Hope Community Presbyterian Church

James 5:13-20

Mark 9:38-50

You’ve had no reason to notice, but one of the changes to our denomination’s constitution that went into effect at the beginning of August was a change to the way adult members are received when they transfer from one congregation to another. The change is that now people are required to stand before the congregation and “make a public profession of their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,” just as they did when they were confirmed.

As I read it, this change isn’t a huge deal, but one Presbyterian pastor has raised some serious flags about how the amendment came about. The issue is that a congregation welcomed someone into membership someone who described Divinity – God, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit – in non-traditional ways. Sadly, charges were brought against the congregation, and the debate produced an overture to the General Assembly that would have required certain language from people any time they joined a church. The GA backed down the intensity of this requirement, and the amendment as adopted specifically acknowledges that nontraditional language may be appropriate (score one for the Advisory Committee on the Constitution). So things turned out to be pretty innocuous, but they imply a much more touchy question: what, precisely, must you believe in order to join the church? (more…)

Proverbs 31:10-31

Mark 9:30-37

Did this Proverbs reading make anyone else uncomfortable? That’s a lot of work for any woman – no wonder she’s hard to find! As our Bible Study group pointed out, it’s a good thing this woman has help. Unlike most of us, she has servants to direct (but all the HR issues that go along with that), and she needs them. She has to cook, make clothes, even earn money. There’s so much to manage. There’s so much that goes into raising a family.

So let’s think of this when Jesus talks about welcoming children. The last time I heard, kids are a lot of work. “Jesus loves me,” as we just sang, but “I’m a handful.” We like to think about children’s innocence and joy. It’s important to imagine this, because the research shows that kids don’t actually make us happy. A Harvard psychologist has actually done this research, and he’s found that people start out happy, and then they have kids. There are plenty of reasons for this, and for our insistence that we love and enjoy our kids, but they don’t give us what we typically call “happiness.” (more…)

Proverbs 1:20-33

Mark 8:27-38

I feel like I should have some kind of disclaimer about these gospel readings. We’re halfway through Ordinary Time, at the turning pt of Mark’s gospel, and Jesus’ identity has finally been grasped. The truth of who Jesus is has been “hidden” for seven chapters, and it’s finally out. The demons and religious outsiders have known it for a long time, but now Jesus’ followers – the insiders – can say who he is. When Peter finally says, “you’re the Anointed, the Child of God,” we want to stand up and cheer, it’s been such a long time coming.

Mark makes a big deal about Jesus’ “secret,” how careful he is about whom he shows himself to, as if God’s presence were some kind of secret. For us, it’s not much of a secret at all. Reading Mark’s gospel is kind of like watching a bad detective show that way: you know who did it and how, long before the cops get a clue. So we might wonder how Peter takes so long to figure this out. Then again, we knew how the story ended the first time we read it. Peter doesn’t. Jesus has been dropping clues all along, living in a way that only makes sense because God’s Spirit dwells in him, but it’s finally time to put his cards on the table. He asks the disciples to stake their claim: “who do you say I am?” (more…)

James 2:1-17

Mark 7:24-37

Don’t look now, but Jesus’ healing techniques in this reading from Mark sound a little magical, don’t they? What about the faith? Mark doesn’t even mention the word here, despite what our pew Bibles’ headings read or what Matthew did with the story. That absence may be a little disturbing for us as post-Reformation Christians, but Mark’s gospel doesn’t turn on faith. ‘Faith’ is Matthew’s word; Mark’s word is the power of God, acting through Christ. It’s not that faith doesn’t matter at all – the lack of faith in Nazareth can keep Jesus from being able to heal – but faith is a thing that has to be acted on.

Jesus demonstrates the people’s faith here by seeming unresponsive to what they need. In a troubling scene, he at first denies the woman’s request that he heal her daughter: “It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” He puts the burden on her, like a Supreme Court justice pushing the implication of one line of an argument. The question doesn’t directly reflect Jesus’ position. Instead, it’s intended to draw something out of the woman. (more…)

CALLED BY NAME

I HAVE CALLED YOU BY NAME, YOU ARE MINE

                                                                                                            Isaiah 43:1b

A time to reflect upon where God is leading you.

How do you discern your spiritual gifts?

How do you continue to discover your purpose?

How do you live into God’s call?

Saturday, September 19, 2009

9:30 – 3:30

Cost – $5

Lunch will be provided.

Bring a journal and/or Bible

To register contact the church office (741-7336, hcpchurch@msn.com)

OR

Sign up in the South Room

Fall Schedule Begins on Sept. 13

9:15 a.m. Sunday School / 10:30 Worship

BBQ will be held at Olcott Park following Worship on 9/13

Confirmation Class will begin on Sept. 20

At the beginning of this month, those of you who live in Virginia should receive invitations to come “Back to Church” on September 13. (Some of you, in Virginia or not, will help me distribute our share of them.) The invitation will be hung on your doorknob and printed on the back side with the names and locations of participating members of the Virginia Area Ministerial Association (VAMA). Like most of the other VAMA member churches, we’re getting back to the “usual” routine on the 13th: Sunday School will begin at 9:15, we’ll worship at 10:30, the choir will sing, and we’ll celebrate the new beginning with our annual Christian Education barbecue in Olcott Park following worship. If you’ve been away for the summer (or longer), it will be the perfect Sunday to join us again.

I’m grateful to VAMA for putting together this promotion and to our session and the volunteers who will help make it happen. I won’t quote the statistics provided by the people who sold us the invitations, but I think they’re right that a significant proportion of people would attend a church if someone they knew invited them. These printed invitations won’t have the same impact as direct personal connections, but I suspect that they’ll provide the extra boost some folks might need to go find a congregation. People are free to choose any church they’re led to, but they will at least know that the congregations listed on the invitation are looking forward to greeting “strangers” that day.

It’s too bad that we could only get fliers out to Virginia households this year, but VAMA hopes that the promotion might expand to the rest of the Quad Cities next year. You’re certainly invited wherever you live, and we hope we can put that invitation into concrete form next year. In the meantime, please feel free to put that invitation in the flesh: if someone you know is looking for a church community, let them know that our congregation would gladly welcome them.

Some members of VAMA expressed a worry that by holding “Back to Church Sunday,” we were validating people’s tendency to stay away during the summer. This worry, I think, misses the mark even as it makes some sense. Pastors tend to wring their hands over any time that people spend away from a church, a tendency that usually comes from some combination of pastoral concern and personal affront. On one hand, we know the deep value of participating regularly in the life of a congregation. This weekly relationship maintains the spiritual connection we share with each other and with God through the church. On the other hand, we fear more than may be justified that people can only be spiritually nourished by “our” worship and on our watch.

For whatever it’s worth, I want to affirm the many different ways we grow in faith during the summer and throughout the year. For many of us, stepping outside the daily routine – a routine that includes congregational worship – allows us to experience more deeply the holiness that surrounds us. Some of us find that the pace of life actually speeds up during the summer, as family obligations and other events take advantage of the myth that free time is easier to find between Memorial Day and Labor Day. My prayer is that those of us who have felt the need to “take summer off” can come back refreshed and energized for another year of activities and service.

This newsletter tells you about many of the activities that will take off again this fall. In addition to Sunday School and choir, you can come for Food for Thought or Bible Study during the week. Support and pray for our Confirmation Class as they begin a faith-claiming journey. Join us as we tailgate for the Mesabi Range College football games. Continue (or start) serving with us at the Community Kitchen or Billy Bell Bakery. Join Stitch and Knit or the Men’s Breakfast group. We’ll celebrate the beginning of fall on September 13, and you’re invited!

In Christ’s peace,

Nathan