Friday, April 1, 2016

Happy Anniversaries!


Next year starts, very appropriately, on a Sunday. The last time January 1 fell on a Sunday was in 2012, and yes, we did worship that day, just as we will next year. In fact, our Worship & Music Ministry Team has already begun talking about that service, because not only will it mark the beginning of the new year, that day will also mark the beginning of our church’s 150th anniversary year.

Our church traces its roots back to 1867; our congregation rose out of the ashes of the Civil War. The building that was our church home from the 1870s until 1977 still stands in Old Town Manassas, now home to the popular Malone’s restaurant. It was 40 years ago that we built our present building on what was, back in the 1970s, farmland. Can you imagine our neighborhood as a mixture of farms and woodland?

Ours is a proud and rich history and we should celebrate it. We are planning to spread our observances over the year so we can commemorate in different ways – with special music, guest preachers, fellowship gatherings, and other activities. We want everyone to be involved!

2017 will mark another special anniversary as well: the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. It was in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg Germany, protesting the corruption of the institutional church, summed up in #34: “Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.” Melissa Kirkpatrick is already excitedly at work on ideas to help us learn more about our roots in the Reformed Tradition.

Our Book of Order tells us that central to the Reformed Tradition is the affirmation of “the majesty, holiness and providence of God who in Christ and by the power of the Spirit creates, sustains, rules and redeems the world in the freedom of sovereign righteousness and love”. As children of God we are called to “work for the transformation of society by seeking justice and living in obedience to the Word of God.” These are words that have guided us and will continue to guide us as the “Church Reformed, yet always Reforming” through our 150th year and on into God’s future.

We plan, of course, to create a special committee to organize and lead our celebrations -- we are Presbyterians, after all! But if you have ideas and suggestions for things you think we should do to mark 150 years as the Body of Christ called Manassas Presbyterian Church, let me know.

We are eager to make 2017 a banner year for our church, a year that will be a highlight of our proud history, but even more important, a year that will continue to build and strengthen our foundation for the years to come.

“The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoice!”

Grace & peace,
Pastor Skip