I'm From Everywhere

One by one they look into the camera and talk of their family, their roots, their heritage. “I’m British”, “I’m Pakistani”, “I’m Icelandic”, “I’m Cuban” we hear them say.

They are part of a large, diverse group gathered in an auditorium to talk about their nationalities and heritage. At the end of the conversation the moderators ask all those gathered, “Would you dare to ask the question as to who you really are?” The moderators then invite the participants to have their DNA sampled to provide a more complete picture of each person’s roots.

One response was typical: “what could you possibly tell me that I don’t already know?” But then, two weeks later, when that same person read the results of his testing, he was stunned. He had been adamant that his roots were firmly, almost exclusively British, but the DNA testing showed that he was only about one third British; he had roots that came from a host of other countries, cultures, and nationalities.

That man’s results were typical. As one respondent said in amazement, “I’m from everywhere!” They realized that for as different as they all were, they were, in a way, all related, all cousins. They realized they had more in common than things that separated them.

The name “Ferguson” has a long history in Scotland; my family and I have always spoken proudly of our Scot heritage. Clan Ferguson –or more properly, Fergusson - has both an ancient and a modern tartan, a crest, and a motto, “Sweeter after Adversity”. 

Yet now the question is before me: what would my DNA testing show? Would it show what we’ve always assumed: that we are a mix of Scot and British, or are we a broader, deeper mix? The obvious answer is that I should have my DNA tested. So that is what is what I plan to do. I’ve ordered a kit from a service and I look forward to learning the results later in the summer. I’ll certainly share them with all!

We are all of us proud Americans, and we are all of us proud of our roots from other cultures. But the woman in the video who responded, “I’m from everywhere” had it right. We are all from everywhere, and we are all, ultimately, tied together, all of us cousins, if we trace our roots back far enough.

A participant in the video gazed seriously at her results and then looked at the moderators and said, “This should be compulsory. There would be no such thing as extremism if people understood their real heritage”. She’s right - we would see that we are all indeed part of God’s family.

  

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

Looking Back to Look Forward

In just six short months we will mark the beginning of our 150^th year as a congregation of followers of Jesus Christ. In an age when things come and go so quickly, it is remarkable that we will celebrate such a long, rich, and proud history.

Imagine what Manassas was like in 1867 – a town rebuilding after the devastation of the Civil War. Our church rose quite literally from the ashes of war. Our church and our community have grown together and have a history that is deeply intertwined.  

We recently created a 150^th anniversary committee led by co-chairs Laurel Ulrich and Bruce Tuckerman. The committee members have been talking about different ways to mark our anniversary, from inviting pastors who graced our pulpit in the past to return to our campus to lead worship, to special music reflecting the different times, to special meals and other gatherings.

One event has already been planned for next March, when the author and scholar Diana Butler Bass will come to spend a Sunday with us. She will preach and teach as she shares her knowledge as an authority on American religious history, culture, and trends. Dr. Bass has written 9 books, including “Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening”, and her most recent book, “Grounded: Finding God in the World –A Spiritual Revolution.” She will help us to think about our future even as we celebrate our past.

Bass has chronicled the massive changes affecting all practices of religion. She has observed how more and more people of all ages are turning away from institutionalized practices, creeds, dogma, and exclusivity, to a faith focused on believing, behaving, and belonging, religion binding one to another in love and grace. She speaks of this as a new great awakening that calls us to open our minds and hearts to what might be as we embrace the future God is creating for all of us –together. We’re excited about having Dr. Bass here as a part of our year-long celebration.

The Committee is looking for pictures or other memorabilia from our history. If you have something tucked away on a shelf or in a closet, please consider sharing it!

The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoice!”, and that, it seems to me, should be our theme, not only for our anniversary, but even now. For God does indeed do wonderful things for us, with us, and through us, and we should rejoice!

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

May The Lord Bless You and Keep You!

Why do we have two sacraments, rather than seven? Which version of the Bible is the “best” one? Why do we worship on Sunday? What does it mean to be “spiritual”? How could Jesus be both fully human and fully divine? If everyone else does something, does that make it right? What do we mean when we speak of “eternal life”?

These are just some of the questions we deal with each year in the Confirmation Class. The class, which Mary Langley and I teach, is not about facts and figures, it is about helping the students explore their faith. We want the young women and men of our Confirmation Class to learn the importance of asking questions. We want them to learn that asking questions is part of vital faith.

Self-assurance is often fragile and fleeting in the middle school and high school years. We want our young people to understand that God walks with them, even – and especially - when the road they are walking is a difficult one. We want them to feel God’s presence in their lives.

Confirmation Sunday, which this year falls on May 15^th, is always a bittersweet day, as our Confirmands stand before our congregation to make their public profession of faith, answering “I do” in response to my question, “Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in his grace and love?” and “I will” in response to my question, “Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his word and showing his love?”

Our Confirmands also become members of the church, responding, “I will” to my question, “Will you be a faithful member of this congregation, share in its worship and ministry through your prayers and gifts, your study and service, and so fulfill your calling to be a disciples of Jesus Christ?” As members they are eligible to serve as Elders and Deacons and participate even more actively in the church than they already do.

The 9^th grade year is a time of enormous change, as young women and men begin to awaken to the unique gifts God has graced them with, and as they begin to look at themselves no longer as children, but as emerging adults. It is an exciting year, but also a year filled with challenges and questions. We want our young people to draw strength from the promise that God watches over them, “their going out and their coming in”, God’s everlasting arms always around them.

To Hannah, Ian and Josh – it has been a joy working with you this past year! Mrs. Langely and I are very proud of you, as we know your parents are, too. May the Lord bless you always!

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

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 150^th 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 500^th 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 150^th 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

We're Not Supposed to Eat Lobster?

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. These familiar words were part of a recent Year-of-the-Bible reading, words found in the third book of the Bible, the book of Leviticus, chapter 24, verse 20. They are words we know well. They are words that seem to give us permission to avenge ourselves when we feel ourselves wronged.

But in our very first week of reading, we heard Jesus’ words to us, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth’. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:38-39) Jesus appears to be rejecting the Leviticus text and telling us that we cannot seek to avenge ourselves to right a wrong of any kind.

So what are we to do? How are we to reconcile two biblical texts that seem to be in conflict with one another? And, truth be told, most of us would probably admit to preferring the Levitical text over Jesus’ teaching. When someone wrongs us, we want payback!

This is why we read the Bible and this is why we study the Bible. This is why we do things like Year-of-the-Bible. For as much as we’d like to reduce the Bible to a set of rules, with everything easy and clear, the Bible can often confound us and confuse us. Understanding the Bible takes work, and it takes God’s help through the Holy Spirit.

The Year-of-the-Bible structure is helpful. It gives us Old and New Testament together, side by side, so we can compare texts. And then we are given a bit of a Psalm and Proverb to form a frame around the Testament texts. So we read, for example, “The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin” in Proverbs (10:14) as a reminder that God calls us to learn, with the Spirit guiding us.

Lent should be a time of learning, a time of study, a time of reflection and introspection.  We should look afresh at texts, reading the words and learning the context, always digging deeper. It is one thing to read the rules in Leviticus, but why, for example, did God insist that we were not to eat lobster, scallops, clams and shrimp? And why now do eat with great enthusiasm marine creatures that have neither “fins nor scales”? What actions may we take when we feel ourselves wronged? Are we really to “turn the other cheek” to everyone, or can we be selective?

Make March a time of study, of reflection, and of opening yourself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Make Lent a time of transformation, the Spirit refreshing you like a spring breeze and teaching you as you grow in grace and wisdom as a disciple of our Risen Lord.

Allelulia!

Pastor Skip

A Walk Through the Woods

What have you read so far in your Year of the Bible reading that has surprised you? Have you read a passage and found new understanding and meaning? Have you read a story and realized that there was much you’d misunderstood before?  

Why are there two rather different Creation stories? Why have we developed so much mythology around the visit of the Magi? How long was Noah, his family, and all those animals on the Ark? Which is the best word to use in the Lord’s Prayer: “sin”, “debt”, or “trespass”?

I am thrilled that we have such a large group participating in the Year of the Bible. The Bible can appear daunting: all those thin pages, the tiny print, the stories that so often seem confusing, troubling, or just out-of-date. And then there are all those translations – is the only acceptable Bible one filled with Elizabethan English words such as, “thou”, “thee”, “thine”? 

And then there’s all that violence in the early pages of the Old Testament, all those prophets intoning their warnings to repent, all Jesus’ often confusing parables, all Paul’s lists, and that wild, Technicolor ending!

Reading through the Bible is like taking a hike through the woods. Some trails are flat, sunny, and easy. Other trails are winding, rocky, steep, and difficult. Some trails take us through deep, dark forests, while others lead us seemingly into the clouds.

But as you hike through the woods, you begin to get comfortable with your surroundings. You learn how to take the difficult trails slowly and steadily. You learn not take the easy trails for granted. You develop an appreciation for your surroundings: the trees, the wildlife, the rocks, the sky, the silence, the wonder.

Reading through the entire Bible will, we all hope, help you to grow more comfortable as you walk through the pages of any of the Bible’s books. Reading through the entire Bible will, we all hope, inspire and encourage you to take more regular sojourns through the pages of Scripture, with your mind and heart open to the Spirit’s teaching.

Lent, which begins this year on February 10^th, is a particularly appropriate time to walk through the pages of Scripture, beginning with those stirring words we hear on Ash Wednesday through the prophet Joel, “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, … rend your hearts and not your clothing.”

But even if you are not participating in the Year of the Bible, there are wonderful books by eminent writers that can help you to hear God’s word to you, writers such as Henri Nouwen, Barbara Brown Taylor, Frederick Buechner, Fleming Rutledge, and Anne Lamott. We’ve got many of their books in our library – stop by and browse.

Read. Listen. Learn. Let God’s Holy Spirit guide and help you. Open your eyes, your mind, your ears, and your heart to the Word of the Lord - and enjoy the walk!

Grace & peace,

Pastor Skip

We've Done It!

We’ve done it! We have reached our Capital Campaign goal of $525,000. In fact, as of the most recent report, pledges stood at $566,000, and we know there are still more pledge cards to come in!

This is amazing, wonderful, and exciting. I am so filled with gratitude for the generous outpouring from so many of you who have responded to our campaign with enthusiasm, faithfulness, and joy.

We will start the New Year on a strong and vibrant note as we get to work tackling the various projects our Elders identified as necessary to the continued vitality of our church. We will get to work “strengthening our foundation”! We are already talking about which projects to take on first. Some have longer lead and planning times, but other projects can be done quickly, so we’ll soon see the fruits of our labors.

We’ll also start the year on an exciting note for all who have signed up to participate in “The Year of the Bible”. When we last did “The Year of the Bible” in 2009, almost 40 members completed the journey, reading every word in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation, from “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...” to “Come, Lord Jesus!” If you have not yet signed up to participate, talk to Melissa Kirkpatrick and let her know you’re ready to read.

This will be the 6^th time I’ve participated in the Year of the Bible and I always look forward to reading with “fresh eyes”. God’s Holy Spirit always opens my mind to new interpretation and new understanding as I read the written words through the lens that is the living word, our Lord Jesus Christ. We’ll have multiple opportunities each week for you to join a small group to discuss the week’s reading.

At a recent Session meeting we discussed a plan from the Membership Ministry Team to split that Team into a Fellowship Team and a Membership Team. The Fellowship Team will have responsibility for organizing all our many wonderful picnics, dinners and other activities, including our Advent Festival. The Membership Team will focus on visitors, inquirers and new members. We have an exciting story to tell here at MPC – we don’t want to “hide our light under a bushel basket.” So we will make a greater effort in the new year to let our light shine brightly.

The year’s end is always a good time to step back and express gratitude to God for all our many blessings. Take time in the busy month ahead for even just five minutes of quiet each day to center yourself in God’s presence, open yourself to renewal by God’s Holy Spirit, and recommit yourself as a disciple of the One born for us, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessings for joy in this season and in the New Year!

Pastor Skip