Time, time, time...

Scientists estimate that the Big Bang occurred approximately fourteen billion years ago. Some scientists hypothesize that billions of years from now the universe will spread so far that it will cool and go dark. Others propose that one day it will retract and then explode all over again. Many of us believe that God, who was before there was a before and who will be after there no longer is, extends beyond that. Whichever way we look, we find infinity. That means that time actually has little meaning.

T. S. Eliot pointed to something like that in these lines from "Burnt Norton":

TIME present and time past

Are both perhaps present in time future,

And time future contained in time past.

If all time is eternally present

All time is unredeemable.

What might have been is an abstraction

Remaining a perpetual possibility

Only in a world of speculation.

What might have been and what has been

Point to one end, which is always present.

If we find our home in One who was before there was a before and who will be after there no longer is, every moment always has been and will be. Time is merely a construct, a useful tool to help us measure and order life - nothing less, nothing more.

A sense of time's progression seems to be woven into my DNA. For as long as I can remember, I had awareness of things drawing near. On the way to the gym Monday morning, I reminded my bride that it was two months until Christmas Eve. I'm not certain why I realized that. I just did. Nancy was not overjoyed with that awareness.

Part of my awareness of time's progression reflects an inclusive leadership style. When leaders plan ahead, others have greater opportunity to contribute and critique. But awareness of time's progression offers a more personal gift as well. Looking at what is drawing near helps me to set goals (like losing weight to keep up with our grandchildren), to set priorities (like seeing our children more often), and to decide what matters most. Time may be a construct, but my earthly life isn't. I hope and want to move purposively in certain directions, and not simply to react.

Time may be a construct, but my earthly life isn't. That brings awareness that life is short. Today is the best day to live. Today is the best day to express gratitude for life by living well, gladdening hearts, touching lives, awakening faith. If, for example, I wait until Christmas Eve to celebrate incarnation, I miss the preciousness of God With Us here and now. After all, since every moment of time always has been and will be, it is Christmas Eve today. I can savor our candlelit celebrations even while preparing for them!

What's the point? Like most of us, I have more to do than I can do. Sometimes that makes me fret about time. I don't like leaving important things undone. That should not, however, keep me from celebrating what is done, and more importantly, the people whom I touch and by who I am touched. That viewpoint springs from my conviction that, by the grace of God, in fourteen billion years what will matter most is the relationships.

           

Grace and Peace,

LP

Reading feeds

Michael Jinkins, President of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and our Centennial Guest Preacher next June, sends out a weekly reflection much like our Beacon Lite. This week he encouraged pastors to read omnivorously. His comments reminded me of how I encouraged seminary students to read not only works of theology and biblical study, but also novels and varied works of non-fiction. That counsel sprang in part from the fact that every troubled pastor I had ever visited had no new or recently read books on the desk. Failure to read left them with little or nothing to give, because when we don't prime the pump, no water flows.

In recent months several of you contributed to my reading. Members loaned me a book on worldwide hunger and a collection of "ecological essays" that supported last Sunday's sermon. Another member allowed me to read a book he wrote several years ago. Another loaned me a work on the intersection of science and religion. I cannot read what all of us recommend, but knowing what feeds your spirit and intellectual curiosity provides valuable insights into who we are and what matters to us.

I vacillate between reading several books at a time and becoming totally absorbed in a single tome. At bedtime I currently read a book on the making of Scotch and another on a new understanding of resurrection, having recently finished Mindless Eating in quest to reach my weight goal. [It didn't help because it made me hungry!] On my desk at home are a collection of essays by Wendell Berry and a copy of Cal Jackson's (our Centennial Guest Preacher next February) memories of life and ministry. And I'm anxiously awaiting Peter Tremayne's latest novel to learn what happens next with Sister Fidelma.

All these and many other books (along with blogs, newspapers, etc) feed my desire to learn and deepen my appreciation for language. Like Dr. Jinkins, I prefer omnivorous pastors, and extend that to bankers, doctors, plumbers, painters, attorneys, teachers, and everyone. When we feed our intellectual curiosity, we have more to talk about, which makes us more interesting, which gives us greater reason to talk with each other. Mark Twain quipped that the person who does not read good books has no advantage over the person who can't read them. When we talk about what we're reading with others, that advantage extends to the community. So, what are we reading, MWPC? Please feel welcome to click on the link below and share what book presently feeds you and/or any recommendations for others. That can help our lives not only to intersect but also to connect. God abides in those connections.

It doesn't quite fit, but I'll close with perhaps my favorite quotation about books. It comes from Erasmus: "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." I enjoying eating too much for that, but reading isn't far behind.

Happy reading,

LP

Centennial Celebration - it's a big deal!

Saturday, 18 February 2012, marks the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of our congregation. From that evening through Sunday, November 4, 2012 (All Saints Sunday) we will hold our Centennial Celebration. Al Davies will worship with us on the opening Sunday and in the following months former pastors Cal Jackson (and his son Pat), John Muntz, George Baird, Jeff Kane, Paul Hammer, Sarah Sarchet Butter, and Marilyn McNaughton will preach, as will Michael Jinkins, President of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. We have commissioned an anthem/hymn that we will hear for the first time on February 19, we soon will release a new history of our congregation, we will have Marcus Borg as our Jenkins Lecturer, and we have a variety of special fellowship activities planned as we celebrate. As some point during the year we will reach our goal of raising $100,000 to celebrate our heritage. Blessings always flow in our life and ministries, but next year promises to be extraordinary.

Why talk about this now? Well, a centennial is a big deal. Not everyone makes it to one hundred. There are older congregations, but ponder what members of this congregation have endured and accomplished to make it this far. In thanksgiving for their efforts, now is the time to spread the word, invite folks to participate, and commit ourselves to even greater participation during this special year.

The fact that we will soon celebrate our centennial also reminds us that we "inherit" the church from the saints who travel ahead of us. We have a beautiful sanctuary, ample classrooms, spacious grounds, and a large multi-purpose room because of the vision and stewardship of those who went before us. Our most revered traditions and the traditions we change as the Spirit calls us in new directions both build on the foundation laid by others. Even the trees beneath which our preschool children gathered leaves this week grace our lawn and clean our air because previous saints had the foresight to plant them.

Do we believe that saints will still gather here in 2112? What do we plan to do to bless them? We lay a foundation for them as we follow when the Spirit guides us in new directions, learn about faith and scripture and teach the stories of Jesus to our children, make ourselves known as a congregation committed to feeding the hungry, protect our green space and care for our physical plant, and bear witness in word and deed to the difference it makes to have a relationship with God in Jesus Christ. Every lesson taught in our classrooms, every discussion we have about how to live our faith, every can of food provided to the hungry, every song sung and bell rung, every meal delivered to someone in a bind, every invitation to worship or service, and every other seemingly small act places one brick on another in the spiritual house of which we are a part. Stewardship season and our upcoming Centennial challenge us to recommit ourselves to our ministries. We'll never have this opportunity again. Let's live faithfully, gratefully, and boldly. We turn 100 in less than five months! Do something to get ready today!

Grace and Peace,

LP

Happy Stewardship Season!

It's stewardship season! Don't groan. This year I promise not to talk about stewardship in every Beacon Lite from now until mid November. Yet, stewardship is important. I try to bring up the topic regularly. This is the only life we have. That makes our management of it, our stewardship, critical.

Now to the message. A stewardship campaign is not a capital campaign. We typically conduct capital campaigns to cover expenses too great for or substantially different from our operating budget. Such things as replacing a pipe organ, adding technological improvements to a worship space, renovating an educational wing, or building a new mission house usually involve a capital campaign. In a capital campaign we make the case for an "over and above" expense and invite everyone to make a one-time contribution.

Some people approach a stewardship campaign like that. They look at the details of the annual budget and try to discern their "fair share." But stewardship campaigns support our annual budget and reflect not "over and above" expenses but what it takes to conduct our ministries and take care of our staff and property. Stewardship campaigns help to generate the revenue that makes us who we are as a community. Not everyone who pledges or contributes rings a bell, participates in Super Wednesday, comes to worship at 11 a.m. on Sundays, meets with a book discussion group, or belongs to the Men's Discovery Group. But all that and more is part of what makes us who we are. Our annual budget supports all of that; it allows us to answer God's call.

We now have a fiscal year that runs from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the next. That means that we currently live on pledges made last fall and will enter next year with the support of pledges made this fall. That gives our leaders opportunities to adjust our budget as needed. It also gives all of us an opportunity to ask not, "What's my fair share?" but "What do I want to give to the ministries of Jesus Christ to show my gratitude for my blessings?" Yes, our pledges keep the lights on, but they also express our faith and gratitude. Approaching our pledge as an act of faith and gratitude, however, makes it more meaningful and joyful.

Please take a look at our stewardship brochure and note how much we are and do as a congregation. Then, instead of placing a price tag on those ministries and trying to discern a "fair share," reflect on our gratitude for the ways God uses and blesses us, think about the joy and comfort that faith and this community of faith bring us, and make a pledge that reflects thanksgiving for those blessings. Some of us have more time than money to give. Others of us have little time but more financial means. What matters most is a contribution that means something to us and expresses our faith. Happy Stewardship Season!

Grace and Peace,

LP