This is the first time in my nine months here that I really have not had anything that I felt led to blog about. I’m pretty tired (emotionally and physically), worn out really and my brain just isn’t working all that well. But I made a commitment to myself that I would post a blog every week that I am not on vacation or study leave so I will just let some thoughts come out and we’ll see what we come up with. Here it goes:
I ran into a church member the other day at a store. She was looking for a Bible. She was embarrassed to tell me that she didn’t own a Bible. She had owned one but it went missing or was ruined or something and for a long time she did not replace it. I think she expected me to reprimand her for not owning a Bible. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do find it surprising and ill advised that a Christian doesn’t own a Bible, but what good would it do to get onto someone for something while they are in the midst of making a sincere effort to remedy it? It wouldn’t do a bit of good and would most likely discourage instead of encourage. Instead, I was happy that this person was out getting a Bible because she wanted to participate in the “Two-A-Days” spiritual disciplines that I handed out in bookmark form after the sermon last Sunday. I was ecstatic that God was using something I’d done—preaching the sermon and coming up with the bookmarks—to draw someone to God’s Word. How cool is that!
Our congregation really came together to honor David Fabb this past Sunday and to offer our comfort and support to Judith and the rest of the family after his death. We worshiped God, gave thanks for and honored the life of our brother in Christ, and we offered unparalleled hospitality to the family and community. What more could we do? Everything was perfect. Now, however, we need to remember that although the difficult week or two of worry and response to David’s illness and subsequent passing is over for us, the difficult part has just begun for Judith. Pray for her, but don’t just pray for her. Be there for her, especially those of you who have lost your own spouse.
I got word the other day that someone from the community had gone to our church website. The person said she was impressed by all the information we had online, including sermons, choir audio, blog, and calendar. She said that so many churches do not keep their websites updated but we were doing a good job. I was glad to hear that. Since she told me how impressed she was I have not been able to upload our sermon audio from last week as the site just won’t work and locks up my computer. Go figure. She must have jinxed us.
On Saturday, January 19, 2013 there will be an officers retreat for our board of deacons and session. It will be from 9 am to 4 pm at the Procter Center, an Episcopal retreat center out toward the town of London. We have not been training our officers as we should and this will be a step forward. Plus, it will enable us to be together outside of a hurried evening meeting. There will be reviews of Presbyterian theology and government, along with worship and times of fellowship and faith sharing. I will work with Jennifer Pieratt and Dick Glass to lead it. I’m very excited about it as it will be a chance for us to grow closer to one another and to reflect on our role as the leaders of this congregation. I’m sorry that you have to give up a Saturday but at least for many of us that is a three day weekend. Please don’t ruin this by being grumpy about it. You just might grow in your faith and become a better leader.
Finally, I came across this hymn text from the Presbyterian Hymnal from 1860. We have a copy of it in our church library. Actually it is sitting on my desk right now. There are no musical notes, just the words for each hymn. This is probably back when Presbyterian churches didn’t generally have instruments and often sang most hymns to a rather small number of familiar tunes with a song leader keeping time. Anyway, I love a lot of the hymn texts and I wanted to share just one of them with you. It called simply #371 “A Thankful Heart:”
Father, whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy Sovereign love denies,
Accepted at thy throne of grace
Let this petition rise—
Give me a calm, a thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessings of thy grace impart,
And make me live for thee.
Let the sweet hope that thou art mine,
My life and death attend;
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey’s end.
Have a great rest of the week. May each of us be a beacon of Christ's light to everyone around us. You never know who might need that kind word, that smile, that prayer.
Peace,
Everett
