repeats throughout the stories of Scripture. We even hear echoes of it in Paul’s greeting to the Thessalonians, where it is evident that the showing and telling about God’s grace and love has gone viral in that community, so much so that word has gotten back to Paul, Silas, and Timothy. God’s presence is meant to inspire a response from us. It is meant to call us into relationship and a way of being with each other that demonstrates the kind of covenant community God has envisioned from the very beginning, and never stops at trying to bring into reality. It is meant to make us load up our mystery bags and bring into our circles of family and friends and neighbors and even strangers, and share what we know to be true with a joyful show and tell of God’s presence in our own lives.

There has been a great response on the whole, I think to #MeToo. In the comments I have seen and read, and stories I have been privileged and trusted to hear this week, I think there have also been signs of God’s presence, that same presence promised to us in Exodus. I have heard it in the expressions of solidarity among women. I have seen it in the responses of men who have acknowledged the times they have “let things slide,” or even been responsible for statements or actions themselves, with earnest promises to do better as individuals and as a community. This “show and tell” as it were via hashtag and slogan has become more than just something trending on social media. It has become a call to be the community we are supposed to be, complete with an acknowledgment of the ways we have failed.

In bringing things to the light, and having tough conversations, we are better able to forge ahead as children of God together, and if we are faithful about it, we are doing it in the presence of God, which indeed can and will bring some relief and rest from those terrors that too many live with. This is important for the issue of sexual harassment and assault. It is also important for numerous other issues in our society and world that tear away at the very fabric of our communities and cause real pain and harm. Things like “Me, Too” are reminders that everyone has stories to tell, and calls us to pay better attention and do a better job of caring for each other through attentive, supportive listening and reciprocal action. They urge us to respond – by listening, by saying #IBelieveYou, by promising to step up when we observe it happening.  Being together in community can also look like other signs of support. Did you know that this morning, the entire congregation of Macland Presbyterian church here in our Presbytery is having a “pink-out?” with everyone wearing pink in support of their preschool director and others who are fighting breast cancer? This is a sign of our awareness of God’s presence. It’s about showing up for one another, and telling each other the hope we have come to know.

At our best, the church’s response to the world can be what is laid out in Exodus – a proclamation that we belong to God and that God never abandons us. The promise of Immanuel is that God says, “me, too,” because God’s nature is to be with us in the midst of the mess. And over and over again lead us from brokenness to restoration. This is the nature of God’s show and tell. May we load up our mystery bags with this good news, and prepare to proclaim it. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
October 22, 2017

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[i] See Exodus 20:1-17
[ii] Exodus 33:22.
[iii] See Exodus 33:13
[iv] Dennis Olson, “Commentary on Exodus 33:12-23,” The Working Preacher, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3445, accessed 10/18/2017.
[v] Exodus 33:11a, New Revised Standard Version
[vi] http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/17/us/me-too-tarana-burke-origin-trnd/index.html
[vii] Walter Brueggemann, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, James D. Newsome, Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV – Year A. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995).

Sunday’s Sermon – Keep Going! – Philippians 4:1-9

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Every November, the city of Richmond, Virginia, hosts a marathon. For 26.2 miles, runners pace themselves down Monument Avenue, across the James River, and tour the city in a street race. This is my story of that race. I didn’t run it (clearly – remember, I’m not a runner!), but my seminary campus was along the race route, and each year members of our community would volunteer at the closest water station, or just meet up to enjoy fellowship as we watched those running pass by. During my third year, we had a specific objective – one of our classmates was running. Signs were made, and various friends were positioned along the entire race route to cheer her on. We waited eagerly next to campus, close to the paced out time, excitedly scanning the runners for our friend. After a little while, someone caught sight of her and began to yell. The first thing I saw was Faith’s smile.

She shifted her run to come closer to the side where her cheering section had gathered, and ran victoriously by our campus receiving all the high fives and love she could. Another classmate, Lindy, joined her at the corner and ran a mile or so with her to give her a final boost to make it to the finish line. In class the next week, we celebrated with her again as she wore her medal to one of the classes we shared. She noted, eyes beaming, how much it meant to her to see those familiar faces along the race path, especially in those later miles when she thought her body might give out.

It helps, you see, to have a cheering section that reminds us to “keep going!” in our pursuits. A little encouragement can go a long way to help lift our spirits, remind us of our abilities, and get that extra boost to carry us forward. In many ways, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one large cheering section for the early church. Throughout the letter, he encourages them to live their faith in the best ways possible. A large part of this is a call to unity with each other, that they might find strength in numbers and in working together. He also continues to emphasize the great gift of faith and power of Christ’s presence among them when this happens. In this final chapter he delivers a wonderful punctuation point with instructions on how they are to continue.

Verse four is one of the most well-known verses in Scripture and is often among those favorites we list. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!” For Paul, this is an important mark of the life of faith – a constant and persistent celebration of God in the lives of believers. You might even imagine the popular tune by Bobby McFerrin playing in the background, “Don’t worry . . . . be happy!,” particularly when reading the next verses. Such a conclusion is upbeat and uplifting, and it gives us all those warm and fuzzy feelings. It seems to check all the boxes for what encouragement should be.

For most of us, we hear these verses in fairly relaxed circumstances. It’s a crisp fall day and we are comfortable here in our pews, looking forward to a delicious picnic outside after worship. We might describe our metaphorical level of exertion as that of a leisurely stroll. For Paul and the Philippians, though, the context might have been a bit more taxing. We know from other places in this letter that the Philippians were enduring some sort of external persecution, and likely some internal turmoil and disunity. And Paul? He was writing this letter from prison. So it’s fair to say that both the reader and writer here were under some amount of stress. Perhaps the race equivalent of, say, mile 23 of the marathon. And here, the words of encouragement are even more important, and the instruction for continual joy even more challenging.

Paul is encouraging himself and his readers to remember joy continuously, because of what they know to be true in Jesus Christ. As Nathan Eddy notes:
Joy is a discipline of perception, not an emotion dependent on circumstances

    1. .

 

    1. Again, he calls for a reorientation to the world that perceives everything in light of the good news of Jesus Christ. And in this light of good news, joy can be found. This isn’t a fleeting or flimsy joy – it is the result of a deep abiding faith in the strength of God. It is an orientation of the spirit that hopes for a better future, and indeed trusts that future to God’s hands and seeks to become a coworker in it.

The role of joy in faith is not just celebratory – it is provocative and subversive. JOY is persistent, and seeks to overturn those threatening situations, vain desires, and selfish ambition and replace them with a peace that guards hearts and minds. What better place for it to begin than in difficult times, where it is needed the most. Eddy goes on to say that:
Joy always takes root amid adversity; there is no other soil for it to grow in .
By taking on a perspective of joy, the Philippians will join God in delighting for the good that is happening in the world, and will be motivated to keep pursuing it. Above all else, joy has the ability to keep things going.

This week, I had the incredible blessing of attending a conference at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur that connected the creative work of improve comedy to the context of serving in ministry and the need for adaptive leadership. It was eye-opening, and very fun. As we began, we gathered in a circle for some introductions, and the leaders used joy to build the energy in the group and foster a sense of connection and momentum for us that would launch us into our time together. After each person completed a prompt, the entire group would raise hands and exclaim, “that’s awesome!” It didn’t matter what was said. Some of the things shared were good, like a comment about someone seeing friends in town. Others were not quite that way, such as when someone shared that they had just quit their job and weren’t sure what came next. Admittedly, it was a bit weird to say “that’s awesome!” to some of them, but after a few times it started to make sense. We were honoring the brave space in which they had shared, and the refrain became an expression of support and encouragement. Laughter broke some of the tension and community was created. All with a little bit of shared joy, a precursor to what was to come.

A large part of improv comedy involves keeping the energy going. The adage “Yes, And” is a hallmark to this practice. It reminds the actors that what is spoken by others is offered as a gift. The job of others on stage is to attentively listen and receive it as that gift, encouraging each other and building upon what others have offered. The simplest way to do this? Start your response with “Yes, And . . .” It’s amazing the energy this can generate. It pushes the story forward, even to unexpected places.

When we’d forget, the energy would suddenly fall. A negative block of an idea would feel like the rug was pulled out from under us or a door was slammed in our face. But as the week progressed, we got better at doing it. We began to work together in pretty profound ways as a team. “Yes, And” became a way we helped inspire each other to “keep going.” One of our leaders even challenged us to step into open space before we knew what we were going to say, trusting that we could keep it going. And on those times when we failed? We knew we had the joy of “That’s awesome!” or a slow motion 1980s style group high five that would break any sense of failure apart with joy. No matter what comes, Paul, writes, keep going. If things are difficult, just put one foot in front of the other.

“Yes, And” is permission to “keep going,” and should be the line on all of our lips with each other as we encourage one another in faith and ministry. Last week in our text from Philippians 3, Paul urged us to “press on” and keep our eyes on the prize of the heavenly call. This week, just one chapter later, he continues this message with the encouragement to keep on doing what we have learned and received. Keep going. It’s simple advice that moves us into the future, and helps us live into the joy we carry or need to discover. “Press On, Keep Going” is what is carrying us through this Stewardship season as we reflect and make commitments to one another here in ministry. As a congregation, we are cheering each other on, and pointing each other towards greater goals of discipleship with each of these pledge cards. We are reminded that we are in this together, each of us doing what God calls us to do, trusting that the Spirit will knit us together in powerful ways. This is a day of celebration! We will rejoice together here in this space for worship, and continue in a time of fellowship at noon. There is much to be celebrated about what God has done, yes, AND today we also celebrate what we hope God will do in us, through us, and maybe in spite of us, in the year that is to come. Even if you are not a member of our congregation, I invite you to take a few moments and jot a note, perhaps on a scrap of paper, that is your offering to God today for how you will engage in ministry in your own ways, and then bring that paper forward with you as an inspirational sign, lifting it to God, the ultimate encourager.

Keep going, friends, in faith in the one who runs alongside us and is always near us. Keep going, and rejoice along the way! May these cards and offerings be our “yes” to following Jesus Christ, and may we joyfully anticipate that God will keep them going, receiving them and saying “yes, and…”

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
October 15, 2017

Quotes from Nathan Eddy, “Homiletical Perspective: Philippians 4:1-9,) Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.)

Sunday’s Sermon – Press On – Philippians 3:4b-14

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I am continually impressed with those who have the discipline to run, even more so the ones who do it for fun. I have several friends who post about their training for marathons, including one who recently completed a Ragnar ultra-relay run, in which she and 5 friends combined ran 200 miles over a weekend. Seeing things like this remind me that I am in no way a runner. I grew up playing soccer, but was a defensive midfielder, which meant I spent most of the game in sprints and stops. I’m also horrible at pacing myself, so if I were to start out just trying to run, I would quickly reach maximum exertion and then be spent. Running without a ball or Frisbee to chase is of little appeal to me most of the time. I need to have some sort of objective. So right now, I’m working my way through a program called “Couch25k[i],” which gives a schedule of intervals of walking and jogging or running over the course of 9 weeks.  I’m starting week 4, and let me tell you, I’m not looking forward to it. This is the week where things shift so you run twice as long as you walk, rather than in evenly paired intervals, and I know it’s going to be hard. I am tempted to stop, or to at least just remain with the more comfortable “easy” runs in which I didn’t feel like I was going to fall off the treadmill and my legs didn’t feel as rubbery. But, with you all as my witnesses, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to challenge myself to press on to the harder runs, because I know that’s the only way I have any hope of actually reaching my goals this time around.

All of this to say, is running is no joke. It takes commitment, hard work, and discipline. The same is true about our life of faith, which is something the apostle Paul knew well. In Philippians, he utilizes the image of an athlete to demonstrate that the Christian life is not about just a quick profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then sitting back and waiting until he comes again. As Fred Craddock writes, the image is quite the opposite:

Paul portrays himself in the least relaxed, most demanding posture he knows: as a runner in a race. His language is vivid, tense, repetitious: pressing, stretching, pushing, straining. In those words the lungs burn, the temples pound, the muscles ache, the heart pumps, the perspiration rolls[ii].

For Paul, faith is an active response marked by a sense of movement toward something more. And Paul is quick to point out what gets left behind.

He reflects in this letter about his many accomplishments as a successful student of the Torah who was zealous about fulfilling his religious obligations. He notes that he was one who “had it all” religiously speaking. He took part in the appropriate rituals and adhered to the letter of the law. But then he references that moment we know from Acts 9 with his conversation on the road to Damascus, and identifies that this has shifted his perspective drastically. Now, all that he once clung to as accomplishment is loss. The word in Greek he uses is translated by the NRSV as “rubbish,” but carries a much more graphic feel – you can substitute your own euphemism. Instead, he has discovered that there is a much greater goal than just checking off all the boxes on the activities card at church. His focus has shifted, and now he is zeroed in more directly on an engaged relationship with Jesus Christ. For Paul, this is a critical distinction, and a straightforward reminder that our lives of faith are not as much about us as they are about Jesus. That is what he identifies as the gain.

Put simply, Jesus changes everything. Christ’s resurrection and claim on us as his own reorients us to a new way of being in the world that is forward-facing, not looking back to our own past achievements. The image of the runner here again is helpful. In running, it is usually less helpful to spend much time thinking about the road that is behind you. Instead, the focus needs to be on what lies ahead. Sometimes, that means little increments. I remember doing conditioning runs each year at the beginning of soccer season, when we had all neglected our training. As the team captains led us on a neighborhood run, I remember looking to telephone poles, large trees, street corners, anything I could to give myself a focus point on which to reach. By keeping my eye on something ahead, I found my feet were more likely to move forward. In the first century, however, runners may have had a different perspective. If you look at art from around that time and earlier, you find that the depictions are almost always of runners looking backward, suggesting that it may have been common to look over one’s shoulder when running[iii], as if you were being chased. Of course, this will generally make for a slower run, and potentially a dangerous one if you don’t pay attention to what is coming up. Paul’s image in Philippians may have been provocative to those early readers, challenging them to see things from a different perspective and to take on a new way of thinking in relationship to their lives of faith.

Maybe we need that reorientation, too. It is very easy in our lives of faith to get caught up in what has been done in the past and only note what we have experienced or have done before. This can be good, of course, as we recall those foundational and pivotal moments to our relationship with God. But it can also leave us with a belief system that is in the past, rather than one that engages us now in the present. Paul, I think, would have us work to let go of the things in our past that distract or encumber us so that we can pay attention to the here and now. Then, we can look ahead and press on to the future that lies before us. In order to get there, he might suggest that we focus on the one who is responsible for it all – Jesus, who is indeed ahead of us. Consider the chorus to the old hymn as our refrain:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory grace[iv].

These words were written in 1922 by Helen Lemmel, and the verses speak to those struggling with weary hearts and to places where evil seems to envelop all light and hope with darkness. In the face of heartbreak and tragedy, these words are a powerful testimony to the transforming power of Jesus Christ; of the good news of the resurrection that said evil and sin in this world would never be the final answer. This is the hope of our faith, and it needs to be spoken over and over again – as natural disasters strike, and as domestic terrorism leaves more than families grieving and hundreds injured in Las Vegas. As people of faith, we need to cling to the hope that Jesus can and will change these realities.

But our text from Paul also presses us to do more. Remember, he doesn’t instruct the Philippians to rest in this good news. He calls them to action. Thoughts and prayers are important in times of struggle, and good and right, but they themselves cannot be the end. We must press on towards a more full participation in the life-giving transformative work that God has done and is doing in the world through Jesus Christ. This means being a witness of compassion and love, like those who rushed to provide medical attention and care for the injured. This means being engaged in measures that might prevent such attacks from happening in the future. This means looking around our own communities and asking if we are showing Christ to each other every day in ways that foster peace and usher in the kingdom of God. This means spending time in prayer and reflection on what our own “heavenly calls” might be, whether around these circumstances or others where we are passionate. Our work as disciples isn’t finished just because we are here confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. In fact, that profession is just the beginning of the race and journey Paul talks about. And, it’s like the clichéd phrase reminds us, it isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon.

The life of faith is about action and continued discernment. This is what “pressing on” toward Jesus is all about, and our text for today urges us to examine our own lives and consider how well or not the decisions we are making is leading us in closer relationship with Christ. This month at Heritage we have paired our stewardship season with these words from Paul, as an encouragement to us to think about our own engagement within this community as well as throughout our lives of faith. A few weeks ago, you should have received commitment cards that asked you to reflect on your financial, time, and talents. Our Stewardship and Finance committee along with the Deacons hope that you will take time to pray with these and see them as a spiritual growth opportunity. The intent of these cards is not to be an obligation or pressure to mark every item on a list, but is meant to be a way that we each make a commitment to Christ through the sharing of all we have been given, a promise to how we hope to look ahead and move forward as disciples of Jesus Christ through tangible ways. Perhaps, in one or more of these areas, you might consider pressing on to a deeper level of involvement. That might mean an increased financial gift, a resolution to attend worship more often, a commitment to pray daily for our congregation and its leaders, or a new way of volunteering your time and talents. Don’t just stay at a comfortable, easy pace with faith. Step up to the challenge of Paul’s race and stretch yourself a bit. You might just find that in doing so you own faith will be strengthened, and that you’re able to do more than you thought possible before. And, as you bring these cards to worship with you next week, remember they are not an end to themselves, but are a reminder that we are on a journey together, straining forward to what lies ahead.

As those on the road together, we are working toward a pretty big goal. Bigger than a “balanced budget,” or “increased worship attendance,” or more hands at the mobile food pantry. While all of these are indeed goals that we can and hopefully will accomplish together, if we only focus on these, we will miss the point of it all. Fortunately, Paul helps remind us. Our “goal” is to pursue the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. That’s it. To be the most faithful in this time and place, and to press on to deeper levels of discipleship together, so that we might be transformed by the relationship we have with Jesus Christ. That’s why this has to be a process of prayer and conversation, attentive to our actions being a natural and earnest extension of our faith. This is what stewardship is all about.

Over the next week, I encourage you to take this passage to heart, and spend time in reflection and prayer with how you are running the race. Center yourself on Jesus and the call God is making to you, and press on to that goal of being the best disciple you can be with your time, your skills and abilities, and your financial resources. In striving towards this goal, the Psalmist’s words will ring true, and we will also be those who “tell of the glory of God[v].” May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts, and all that we do in response, be done with this in mind, that they may be acceptable to God, our rock and our redeemer[vi].  Together, we press on. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
October 8, 2017

————————————————————–
[i] https://health.nokia.com/blog/2016/04/14/couch-to-5k-inventor-josh-clark/
[ii] Fred B. Craddock, Interpretation: Philippians, (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1985)
[iii] Annette Weissenreider, “Exegetical Perspective: Philippians 3:4b-14,” Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 4, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.)
[iv] “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” words and music by Helen H. Lemmel, 1922.
[v] Psalm 19:1
[vi] Psalm 19:14

Fitness: from Physical to Fiscal

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Are you in shape? Frankly, it’s a question many of us avoid at all costs. Either we don’t know the answer, or we don’t like the truthful one. I asked myself this question about my physical health not too long ago, and realized the answer wasn’t what I wanted it to be. So, I’ve started to be more intentional about movement in my daily life, including time spent exercising. As additional motivation, I’m working on a “couch to 5k” plan, which is essentially interval training, where you increase the time spent running vs. walking. It’s hard. I know it’s good for me, but sometimes it’s a battle just talking myself into my sneakers. But, I’ve made a commitment to this program (and am now even further accountable by using it as an illustration here!), which helps me to stick to it. Stay tuned to find out how things are going.

Are you in shape? It’s a question that is about far more than just how far or fast you can run or what a scale might say. It is a question you can apply to virtually every aspect of your life, considering your level of “fitness” in a variety of areas. That, in a nutshell, is what stewardship season is all about. It’s a time when we reflect intentionally about how we are using the gifts God has given us. Through prayer and reflection, we engage in discernment and consider the areas in which God calls us to “keep going” with healthy patterns, and identify those areas when we might “press on” to greater goals with new practices. One way to do this is through the completion of your 2018 commitment cards, both the Financial and the Time and Talents. In doing this, we remember that all we have been given, from our money to our time to our abilities, are a gift from God, and we seek to give back in response, knowing that this giving will nurture our own relationship with God and will contribute to the successes of the ministries Christ has called us to here at Heritage.

I hope that you will take time with both of these commitment cards, making a pledge to your participation in the life of Heritage Presbyterian Church and presenting them in worship on October 15. Marking your intentions can be an excellent way to check-in with yourself, and hold yourself accountable to following through with your intentions to live your most faithful life here in this community. Your commitments also are instrumental to our leaders’ abilities to plan for the future. Your financial pledges allow our Session to make sure our congregation has a solid fiscal plan for the coming year. Your sharing of gifts and abilities strengthen our church’s ministries and remind us of the incredible diversity of God’s gifts and calls to us all. I firmly believe that through these gifts, the Holy Spirit is shaping the future of our congregation, and I am excited to work with you to “get in shape” as Christ’s disciples here at Heritage in 2018!

Food Pantry

Food distribution has been changed to the 1st Saturday of the month at 10:00 am and the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 12:30 pm.

The next Drive-Up Food Pantry is scheduled for Saturday, May 3 at 10 am.  Accurate pre-registration is strongly encouraged to ensure volunteers pack accordingly.
Please sign- up here!

For other pantry locations, go here
or text “FINDFOOD” to 888-976-2232

Church News

Volunteers are needed to help pack family boxes on Monday, April 27th and Monday, May 19th at 10 am in the Fellowship Hall. We welcome all volunteers.  

Food Pantry distribution volunteer opportunity Saturday, May 3 registration here!

Worship Live Streaming and archives can be found by clicking the appropriate link under the worship tab.

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Upcoming Events

Worship

Sunday Schedule

9:00 AM
Responding in Faith Sunday School Class
     via Zoom with Barbara Jessee

9:15 AM
Bible University Sunday School Class
    with Dr. Tom Scott
Hybrid format (in-person & via Zoom)

Connections Sunday School Class
with Mark Bixler
Hybrid format (in-person & via Zoom)

Youth Bible Study (Room 8) 6- 12th grade

Kids Club – (Room 7)
Biblically-based Faith Formation Activities for Preschool – 5th Grade
Praise Kids Music on the 3rd Sunday of the month.

10:30 AM
In-Person Worship and Livestreamed via   YouTube.

Youth Group – the first and third Sunday of the month from 5-7 pm during the school year.