Agony of Wait

Dear Church Family

   Here we are in May, and we still struggle with when will all this end? We still struggle with what will the new order look like? Will anything ever be the same? Most of those answers are not going to make us happy. In fact, we probably need to admit, that what we have known and gotten comfortable with, won’t ever be the same. It sounds like doom and gloom, but we are in the Easter season and the coming of the Holy Spirit to help us in Pentecost. We are more like the early church than we have thought we were. It’s time to let God help us in these moments of change, uncertainty and a lot of grief.

   Speaking of Grief, we need to learn that yes, mourning the losses we have faced is healthy, if we recognize that grief is important, and that it is permitted for Christians, and that we can learn a great deal from those genuine emotional moments. Let me offer some hope and help in times like this. As you know we have all been through some losses. I’ve experienced many levels and situations of grief myself, which I hope has made me stronger and a better follower of Jesus. As many of you know, my mother was killed in an automobile accident, when a truck ran a red light. To make matters worse, it was on my son’s birthday when it happened. I’ve seen parents, in-laws, and grandparents die. I’ve been fired from work. I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, twice. I’ve been divorced. I can relate to a lot of what we are going through now.

   What helped me was recognizing that God is here in the middle of this grief, not absent from it. All we have to do is see Jesus in the garden praying that this crucifixion might pass, and hear his words on the cross, to know God is still with us. There are several ideas we can consider when we are in our grief period, and I hope you will see them for their healing power as well. I have shared these thoughts in funeral messages, but I think they are very relevant for today as well.

   Express your grief. Give yourself permission to feel the pain of losing someone, or some memories or experiences or dreams that now cannot be. Grief has many dimensions and there is no one way to experience this, but you will probably feel all of them and then again when you least expect it. But it contributes to healing. There is shock and disbelief. There is anger and rage, it seems so unfair or mean. There is depression and sadness. There is guilt and regret, sometimes we become aware of things we did not pay attention to at the time, and now they really hurt us. There is anxiety and frustration, because we cannot control what is happening to us, and we hate not having some control. With time there is relief and release. But all of a sudden, a song, a picture, a memory or dream pops up out of nowhere, and we jump to one of those again.

   Please remember that the grief you feel, is the price we pay, for the ability to love. This is especially true when a loved one dies. But in this pandemic, that we can’t do something we want to, makes us realize how important that was, but we may not have recognized it. Hugs in church come to mind.

   Ask God to help you. God is an ever-present source of comfort and hope. Just ask!

   God promises help in Scripture, and that’s why I urge you to read it so often. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.” Ps. 46. “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” Ps. 147. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.” Rev. 21. “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you, and when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned…for I am there by yours side.” Isa. 43. And Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  Matt. 5.

   Try to develop a positive avenue, we will find a way forward. Keep on thinking about ways you can grow in your faith.

Blessings to you all.                 Pastor Jeff

April 28, 2020

Dear Church Family

   As we enter day whatever of our isolation for the sake of keeping people healthy, I write to encourage you to hang in there. I know it’s not easy, and boredom and anxiety can begin to eat us up from the inside and lead to crazy decisions. Let us not leave our senses, but look forward to the wisdom and guidance of our Lord, especially during these trying times.

  For a couple of thoughts for us this week.

   Would you send me a brief appreciation of your mother, or of a woman who really blessed you in your development as a person, or as a Christian? Next Sunday is Mother’s Day and I would like to use these dedications as a part of our celebration in thanksgiving for what we have received from others. I know we are not all mothers, but we all had one, or someone who really made a significant difference in our lives. That is who I would like to honor next week May 10, 2020.

   Many have asked me about the video that was in last Sunday’s message about the letters of the New Testament. It was produced by The Bible Project, They have a brief introduction video for every book of the Bible. They have also developed a lot of brief videos on topics or themes in the Bible, about an overview of Scripture and explanations about certain major events. You might find them very helpful to your own faith journey. www.Bibleproject.com

   I have been following the Bible Project reading plan that covers from Genesis to Revelations, and each time there is a new book of the Bible, there is an introductory video. It’s planned out for daily readings. I’m at the Book of James, almost done, the whole Bible reading it this way. If you like variety and not too much reading, this is the way to go.

   I am truly, very grateful to all who have helped keep us moving forward financially, during this time while we are absent, one from the other. Your generosity is needed and appreciated. Some have paid their estimate of giving in advance or put in extra in order to keep us going. Though we cannot walk by our offering plates, we can think that our church still needs our commitment and support. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

   One of the prayers I have been praying, besides praying for each of you regularly, is praying for our church when we can get back together in some form. One of my clergy support groups on Zoom, recently suggested that we aren’t ever going back to the way things were. But we have the opportunity to feel “Easter” and know that with the Resurrection from the dead, we will not be the same, but even better, because we know God can do anything. So pray with me, that we will all feel the Spirit leading us forward. “What we shall be has not yet been revealed, but when the time comes, we shall be like Jesus.” A slight paraphrase of I Corinthians 13: 9 & 12.”

   May God’s blessings and Spirit be with each of you, now and always. As John Wesley would say, the best of all, God is With Us.       Pastor Jeff

Sacrifice for a Healthy Nation

Dear Church Family

   Here we are on April 17, 2020, a week after the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who provided a way for all of us to know we can be forgiven, and we need to learn what sacrifice can mean to bring wholeness to our country now. And in Easter season, know sacrifice leads to new life.

   Today’s Washington Post article by Petula Dvorak on Sacrificing as an American issue is very poignant for right now. She complains that some people are resisting the need to sacrifice some of our privileges, for the sake of the whole community. Wearing face masks and gloves when we are out in public to keep from catching or sharing the coronavirus, is very important. We are expected to comply. Many protestors around the country are ignoring the need to be compassionate and sacrificial for the health and welfare of others, in the name of personal rights.

   Sacrificing is not pleasant or easy. When we have grown up thinking we can have anything we want, no matter what it does to others, we lose our ability to think outside of ourselves. Yes we have rights, but we also have responsibilities to love God who asks us to love our neighbors as Jesus loves them. That will mean some sense of sacrifice is needed. I hope our Christian faith can help us learn of Christ, who taught us the importance of sacrifice. Even when difficult, he taught us to pray, “Not my will be Thine be done.” It’s even in the Lord’s Prayer that most of us use all the time, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth, as it is in Heaven.” We need to see that there are times when that means we give up our will about not wearing a face mask, for the health of another. We may not get the virus, but we can pass it along to others, unknowingly.  Let’s be careful out there.

  Living sacrifice and transformed lives

12 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service.(Romans 12: 1 Common English Bible)

   St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, wanted us to see life as holy and pleasing to God. That is the measuring stick we are supposed to use, to figure out if we are doing what life is supposed to look like, sacrifice and all. I keep hoping that maybe this time of isolation, and being restricted to home, will give us an unexpected opportunity to grow in our faith, to use this time to learn how we can be pleasing to God. We will need a whole new perspective, when the day comes for us to freely move about the country, or community, or in church.

   If you need help to grow in your faith, there are many resources out there, put in the size you can benefit from. You can listen to devotionals, if reading is not your thing. Maybe you need some time to exercise, or walk the dog, or recognize you have time that you are not stuck in traffic, to put to good use in your faith journey. Take a look at You Version. There is a website and app for that. Or Biblegateway.com, or UpperRoom.org, Abide, Our Daily Bread. Sojourners can deliver a thoughtful devotional to your inbox every day, as can many of these others. Heartlight.org is one of my favorites, because it comes with pictures.

   I hope as a representative of Christ, we can show our neighbors what sacrificing for the purpose of helping our neighbors looks like. Ms. Dvorak in her article had to look back to the WW2 crowd to see what a whole nation doing that looked like. Now is the time to show her and others, that we followers of Jesus can pray and do, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

   Blessings and continued prayers to all of you. Elaine is better today, and I thank God for that, and thank you for all your prayers. Sacrifice is taking good care of your loved ones, your family and your community.

Blessings, Pastor Jeff

Finding Hope

Dear Church Family

   Now we are in the Easter season, the period of 40 days when Jesus appeared to his disciples to convince them, and prove to them, that he is Risen Indeed. It may still seem incredible for us. As we move beyond Easter, knowing that God can do incredible things, but we still find ourselves in the pandemic, separation and quarantine all around us. How does Easter address this, you may be asking.

   It’s been a topic in my house these last few days. St. Paul addressed it in his letter to the Romans to introduce himself and to reassure the disciples there, they could get through whatever they were facing. Where in your life do you need to turn to Jesus today?

Romans 5:3-5 Common English Bible (CEB)

³ But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, ⁴ endurance produces character, and character produces hope. ⁵ This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

   Easter is telling us we can grow in this tough time because of the steps the trouble gives us.  First, trouble produces endurance. We are facing each day the challenges of physical distancing, or losing work time and money, or being separated from our support groups. But we are getting through them one day at a time. Thus producing endurance. We will be able to look back on this and say, if we could handle that…. We can handle almost anything.

   Second, endurance produces character. We are developing parts of us in this endurance that will make us special in some way. Just look at the creativity being produced all around us by our children, by those who are contained at home. We are seeing incredible examples on the internet, through Facebook and YouTube, that just boggles the mind. I am in awe of some of the parodies I’ve seen by creative people. Just the other day there was a boy playing guitar who was dealing with at home schooling and using the Halleluiah song to tell his story. Today I saw a parody on Mask Maker, Mask Maker, make me a mask, from Fiddler on the Roof. Such talent. Endurance produces character. Maybe there is something growing inside of you that will make a difference for us or for you in this time of character building.

   Third, character produces hope. These gifts that are coming forth out of boredom, or creativity or necessity, are going to produce hope. We can improve, we can endure, we can find new ingredients in our character. We can see good things coming out of this, and a whole slew of heroes, who are putting everything they have into helping others. There are many reasons for hope.

   Finally, this hope reminds us of God’s love for us that has been poured out upon us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus in the Upper Room, on the night before he died, promised the help of the Holy Spirit. We will come to appreciate this greatly as we go through the trouble.

   God’s peace be upon you all.

Pastor Jeff

April 14, 2020