A Holy Lent

Our March calendar is a full one as we walk through the 40 days of Lent, with special worship services, the Thursday Night Lenten Series, performances of the Living Last Supper, and opportunities for service, all to help each of us observe a Holy Lent as a time of reflection, introspection, and spiritual renewal.

On Sunday the 8^th we’ll gather as community to pack meals for Stop Hunger Now. If you were part of the effort last year, you’ll remember how amazingly quickly we packed 10,000 meals. We’re hoping to do more this year.

On Sunday the 15^th, we’ll gather in worship to reaffirm the covenant made in our baptisms. Even if we were too young to remember, through the waters of baptism we were born anew in Christ, washed clean, and graced with the Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us, and energize us.

On Sunday the 22^nd, we’ll arrange our Sanctuary in circles of 12 again to celebrate communion. Within each circle, each of us will be served, and each of us will serve, each circle a reflection of the group of disciples gathered in the Upper Room for their final meal together with our Lord. 

Holy Week will be particularly busy, starting, of course, with our Palm Sunday worship services. On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, the men of our church will perform “The Living Last Supper”. It’s been four years since we last had this wonderful, moving portrayal of our Lord’s final moments with his disciples. Don’t miss this special presentation offered at 7:30 pm each evening in our Sanctuary.

Then we’ll gather on Thursday evening, April 2, for our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service. We will walk with our Lord to the cross, and remember how the world walked in darkness for three days following Jesus’ crucifixion.

And then we’ll gather joyfully on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, our voices raised in shouts, “He is risen,” as we wave our alleluia wands.

  

Make Lent a time of learning, a time of reflection, and a time of renewal. In a self-indulgent, “selfie” age, Lent is not about giving up chocolate or ice cream or pizza; it is about “spiritual housekeeping”, as we sweep away the things that clutter our spiritual lives so we can draw closer to God. I agree with the writer who said that the purpose of Lent is to arouse within us a sense of gratitude for all God’s blessings, including the mercy offered us in the forgiveness of our sins. And then from that gratitude, Lent arouses us to act in works of love and justice.

If you remove the yoke from among you,

the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

 if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you continually,
    and satisfy your needs in parched places,
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters never fail.

    Isaiah 58:9

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

Streets of Gold?

The text is riveting, mesmerizing, what sounds like an eye-witness account of heaven: “And I kept coming into heaven until I approached a wall which was built of white marble….and drew near to a great house which was built of white marble, and the inner walls were like mosaics of white marble, the floor of crystal, the ceiling like the path of the star and lightnings between which stood fiery cherubim and their heaven of water, and flaming fire surrounded the walls, and its gates were burning with fire.”

This fascinating text isn’t from some current best-seller; it dates back more than 2000 years, written before the birth of our Lord by someone long lost to history, but who attributed it to Enoch. Do you remember who Enoch was? He was the seventh descendant of Adam and Eve, a man who, the Bible tells us, did not die. We read in Genesis, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.” (Genesis 5:24). Stories have abounded for centuries that God took Enoch to let him see heaven so that he could return to tell others what he’d seen. The apocryphal book we now call 1 Enoch purports to tell the story of Enoch’s visit to heaven. 

We have always hungered to know more about heaven. The Bible itself tells us very little. Perhaps the most compelling glimpse came from Jesus when he said to the penitent thief, both of them dying on that first Good Friday, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Paradise – the word our Lord uses to describe Heaven – is that what truly awaits us? Is it any surprise that having been given a glimpse, we would want to know more. 

Since the publication of 1 Enoch 2100 years ago, there has been a steady stream of stories from people who have claimed to have made the trip to heaven and then returned to tell their stories. I tend to be skeptical of such accounts and I was not surprised when, a few weeks ago, the young boy who told his story in the best-selling book, “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven”, recanted everything, saying that he had made it all up just to get attention.

Melissa Kirkpatrick and I will explore what the Bible does and does not tell us about heaven in our Lenten Series that will run on Thursday evenings starting on February 26^th. We’ll gather for a simple soup supper before the class and then explore and learn together from 7:30 till 9:00 pm. We’ll look at biblical texts, texts from outside the Bible, artwork, and even listen to music that has shaped our thinking about heaven. And we’ll also examine what the Bible does and does not teach us about hell.

Is heaven a place that sits behind “pearly gates” with streets paved with gold? Come explore with us as part of your observation of a most holy Lent.

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

Magnify the Lord!

I am a huge fan of the composer John Rutter. His compositions – both the music and the choral arrangements - are moving, inspirational, and lovely. “Celestial” has always seemed to me a fitting word to describe his music. I listen to almost any of his works and I find myself transported, lifted higher.

Rutter has been composing and arranging for more than 40 years. His choral works, for as beautiful as they are to hear, are difficult to sing. Just ask Deborah Panell or any of our choir members who have been working since summer preparing Rutter’s Magnificat for our Advent Festival.

The composition is based on the prayer Luke tells us Mary offered after she learned she had been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:46-49)

 The music begins exuberantly, reflecting Mary’s joy, gratitude, and deep and abiding faith in her Lord, even though she was still a teenager and not yet married to Joseph. The movements that follow reflect the rest of Mary’s prayer and her faith: “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

And then the work ends powerfully with a Gloria Patri: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.”

Our choir is giving us an extraordinary gift in performing this piece. Come with family, with friends, with neighbors. Don’t miss this!

And, if you’d like to learn more about the life of Mary, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, located in downtown DC, is offering a special exhibition entitled, “Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea”. The exhibit runs from December 5 through April 12. You can learn more at http://www.nmwa.org/exhibitions/picturing-mary-woman-mother-idea. The National Gallery of Art, also in downtown DC, also has an outstanding collection of paintings, sculpture and other artwork that capture Mary at every stage of her life. 

 Mary’s simple, humble prayer leads us into a joyful season, and its timelessness makes it the perfect prayer as we enter the New Year: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” This is truly a prayer to say, but even more, to sing to the heavens!

Glory to God!

Pastor Skip

Building Ministry

Don’t leave: On Sunday, after worship, after you’ve had your coffee and visited with friends, don’t leave. Stay for an hour and walk the halls listening, watching, taking in all the activity. I think you’ll be amazed at how busy our building is long after our worship services have ended.

On a recent Sunday I walked by the Choir Rehearsal Room, where our children were busy learning a song they’ll soon be singing for God and us in worship. Across the hall, our Middle School Youth Group were having a wonderful time laughing and learning together. Down the hall, the members of our High School Youth Group were in the Sanctuary with Matt and Melissa preparing to lead us in worship on November 9^th.

 

Crossing over to the office wing, a family had gathered in room 36 for a joyous luncheon celebration following the baptism of the newest member of their family.  The Nominating Committee was in the Associate Pastor’s office checking in with one another as they continued their vital work discerning and reaching out to those whom God has called to serve our church in the coming year as elders and deacons. They finished their meeting and the room quickly filled with members of our newly-formed Technology Committee as they continue to evaluate all of our technology needs, from staff computers, to building-wide WiFi, to audio/visual needs in classrooms and the Sanctuary.

Our building is busy 7 days a week all year long! Our building hosts men and women, boys and girls, members and strangers, church groups and community programs. Our building provides a safe, warm, comfortable place for all who enter our doors. The roof keeps out the rain and the snow, the winds, and the blistering heat of the sun, topping this place of hospitality, this place of welcome, this place of respite, this place of comfort, this place of renewal, this place of joy, this place of filled with the presence of Christ. Even the roof is part of our ministry.

  

In the book of Acts, Paul spoke of the exemplary hospitality shown by the people of Malta when he and his group found themselves on that island: “The people showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcome all of us around it.” Strangers showed Paul hospitality. Our building helps us to show the same warm hospitality to all who enter our doors.

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

Love, Give, Grow!

It is a powerful story, recorded in the book of Chronicles, a book in the Bible that few people read. It tells the story of how the people of Israel all supported with their offerings the building of the Temple. They did this not because the King had commanded them, but because they chose to, each giving freely:

“Then the leaders of ancestral houses made their freewill-offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the thousands and of the hundreds, and the officers over the king’s work. They gave for the service of the house of God …the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with single mind they had offered freely to the Lord.”

Giving, sharing, offering – these are not obligations, they are opportunities for us to respond to God’s goodness to us. When we bring our offerings and our tithes we are returning to God a portion of what God has given to us. We should rejoice as we bring our offerings freely and willingly.

As he watched the people bring their offerings forward, King David marveled and asked, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill-offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. … O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.”

We are taught at an early age to share: share our toys, our games. We learn the joy of sharing. It’s easy to say “it’s mine and I am not sharing”, but that is neither godly nor faithful.

All the things that we do here at MPC in the name of Jesus Christ take resources: our time, our talent and our treasure. None of these things can be done if we don’t share our time, share the gifts we’ve been given by the Holy Spirit, and share financially in what we do.

Love, Give, Grow: joyfully, generously, thanking God for what we’ve been blessed with and then sharing. “Those who are generous are blessed” says the Proverb (22:9).

And we are a blessed congregation as we look ahead to our 148^th year. We will worship, we will learn, we will teach. We will celebrate joys together and comfort one another in times of grief and sadness. We will pray together for ourselves, for one another, and for the needs of all our neighbors, friend and stranger alike.

All these things we will do eagerly and joyfully as children of God and disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. To God be the glory!

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

The Lifelong Adventure

Last year we had a demographic blip and had no Confirmation Class. This year we have, at last count, five students who will be part of this year’s group, and I couldn’t be more delighted. I missed teaching the class last year and I look forward to working with this year’s class.

I’ve been teaching Confirmation classes for more than 25 years and I always look forward to the energy, enthusiasm and especially the questions the young people bring to the class. I have tried over the years to create a class that is focused on providing a safe place for students to raise any and all questions they may have about their faith. 

It is a new experience for the students to be asked, “what do you think?” It usually takes a month or so for the students to get comfortable with the structure of the class, and to trust that my teaching partner, Mary Langley, and I really mean it when we ask, “what do you think?” 

The class is structured around themes: God, The Bible, Jesus, Good & Evil, Right & Wrong, Christian History, Worship, and other topics. We move quickly in the short time we have in each class and we do a lot of myth-busting, distinguishing what we think we know from what the Bible actually tells us. For example, we don’t want our students to buy into the myth that the God of the Old Testament is an angry, vengeful God. We show the students the many different verses in the Old Testament where God speaks so tenderly and lovingly to his children. We want the students to feel the embrace of a loving God. 

Confirmation should be the beginning of a life of learning, which means it should be the beginning of a life of questions; questions that more often than not, won’t have answers to be found somewhere on the Internet. Confirmation should be the beginning of a life of walking purposefully in faith, understanding that even as our Lord calls us to firm belief, doubt often is a part of faith.

Even for those of us whose own Confirmation class experience was long ago, the words from scripture ring true, “I believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

The Future Before Us

Were you as thrilled as I was to see the big, wonderfully enthusiastic group of Middle Schoolers who stood before us in worship last month as we commissioned them for their trip to Massanetta Springs? We saw before us the future of the church – our church and the church of Jesus Christ.

The future of our church is very much on the minds of all the officers of our church, our 16 elders and our 18 deacons, as we continue to work with Tom Norwood from Horizons Stewardship, planning for the Capital Campaign we envision launching in anticipation of our 150th anniversary in 2017. Tom has met one-on-one with most of the officers of the church, as well as the staff, and he has been very impressed with our energy, our faithfulness, and our commitment.

Elders, deacons, and staff met with Tom on Saturday June 21 for a morning retreat to focus on what we have identified as priorities for our campaign. We know we’ll need to replace the entire roof of our building within the next few years, at a cost of close to $200,000, so that’s where we’ve started. But lots of other wonderful ideas have come out of all the imagining we’ve been doing the past year as we listen to the call of the Spirit and think about our church 5 years, 10 years, even 20 years down the road.

The idea of a Memorial Garden as both a place for interring ashes, and as a place outdoors for contemplation, prayer and quiet has generated very enthusiastic responses. A growing number of churches have embraced the idea of providing an outdoor space for interments and remembering loved ones, and a place for prayer and worship.

At our June meeting the Session voted to establish the Technology Task Force, chaired by elder Mike Yelanjian, to look at all our technology needs, from building a reliable and workable WiFi network throughout the building, to providing technology for all our Christian Education efforts. We are also looking at audio visual needs we have in the Sanctuary, both for worship and for music, drama, and other offerings. It is hard to believe, but much of the A/V equipment installed when the Sanctuary was renovated is now dated and needs to be replaced.

Our Early Learning Center has been imagining a completely redesigned playground. Much of the equipment is old, rusty, worn, and dated. Our playground is popular after hours with neighborhood children, and we want to encourage their use of the space, which means we need to provide equipment designed for older children. There is no shortage of wonderfully innovative and creative ideas for outdoor play spaces.

We estimate we will need to raise about $500,000, including setting aside 10% for special Mission projects. Can we raise that much? That’s up to us – and God working through the Spirit. We know that “for God all things are possible”, but we also take on faith that with God, all things are possible. God is calling us to strengthen our foundation for the future of our church— the future of those wonderful young people who stood before us in the chancel.

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip