Pray for Our World Daily in 2011

Here we are with another chance for new begginings! Concious of our "oneness" with each other and with the world, let us begin each day of 2011 with a prayer for the world and for love to abound in it.

I agree with Reverend Desmond Tutu who believes our relationship with God is a love affair with our Beloved. Ultimately our greatest joy is just to be with the Beloved, to drink in the beauty of the Beloved in the silence of just being together in prayer. He adds, "We are made to live in a delicate network of interdependence with one another, with God and with the rest of God's creation....God is smart, making us different so that we will get to know our need of one another."

Rabbi Harold Kushner's prayer in the photo embraces this love for one another that is so needed in 2011 for the healing of our world. May this prayer touch your heart and inspire you to pray your own prayer for the world as you awaken to each new day.

Here is another beautiful prayer, this one from Desmond Tutu's An African Prayer Book:

An African Canticle

All you big things, bless the Lord.

Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria

The Rift Valley and the Serengeti plain,

Fat baobabs and shady manto trees,

All eucalyptus and tamarind trees,

Bless the Lord.

Praise and extol Him for ever and ever.

All you tiny things, bless the Lord.

Busy black ants and hopping fleas,

Wriggling tadpoles and mosquito larvae,

Flying locusts and water drops,

Pollen dust and tsetse flies,

Millet seeds and dried dagaa,

Bless the Lord.

Praise and extol Him for ever and ever.

Robert Lax also wrote a beautiful verse about Love being the beginning and the end of creation:

The Circus of the Sun

And in the beginning was love. Love made a sphere: all things grew within it;

the sphere then encompassed beginnings and endings, beginning and end.

Love had a compass whose whirling dance traced out a sphere of love in the void:

in the center thereof rose a fountain.

A Christ-like Deed of Love a Day in 2011.

“Joy to the World the Lord is come; let earth receive her king! Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and angels sing!” (Isaac Watts)

We all love singing this hymn at Christmas time. But after the “joy” part Watts is telling us to make room for Jesus Christ in our hearts. How do we make room for J.C. in our hearts and lives? We are too busy, too frantic, too worried, too tired. But Christ said, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28) As Christians, our trust is to be in Christ and we are to rest in him and allow him room in our hearts and lives.

In David Bryant’s book: Christ Is All! He explains his belief that the most significant crisis emerging today among Christian churches everywhere is the diminishing of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Do you believe Jesus Christ was more than a man? If not, then why worship him?

"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels- everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was supreme in the beginning, and – leading the resurrection parade – He is supreme in the end. From beginning to the end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. The mystery in a nutshell is this: Christ is in YOU. Therefore, you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple." (From The Message version of Colossians 1).

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is the Son of God; or else a mad man or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.” (C.S. Lewis)

Jesus Christ showed us God’s love by his deeds. Christ calls us to GO out into the world to DO something that demonstrates God’s love for all his children. From the very beginning of Christ’s life, God asked people to show they are Christians by their actions. The shepherds had to believe and GO to see the child. The Wise Men had to trust in the star’s guidance, and GO by risking their lives to find the baby in a manger. Mary and Joseph had to pack up and flee and protect their precious baby from death. Our God is a God of loving actions. We are not to sit around and judge others as not as faithful or worthy as we are. Jesus said “Go and make disciples of all nations.” You do so by showing the love of Christ in all you do and say wherever you may be. Let Christ dwell in your heart and life by doing a loving action a day for your New Year’s resolution in 2011. Then they’ll know you are a “Christian” by your love.

Lovely Psalm 23 images and music by Bobby McFerrin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9fzWq-d8jU

Gifting Yourself During the Holidays

Recently I was speaking with someone at the JBWS Candlelight Vigil reception in our church. They looked around our Narthex and said, “Are you the church that gives out those holding crosses? My sister gave me one and I love it! I pray with it everyday!” Our new church identity is: The Church That Gives Holding Crosses. What a blessing!

Milt and Florence Andersen have gifted of themselves by making hundreds of holding crosses that our church gives out to those in the hospital or to anyone in need of a reminder that Jesus Christ is present with them in the midst of suffering. Two years ago Florence suggested to Milt that he might make a “few crosses” when he could no longer golf. She thought it would be good to keep him busy. This inspiration has turned into a widely known Holding Cross Ministry from our church to the Morristown area community! When I hand a holding cross to a person in the hospital, they immediately grab onto it and sigh with relief seeming to feel that peace which surpasses all understanding from Christ.

Over 277 years our church has had a very important identity as God’s gift to our Morristown area community. We are known for our great history of leadership and hospitality, for the famous visit for communion by George Washington, for transforming our previous church building into a hospital during the revolution, and we are known for the wonderful reconciliation our church experienced when we reunited the two churches after the Civil War. Currently we are known for having: two beautiful buildings, a fabulous nursery school, a caring mission-oriented congregation, articulate preachers and on and on. Having an identity of “giving” is exactly what Christ had in mind for his Church since the very beginning.

As I write this we are in the midst of stewardship season heading into Advent. “Giving” is a theme for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Meditate on all that God has given and respond with thanksgiving to God by blessing others. This is the time set aside to consider our “gifts and talents” and to give of ourselves sacrificially for the sake of Jesus Christ who sacrificed for each of us.

Please "gift yourself" this season by giving a portion of your time and talent, (like Milton and Florence Andersen do so generously), AND give of your financial resources also, to sustain our many church ministries into 2011. We want to do all we can to help this church continue to be God’s gift to the Morristown region for another 277 years and more!

GOD'S BEEN GOOD TO ME

I'm mindful of the blessings

That come my way each day.

My heart is overflowing

Each time I kneel to pray.

I'm thankful for the seasons;

Each one's a masterpiece.

I'm allowed to work the land,

But God still holds the lease.

I'm grateful for the friendships

That brighten sorrow's way,

Because my cup of happiness

Sustains me everyday.

I love the children and the flowers

That decorate my life

And the quiet, gentle hours

Free from worry and strife.

I'm grateful for eyes that see

The beauty of it all

Because God's been good to me

And blessed me through it all.

I'm thankful for the little things

That fill my life with love.

The best things in life are free;

They come from God above!

~By Clay Harrison~

"The Greatest Generation" is a term coined by journalist Tom Brokaw to describe the generation[1] who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression and many went on to fight in World War II. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Generation)

I have always admired this generation, and their resilience that was shaped by living through the depression, their love of country and their “can do” grateful attitude. Sadly, our church has lost too many of this generation over the past year: Dr. Myles Morrison, Marty Kleindienst, Bob Lundquist, and most recently Rit Kay. Let us appreciate those we still have with us from the “Greatest Generation” and learn from their wisdom about how to be faithful, strong, and grateful in our living.

Phil Thayer will be 96 years old the first of November. Although he lives at Fellowship Village, Phil remains an important member of our church family. When his daughter comes to visit, he asks her to bring him up to our church office so he can greet us. Despite his severe hearing loss and difficulty with mobility, Phil always laughs and jokes as he always did when he comes to visit. His positive spirit has been an important factor in his creative longevity.

Phil was always active in the leadership of our congregation for many many years! We are so grateful for all he has contributed to shaping our church into the strong vibrant one it is today! Phil’s attitude of gratitude that still keeps him growing into his 97^th year of life is reflected in the poetry by Clay Harrison. Let us all learn from both Phil and Clay about having a thankful heart for all our many blessings.

Let us be thankful for the "Greatest Generation" as we enjoy this poem of Thanksgiving: http://www.angelfire.com/d20/cupofjoy/dailythings.html

Why Do We Have Yoga Classes?

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

In the 1990’s, I was a Parish Nurse/Counselor at National Presbyterian Church in the North Washington DC area. Part of the focus of a PN’s work is to develop “Faith and Health” programs that motivate the congregation (and staff) to care for their bodies, minds, and spirits in holistic health promoting ways, valuing the “body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.” This theme has flowed into my work as a Pastor here at PCM. While providing pastoral care I think of your whole person in body, mind, and spirit as I pray for each you.

Last winter, I organized a “Coping with Depression” group and planned an exercise class in coordination with the group timing because regular exercise often decreases the severity of depression. Yoga was chosen for the exercise method because a certified Yoga instructor in our church family was looking for ways to share her gifts and talents with the church. This presented a perfect opportunity to combine the talents of Susan Jones with our need for an exercise class to follow the depression group! (Recently, Susan moved to Florida, but the group of 12+ dedicated class members kept the yoga class going with various devoted amateur instructors).

Although Yoga was originally practiced 5000 years ago as an Eastern religious practice, it is now widely accepted in the West as a peaceful way of exercise that promotes health and mental wellbeing. The original goal of Yoga practice was the uniting of the spirit with the cosmos. Our class applies "Hatha Yoga" which is a physical fitness yoga allowing us to focus on the movements in a holistic practice that benefits body, mind and spirit without the eastern religion emphasis. The Sanskrit term “ha” means sun energy and “tha” refers to the moon. The Hatha Yoga poses focus on a balance between opposites (right and left) and breathing while stretching, relaxing, and strengthening.

People take up yoga for a wide range of reasons: to gain flexibility, to tone-up or lose weight, to improve their ability to relax, or for the challenge of learning something new. Regular practice of yoga improves general fitness, balance, and strength, with each class ending with a peaceful relaxation time. Yoga has the potential to make each of us more fit disciples of Jesus Christ. Join us for Yoga on Saturday mornings at 10am in the Parish House. Your body, mind, and spirit will be glad you did! (For more information contact me or any of our current pool of instructors: Carolyn Westerdahl, Christine Volinsky, and Milton Argueta Jr.)

(Paul Tillich quote on stone in New Harmony, IN)

We are Called to be Co-Creators and Co-Redeemers

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.” (Romans 8: 18-24a)

For the Doctorate of Ministry in Science and Theology program, I have been reading Christopher Southgate's: The Groaning of Creation: God, Evolution and the Problem of Evil. Southgate proposes that humans are "called" to be "co-creators" and "co-redeemers" with God's unfolding creation. He defines co-creators as those whose purpose is to be the agency, acting in freedom, to help further God's work in creating a "wholesome future" not only for our own benefit but for all creatures. And he adds, "if we may participate in God's creative and redemptive work, it is because we ourselves are still being created and redeemed."

Isn't this good news? Each of us has a calling to help create and redeem creation, working in companionship with God! Southgate emphasizes that as we live out this purpose we become partners with our triune God in the healing of our little corner of the cosmos. But to do so we must be humble Christ-like servants and realize that all creatures are embraced and loved in communion with God.

What does this mean for your life? At our Church Expo there are many opportunities presented to help you get involved in our church as Christ-like servants that will ultimately benefit our little corner of the cosmos. You can still sign up to be a Sunday School teacher helper, or a Youth group advisor, sign up for a mission team going to Louisiana, or help with the church bazaar. If you are still searching for how you can help “co-create” our church ministries, contact me and I'll be glad to help you find a way to align your gifts and talents with a ministry opportunity. Helping others not only promotes growth in our church, but it helps you grow in new ways, too!