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Covenant Presbyterian Church
2001 N Coalter St
Staunton, Virginia 24401
Phone: 540-885-2138
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
What a day! Moving stories from the mission teams in Baja and South Dakota, celebration of our shared ministry over the past five (Amy) and fifteen (me) years, the kickoff for our capital stewardship campaign, lots of good food, and wonderful music that stirred our souls! Many thanks to all involved for making this Mission Sunday a memorable one!
We celebrate well, but more importantly we share in ministry well. The work of those mission teams could not have happened without financial and organizational support from the congregation and willing hands to work. The capital campaign is dependent not only upon financial gifts, but also upon ongoing gifts of time and talents. The beautiful music was one expression of the sharing of gifts as was the variety of foods folks so generously prepared and shared. Ministry is a shared experience, a shared calling to be the church in a particular place at a particular time in a particular way. We are blessed to share that ministry here at Covenant and to build upon the ministry that folks have been sharing here for more than fifty years!
If you are not yet sharing in that ministry, then we invite you to join us, to find an opportunity to share in the joy of ministering with whatever gifts God has blessed you. The more hands that are at work and the more talents that are offered, the more God can do through us and with us. Christianity is not a passive faith. It is an active faith that demands of us faithfulness, sacrifice and sharing. Each Sunday in my benediction I mention the koinonia of the Holy Spirit. I do so, because the usual translations of the Greek – fellowship or communion – are inadequate to capture the active participation which is key to the koinonia of the Spirit in our midst. In worship, in fellowship, in Christian Education, in mission, we are active participants. So, come participate and invite others to join with us as together we seek to be the church God calls us to be in this place now and into the future!
On a more personal note, many thanks from Karen and me for all your kind expressions of love and appreciation. We have been blessed to be called here for the past fifteen years and look forward to sharing in ministry with you for years to come!
~ John C. Peterson, August 23, 2010
From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
We painted. We prayed. We played. We participated in the kingdom in the far off land of Sisseton, South Dakota. If you had the chance to follow my blog during our time away, you know that we had fun even while we saw some hard things and went outside our comfort zones to serve God. You also know that this mission trip was a powerful experience for our youth, for our adult volunteers, and for me.
I think what made this trip so special for me—particularly as a pastor watching those she loves serve—were the relationships that grew. One of our YouthWorks staff members told us his philosophy on our work: “The work is an excuse to build relationships.” And we did. Relationships with the community we served, relationships with one another, relationship with God.
You’ll hear quite a bit about our mission trip on Mission Sunday, August 22nd,but you’ll be hearing mostly from our youth. So let me take this opportunity to say to you: be proud. Proud that we as a church would come together to support our kids both financially and spiritually. Proud that our group was so well received and represented our Covenant family with grace and joy. Proud that each and every one of our youth served with love, compassion, and fervor. Proud that they shared the light of Christ to the community we served and to one another.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, August 8, 2010
From the Pastor's Desk . . .
At 5:40 a.m. this morning fourteen of our youth and four adults pulled out of the parking lot in two vans and headed west to South Dakota where they will serve in mission among Native Americans. While I expected a few bleary eyes and stifled yawns, I found much more enthusiasm and anticipation for this mission opportunity. In a matter of hours nine more of our folks will board a plane and head west to San Diego; then they will climb into vans and head to Baja, Mexico where they will build a home for a family. While we are regularly active in our own neighborhood, building homes for Habitat for Humanity, serving meals at Valley Mission and Trinity Soup Kitchen, staffing the Verona Food Pantry, and planting and harvesting crops at the Volunteer Farm, we also reach out to neighbors in more distant places. We hope that you will keep these Covenant brothers and sisters in your prayers as they go to serve in Christ’s name on our behalf.
What about the rest of us? God calls us to serve with whatever gifts God has blessed us. Not all our gifts are the same – and that is a good thing! We are all gifted in one way or another; none of us is gift-less. The challenge is to discern how best God might use those gifts, those talents, to serve others. Key to that good work is our willingness to share our gifts and use them for someone other than ourselves. What might God do through you?
In the coming days there will be opportunities to share your gifts here at Covenant as part of our Capital Campaign. We will need time and talents to articulate the vision God has set before us. With the help of Cargill Associates the work has been divided widely so that no one bears a great burden, but such division of labor demands many hands. As calls come for you to lend a hand, a voice or some time to this effort, I hope that you will consider those gifts with which God has blessed you and pitch in to make it a success. In the letter to the Ephesians Paul writes that we are “servants according to the gift of God’s grace.” May we all be such faithful servants and instruments of God’s grace, offering our gifts joyfully in gratitude for the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus.
~ John C. Peterson, July 26, 2010
Last week the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church gathered in Minneapolis for its biennial meeting. While the local newspaper covered one aspect of one decision by the Assembly, much more happened there. Space here is too limited to describe all the actions taken and many of them will be subject to approval by presbyteries, but a brief summary of some of the items approved by the G.A. is as follows:
· Approved substantial changes to the Form of Government (FOG). Over the years this part of our constitution has evolved from a constitutional document to a list of statutory details. The changes attempt to streamline the FOG and restore the broad underpinnings of our Presbyterian polity and Reformed faith in our Constitution.
· Approved adding to our Book of Confessions the Belhar Confession from South Africa. This confession with its focus on reconciliation and the Lordship of Christ would be the first to come from the African continent. My daughter Emily returned from G.A. two years ago raving about what a wonderful statement it is.
· Approved deleting from the Book of Order a problematic paragraph (the so called “fidelity and chastity amendment”) related to ordination standards and substituting new language that would affirm that responsibility for determining suitability for ordination lies with the ordaining bodies under the guidance of Scripture and the confessions. The language of this paragraph has been a recurring issue since its adoption; previous attempts to substitute a new paragraph have been defeated by presbyteries by increasingly narrow margins.
· Approved a report on the Middle East seeking resolution to the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
· Elected as moderator Cynthia Bolbach, an elder from National Capital Presbytery.
As further information emerges about the actions of the Assembly, we will provide opportunity to provide greater detail and to engage in discussion about the ways in which the Assembly’s actions may impact the Presbyterian Church. I am hopeful that the actions of the Assembly will lead us to greater faithfulness as Christ’s disciples and welcome your continuing prayers for the PCUSA and for Covenant.
~ John C. Peterson, July 12, 2010
Our Vacation Bible School last week was a whirlwind of energy and activity on a High Seas Expedition. There were songs, hats, crafts, skits, and one forgettable feather boa. Kids from our church and wider community made new friends and learned about God. The focal point of the week was God’s Word as we learned that God’s Word is TRUE, COMFORTING, SURPRISING, LIFE-CHANGING and FOR EVERYONE.
It dawned on me as we sailed through the week that summer might be a pretty good time for all of us to pause and consider God’s Word and the ways in which God’s Word has – or hasn’t – made a difference in our lives. Other seasons of the year are so busy that God’s voice often gets drowned out by the din of distractions that claim our attention. Perhaps summer’s pace will provide an opportunity to embark on a voyage of your own – a voyage of faith. Utilizing those focal points studied at VBS: Do you believe that God’s Word is TRUE? Have you found God’s Word comforting at any times; if so, when? Are you ever surprised by God’s Word or have you forgotten what God has to say? Has God’s Word changed your life in any way? Is it God’s Word for you as well as for everyone else?
All of those reflections are somewhat irrelevant if you are unacquainted with God’s Word, if you have taken no time to read it, hear it, discuss it, and reflect on it. Perhaps it is not prime beach reading material, but might there be a few moments at the dawn of the day or in the cool of the evening when you might get reacquainted with God’s Word? You don’t have to be a biblical scholar to open the Bible and take a look around. One of the great gifts of the Reformation was placing God’s Word in the hands of God’s people in their own language. Too often we take that gift for granted and miss the opportunity that is in our hands – to read God’s Word and hear God’s voice speaking to us from the pages of Scripture. If you don’t know where to start, our library has several helpful resources or Amy and I would be glad to share some possibilities with you. Some kids may have embarked on a voyage with God’s Word this week at VBS, but that voyage lasts a lifetime. Are you on board?
~ John C. Peterson, June 28, 2010
John Wooden died last week at the age of 99. To many of you his name means little, but for those who follow college basketball he is an icon. He is often described as the greatest coach of all time – regardless of sport. What is most remarkable about him is that as great a coach as he was – his UCLA teams won ten national championships in twelve years – he was an even better person. Player after player, coach after coach, friend after friend, spoke reverent words to that effect – John Wooden changed lives for the better.
This summer Amy and I are preaching a series of sermons on “Vices and Virtues in Proverbs”. All around us are those people who illustrate the wisdom of God in real life, people who shape our lives in faithful ways. John Wooden offered such an example – he lived humbly and faithfully. His Pyramid of Success inspired a generation and continues to guide new generations with timeless principles. Some of his favorite words of wisdom can be helpful to us as well (from Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court, John Wooden with Steve Jamison):
· From his father, Coach Wooden learned what he called the “two sets of threes.” The first set is about honesty: Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. The second set is about dealing with adversity: Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses.
· There’s no shame in praying for guidance. It’s a sign of strength.
· You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
· In marriage and in leadership, you must be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way.
· Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Character is what you really are. Reputation is what people say you are. Reputation is often based on character – but not always.
· Perfection is an impossibility. However, striving for perfection is not an impossibility. Do the best you can under the conditions that exist.
One of his favorite quotes was this: If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me.
John Wooden has been a great inspiration in my life, and I give thanks to God for his life. Who has inspired you across the years, and perhaps as importantly, who might you inspire by your example?
~ John C. Peterson, June 14, 2010
Memorial Day may have been intended as a day of remembrance for fallen war veterans, but too often that remembrance is overshadowed by other celebrations. On one hand there are festive parties to mark the beginning of summer; we remember to pack the hot dogs, watermelon and drinks on the way to the picnic more readily than we remember those whose sacrifice preserved our freedom to picnic at all. On the other hand there are those who mark this day by trumpeting the might of our military and celebrating with patriotic fervor the accomplishments of our nation, forgetting the individuals – the men and women with names and faces – who willingly placed themselves in harm’s way in service to the nation. This is a day of remembrance of people – soldiers and sailors, pilots and medics, chaplains and nurses – each of them with a story, a family and a sacrifice made on our behalf. We may debate the merits of any war and how it is waged, we may dispute the policies of our government, but we owe our respect and gratitude to those who showed great love by laying down their lives for friends, most of whom they never knew.
Though this day of remembrance has passed, do not forget. Remember the fallen and their families in your prayers. Remember those who continue to serve in distant places in difficult circumstances, including those with ties to our congregation who are listed in this newsletter and are named in our prayers every Sunday. Remember them with gratitude to God; remember them with prayers for protection and peace.
We have many people “standing in the need of prayer” in our world – victims of disaster and war, those afflicted with disease and depression, friends and family, strangers and enemies, the church and ourselves – all standing in the need of prayer. Do not neglect them when you bow your head, but remember too those who served by offering their lives and those who serve by continuing to stand in harm’s way on our behalf. May the Lord have mercy on us all!
~ John C. Peterson, May 31, 2010
From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
For those of you who were away this past Sunday, amid the new members, baptisms, and elder installations, we recognized our four graduating high school seniors: Isabel Henderson, Cassie Hoge, Courtney Kurtz and Suzanne McLean. These four young women were eighth graders when they took part in the very first confirmation class I taught here at Covenant. I remember getting to know these four lovely girls, marveling at their thoughts and questions, and looking forward to how they would grow during their high school years.
High school is coming to a close for them now. Each of these young women have been a joy to watch grow and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for them. Isabel (who was involved in cheerleading, Model General Assembly, and forensics at Buffalo Gap High School) will be attending Hollins University; Cassie (who was involved with drama, the chorus, and band at Robert E. Lee High School) will be attending Old Dominion University; Courtney (who was involved JV soccer at Robert E. Lee High School and club soccer) will be attending James Madison University; Suzi (who was involved with drama and choir at Waynesboro High School and the Shenandoah Presbytery Youth Council) will be attending Virginia Tech.
Seeing them reach this milestone has also made me stop and think. Once we get passed our school years, there aren’t as many built in opportunities to stop and notice how far we have come or how surprising our journey may have been or anything like that. We also lack the built in time to look forward and wonder where God will keep leading us.
I try to practice a daily examine—a spiritual practice in which you look back at the day, notice where God was, where you may have succeeded or missed being a light to someone else. I think adding a more long-term examine, perhaps yearly, perhaps every several years, would be a helpful practice. I invite you to try this practice with me, to stop and reflect on your life over a longer period of time to look for God’s hand in it. Being intentional about noticing the greater movement of God in our lives - that has to be a good thing. In fact, as soon as I finish writing this, I think I’ll do just that. Maybe as soon as you finish reading this, you can too.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, May 24, 2010
From the Pastor's Desk . . .
One of the goals for our long-range plan is: Create a dynamic mission statement that expresses clearly and succinctly the mission of Covenant Presbyterian Church today. At the heart of that goal are two key words: dynamic and mission. Dynamic is rooted in a Greek word meaning “power”. A dynamic mission statement is a powerful mission statement, but it can only be powerful if the mission itself is powerful. Mission is what distinguishes us as a church. Every church is called to a particular ministry at a particular place at a particular point in time. Our mission is thus shaped by God’s call to us, and the power of that call is derived from the work of the Holy Spirit in our life together.
On Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came upon those frightened disciples gathered in Jerusalem and sent them out into the streets with a powerful mission that has echoed across the centuries and around the world, finding expression in dynamic ministries far beyond their imagination. We are heirs to that mission and stewards of the good news that it bears. Our mission is not to keep silent about it or savor it for our own purposes, but to find faithful, dynamic ways in which it may be shared through us in the 21st century and beyond.
For the last fifteen years or so, our mission statement has been a statement of identity:
A Community of Christ
Dedicated to the Glory of God
In the Service of Humankind
That statement has served us well, but it is time for something new, something fresh, something dynamic. As we approach Pentecost and recall again the power of the Spirit rushing upon the disciples, consider the mission to which we are called. How might our mission and ministries be dynamic and what words might give expression to the power of that Spirit at work in our midst?
~ John C. Peterson, May 17, 2010
Last week I spent a few days with four colleagues in ministry at The Belfry, a retreat center outside Lexington in Rockbridge County. We studied biblical texts, prayed, ate and relaxed in a place thoughtfully designed to nurture an awareness of God’s presence: towels each bore a virtuous word – Excellence, Joy, Faith, Love, Peace, Courage; stained glass windows recalled the beatitudes; a labyrinth was created by simple stones in a field. Perhaps most nurturing was the glory of the location amid spectacular views of the mountains and valley – 360 degree views of the Valley in some places. One evening we sat on a knoll and watched the sun reflect green and magenta colors off the clouds as it set, and we stayed to gaze into a spectacular star-studded sky which evoked the words of the psalmist: “The heavens are telling the glory of God!”
How blessed we are to live in such a beautiful corner of creation! Yet, I wonder whether too often we take the beauty around us for granted. Do you recognize the hand of God painting the sky at sunrise and sunset? Can you see beyond the light pollution to the lights God has scattered across the night sky? Did you see God’s tender touch in the blossoms of spring and do you hear creation’s cry of “glory” as flowers bloom? Are you aware of God’s presence in your life with each pollen-soaked breath that you take? Craig Barnes suggests that “God is always present but usually not apparent.” Around here God seems to be pretty apparent as well as present!
Faith is the lens that helps us to recognize God in our midst. If we fail to recognize God among us, perhaps it is not our eyes, but the lens of faith through which we gaze that is flawed. Like glasses that need to be cleaned from time to time to see clearly, so faith must be nurtured to help us recognize God in our midst. Last week offered such a time for me. How might you find time to cleanse the lens of faith in order to see more clearly that God is indeed with you?
~ John C. Peterson, May 10, 2010
Some years ago we began a tradition with our elders-elect and confirmands: we ask them to prepare a worship service. We do so because in worship, theology finds concrete expression. We give voice to what we believe. Each week you participate in worship – sing the hymns, say the prayers, listen to at least part of the sermon, repeat the creed, break the bread – but how often do you think about what you are doing as you worship? Do you see the strands of divine thread that hold the service together?
This Sunday as we gather for worship thoughts of mothers past and present will be on many minds. Many of them helped to shape our worship experiences across the years – for better or worse. They helped to knit together the fabric of our faith in and out of the pew. We remember them in gratitude to God as we worship through the words of our children. Portions of our service this week have been prepared by our children. Each Sunday School class has studied and prepared a portion of the service. We will be called to worship in their words; we will offer our confession for sins they identify; we will seek God’s illumination through their voices. In so doing they get new insights into our worship tradition, and we get new insights into God’s world through their eyes. While I will be preaching, their voices will be leading our worship as well!
As Reformed Christians, we are all participants in worship; it is a communal experience, something shared by young and old in continuity with the saints who have gone before us. God participates with us by the Spirit, hearing our prayers and giving voice to the Word proclaimed. We worship to hear that word from the Lord and to offer to God our prayers and praise. So may it be this week – and every week – for children of every age!
~ John C. Peterson, May 3, 2010
From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a continuing education seminar for clergy women that just happened to be on a cruise ship. I can hear all the skeptics now, “Amy, what could you have possibly learned when you had tropical beaches to enjoy?” The answer: a lot (for example, you really should not fall asleep in the sun when you have fair skin – no matter how much sunscreen you have slathered on!).
We dialogued about hospitality to God, to ourselves, to our neighbors, strangers, and even our enemies. In our conversations about hospitality to neighbors, I was struck by the counter-cultural nature of the biblical definition of neighbor. As our keynote speaker Nanette Sawyer reminded us, the English word neighbor has its roots in the Old English word which means a near dweller – someone who lives nearby.
Yet that is not the biblical definition. Who is our neighbor? As the Good Samaritan story reminds us, our neighbor is not someone who lives near by but someone who comes near. Neighbors are made not by happenstance of location but by intentionality of relationships.
This has me thinking about our neighbors and our neighborhoods. How many of our neighbors do we really know? I know some of you can answer “many” to that question but I’d guess some others are a little more like me. I know the neighbors to my left and the one across the street – but that’s really it!
Nanette has a radical suggestion on how to make our location neighbors actual neighbors: say hello. What’s more: share your names. And if you’re brave enough: share something about yourself in an attempt to make a connection. The relationship you develop may be one of simple pleasantries or it may evolve into something even richer. But you’ll never know unless you reach out, unless you dare to come near.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, April 25, 2010
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FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
The Long-Range Plan adopted by the Session and presented to the congregation last month has six challenging goals for us as we look to the future. The first of these goals serves in many ways as an underpinning for the rest:
COMMITTED DISCIPLESHIP: Move toward faithful discipleship (the humble, love-inspired service inherent in a Christ-centered life) as the permeating spirit and orientation for participation in the life of the church, and identify and develop programs and materials emphasizing faith, fellowship, and stewardship to support seekers and disciples at all points on their journeys of faith.
Faithful discipleship is the living out of that call of Christ to “follow me”. We are a community of disciples. Some of us (like our charter members) have been disciples for a very long time and some of us (like the five confirmands who will join this Sunday) are just now making that commitment to follow Christ. Our call is not to be members of the church but to be disciples of Christ, followers of Jesus. The church is that community of disciples called to serve together in a particular place in particular ways at a particular point in time as part of a greater Church which is the community of all disciples. All that we say and do and are, both individually and as a church, should reflect our commitment to follow Christ. As we welcome these new disciples on Sunday I hope that you will reflect on that profession of faith by which you committed to follow Christ, and consider renewing that commitment, a commitment to be first and foremost a faithful disciple of the risen Christ. For, it is not just a goal of a long-range plan; it is a call to ministry!
~ John C. Peterson, April 19, 2010
We often say that the church is not a building, the church is the people. The church in worship is the people in worship, and the church’s preparations for that worship are the preparations of a host of people. Consider that for our worship Sunday morning:
- Someone has risen early to open the church building – unlock the doors and turn on the lights and assure that the heat/air conditioning is up and running.
- Someone has scheduled and others are serving as greeters to welcome you and as ushers to seat you and hand you a bulletin.
- Someone has folded the bulletin which is handed to you as you enter the door.
- Someone has provided flowers for your worship and someone else has made sure that they are in place.
- A host of choir members have come on Thursday to practice and again early on Sunday morning to give voice to our prayers and praise.
- Someone has baked bread for communion (10:30) or purchased the pita bread for communion (8:30) and someone else has come early to prepare the elements for you to take and eat in remembrance of Christ.
- Someone is in the nursery to care for your child or grandchild.
- Early in the morning someone came in to prepare coffee and tea so that you would have something to drink and someone else will take a few minutes to clean up what is left behind.
- During the week someone came in to straighten the pew racks so that they would be in good order for your worship.
- During the week someone came in to prepare the children’s worship books for your child or grandchild to use in the pew.
- Following worship that same person who rose early in the morning to open the building will return to lock it up and turn out the lights.
The list could go on and on – and that is just for worship. The same could be said for Christian Education or Fellowship or Nursery School or Outreach. The church is the people and all these things are part of the ministry of the church because they are part of the ministry of people. Many of the tasks are not difficult or time-consuming or particularly religious, but all are forms of ministry. To be the church is to share in ministry in all its various forms. How might you share in the ministry of this church, of these people, week to week? To what simple ministry might God be calling you?
~ John C. Peterson, April 12, 2010
In chapel with the nursery school children last week I asked what they thought God’s favorite color might be. After a handful of responses – green, brown, white, black – one of the kids offered a truly inspired response: heavenly blue! If God has a favorite color heavenly blue just might be it, despite the claims of Tar Heel fans that God made the sky Carolina Blue! One of the things that makes the ACC Basketball Tournament so festive is the array of colors. Each team’s fans come dressed in their team’s colors – orange and blue for Virginia, maroon and orange for Tech, etc. Looking around the arena one can identify where the fans for a school are sitting simply by taking in the colors. Of course, by the time the final rolled around on Sunday the only colors to be seen were a sea of Duke blue with a smattering of yellow and black for Georgia Tech.
In our Christian traditions colors have significance as well, though not to delineate teams or denominations. Colors mark the seasons of the liturgical year. We have marked these forty days of Lent with the color purple, recalling Jesus the king and our humility before him. But this coming Sunday we begin a rollercoaster ride of colors with Palm Sunday. We mark with purple Palm Sunday and the days of Holy Week through Maundy Thursday when Jesus was arrested and tried as King of the Jews. Good Friday is marked by black as we recall that dark day of Jesus’ death on the cross, and it remains black until Easter’s dawn when we break out the white to sing our alleluias in celebration of his resurrection. In some sense the colors reflect our moods – pensive purple, mourning black, joyous white – as we walk this road with Jesus. Alice Walker claims that it ticks off God when we don’t notice the color purple; she was speaking of the colors of nature, but I think her words apply to Lent as well. Take note of the colors – purple, black, white – the colors of this season.
~ John C. Peterson, March 29, 2010
Over a year ago we began our quintennial (every five years) long-range planning process to develop a plan to guide us into the future. This Sunday in the Great Hall during the Sunday School hour (9:30-10:15) the plan adopted by the Session will be presented. It has six goals or themes that address the breadth of who we are called to be as a church.. Copies of the plan will be available, and after the presentation there will be time for questions and discussion. In the introduction to the plan the Long-Range Planning Committee writes:
The vision within these pages is not just the work of a committee or a session or a congregation; it is the vision we believe God has for us as a community of Christ. It is a plan for our welfare as we seek to be a vibrant, faithful community. It is a plan that gives us a future with hope as we look to the next five years and beyond. That hope is grounded not in what we will do, but in what God will do through us. The plan will require of us some old things that we do very well and some new things – new ways of being church, new ways of ministering to others, new ways of serving God and our neighbors – that will challenge us as disciples of the risen Christ. It will require of us faith and faithfulness, prayer and perspiration, love and listening as we walk this path together. In a landscape that is swiftly shifting in the world and the Church, we trust God to be with us, to hear us, and to lead us as we go forward…. We hope that you will join us on this journey, embracing the vision God has set before us and trusting the LORD to guide us each and every step of the way!
We hope that you will come this Palm Sunday to hear and see something of the vision that God has set before us as together we take one more step on this faithful path together.
~ John C. Peterson, March 22, 2010
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
Have you heard the news? At age 88 Golden Girl Betty White is slated to host that iconic and (occasionally) humorous sketch show Saturday Night Live. For those of you not familiar with the typical SNL host, you’re much more likely to see a young starlet with a movie or CD to promote than an octogenarian whose last television appearance was on the soap The Bold and the Beautiful.
How did it happen? According to various news briefs a grassroots campaign that began on Facebook had a lot to do with her appearance. Fans of Ms. White created a group called “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!” which has just under half-a-million members on Facebook. They made some noise, petitioned the network, and on May 8th (the night before Mother’s Day) will see their favorite comedienne host.
The story of how Betty White will be hosting SNL is certainly amusing but it also makes me stop and think. People across the nation gathered together under one common interest and saw results from their combined interest and efforts. They had an idea and saw it come to life.
Ever had an idea that seemed a little odd or more than a little bit impossible? Ever thought to yourself “Wouldn’t it be great if…” If we could feed all the children in our city and county? If we could make sure no one would go without somewhere to lay their head? If we could make illiteracy a thing of the past?
Dreaming big is good but so too is living big. It’s one thing to say to a couple of friends, “wouldn’t it be great if Betty White hosted SNL?” and another to join with those friends to make it happen. Sure, the idea was a bit quirky and no one had ever successfully tried something like this before, but folks banded together and in May Rose Nylund will be cracking jokes past my bedtime.
Next time you find yourself saying “wouldn’t it be great if…” remember Ms White’s story. Don’t stop at the dreaming part of your idea; dare to live it out and see just what might happen.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, March 15, 2010
"Time is on my side, yes it is..." as the song goes. Come this Sunday, I doubt that will be true. This weekend brings us daylight’s savings time – aka the night we lose one precious hour of sleep. While I love Fall Back, Spring Forward can just stay home.
Thinking about this upcoming weekend’s time change brings to mind others times I don’t enjoy. Like the time I spend doing laundry, paying bills, staring at my weights thinking about how I should workout. There’s another time I don’t really care for, one that’s been on my mind during this season of Lent: the time we are called to spend in reflection and repentance.
If you’ve ever tried the Ignatian Examine you’re probably familiar with the idea of reviewing your day. You look at what has passed during the day, note where you saw God and where God seemed further away. You are also invited to pay attention to where you are the face of God to others and where you fail to share God’s love.
This is not an enjoyable time. Reviewing your day, making note of where you failed to be Christ’s hands and heart to the world, admitting your faults to yourself and God: it’s painful. It’s also an important part of our faith journey. Every Sunday we are invited to a corporate prayer of confession and then individual silent moments where we offer to God our particular sins and failings. This is a needed time in our worship but it shouldn’t be the only time we spend in reflection and repentance. I don’t know about you, but by the time Sunday comes around, the things I did or failed to do on the previous Monday often aren’t on my mind.
Reviewing your day, reflecting and repenting of the places you’ve failed throughout that day, isn’t meant to create a laundry list of your sins to feel guilty about. It is meant to help you become more aware of the choices we all make throughout the day and places where we have the opportunity to grow in God’s grace. Letting go of our failings and breathing in the new life we have in God—this is something we should probably do every moment and can certainly do every day. As we continue our Lenten journey, I encourage you to enter with me into this uncomfortable yet beneficial time.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, March 8, 2010
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
Saturday evening Amy and I gathered around the communion table with about a dozen of our youth to break the 30 hour fast they had observed; we broke the fast by breaking bread in remembrance of Christ. Fasting is not an extreme form of dieting in order to lose weight. Fasting is an ancient spiritual discipline that deprives the body of food in order to bring to continuing awareness something else – in this case, the plight of the hungry in the world. For far too many people, especially children, hunger is a constant companion. That is true not only for children in refugee camps in Africa, but also for children down the street in our own community. For some local kids the free lunch they receive at school is their only nutritious meal of the day. We seek to serve the hungry through our work with the Verona Food Pantry and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, by serving meals at Trinity Soup Kitchen and Valley Mission, by sharing our leftovers each Wednesday evening with the Valley Mission or New Directions, by collecting our Four Cents Per Meal Offering each month, by participating in the CROP WALK, and by collecting canned goods to stock food pantry shelves. We all have a role in helping the hungry too by urging our legislators to adopt policies that help the poor and hungry among us. Our youth have set an example for us, fasting to bring awareness to a real need in our midst. At that communion table on Saturday Amy read a passage from Matthew’s gospel that speaks clearly to our responsibility: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat…for just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” So what have you done for your hungry neighbors – and thus for Christ – lately?
~ John C. Peterson, March 1, 2010
Tiger Woods’ mea culpa this week garnered attention across the country. Media pundits debated on air and in print everything from the sincerity of his words to the choice of his clothes to the appropriateness of the setting in which he spoke. It was a staged media event for someone who has lived in the media fish bowl for years now; this day had to come sooner or later. One only hopes that there was such a mea culpa offered in a more private setting, not only to his family but also to the Lord.
Lent is a season for mea culpas, a time to examine our lives and own up to our shortcomings, a time to confess our sins and to ask yet again for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Jesus makes a point of saying that such confessions are private actions, not public events. “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 6:1) Lent is not a season to proclaim our piety by smugly declaring what we’ve given up for these forty days or by congratulating ourselves on a brief spurt of faithful living. It is a time to stop and take stock of life as we have lived it, to acknowledge how far short of God’s expectations for us we are, and to commit in concrete ways to be more faithful in the days ahead. That work may involve giving up something or taking on something; fundamentally it involves change from who we have been to who we are called to be. Tiger Woods’ wife suggested that his sincerity will be measured, not by his words, but by his actions. So it is for us – words are not enough. They need to find expression in tangible ways, and the judge is not a spouse or a neighbor, but the God who judges us one and all.
We are now one week into Lent, and so I repeat that invitation made on Ash Wednesday:
I invite you in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by
self-examination and penitence,
by prayer and fasting, by works of love,
and by reading and meditating on the Word of God.
May the God of all mercies have mercy upon us all.
Amen and amen
~ John C. Peterson, February 22, 2010
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
This Sunday marks the first Lord’s Day in our Lenten journey. Lent is a time of Soul-searching, reflection, and repentance. From Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday, we have six weeks of time set aide on our liturgical calendar to be more intentional about our relationship with God.
In honor of Lent, we will be offering a host of opportunities to enrich your journey. Beginning this week, Wednesday nights at 6pm you can gather together with your Covenant family to enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread. Following dinner, children will be invited to rehearse a Lenten drama which they will perform on the sixth Wednesday, March 24th.
At 7pm following supper, all adults and youth are invited to worship in the spirit of Taize. For five weeks, we will gather in song, silence, and scripture. Jesus' forty days of reflection was spent in the wilderness and so we will follow him there. Each week we will engage a wilderness story from our scriptures during our contemplative service. By spending time in the wilderness ourselves, we may come to know more fully the God who meets us there. Consider coming to these services as a part of your Lenten discipline.
Along with being the first Sunday in Lent, this Sunday will see the beginning of a new short term Sunday school series. Michele Briggs and I will lead a class that explores spiritual disciplines and practices. Have you ever thought you’d like to engage the Holy more but didn’t know where to start? Join us for five weeks as we explore different ways of engaging the Bible, creating sacred space in your own home, using art as a means for connecting to the divine, finding different ways to be still and know God, and more.
A lot is going on at Covenant during Lent! If none of these opportunities resonate with you, come speak with John or me and we will be happy to offer more suggestions of ways you can be intentionally engaged with God. Don’t let another Lenten season pass you by without spending more time—both in quality and quantity—with God.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, February 15, 2010
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
When my sister was in medical school in the midst of her rotations among various areas of practice, she told us that while she wasn’t sure in what direction she would go, of one thing she was certain – she was not going into obstetrics/gynecology because she didn’t want to work with all those “whiny women”. She is now the head of the Menopause Clinic at a hospital in Pittsburgh. God does have a sense of humor! We may think we know what we want, but God has a way of surprising us and leading us in new, unexpected directions. Our responsibility is to discern God’s call, realizing that God may call us to go in new directions or to new places across a lifetime. A lawyer may even be called to ordained ministry! So, the question for each of us is: where is God leading me now?
Seminary is a time for those who are sensing a call to Ministry of the Word and Sacrament to evaluate gifts and hone skills, but most of all it is a time to discern God’s call. Marie Mainard O’Connell is in the midst of that process now as she continues her seminary studies. As she is wrestling with Greek and Hebrew she is trying to discern in what direction God is calling her. As her home congregation, our responsibility is to help Marie discern that call. We pray for her, encourage her, support her and talk with her. This weekend Marie comes before our presbytery to take a step forward in our Presbyterian process, moving from an Inquirer for Ministry to a Candidate for Ministry. In so doing she affirms that she discerns God leading her in this direction, and by the endorsement of our Session we agree. That is not to say that she knows to what form of ministry she will be called, but it is to say that God is calling her to some form of Ministry of the Word and Sacrament. As she visits with us this weekend and preaches for us on Sunday, keep in mind that through your voice and prayers God may be helping her to discern her call. How might you encourage her and help her to see where God may be leading her? And while you’re at it, take a moment to consider in what direction God might be leading you.
~ John C. Peterson, February 8, 2010
In case you were wondering, the word SNOW appears in the Bible 23 times. Most of the time it is used descriptively: “his hand was leprous, as white as snow” (Exodus 4:6) or “his clothing was white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). “Wash me,” says the psalmist, “and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7). Snow seems to be the whitest white that the biblical writers know, one extreme of the color palette on the biblical paint chart. Looking out the window at the sea of white set beneath a bright blue sky I think they may be right. What is whiter than fresh snow? It is a beautiful thing!
Other biblical writers use snow as a metaphor for greater things; God speaks through Isaiah to say:
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth,...so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth: it shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.
A proverb (Proverbs 26:1) suggests:
Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
Snow was not an unfamiliar sight to our ancestors in faith. We may think of them living in a warm desert land, but the reality of their lives is that rain and snow were part of their lives as well. They saw snow as a gift from God, a gift that could not be resisted. In the words of the psalmist (Psalm 147):
The Lord gives snow like wool; the Lord scatters frost like ashes.
The Lord hurls down hail like crumbs – who can stand before his cold?
And yet it is the Lord who provides relief from the snow as well:
The Lord sends out his word, and melts them.
The Lord makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
Whether you love the snow, tolerate it, or despise it, know that it is a gift from God. It waters the earth; it makes the mountains and trees beautiful, if only for a short time. It forces us to stop our hectic paces and appreciate the wonder of this world. So, join your voice to that of the snow and the psalmist (Psalm 148):
Praise the Lord from the earth…fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling God’s command… Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord!
~ John C. Peterson, February 1, 2010
Amy’s sermonic invitation to read the Scriptures more faithfully is for all of us both challenge and opportunity. We take for granted that we have the Bible so readily available to us, but that said, where do we begin if want to delve into its pages. How does one start to read the Bible – again or for the first time?
A good start is getting a reliable translation of the Bible. There are several translations now available and some are better than others. The King James Version is unsurpassed in its poetry, but it is less reliable in the integrity of its text and can be awkward to read in the 21st century. The New Revised Standard Version is the translation that both Amy and I use most of the time; it is the one most used in our Presbyterian seminaries and is a reliable, if somewhat less poetic, translation. The Revised Standard Version which is in our pews is also reliable, though a little dated (from the 1950s) in its scholarship. Many folks find the New International Version to be a helpful translation. The Living Bible and The Message are paraphrases; while they may be helpful to compare with translations, they are less helpful for those wanting to read God’s Word as it has come down to us.
For those wanting to dive more deeply, study Bibles offer helpful notes. The key for any of them is the reliability of the scholars who offer the commentary. The HarperCollins Study Bible, The New Interpreter’s Study Bible and The New Oxford Annotated Bible all offer solid scholarship and helpful articles and perspectives.
Where do you begin to read? As Amy suggested Sunday there are several approaches. One can read straight through the Bible, and there are several helpful books that lay out a pattern for reading through the year with helpful commentary on each day’s reading. The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study offers a lectionary of readings for each day with a brief article on PCUSA mission work somewhere in the U.S.A. or world. Eugene Peterson has a series of very brief devotionals for each day that focus on a verse or two of Scripture and a brief comment that often offers food for thought. Copies of These Days are available outside the church library with a reading and reflection for each day of the year. We are glad to help you identify whatever resources might be helpful to you, but the key is really less about the resources than it is about you. Where and when will you take seriously this Word that God has given as a gift to you? Why not start this week or even this day?
~ John C. Peterson, January 25, 2010
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
The confirmation journey has begun! This weekend five youth gathered for a weekend retreat in which we delved into understanding the Bible and what exactly it means to be a Presbyterian. Each youth has covenanted to attend weekly classes from now until the end of April, go on five field trips to other communities of faith, do weekly readings and assignments, plan a worship service, and create an expression of their personal faith. I know some of them have had to give up other activities and plans in order to participate at the high level we ask of them. We should all be quite proud that our youth have committed themselves to this journey, that their faith is important enough to spend all this time and energy.
We may also take this time to look at our own faith journey. Unfortunately among the faithful across the country, once we’re done with confirmation, or have finished that Inquirers’ class, or sat in the pew on Sunday, we think we’ve got it down, think we have met an obligation, think we’ve successfully checked that box of things to do. But on this particular journey—the journey of faith—there is no end, no graduation, no point where we no longer need to joyfully study, worship, and serve.
Looking at the commitment of these youth, I wonder what it would look like if all of us gave the time and energy they are dedicating. What would it look like if we all gave ourselves over to demanding and rewarding discipleship? What would it look like if our faith and our community of faith were among our top priorities instead of somewhere down that list, wherever we can fit it in?
Five of our youth have committed to putting God and their faith first and foremost, at least during the confirmation process. My hope and dream is that this commitment would continue beyond that time and beyond these kids. May we all always love and live in the Word, shining like stars in the world for the sake of God’s work and will.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, January 18, 2010
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
On Saturday the Session met for its annual retreat at Augusta Health. While much of the day was spent working with the Long-Range Planning Committee and consultant on our next five-year plan, the Session also spent time discussing hopes for the upcoming year and adopted these goals for 2010:
· Reenergize all elders
· Explore and implement opportunities for midweek programming
Nurture faithful year-round stewardship
· Maintain a budget goal of at least 16% for Outreach for 2011
· Implement the first phase of the property maintenance plan
· Adopt and begin implementation of a Long-Range Plan
You will be hearing more about these goals in coming weeks and months, but in light of our ordination and installation of elders this past Sunday, I want to comment on the first of these goals: reenergize all elders.
Ordination is a one-time action; those who are ordained serve for life. While a term on Session may terminate (no pun intended) at the end of three years, the service as an elder for the church continues in perpetuity. Too often we have regarded elders on Session as active and those not presently serving on Session as inactive. Our tradition says otherwise. Those who are ordained as elders continue to bear responsibility for the life of the church and to live into those vows taken at the time of ordination, including the promise to serve the people “with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.” That service knows no bounds. The Session’s hope is that in the coming year we may find ways to tap into the energy, intelligence, imagination, and love of all our elders in order to strengthen our Covenant family and extend the ministry of the church. If you are an elder who has been waiting for an opportunity to utilize your gifts, it is coming. If you are an elder who has enjoyed being inactive, you are on notice. If you are a member grateful that others have been called to serve, then recall the commitment you made at the time of their ordination: “to encourage them, to respect their decisions, and to follow as they guide us, serving Jesus Christ who alone is Head of the church.” It is a new year with new opportunities – for us all!
~ John C. Peterson, January 11, 2010
Happy New Year! 2010 has arrived with the possibility of changes for more than our calendars. The new year offers a chance for a fresh start, a time to begin anew and to try something new. Rarely are New Year’s resolutions made to try to replicate the year gone by; something new is needed. New Year’s resolutions are a week old now; are you seeing the new and better you that you resolved to be or is the old you still resisting any change? The same might be said about your commitment to Christ. Do you have a real desire to make it better in this new year, or are you satisfied to leave it undisturbed? Too often we are content to let that sleeping dog lie rather than trying to rearrange our priorities to make the d-o-g in our life the G-O-D that guides our lives. The year is still young, and there is still time for such a change. Each Sunday offers opportunity for a new beginning as we confess our sins and hear those words of assurance that promise such a new beginning, as we hear God’s word and ask the Holy Spirit to mold us into more faithful followers in the coming week and weeks. Consider then a resolution for faithfulness in 2010 that brings you closer to God, for God is already close to you!
One of the changes here at Covenant for 2010 will be the move from Together on Wednesdays to First Wednesdays. The original focus of TOW was to provide an opportunity for children’s choirs and Kerygma each week, but the survey conducted last fall indicated greater interest in food and fellowship. Thus First Wednesdays will offer a time to gather for a meal and more leisurely fellowship together each month with special opportunities for worship throughout Lent. Smaller groups may gather for weekly fellowship together in informal dinner groups on the other Wednesdays of the month, short term studies may be offered, families may commit to a quiet evening at home together, new ideas may surface! We will try First Wednesdays through the winter and spring and then evaluate what has happened and what changes, if any, are necessary to make it most valuable to our Covenant family. Come and join us – on Sundays, on First Wednesdays, through your prayers each day, as together we seek to be faithful in 2010!
~ John C. Peterson, January 4, 2010
Despite the cold, ice and piles of snow forty-seven folks gathered at 10:30 Sunday to light the fourth Advent candle, sing Christmas carols, hear the prophecy of Micah and the Magnificat of Mary, reflect on the role of Bethlehem in the Christmas story, and break bread together at the Lord’s Table. In so doing we bear witness to the enduring Word of the Lord, the light that no snow or darkness can overcome. That is not to say that everyone should risk life and limb in the aftermath of a storm to come and worship. Many of you were wise to stay home, and some of you simply had no choice. It is to say that in this place, as in many homes around town this morning and in countless churches around the world, the Lord’s name was praised and God’s promises affirmed this Advent Sunday. So how are your Advent preparations going amid the snow drifts? Are you as intentional about those preparations as you are about shopping for the items on your Christmas list or baking for the horde of visiting relatives about to descend upon you? Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ coming, so while you protect your heart while shoveling snow, prepare your heart for the coming of the Savior!
This will be our 15th Christmas here at Covenant, and Karen and I continue to give thanks to God for the blessing of serving here. I am blessed to serve with gifted colleagues who exhibit God’s grace on a daily basis. I am blessed to have a church family who loves and supports us beyond anything we deserve, support and love especially tangible these past weeks since the death of Karen’s mother. I am blessed to worship each week through the musical gifts of our choir and to be loved each day of the week by the bright smiles of the children in our nursery school. For all the blessings you shower upon us with every breath that we take, Karen and I thank you and thank God for you. May God bless you all this Christmas and in 2010!
~ John C. Peterson, December 21, 2009
Among those readings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that we heard last Sunday, I was struck by these words:
If God chooses Mary as his instrument, if God himself wants to come into this world in the manger at Bethlehem, that is no idyllic family affair, but the beginning of a complete turnaround, a reordering of everything on this earth.
I wonder whether that is really how we think of the birth of Jesus – as a reordering of everything on this earth. Do we see our lives in that light – reordered by the birth of a baby – or is his birth for us simply the warm glow in the stable on that silent night and the cause for angel choruses to fill the Christmas story? There is a danger in sentimentalizing Jesus’ birth, in reducing it to a sweet memory to be recalled once a year without also recognizing the radical way in which the world is changed by his arrival. With his birth God entered the world in flesh and blood; that is the claim of the incarnation. It is a moment unique in human history, and while we have no idea on what day it actually occurred (probably not December 25), we bear witness in our celebration of his birth to its significance for all people. He came not to assure us that all was okay as it was, but to bring about change – in the world and in us. In her Magnificat Mary speaks of a God who turns the world upside down (or more appropriately right side up) – lifting up the lowly and humbling the mighty, filling the hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty. It is that God who comes to us in the birth of a babe in Bethlehem, that God who directs the choir of angels and leads the wise men forward with a star, a God who wants things to change, and more than anything, wants us to change. Christmas is not just about traditions; it is fundamentally and faithfully about change. Perhaps Bonhoeffer sums it up well when he suggests:
Those who wish to come to his manger find that something is happening within them.
~ John C. Peterson, December 14, 2009
As the Stewardship & Finance Team shared with you on Sunday, a funny thing happened to them on the way to crunching numbers last week. They came to their meeting prepared to be a Finance Committee that would construct a budget for 2010; they left as a Stewardship & Finance Team who not only constructed a budget, but also discerned a word from the Lord for our life together as a Covenant family. What changed? In the middle of their meeting the Holy Spirit guided the discussion in a new direction, a less familiar path that included faith and prayer and witness in ways that surprised them as individuals and as a team. The message they shared with you about more faithful giving this year and next year grew not of dire circumstance – we’ve been better off financially but we are not destitute. It grew out of a strong sense of God’s call to us to do more than we are doing, to move from complacent giving to faithful giving, to perceive giving as an expression of our lives as disciples of Christ. It was that message that surprised all eight of them last Tuesday evening, which is why all eight of them came to speak to you Sunday morning.
God has a way of surprising us, of coming in unexpected moments to lead us in challenging new directions. So it was for Abraham long ago when God asked him to go to a land that God would show him, and he did. So it was for Mary when Gabriel came to announce that she would bear a child who would be Son of God, and she said, “Let it be with me according to your word.” So it was for wise men when they saw a star in the East; they saddled up their camels and headed out with gifts in hand. So it was for shepherds in the midst of their routine keeping watch over flocks by night. So it was for the world in a baby born in a lowly stable in Bethlehem. Our God is not content to stay at a distance and let us be complacent; God calls us to something more – to do something more, to be something more, to hope in something more – and God promises to be with us on that journey of faith. Do not think that the surprises ended in Bethlehem that night or at the empty tomb that Easter morning or behind those closed doors at Pentecost. God continues to work in us and through us in surprising ways. Who knows what surprises God has in store for all of us and for each of us? God knows – and that’s enough!
~ John C. Peterson, December 7, 2009
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
O come tbou Dayspring, come and cheer, our spirits by thine advent here...
One of my favorite Advent traditions has always been the Advent wreath. As here at Covenant, my family’s wreaths held three purple candles and one pink candle. It wasn’t until I began experiencing the Advent season outside my home congregation that I learned not everyone does it they way we did. Some church communities have blue rather than purple candles—blue being another liturgical color for the Advent season; blue stands for hope, and the stoles John and I will wear this Advent season will be “hopeful blue”. Some communities use four red candles; some use beeswax. Some believers see the candles as standing for hope, peace, joy, and love; others substitute faith for joy. Some see the candles as representing the prophets, John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph; others see only the increasing light as we draw nearer to the birth of the Light of the World.
Whatever the color, whatever the symbolism, the Advent wreath is a way to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior. This Advent season, we will be telling the story of Christmas through our wreath. Our primary scripture passages for each Sunday come from the prophets this year and so we will be using the candles to narrate the joyful Nativity story. This past Sunday we lit the first candle in honor of the prophets who pointed to the coming of Jesus all those years ago. This Sunday we will remember and honor Bethlehem as the place our Savior was born.
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadow put to flight.
May your Advent be filled with the unending love of God as you anticipate the coming of our Lord even here, even now.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, November 30, 2009
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
In a recent article in IDEAS Karen Russell suggests seven habits for highly effective leaders that Jesus might have recommended:
1. Know your stuff.
2. Be honest.
3. Be calm in a crisis.
4. Keep on mission.
5. Know when to let go.
6. Empower people to do the job without you.
7. Make time to recharge your own batteries.
Each of these seven habits is rooted in some teaching of Jesus. As we enter Advent (this Sunday will be the first Sunday in Advent) perhaps these seven habits also offer some guidance for us in preparation for celebration of Christ’s birth.
1. What stuff do you know about the one whose birth you prepare to celebrate? The people in Bethlehem had long forgotten the prophecies of the coming of a messiah and slept through his arrival without expectation. What do you know of those prophecies of his coming and the prophecies of his return?
2. Be honest about the joys and the challenges of the season. Christmas is full of tidings of great joy for all people, but the holidays may also trigger painful memories for those who mourn, those who are poor and those who are lonely.
3. Be calm in the midst of the chaos. Amid shopping frenzies and holiday stresses allow the peace of Christ and the good news of his birth to shine through you.
4. Keep on mission by remembering what Christmas is really about – the birth of the savior who is Christ the Lord, the one who calls us to serve him by serving others.
5. Know when to let go, when to stop and say enough is enough!
6. Empower others by sharing responsibilities. Don’t overdo it by trying to do it all yourself – whether decorating or coordinating or shopping.
7. Take time to rest and reflect on the true meaning of the season; don’t let the pace destroy the “peace on earth, goodwill to all” of which we sing.
~ John C. Peterson, November 23, 2009
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
The cartoon shows a bespectacled man addressing a committee; a chart behind him reflects a precipitous drop as he says, “Now as your treasurer, when I talk about our going into Chapter 11, I’m not talking about the book of Matthew.” Thankfully we have significant reasons to be more interested in Matthew 11 than in Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Across the years, through thick and thin, economic boom and recession, folks have faithfully expressed their gratitude to God through their gifts to the church. And in times of high anxiety and economic stress, Jesus’ words from Matthew 11 are indeed very relevant:
Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (MT 11:28-30)
Jesus offers an alternative to the anxious burdens which our modern culture imposes. He offers the prospect of support to our weary hearts and peace to our troubled souls if we will trust in him and seek to live as he calls us to live – loving God and our neighbors.
Our Thanksgiving tradition – whether rooted in the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock or the settlers at Jamestown – is rooted in gratitude for that faithfulness of God that sustained anxious, weary people in a new world. In Thanksgiving we reclaim a harvest tradition from the gods of fertile ground and offer to God the Creator of all things our thanks and praise. But if our thanks is confined to a prayer at the table and a song or two of harvest home, then our gratitude is woefully inadequate. Hear the words of the prophet Amos:
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them… Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!
This Thanksgiving, express your thanks for the bounty of your blessings not only in word and song, but also in commitment to justice and righteousness. For, that is the call of Amos and Jesus alike, and that yoke may be far easier to bear than you think.
~ John C. Peterson, November 16, 2009
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
As you read this I’m enjoying rest and relaxation with family and friends in Chicago and Madison, WI. While I’m sure my vacation will be filled with lots of good food, fellowship, and reading, I also have a feeling that my attention will turn to what I experienced Tuesday night with Brian McLaren. If you didn’t get a chance to attend, I encourage you to seek out those who did and ask them what they thought.
Brian had many helpful insights to share, but the one that is playing about in my mind is one about our framing story. He suggested that there were several key crises going on in our world right now – the crises of the planet, poverty, and peace. But perhaps the most profound crisis is that of our purpose.
Somewhere along the way, people of faith have forgotten the Good News. We buy into the stories of dominance (we’ll only be safe unless we’re in control), accumulation (we’ll only be safe if we have more and more), purification (we’ll only be safe if that certain group is ‘taken care of’), and others. Brian pointed out that in his life and teachings, Jesus refuted all these stories that we’ve bought into – giving us a new framing story, giving us the Good News of the Kingdom of God: a kingdom that is at hand today.
In this story, instead of domination we know service and love; instead of accumulation we know about self-giving and sacrifice; instead of purification we know about embracing and including the outcast. Jesus shows us another way to live. He shows us The Way.
Brian suggests that many of our world’s crises would be best met by a story other than the one many of us seem to be telling through both our words and our actions. Stories of dominance, accumulation, and the like have not served us well. But we have another story to tell. The story of the Good News is one for the whole world – and one we Christians need to reclaim and start living fully.
As you go about your daily living this next week, I encourage you to join with me in wondering: what story am I telling? At work, at school, at the grocery store, what story do our words and actions tell? Is it the Good News or is it something else?
~ Amy Summers-Minette, November 9, 2009
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
Several weeks ago I attended a funeral at a church where there were large signs posted on the doors:
H1N1 Alert! Please do not shake hands or have contact with others to avoid the spread of flu.
Please wash hands frequently and stay home if you experience any flu-like symptoms.
After walking through the doors, however, I found that nothing had changed. People still shook hands and gave hugs and kisses, and the woman working in the kitchen even used her fingers to prepare a plate of cake for me to take home! Last weekend when in Michigan with Daniel and Lucy we attended a church where the H1N1 alert was also posted, but folks took it so seriously that no one came within several feet of one another and a cursory nod from the pastors was the only greeting we received all morning from anyone. What is this Covenant community to do in the midst of these H1N1 days?
As a church we have decided to be guided by the Health Department recommendations which pretty much offer common sense advice:
· Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, especially after contact with others and before eating.
· Use a tissue and cough into your sleeve rather than your hand.
· If you are feeling flu-like symptoms, stay home (including the 24 hours after a fever has left) and avoid spreading the flu to others. Saving them from the flu you get may be your gift to them.
· Get the flu shot if and when it is available!
In addition to these suggestions we recommend that you feel free not to hold hands at our TOW prayer, if you so choose, and greet folks as you and they are comfortable – with a nod, a handshake, a hug, or a fist bump, but do greet folks. Do not let fear of the flu deter you from greeting folks warmly and making them feel welcome here, but respect the legitimate concerns which others have for their well-being. While we do not want to underestimate the importance of precautions to prevent the flu’s spread, neither do we want it to keep us from being a welcoming Covenant family. May God’s shalom – which is peace, health, well-being and prosperity all rolled into one marvelous word – be with you all!
~ John C. Peterson, November 2, 2009
Last week I attended the annual meeting of SACRA (Staunton Augusta Church Relief Association). For 26 years churches in Staunton have pooled their funds and efforts to meet the needs of neighbors in our community who are in dire straits. In the fiscal year from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 SACRA distributed over $125,000 to pay for utilities, rent, medicines, and food; no cash was distributed. All the needs were documented. What is remarkable is that in the midst of a recession when the needs of the community grew significantly, so did the contributions of churches. Gifts increased by 25% over the previous year (Covenant contributed $6785, down from $7424 the previous year) as Christians made the needs of their neighbors a priority for their more limited resources.
God has blessed us richly so that we might be a blessing to others. The time, talents, and resources we hold are not ours to hoard or to give grudgingly, but ours to share generously for God’s good purposes. At the top of the list of God’s good purposes is love for one another that is tangible. Through our gifts we respond to the words of Jesus:
I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me…
As you do to the least of these who are my brothers and sisters, so you do to me.
Next Sunday is our Dedication Sunday when we will come and offer pledges for 2010. As you prayerfully consider your pledge, consider also your blessings and the responsibility that comes with them, the responsibility to use them for God’s good purposes. Does your pledge reflect your gratitude to God for all that God has given you? Is your tithe or offering your first gift from all that you have or your last gift from what is left over? How does your pledge make good use of your blessings, not to satisfy your desires, but to serve God’s good purposes? Who might be blessed by the sharing of your blessings to the glory of God through the work of the Church? Giving is not an obligation, but an opportunity to bless God by blessing others! How might you who have been so blessed be a blessing to God and to others in 2010?
~ John C. Peterson, October 26, 2009
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . .
This Sunday on the Presbyterian Church calendar is Reformation Sunday – a Sunday that in some churches means dressing up in tartans and playing the bagpipes. While we here at Covenant will welcome the brave soul that wears a kilt, it certainly isn’t the required dress code. No, instead we’ll mark Reformation Sunday with the beginning of a new short-term series Sunday school class.
This Sunday John and I will begin our class “The Church: Where On Earth Has It Been And Where In Heaven Is It Going?” As church historians and scholars have noted, about every 500 years the church goes through some sort of upheaval—and the word “great” seems to associate with these changes. There was the time of Gregory the Great, the Great Schism, and of course, the Great Reformation. These same historians and scholars – as well as ministers and laypeople – have noted that right now we’re at the 500 year mark. And yes, the times, they are a-changin’.
During the next five weeks, we’ll explore our history as the church – look back at the “Greats” as we look toward the future. We’ll look at the contemporary cultural upheaval and what that upheaval means for the church now. Is the internet our printing press? Are folks like Brian McLaren and Phyllis Tickle our Luther and Calvin? How does a modern church navigate a post-modern world? What might our church (both universal and particular) look like in 50 years?
Come join in this exciting discussion as we find strength and insight from our history and ponder hopefully about our future.
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
How have you been blessed? By whom have you been blessed? Have you been a blessing to anyone else? These questions form the framework for our stewardship campaign this fall – Blessing with Blessings. We who have been blessed are called to be a blessing to others, to use our time, talents, and resources for God’s good purposes rather than for our own selfish desires. Vital to sharing blessings is the acknowledgment that we have been blessed far beyond what we deserve. All too often we are so busy with our lives, our wants and our desires that we fail to pause and take stock of our blessings. We don’t appreciate the blessings we have received from the hands of others until something dire happens to make us appreciate the ways in which they have touched our lives.
This Sunday three of our folks – Guy Didawick, Cliff Gilchrest and Lynn Gilliland – will share their stories of how God has blessed them. As you prepare to hear their stories I encourage you to consider your own. What blessings do you enjoy day to day which you take for granted? Who in particular has been an instrument of God’s blessings to you – a teacher, mentor, spouse, parent or grandparent, a total stranger perhaps? Who has been an example to you of how to live faithfully day to day?
God works in us and through us with touches of grace. The blessings we receive from God place in our hands the possibility of blessing others. So, time is a gift to be shared, not something to be wasted. Talents are blessings to be used for God’s glory, instead of being denied, hoarded or left stagnant. Financial resources are instruments for blessing others by giving to nurture faith, proclaim the gospel and meet basic needs of our neighbors. You have been blessed by God. How will you express your thanks? What will you do with those blessings God has showered upon you?
~ John C. Peterson, October 12, 2009
Every five years here at Covenant it has been our practice to step back and look at who we are and who we are called to be as we move into the future. Underlying this self-examination is the understanding that every congregation is called to a particular ministry at a particular place at a particular point in time. We are led by the Holy Spirit to new challenges and new understandings of our call as a Covenant community in a rapidly changing world. This year that process of discernment is underway with us through the work of our Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC). The LRPC began by meeting with the Session to assess our church’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and then devised a survey which many of you completed to share your thoughts on where we are and where we are going. With the assistance of Dr. Marianne Rhebergen from the Center for Parish Development the LRPC has identified some emerging themes for our consideration. Some of these themes address technical changes – ways of improving some of the things that we do – and some of them address adaptive changes – new things to do or very different ways of doing what we already do. The LRPC is interested in your reactions, thoughts, and ideas about these themes as we look to the future.
~ John C. Peterson, October 5, 2009
On Saturday Karen and I went to Washington for the National Book Festival, a great celebration of reading on the mall. Among the featured authors was John Irving, author of one of my favorite books, A Prayer for Owen Meany. Irving was asked which book most closely represented him or whether all his books were, as another author had suggested, the retelling of one story in different ways. In reflecting on this question Irving told about an early draft of A Prayer for Owen Meany when his description of young Owen seemed all too familiar. He was sure that he had read it somewhere before and feared plagiarizing someone else’s work, but he could not put his finger on where he had read it. So, he took the draft to his wife, handed it to her, and asked, “Have you come across this description somewhere in your reading recently? I think I’ve read it somewhere before.” She read the paragraph and then said to him, “You idiot! You wrote this!” It was in fact a passage describing a character in one of his earlier books. Thus, he concluded, writing really is the retelling of one story over and over in different ways, for if it isn’t worth repeating, it probably isn’t worth saying in the first place.
Our Bible is sixty-six books that repeat the story of one God at work in the world. It is a story worth repeating, not only throughout the Bible but also across the generations. While genres differ, and story lines tack in different directions, the subject remains the same – a loving God who creates, sustains, and redeems creation. The characters change faces, but remain sinful creatures in need of the redeeming grace of the one God who loves them without end.
This Sunday we celebrate our unity as one people worshiping one God as we gather at the Lord’s Table on World Communion Sunday. In so doing we recall that one story retold the world over in many tongues among many people, the story of a crucified and risen Lord who is God’s love incarnate among us. Together we break bread with brothers and sisters around the world, bearing witness to that one story by which we are saved – the story of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen for all of us! Come to that table which is the table at which we are made one, the table which is the Lord’s Table!
~ John C. Peterson, September 28, 2009
FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
In the coming weeks there will be opportunities for you to hear about the work to date and to have input on our blueprint for the coming years. The LRP will be leading meetings with small groups in the congregation (Sunday School classes, PW circles, choir, etc.) and will offer an open meeting for anyone and everyone to share thoughts on these themes. We hope that you will participate prayerfully and candidly as together we seek to discern who God would have us be as a Covenant community in the coming years.
Author, speaker and pastor Brian McLaren is coming to Covenant November 3 for a Presbytery conference: “Hope for the Church – Finding Our Way Again.” McLaren has a knack for reminding the church of the things we know and encouraging us to live as though we truly believe. Here’s an example from his latest book, Everything Must Change.
McLaren has observed that while we Christians all profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we have many different images of who this Jesus is. He points to several “Jesus”s I know I’ve been introduced to – and even tempted to follow. There’s:
The Cute Baby Jesus
The Prize-Fighter Jesus
The Zen-Speaking Hippie Jesus
The Private, Personal “make me feel good” Jesus
The Fire Escape “get me out of hell” Jesus
The Evacuation “leave this world behind” Jesus
The Institutional “organ music/stained glass” Jesus and more...
We Christians do have a tendency to create an image for Christ and then stick with it, ignoring stuff that doesn’t quite fit into that image. But McLaren has reminded me that we can’t make our Savior an “Insert Clever Title Here” Christ. Instead, when we imagine Jesus, it is the totality of who he is that should come to mind. We should think of “the one who healed the sick, released people from oppression of evil spirits, gave sight to the blind, gave hearing to the deaf, gave life to the dead, fed people for free, included the excluded, confronted hypocrites, turned tables, died on Caesar’s cross, rose from the dead, sent the Holy Spirit” and more... That’s our Jesus. The one we follow and the one we proclaim.
Simple, yet powerfully true.
This Sunday you’ll hear more about the conference during a Moment for Evangelism. I invite you to consider attending and hearing more from McLaren.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, September 21, 2009
FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
Dominating the headlines, the airwaves and the TV news the past several weeks has been the debate about health care – both coverage and containment of costs. What is apparent is that our current system has some gaping holes – too many uninsured, too little preventative care, problems in covering preexisting conditions, rising costs, falling reimbursements, poor outcomes, etc. What has been less discussed is an issue fundamental to all of us as Christians: Is health care a religious issue?
When Jesus’ quoted the command to love our neighbors as ourselves a scribe asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” and Jesus responded with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As you will recall that parable was the story of an injured man lying on the side of the road; he was bypassed by a priest and a Levite before being ministered to by a passing Samaritan (whom the Jews hated). The Samaritan treated his wounds, carried him to an inn, and paid for his care at the inn for whatever time healing would take. The Samaritan alone was the neighbor of the injured man in Jesus’ parable.
If we are to follow Jesus and love our neighbors as ourselves, then we bear responsibility for caring for the injuries and sickness and health of others in our community. It is not just an individual responsibility – each one for oneself alone. We bear responsibility for all our neighbors, especially the last and the least, for the sick and the injured, the native and the “alien in your land” (immigrants) to quote the biblical imperative. We may debate how best to meet that responsibility and show love for our neighbors, but do not be mistaken – the responsibility is ours as persons of faith. As you follow the debates and weigh the proposals and consider the options, keep in mind the Parable of the Good Samaritan and ask: If this is our policy, what kind of neighbors will we be?
~ John C. Peterson, September 14, 2009
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FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
O what a beautiful September! I truly love this time of year – the weather begins to feel crisp, fresh apple butter is just around the corner, and our programming year at church begins. We have such exciting opportunities this fall for everyone to dive into the Word and work of God.
I want to highlight one of our upcoming opportunities. On Friday October 9, a group from Covenant will be traveling to Washington, D.C. for the weekend. There we will participate in a program called Church in the City led by a Presbyterian organization called The Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage was established in 1973 because believers in the D.C. area recognized that the world is not as it should be; it is broken by hunger, homelessness, poverty, and the inequalities that arise from and because of these issues. They wanted to create a space where faith - a core component in inspiring prophetic change – might engage with our broken world. As their website says, “faith has and will be a source of motivation, solutions, context, and vitality in the work for justice and equality.”
Our Outreach team has heard the request for more opportunities to put faith into action and offers this experience to meet that need. During the weekend at Church in the City, our group will serve, learn, and reflect on this broken world and how our faith calls us to work for a better world. If you are interested in being a part of this group, please contact me at revamy@comcast.net or 885-2138. We will depart from Staunton late afternoon on Friday the 9th and arrive back in the afternoon on Sunday the 11th.
God has called us to serve, teach, and love; we are so blessed to have so many different ways in which to live out our call. I hope you consider this weekend as one of the ways you may be called.
Peace.
Amy Summers-Minette, September 7, 2009
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FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK . . .
Throughout the summer Amy and I have been exploring biblical texts that relate to numbers twelve through one. For those of you who missed them along the way, we have preached on:
Twelve Stones Six Cities
Eleven Brothers Five Daughters
Ten Bridesmaids Four Horsemen
A Nine-Year Reign Three Denials
The Eighth Day Two Copper coins
Seventy Times Seven One…
For each number there are many more texts which might have been considered, and many more numbers in Scripture with theological roots. This Sunday will conclude the series with One…, but there are some other numbers drawn from our Covenant life together that may be of interest to you as we look to the fall:
286 – folks in worship on Rally Sunday last year
48 – children enrolled in our Nursery School Program this fall
20 – youth gathered for the Youth Kickoff yesterday
10 – “strange texts” we will study in our TOW Bible Study
7 – elders to be nominated for the Class of 2012
4 – Adult Sunday School alternatives
4 – mission trips in 2009
The numbers add up to opportunities for everyone to nurture faith and serve faithfully. As you look toward the fall, make a commitment to add your name to the number of folks in worship, study and service together as one Covenant Presbyterian Church.
~ John C. Peterson, August 31, 2009
When in our music God is glorified
And adoration leaves no room for pride,
It is as though the whole creation cried: Alleluia!
Across the years we have been blessed with gifted musicians who brought to life those words of the hymn by Fred Pratt Green. We sing to the glory of God as choir members and congregants, the bells ring to the glory of God, piano and organ are played to glorify God and support our joyful praise and prayers. Not all of us are musical, so some of us just make joyful noise in the pews – but we do so to the glory of God. Each of us has gifts with which to serve, and we are blessed by those who share their gifts in music to give voice to our praise and prayers each week.
This month we are pleased to welcome two gifted musicians to our music staff. Anne Wick Manes will serve as Associate Minister of Music with responsibility for music at the 8:30 service and leadership of our Children’s Choirs. Anne has a master’s degree in vocal performance and twenty years’ experience in teaching and directing students from elementary through university level, including churches and church-related schools. Many of you know her through her work with area theater productions. Lou Dolive will serve as Director of the Covenant Ringers. Lou has a bachelor’s degree in music and extensive experience in developing handbell choirs at two area Presbyterian Churches. He and his wife Ruth sing with the Covenant choir and have been members here since 2007.
We hope that you will welcome Anne and Lou as they join Jeff Ryman and Chris Wszalek in leading us in glorifying God through music. Alleluia indeed!
~ John C. Peterson, August 24, 2009
My dad shared with me these simple rules for church buildings by an unknown author:
1. If you open it, close it.
2. . If you turn it on, turn it off.
3. If you unlock it, lock it.
4. If you break it, repair it.
5. If you cannot fix it, report it to the church office.
6. If you borrow it, return it.
7. If you use it, don’t abuse it.
8. If you make a mess, clean it up.
9. If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
10. If you move it, put it back.
This church building has been entrusted to us by generations before us. It is a house of worship and prayer, fellowship and service, education and nurture. Care for it, not as you would care for your own house, but better! Care for it as a sign of your love for God and for all those who come here to experience God’s grace. The church is the people, but this is where the people gather to be the church at worship and work!
~ John C. Peterson, August 10, 2009
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FROM THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR'S BLOG . . .
As I write this I am in the midst of packing for my next trip with our wonderful youth – the middle school mission trip to Raleigh/Durham. Five middle schoolers, Jackie Kurtz, and I will be serving our brothers and sisters in North Carolina for five days with youth from across the country. It never ceases to amaze me how passionate people are about serving God by serving others. And it never ceases to strike me how desperately we need passionate people to serve. At the Montreat Youth Conference the senior high youth, Melissa Sheets, and I joined 1400 Presbyterian Youth to talk about this world on fire - on fire with need and hopefully on fire with God’s justice and compassion. During one of the keynote presentations, we saw a video from the Miniature Earth Project. It’s a video that kinda stays with you. As I travel off to North Carolina again, I know the stats I picked up on my last trip there will be coming with me. Please consider checking it out yourself at http://www.miniature-earth.com/.In the meantime, here’s a snippet of what it says. “If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping all the same proportions, there would be:
- 61 Asians, 12 Europeans, 8 North Americans, 5 South Americans, 13 Africans, 1 from Oceania;
- 50 women; 50 men; 9 are disabled; 47 live in an urban area;
- 43 live without basic sanitation; 18 live without an improved water sources;
- 6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community;
- 13 are hungry or malnourished; 14 can’t read;
- Only 7 are educated at secondary level; 12 have a computer; 3 have Internet connection;
- If you keep your food in a refrigerator, your clothes in your closet, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over your head, you are richer than 75% of the world population
- Appreciate what you have”
~ Amy Summers-Minette, July 27, 2009
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
This last Friday was the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, one of our great ancestors in faith. Calvin, who studied law and then theology (a great combination!), was a significant influence in the shaping of our Protestant faith and Presbyterian practice. We trace our roots to his 16th Century roots as he built on Martin Luther’s insights to emphasize the sovereignty of God over all creation and God’s initiative of grace by which we are saved. His doctrine of predestination, rooted in the absolute sovereignty of God and the teachings of Paul, emphasizes God’s preeminent role in our salvation by grace, but Calvin also encouraged active service in response to God’s gracious act in Christ. However, Calvin’s influence extended far beyond our Presbyterian heritage. Though known for his austerity and strict discipline in Geneva, his thoughts helped to shape the world in which we live in far more substantial ways. In the words of Peter Steinfels in a NY Times article last week:
Calvin’s legacy has been traced in everything from modern marriage and modern science to modern liberal government and of course modern capitalism. By many accounts, he is a major source of modernity’s very understanding of itself.
Though he lived in a very different world from the one in which we now live, he helped to shape this world and offers helpful insights into God’s continuing work in our midst and our faithful responses. We mark this 500th anniversary of his birth with gratitude to God for the ways in which Calvin has shaped our lives and our faith, affirming with him the faith expressed in his great hymn, I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art:
Our hope is in no other save in Thee;
Our faith is built upon Thy promise free;
Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,
That in Thy strength we evermore endure. Amen and amen!
~ John C. Peterson, July 13, 2009
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From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
As you may know, the first two weeks of June I was blessed with continuing education experiences at Montreat. The first week I was there we were treated to a keynote and sermon from Otis Moss III – an African-American UCC pastor from Chicago. This man can proclaim the Word of God! I still get chills thinking about his sermon (and brought back a CD of it for anyone who’d like to take a listen).
Otis also led a workshop which I took part in and in this workshop I was treated with a wonderful reminder about the Bible. Otis walked us through the story of Jesus and the Gerasene demon in Mark 5. As Jesus steps out of the boat, a man (who cannot be bound by chains) comes running up to him from his home in the nearby tombs. Otis asked us “what do you notice?” A couple “churchy” responses rang out – “how he’s seeking out Jesus,” and “he’s in need of healing.” Otis shook his head and said, “what’s the first thing you notice?” Finally, someone shouted out “he smells!”
We all laughed but it was true – this man who lived in the tombs and was possessed by demons probably hadn’t had a bath lately. As we walked through the rest of the text, we paid attention to the sights, the sounds, and the smells. The story came alive – became real – for us in a way it hadn’t before.
It’s so easy to forget that these stories aren’t just texts for us to glean spiritual truths from – they’re real, visceral, and apparently (on occasion) smelly. As you come to the Bible in your personal devotions, I encourage you to try on Otis’ exercise. Imagine what your senses might pick up if you were there and don’t get too bogged down in “churchy” answers!
Peace!
Amy
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
In the most recent Batman movie, The Dark Night, there is a scene in which the District Attorney who had worked to combat evil in the city has been corrupted by a tragic turn of events orchestrated by the Joker. As he holds a young boy in his arms threatening him with violence, he says with disdain to Batman: “You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time.” The implication is that Batman was naïve; indecent times demand that people act indecently. That scene brought to mind for me the recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life that found that those who attend religious services at least weekly were more supportive of the use of torture against suspected terrorists than were those who attend religious services rarely or not at all. Among religious communities, white mainline Protestants were the least supportive of torture as an option, but even then, only 53% indicated that torture should rarely or never be used.
This is not a political issue as both Republicans (John McCain) and Democrats (Barack Obama) have taken strong stands opposing the use of torture. It is a moral issue, and for those of us who call ourselves Christian, it is an issue of faith and faithfulness. The cross is a stark symbol of the torture Jesus endured for us. Yet from that cross Jesus said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Christ calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, not torture our enemies and pray for those we torture. He does not tell us that faithfulness is asked of us as long as all is going well, and that something less is acceptable in trying times. Faith and faithfulness are specifically for such trying times, and the stand Jesus asks us to take sometimes goes against the tide of the culture. Instead of revenge Jesus commands forgiveness, instead of hate – love, instead of abuse – compassion, instead of torture - civility. We are to be decent, faithful people not only in decent times but also in times that are seemingly indecent. Several experts in interrogation have confirmed that respectful alternatives to torture are more productive, and have suggested that torture is even counterproductive. That may be yet another reason to reject it, but it is not the primary reason. The primary reason is our faith in the risen Christ and our commitment to be his disciples and live as he commands. Martyrs across the ages have stood steadfast in their faith even unto death to bear witness to Christ’s command to such faithful decency. We are called to combat terrorism, not with torture, but with love, and while that is not easy, or even popular, it is faithful.
~ John C. Peterson, June 15, 2009
On Sunday we received nine confirmands into membership. Each came to the session to make a profession of faith and to say that this is the community of Christ to which he or she wants to belong. Their statements of faith did not indicate that they had the definitive answers to all the great questions of life, nor did they pretend to fully grasp the complexities of the Trinity or theories of Atonement. None of us do, for “now we see in a mirror dimly”. They simply testified to their experience of God’s presence in their lives and their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. With candor and humility they described the issues with which they continue to wrestle as they look to the future. Joining the church is not a destination for them, but the next step on a lifelong journey of faith.
Each of us should take our faith so seriously. Faith is a journey for all of us with ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys, confident affirmations and lingering doubts. It is challenged by the changing world in which we live even as it challenges that same world. To be a member of the church is to wrestle with questions of faith and challenges of life together as we worship, study and serve side-by-side. It is not the denominational club to which you belong; it offers no assurance in and of itself of salvation. We do not agree on everything. The church should be a community in which you are nurtured, comforted, supported, and challenged. But it is also that community in which you bear responsibility to nurture, comfort, support, and challenge others. How are you doing with living out that call to community? Have you given serious thought to what you believe and how faith is reflected in your life day-to-day? How have you found yourself both comforted and dis-comforted by the Gospel? Amid all those questions, what unites us is that profession made by the confirmands: we trust in God’s continuing presence in our lives, in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, and in the Spirit to guide us along the way on this journey of faith we share.
~ John C. Peterson, June 1, 2009
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” ~ John 15:13
Those words of Jesus were originally spoken to his disciples in anticipation of Jesus’ own death. But they take on added significance for us in the context of this Memorial Day as we remember those who lay down their lives for their country, for friends they knew and friends they did not know. We owe them a debt of gratitude and respect, for in days past while we gathered to worship and pray, men and women willingly risked their lives on our behalf. So it is today. As we worship and pray, men and women in Afghanistan, Iraq, and countless corners of the globe place their lives in harm’s way on our behalf. We can and should debate the merits and tactics of any given war or conflict – it is not only a democratic responsibility but a Christian responsibility as well. Our nation should never place the lives of our men and women at risk unnecessarily or unjustly, and righteous anger is appropriate when soldiers are asked to do so or are encouraged to violate Christian responsibility to love our enemies as Christ calls us to do. But regardless of our opinions about the appropriateness or justness of any given war, we should be uniform in our gratitude for those who offer their lives in that service. They do not make the call about which wars to enter. They simply agree to venture into harm’s way on our behalf at the direction of those we elect to send them or to bring them home. Our safety and security today rests upon the sacrifices of men and women across the years in places far distant from their homes who loved us enough to lay down their lives.
May the Lord have mercy upon them and grant them eternal peace. May their families be comforted and find hope in Christ’s resurrection promises. May we honor their memories with our prayers and thanks for their great love expressed for us – their friends.
~ John C. Peterson, May 18, 2009
The songs and words of the children Sunday testify to the living out of those baptismal vows we all took at Garrett’s baptism. Faith is nurtured by parents, preachers and Sunday School teachers, but it is nurtured too by men, women, and children who share Christ’s love and good news with one another day to day. We not only share that love and good news, but we also receive it from the same children with whom we share it. The baptismal vows we make are not just for the day, but for a lifetime – promises to nurture faith, hope, and love through our faith, our hope, and our love.
As we come to the end of another Sunday School year (this Sunday will be our last Sunday School classes until September) we give thanks for all those teachers who have steadfastly prepared and taught week after week in order to fulfill those baptismal vows. We give thanks for the folks in Godly Play and in our Nursery School who patiently and lovingly fulfill those baptismal vows. We give thanks for Sheba Lane whose leadership of our Alpha and Omega Choirs praises God and fulfills those baptismal vows. We give thanks for Sharlene Wade whose leadership of our Children’s ministries nurtures faith in the youngest among us in fulfilling those baptismal vows. We give thanks for those mentors in our Confirmation Class who by their friendship and examples fulfill those baptismal vows. We give thanks for all those teachers of whatever age who offer their time and talents in our Christian Education program and in so doing fulfill those baptismal vows. We give thanks to all of those who welcome children of whatever age and in so doing welcome Christ in fulfillment of those baptismal vows.
Take seriously those vows, for it is because those in generations before you took seriously their vows that you heard the good news of Christ and experienced Christ’s love. What did you vow: in the name of the whole church of Jesus Christ to undertake with parents the Christian nurture of their children by our prayers, teaching and example, to encourage and support them, to share the good news of the gospel with them, and to help them know and follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So may it be!!
~ John C. Peterson, May 11, 2009
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From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
This past weekend I attended a benefit gathering for one of the organizations Covenant’s Outreach team supports - CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). For those of you who may not know, CASA volunteers are advocates for children who find themselves in the foster care and court system - usually due to abuse or neglect. The advocates are charged with looking after the child’s best interests while he or she is under care of the court. This charge can also include encouraging through both kind and tough love the parents who are trying to improve their lives so they can be fit parents.
At this benefit, we were introduced to a woman who had her child taken away from her - and got to hear her success story. This woman bravely stood in front of over a hundred strangers and told the story of her struggle with alcoholism and that disease’s effect on her life. This story was filled with poor choices and missed opportunities, but it was also filled with loving interventions and persistent volunteers who cared enough for both mother and child to give of their time and energy, to be with the mother as she hit bottom and still be with her as she learned to stand up against her disease. That night these volunteers were there to hug this mother - and the daughter who had been able to be reunited with her mom - and beam about how proud they were of her.
Stories like this one remind me just how wonderful God’s love for us is. God is with us even when we refuse to acknowledge our need for our creator; God challenges and encourages us to turn away from the things that hurt us and others; God is with us both in the low and in the good times; God rejoices when we embrace God’s desires for us and live into God’s goodness. This is God’s love - this is the God who is love.
This Sunday is our third annual Children’s Sunday (in which the children of our church will lead us in worship) and Mother’s Day. It seems all too appropriate that the lectionary scripture for Sunday is about God’s love. As we look to this Sunday, I invite you to look out for the stories and the moments that speak to you of God’s love.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, May 4, 2009
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
What a glorious day it was! Our fiftieth anniversary celebration included beautiful music, lots of friends new and old, good food, treasured memories, and God’s spirit alive in our midst. Many thanks to all who made the day wonderful for us all! We owe a debt of special thanks to the 50th Anniversary committee who worked hard over the past year to bring all the details together for a great celebration.
In this week after the festivities, our jubilee year continues as we both remember the past and anticipate our future. After all, it is a year of jubilee, not a day of jubilee. In this edition of the Covenant Connection you will find a congregational survey to help us on the next step in that journey into our future. This survey, prepared by the Long-Range Planning Team, offers an opportunity for your input into who God is calling us to be as we move forward. Please take some time to complete it in written form or online as you prefer, and return it to us so that we can begin to shape the strategic plan that will guide our next five years in ministry together. This is the third time we have walked through this process (our previous plans were in 1998 and 2003), and congregational input from you is vital to our design of a plan. There are separate surveys that will be distributed to children and the group formerly known as youth.
God continues to do wonderful things in us and through us. Please help us to discern where God is leading us next by adding your voice through this survey.
~ John C. Peterson, April 27, 2009
2009 is a Year of Jubilee for us here at Covenant. It is our 50th Anniversary as a church as we trace our roots to that gathering of Presbyterians who began to meet in an Augusta Street auto body shop in 1959. In the post-exilic period described in the Old Testament each 50th year was to be a Year of Jubilee, a year of celebration marked by emancipation of any Jews who had at any time in the previous 49 years become enslaved to another, a year in which property (fields or homes) was returned to the original owner or family. It was a year of new beginnings and fresh starts rooted in the past, honored more in theory than in practice within Jewish circles.
Our Year of Jubilee likewise gives us opportunity to look ahead to new beginnings and fresh starts. Freed of our debt on the building and developing a long-range plan to guide us in ministry together, we look to the future with great hope. God has blessed us with unique gifts to serve in this time and place, and we look forward to discerning the shape of God’s call for us in the coming years. This Year of Jubilee also will be a time to celebrate the past, to honor the commitment and vision of those original owners (our charter members) who built the foundation upon which we worship and serve. It will be a year to give thanks to God who has called us to be a Covenant community and has been at work in us and through us across these fifty years.
On April 26 we will celebrate our fifty years together in worship and in fellowship together at an anniversary luncheon. Mark your calendars now! It will be a time for Covenant friends old and new to come together, rejoicing in the ministry we share and giving thanks to God for these fifty years as Covenant Presbyterian Church.
~ John C. Peterson, January 26, 2009
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From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! We shout this great acclamation on Sunday morning, celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, rejoice that God has defeated death, and then . . . We have all this preparation during Lent and the big day finally comes and then after Easter Sunday, what happens next? Christ is risen – now what?
In preparation for this Sunday I’ve been looking through several hymns and came upon one I think helps answer that question. By John L. Bell and Graham Maule, it reminds me just what it means to say Jesus Christ is risen. I pray these words may be meaningful to you as well.
Jesus Christ Is Waiting
Jesus Christ is waiting, waiting in the streets;
no one is his neighbour, all alone he eats.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I am lonely too.
Make me, friend or stranger,
fit to wait on you.
Jesus Christ is raging, raging in the streets,
where injustice spirals and real hope retreats.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I am angry too.
In the Kingdom’s causes
Let me rage with you.
Jesus Christ is healing, healing in the streets;
Curing those who suffer,
touching those he greets.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I have passion too.
Let my care be active, healing just like you.
Jesus Christ is dancing, dancing in the streets, where each sign of hatred
He, with love, defeats.
Listen, Lord Jesus, we should triumph too.
On suspicion’s graveyard let us dance with you.
Jesus Christ is calling, calling in the streets,
‘Who will join my journey?
I will guide their feet.’
Listen, Lord Jesus, let my fears be few.
Walk one step before me; I will follow you.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, April 13, 2009
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
In his book Letters to a Young Doubter, William Sloane Coffin writes:
I myself believe passionately in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because in my own life I have experienced Christ not as a memory, but as a presence. So today on Easter we gather not, as it were, to close the show with the tune ‘Thanks for the Memory,’ but rather to reopen the show because ‘Jesus Christ is risen today.’
The Easter celebration that we look forward to this Sunday is not just a remembrance of that day almost two thousand years ago when Christ was raised from the dead. It is also a day to give thanks and praise to God for the presence of the risen Christ in our lives today. Because he lives, we live. His resurrection is the ground of our Christian hope in life and in death, in living and in dying. Jesus Christ IS risen – not WAS risen, not was resuscitated – but IS risen. It is that claim that is unique to him and to our Christian faith. We gather on Sunday to celebrate that good news as the community of the resurrection who believe that he is risen indeed! But Easter’s alleluias cannot be separated from the somber events of this Holy Week. We dare not celebrate the resurrection without remembering the crucifixion, for while Jesus rose for us, he also died for us. His life and death and new life are entwined with our lives and deaths and new lives in him. We remember his crucifixion, as brutal as it was, because he bore that pain for us, and that is a gift that we should never take for granted. On Maundy Thursday we will read through Mark’s account of those last hours – from the time of the Last Supper until the time of his burial. I invite you to join us for that service of remembrance on Thursday evening; if you cannot join us then at least take time to read Mark 14-15 and get down on your knees in gratitude for what Jesus endured for you. Then come ready on Easter morn to bear witness to the good news that death did not have the last word; God did. And the last word to which we bear witness, the last word which are really words by which we bear witness to the Word is this: He is risen! He is risen indeed!
~ John C. Peterson, April 6, 2009
What would Jesus have put on his Facebook page? That question, raised by an elder from Kansas City in a recent Presbyterian Outlook article, has little relevance to those of us who are technologically Amish. But to those for whom Facebook and its counterparts are essential means of communication it poses a question worth pondering. A Facebook page offers insights into who a person is and what he or she values. In vetting candidates for positions in the Obama administration or local schools or churches, employers now look at Facebook pages and blogs to see how candidates portray themselves. What pictures do they post? What do they think is important enough to include there for all the world to see?
On Facebook you choose how to portray yourself. In real life you make some of those same decisions, though with less opportunity to determine who will see them. In what you say and what you do you say something to the world about what you value and who you are. How then is Christian revealed in the pages of your life? What would you put – have you put - on your Facebook page that tells the world you are a follower of Christ?
On Jesus’ Facebook page, I suspect you would find some of the words he spoke to us through the Gospels:
Repent and believe in me! Go and sin no more.
Love God with all that you are, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…
I am the way, the truth, and the life. Come and follow me.
Perhaps you would find pictures of that Palm Sunday parade, but I doubt it. You would be more apt to find pictures of the poor and those in need and those disciples whom he called brothers and sisters – all those whom he asks you to serve. Perhaps you would find a loaf and a cup beneath a cross with the words: GIVEN FOR YOU. Or perhaps just a picture of the empty tomb at sunrise with the words: RISEN INDEED! For those are the images that describe who he was, who he is, the crucified and risen Christ, our savior
~ John C. Peterson, March 30, 2009
What do you say when someone asks, “How are you?” For most of us it has become a routine kind of question to which we respond, “fine” or “well” or following the example of my neighbor “better than I deserve.” In Atlanta last week I was struck by the response of two of the employees of the hotel where we stayed. When I asked, “How are you today?” they replied, “I am blessed.” I don’t know whether that response is peculiar to Atlanta or to Georgia or to the Super Eight on Cone Street, but it is an apt description of all our lives. We are blessed! Far too often we take those blessings for granted. We are too busy lamenting poor health or the state of our stock portfolios or the poor economy to recognize the blessings we enjoy from the hand of God each day. This Lenten season is a time to take stock of our blessings as we prepare to celebrate God’s great Easter blessing in Christ. How then have you been blessed?
I count among my blessings a loving wife and children, a church in which grace and faith abound, a call to serve among gifted colleagues and gracious friends, a beautiful place in which to live, a body that while bent is not entirely broken, a nation in which to live and speak and worship freely, faith and hope with which to face the challenges of each new day, a God who is patiently forgiving and constantly present to work through my gifts and around my weaknesses, the Christ who grants me life and hope and peace. Somehow those blessings make all the challenges of this world seem a little more bearable and the perils of this world a lot less daunting.
How am I? I am blessed - in more ways than I can count! How are you?
~ John C. Peterson, March 23, 2009
In the current edition of Life and Work, a publication of the Church of Scotland, Ron Ferguson reflects on the names of people and places, some of which he notes can be downright embarrassing:
There is, near Cambridge, a small and inoffensive village called Ugley. It has never bothered any other hamlet, has never tried to invade the western isles or anything like that. Yet it is giggled at, simply because of its name. The pressure eventually got to the members of the Ugley Women’s Rural Institute, who decided to change their name. As a consequence, it is now officially known as The Women’s Rural Institute (Ugley branch).
As someone who grew up in Slippery Rock, I appreciate the importance of a town name – good and bad. As between Ugley and Slippery Rock, I will stick with my hometown!
This week we have the pleasure of baptizing three children in worship – one at the 8:30 service and two at the 10:30 service. In baptism names are important! Amy and I will ask the Christian names of the children to be baptized, and we will then baptize them with water “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We are all baptized in the name of the Triune God! It is one thing we hold in common with all our Christian brothers and sisters. We may disagree about theological issues, how we are to be structured, and proper interpretation of biblical texts; we may disagree about how baptism should be done (sprinkling or dunking) or at what age it is appropriate. But we all baptize in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Baptism is the outward sign and seal of God’s grace and covenant in Christ. God is already graciously at work in the lives of those baptized; in baptism we publicly proclaim that good news. By celebrating the sacrament in corporate worship we affirm our shared commitment to those baptized as instruments of God’s grace to one another. We all participate in this sacrament; we are not just observers. We all agree to be godparents to the children baptized, to show them God’s love and grace while nurturing their faith through our faithful examples. Baptism is thus a beginning for our life together in Christ. This Sunday we will welcome into the church two more brothers and a sister (Nicholas, Dalton, and Chloe by name) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Thanks be to God for this sacrament we share!
~ John C. Peterson, March 16, 2009
From the Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
Two weekends ago 8 senior high, 3 other brave adults, and I joined together to participate in the 30 Hour Famine. For 30 hours we went without food (partaking only of water and juice) to be in solidarity with those who go hungry every day. For 24 of those hours, we joined together at the church to play educational games, encourage one another, and worship.
This Sunday we will hear from some of those youth as they share part of their experience. I have read several of their reflections and I can guess we’ll hear a common theme: it was a tough but fun experience that made us all very appreciative of what we have and very clear that we have work to do. One of the things that impresses me most about our Famine experience is how passionate our youth are about those who need our help.
Here’s a little taste of why they may be so passionate: assuming it takes two minutes for our youth to share their experience on Sunday, 36 children under the age of five will have died by the time they have finished. 36 CHILDREN. And those deaths are from hunger, poverty, and hunger-related diseases – all completely preventable. Hear facts like that and how can you NOT want to be involved in the solution.
I pray that we as a congregation will continue join with our young leaders in being passionate about issues of hunger and poverty. I pray too that we may see God’s hand at work in our efforts to help those in need. There is a lot of God’s work to be done in this world and as our youth have reminded me, we’re just the people to do it.
~ Amy Simmers-Minette, March 9, 2009
From the Pastor's Desk . . .
Someone once told me of this note they had seen:
At your baptism your parents brought you to church.
At your wedding your spouse brought you to church.
At your funeral the undertaker will bring you to church.
Why don’t you try coming on your own sometime!
Coming to church is a choice, and we are accountable for the choices we make. We are accountable for choices about going to church or not going, serving God faithfully or not serving, repenting of sin or not repenting. In some things we have no choice, but in matters of faith we do have choices to make. Confirmation classes begin at that age when we believe that young people can make a choice about faith for themselves. Do not think that the choices made in confirmation are once-in-a-lifetime choices. Professing faith in Christ and joining the church is not the end of the journey, but the beginning. It is the first step on the journey and each day we decide whether we will stay on that path or go another way. We decide by what we say and what we do which god we will serve. In presenting that choice to the people of Israel Joshua announced the choice he would make: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Lent is a time to consider the choices you make – the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is a time to repent of those bad choices you have made or are making, a time to recommit to making good choices that please the Lord, a time to renew faith in Christ with whom we walk through Lent on the road to Calvary. It may even be a time to commit to coming to church on your own again. You may choose to walk this Lenten road, or not, but know this: God made a choice to come among us in Jesus Christ, even though that choice led to the cross. What choices will you make this day, this week, in gratitude for that choice God made for you?
~ John C. Peterson, March 1, 2009
The groundhog may have seen his shadow promising six more weeks of winter, but as we turn the corner from February to March the scent of spring is in the air. This year as we turn that corner we also begin our journey into Lent, a time to repent (literally “to turn”) in preparation for celebration of the Resurrection at Easter. These forty days are a time to reflect on the past and turn back to God as we move into the future, a future filled with Easter hopes!
At the same time that we are reflecting on our individual pasts, we are also recalling our shared past as a Covenant community. On April 26 – two weeks after Easter - we will celebrate our 50th anniversary as a church. We will remember who we have been and look forward to who we will yet be. It is a future full of Easter hopes, for our identity past, present and future is shaped by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Covenant community is a resurrection community who gathers each week to celebrate the promise and hope we hold in our risen Lord.
We bear that resurrection news to the world. We have done so for almost fifty years now. Not only in what we say but also in what we do, we share the gospel of Christ by serving others. In recognition of that heritage, as part of our anniversary celebration you are invited to make a 50th Anniversary gift to serve those in need. The Session has approved 50th Anniversary gifts to support the work of SACRA, the Verona Food Pantry, and The Presbyterian Children’s Home of the Highlands. Our hope is that all of us will mark this time in our history by reaching out to others in need. It is suggested that adults give 50 cents for each year they have been members and that children give a penny for each year they have been at Covenant. Gifts may be made payable to Covenant and marked “50th Anniversary Gift”; a container will be placed in the narthex for children’s gifts.
We have much for which to be thankful as we enter March, Lent, and this 50th year together. Thanks to the risen Lord who gives us so much to celebrate together!
~ John C. Peterson, February 23, 2009
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Associate Pastor's Blog . . .
I’ve been thinking a lot about our church’s 50th anniversary lately. Now maybe it’s because I just celebrated my last birthday in the twenties or maybe it’s because the closer we get to it the sadder I am that I won’t be at the big celebration Sunday (as some of you know my sister is graduating from her conservatory program this year and that weekend is the same as her big recital and celebration in San Francisco). Whatever the reason, this anniversary has been extra on my mind this past week.
Celebrating what God has done through us and looking to the future of what God will yet do is a wonderful state in which to be. We get to look back over our 50 years and as we swap our stories, I hope we notice just how God has been at work within this body. I hope we see how God prepared us to become a church with a heart for mission; how God has led us to a place where people of diverse political opinions welcome one another in love; how God has nurtured us so that we in turn might nurture God’s children of all ages in faith.
As we see the hand of God at work in our past, I hope we look to what God is doing here and now. Just within the next month we have so many wonderful opportunities for service and worship of God. We have a mission trip to the Gulf Coast already in progress, we have our senior high youth doing another 30 Hour Famine event, a Men’s Breakfast, another (fire-free) Family Fun Fest, an Ash Wednesday Taize service, a Lenten Fair, Bible studies, food and shelter outreach, and so much more. God is working through this church in so many amazing ways.
And what’s more – I know God has even more in store for us. This is a great time to be involved in the life of the Covenant community. I pray that once April 26th has come and gone that we will continue to reflect on our past, enjoy our present, and discern our future.
~ Amy Summers-Minette, February 16, 2009
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From the Pastor's Page . . .
Over the past ten days we have had eight of our members suffer the loss of a family member. Some of those deaths have been expected after long lives well-lived, and some have been all-too-sudden and all-too-soon. According to the writer in Ecclesiastes, “For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die…” The time to die makes sense to us at the end of those long lives well-lived, but it is harder to accept when the time to die suddenly interrupts a time to live. At all such times our Christian faith offers us hope with which to mourn – not hope in lieu of mourning for mourning is a faithful, human response to the loss of a loved one (recall that Jesus mourned the death of Lazarus!). But faith offers us hope with which to mourn, hope in the promises of God in Christ Jesus, hope for life beyond death, hope for the forgiveness of our sins, hope for eternal life with God.
“If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord; so then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s,” writes Paul. “Nothing (not even death) can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our hope is grounded in those promises of God in Christ. They are promises that allow us to rejoice for those who have died, for the promises are for them. They are promises that allow us to face the challenges of life and death without fear, for the promises are for us. They are promises that sustain us in the midst of grief; as we mourn our losses – the loss of companionship, new memories and love shared into the future with one who has died – we also hold on to hope for the future. The images that describe that heavenly future are glowing – a great banquet, a sparkling city, a place without pain or sorrow, everlasting light and love. But most importantly that heavenly future is described as a place with God to whom we belong. That is indeed good news for us – even and perhaps especially in the face of death.
~ John C. Peterson, February 9, 2009
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
Fifty years – a half century of worshipping God, nurturing faith, serving neighbors and sharing fellowship together! That is what we celebrate this Sunday as we gather for a single service of worship at 10:30 with a gala luncheon to follow to remember our past, anticipate our future, and give thanks to God for all God’s blessings across the years. Since its founding in 1959 this Covenant community has grown from 124 charter members meeting in an auto body shop on North Augusta Street to almost five hundred active members gathering each week in this sacred space we share on North Coalter Street. Along the way we have been blessed with saints too numerous to mention with whom to worship and serve, music that has lifted our spirits and given voice to our prayers, teachers who have opened to us fresh insights into God’s Word, and brothers and sisters in Christ who worked and work to make God’s vision for ministry in this corner of the Kingdom a reality. It is not what we have accomplished in fifty years that we celebrate, but rather what God has done through us, with us, and at times despite us. After three thousand services of worship, 312 potluck suppers, three building programs, fourteen ministers, the resettlement of two refugee families, and three generations of children in our Nursery School, God is still at work in our midst! We rejoice and give thanks for the faithfulness of God in our lives and in our life together! This celebration is not about us, but about the God whom we worship and serve each day year after year after year. Come and rejoice with us as together we celebrate fifty years of ministry as God’s Covenant community!
~ John C. Peterson, April 20, 2009
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From the Pastor's Page . . .
This Friday evening our confirmation class will visit Temple House of Israel here in town for Shabbat services. Our visit is a helpful reminder for all of us that our Christian roots are Jewish. The God whom we worship is the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Moses, David, Isaiah and the prophets. The Hebrew Scriptures are Scripture for us as well – from Genesis through Malachi – and while the ordering of the books may be different in our respective traditions, the content and God whom they describe is one and the same. We believe Jesus is the messiah whose coming was foretold by those Old Testament prophets, a Jew who came (in his own words) not to overturn the law but to fulfill it. The gospel writers repeatedly quote those writings in confirmation that Jesus is the One for whom Israel was waiting, the One who came to save all people because God so loved the world.
When I was doing my clinical pastoral education at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond I was asked by two patients who were roommates to have a prayer with them. One was Jewish and the other Muslim. Where does the Presbyterian student in the Roman Catholic hospital praying with the Jewish and Muslim patients begin?
“O God of Abraham, creator of all things and of each one of us…”
It is that God whom we all worship, that God who created us – Jew, Muslim, and Christian alike. While we differ significantly in how God has revealed God’s self to us across time, especially with regard to God’s revelation in Jesus, it is still that one God we hold in common. The one who is called Yahweh (the name revealed at the Burning Bush) and Allah (the Arabic word for God) and Lord is the divine One who alone is God of all things. Perhaps that provides a place for us to begin to talk with one another and to work together to bring peace to this world. Sects of each of our religions try to deny any commonality in order to sow seeds of strife, but the truth is that our family tree grows out of the root of Abraham and Abraham’s God who is the only true God of all people. To the God of Abraham be honor, praise, and glory from all people – now and always!
~ John C. Peterson, February 2, 2009
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From the Pastor's Desk . . .
The inauguration of Barack Obama as president is a significant moment in American history, affirming for many in this nation and world that the American dream can still be realized. The inauguration of our first African-American president is a sign of how far we have come as a nation, but we would be naïve to think that the journey is over, that we have arrived at a destination beyond racism. Racism still rears its ugly head around this nation and globe, and while we may pause to celebrate this momentary triumph, we dare not work any less stridently to overcome it.
Paul reminds us that in Christ there is neither male nor female, slave nor free, Jew nor Gentile; all are one in him. It is our unity in Christ that unites us beyond all divisions of gender or race, nationality or orientation, social status or political party. In Christ we all are one! There is no place for racism, nationalism, sexism or any other isms that would divide us one from another; our unity in Christ trumps all! So, we pray for Barack Obama, with whom we are united as a brother in Christ, to whom we look for leadership through these troubled times, and through whom we pray God will be at work. Our faith is not in him, but in the God – his and ours – who works through him. May God grant him wisdom and discernment, grace and humility, courage and strength, so that his will may reflect only God’s will – for him and for us.
~ John C. Peterson, January 19, 2009
Give thanks, O Christian people, for all who love the Lord,
Who live each day believing in God’s eternal Word;
To share Christ’s love in living, to witness with each deed,
To use the talents given to plant the gospel seed.
(Mary Jackson Cathey, 1984)
The words of that hymn were lived out here Sunday. In celebrating retirement of the debt on our building, we gave thanks for all those who played a part – large or small – in what God did through us, and we look forward to what God will do through us next. It is a great joy to honor the work of so many good stewards of God’s good gifts who shared their time and talents in planning and constructing the addition to the church building and then shared their monies to pay for it all in eight short years. Again and again you stepped up to meet the challenges placed before us – not only in paying down the principal, but also in giving to the General Fund to enable us to meet the interest payments while continuing to grow in ministry across those years. In the time that we have built and paid for this addition we have raised funds to build an addition on the church in Bedele; sent mission groups to Ethiopia, Baja, and the Gulf Coast; added a weekly worship service and special services; expanded our congregational care ministries; welcomed staff to meet growing programmatic and pastoral needs; expanded Christian education opportunities on Wednesdays and Sundays; and increased our Outreach giving. In so doing, we have looked for tangible ways to show our love for God and our neighbors, to plant those gospel seeds mentioned in the hymn, and to witness to Christ’s presence in our midst.
As we prepare to ordain and install new elders on Sunday and to begin development of our next long-range plan, we do give thanks for what God has done, is doing, and will do in and through us! And we pledge to continue to strive to serve God in all that we say and all that we do. To God alone be the glory!!
~ John C. Peterson, January 12, 2009
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From the Associate Pastor's Blog ~
Happy Epiphany! I hope you and yours enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season and are still celebrating the light of God birthed into the world for all as Jan 6—Epiphany, the Feast of the Wise Men—marks the end of our official liturgical festivities. While other cultures and countries celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, I’ve always found it sad that we really don’t.
There’s always that big let down after Christmas Day has come and gone but there doesn’t have to be. Just because the radio stops playing Christmas carols at exactly midnight on Christmas Day or the stores are already filled with Valentine’s merchandise on Dec 24th doesn’t mean we need to follow suit. It’s not just because I want to wait to put away the Christmas decorations that I’m saying this; I truly do think that our celebrations might benefit from a little counter-cultural activity. So consider adding the celebration of Epiphany to your next family Christmas. Here are a just a couple of suggestions on how you might do that:
- Celebrate the Feast with a simple meal, remembering that while the wise men searched for a king, they found a boy born to a poor family who could not afford grand feasts and tables full of food
- Bake and serve a king’s cake – with a trinket inside for one of the kids (or kid-at-heart) to find and serve as a reminder of the gifts the wise men brought and the great gift they found
- Celebrate the arrival of the wise men with stories like Befena (the woman who missed out on meeting the boy King because needed to get stuff done around the house and is still searching for him) or the Other Wiseman (maybe you can convince John to come over and tell it!).
As always, however long we liturgically celebrate the birth story of Christ, we carry that Good News and the joy it brings with us. Don’t let the end of the official Christmas season stop you from rejoicing that Emmanuel has indeed come to us and sharing that cheer with all you meet!
~ Amy Summers-Minette, January 5, 2009 http://revamy.blogspot.com
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