Living Our Prayer, Praying Our Life

My Reason to Relay

2010-04-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

I’m participating in the Logan County Relay for Life because my heart is deeply grieved by the suffering and loss that cancer brings.
Like many others, I feel helpless when I see people battling cancer.
But, we are not utterly helpless.

God blesses us with intellect, technology, and financial resources, and God calls us to participate in God’s work of bringing restoration to creation.
Finding a cure to cancer is part of that work.

You can make a donation online at http://www.thebestrelay.org/ (look for the First Presbyterian Church team – you can donate to the team, or to any member of the team). Or, you can mail or bring your check (made out to the American Cancer Society) to the church.

Thanks for your support.

Together, we can make a difference!

Celebrating Gifts of the Spirit – Pentecost Sunday, May 23

2010-04-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

On Pentecost we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. One of the most tangible ways we experience the Spirit in our ministry and life together is through one another.

We may not be able to literally see or hear God’s presence, but we experience God’s presence nonetheless. This is because God works in us and through us to be living expressions of God’s presence in the church and in the world.

This Pentecost, May 23, as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church, we will celebrate some of the particular expressions of the Holy Spirit in our congregation: our choirs and teachers. In this special service we will recognize and give thanks for the Bell Choir, Chancel Choir, Sonshine Singers, and Sunday School Teachers.

Let us give thanks to God for the gifts of the Spirit!

Easter: Noun, Adjective, Verb

2010-04-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Most of us think that Easter is the Sunday just after Palm Sunday – the day when we tell the story of Jesus’ resurrection. But, it’s more than that.

For one thing, Easter isn’t a just Sunday in the church year, it is a season in the church year that takes us through the fifty days that lead to Pentecost. But, it’s more than that.

In a way, every Sunday is an Easter Sunday, because every Sunday is the Lord’s Day – the day set aside each week to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and to renew our hope in the promise of resurrection for us. But, it’s more than that, too.

Some have used “Easter” as a verb. Gerard Manley Hopkins, the 19th century poet, writes, “Let [Christ] easter in us. . .” In this way, Easter could mean “bring new life.” This could be an ongoing prayer: God, let Christ easter in us. . . God, bring new life to me. . . New life doesn’t just mean literal life after death. It could simply mean a second chance after any failure. New life could mean hope in the face of discouragement, despair, or grief. Easter, then, is more than a day or a season, it is an action. But, it’s more than that, too.

Some use “Easter” as an adjective. Sure, we’ve all heard of Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny. But, do we think of ourselves as Easter people? We could. We could say that we are so rooted and grounded in the God who became human, died, and yet lives again (even in us!), that we are – always and ever – Easter people. Easter, then, could describe who we are: loved, forgiven, and free to live, truly. But, it’s more than that, too.

If we are Easter (adjective) people, then we ought be people engaged in Easter (verb). If our lives are defined by love and driven by the hope given to us in Christ, then the living of our lives ought to point to that hope and demonstrate that love. If we are people who have received life, grace, forgiveness, love. . . then we ought to be people who give life, grace, forgiveness, love.

So, which is it? Noun, adjective, or verb? Whatever part of speech Easter may be, we need it. In our lives. In our homes. In our church. In our world.

Let Easter abound!

Strength for the Journey

2010-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Lent is a season for movement, a season for growth. Lent is the season in which we make our journey to the cross.

Making our journey to the cross means calling to mind Christ’s journey to the cross – the sacrifices he made and the suffering he endured in his life on earth.

Making our journey to the cross means calling to mind the reason Christ made that journey to the cross. Because Christ had us in mind when he made his way to the cross, we take time during Lent to reflect on our mortality and our sin, both of which were conquered on the cross.

Making our journey to the cross means owning up to our own faults and shortcomings, and accepting the forgiveness God offers us in Christ.

Making our journey to the cross means considering what God might be asking of us, at this time in our lives, and responding to God’s call in faithfulness and trust.

As is the case with most journeys, we receive strength and encouragement from others who share this journey to the cross. So, I encourage you to avail yourself of the various resources for strength and nurture as we journey through Lent together.

On Wednesdays, noontime prayer “trysts,” followed by lunch, are offered at Christ United Methodist Church. Also on Wednesdays, we will gather at FPC for potluck dinners, followed by a Lenten devotional, beginning at 6:00pm.

In addition, our Sunday worship services in Lent will include an expanded liturgy of confession, and each service in Lent will touch on some aspect of the journey of faith, which takes us to the cross, to the tomb, and to Easter.

Come, let us make our journey to the cross of Christ together. May God sustain us along the way.