CrossWalk Community

Shift Happens Narrated

2008-06-09T17:11:00.001-05:00

Mind blowing vid on the changes ahead in our world. How to keep up? To focus on being who we are and constantly learning ... at least, that's what I think.

Movie Reviews

2008-05-28T13:02:00.004-05:00

Millions is a wonderful movie, artsy, with the qualities of an extended fable and a little bit of fantasy thrown in. A young boy is surprised by "millions" of Pounds (British currency) that he receives as a gift from God. With the guidance of saints and the protection of his wordly-wise older brother, he seeks to give gifts to the poor, avoid a criminal character who is after the cash, and keep the windfall secret.

The Great Debaters is an Oprah Winfrey production, Denzel Washington directed film starring Washington and Forest Whitaker among others. It tells a fictionalized version of the true story of the Wiley College, Texas debating team. In the film version, this black college, supported by the Methodist Church in the Jim Crow South, had their challenge taken by Harvard College. The debate was nationally broadcast on NBC radio and the Wiley College team won. See Denzel Washington's personal words of thanks to The United Methodist Church.

Pay It Forward, poetry and cooking

2008-05-28T12:56:00.003-05:00

Danielle's Pay It Forward started a youth arts program at YDC, the Youth Development Center by York County Prison. They have published a cookbook with poetry and sketches by the young people. An excerpt from one poem, titled "I am who I am", by TS . . .

Menace to society
Outlaw to the town
Convict to the city
Warrior to the streets
Resident to YDC
Fugitive to the police
Juvenile to the court
Minor to the judge
. . .
Pain has no bad reaction
Time is too short
It passes too fast
Life passes us by
The next step is not easy to predict
Living life in misery
Power to keep going
The thought of not making it
Dreams passing by
Memories fade
Sorrows wither
. . .
Choices become harder
Strive to be a leader
Not thinking before I act
Failure is too easy
Stereotypes come true
(we let them)
Hearts get broken
Friends get lost
People die
But through it all
I stay true to myself
I am who I am
Nothing more
Nothing less
. . .

Memorial

2008-05-26T20:52:00.002-05:00

My favorite war memorial in DC ... the pic is from a visit by me, the boys, and my father, who served in Vietnam. As a church, we are approaching a major transition and one of our tasks now is to remember. It is the memories that give us confidence in God's future. And, it is Memorial Day that gives us an appreciation for our freedoms and our nation and a fresh confidence in what makes the United States of America truly great.

Study Retreat

2008-05-21T09:34:00.002-05:00

On my annual spring study retreat at the beach. Great to do some thinking and praying, cooking and reading - and unwind.

Amazing Grace - Wintley Phipps

2008-05-20T18:57:00.001-05:00

Lost Generation

2008-05-09T12:54:00.001-05:00

So, which set of values will we model for the next generation?

General Conference

2008-05-01T21:02:00.003-05:00

Every four years, leaders in The United Methodist Church elected from every region gather to worship, celebrate, debate, and decide at "General Conference". This year, live streaming is available, along with separately uploaded video and audio clips (available for download). Worth checking out are video (link is to Windows Media Player, but Quick Time is also available) of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected president of an African nation (Liberia) and product of Methodist schools, and an a capella rendition of "Wade in the Water".

Bethany Invites

2008-05-01T20:57:00.002-05:00

Friday and Saturday, Bethany holds their annual Spring Fling, with food served 8-8 on Friday (including oyster pie and BBQ) and an all-you-can-eat $2 breakfast on Saturday 8-12. Baked goods are sold Friday until sold out.

Monday May 12, all interested persons from both congregations are invited to meet informally at 7:00 pm in Bethany's "Gathering Place" (the setting for their contemporary worship service).

And, finally, 10 tickets are available for a Women of Faith event on July 11-12.

Q2008

2008-05-01T20:54:00.003-05:00

I've posted a couple videos from the Q2008 conference in NYC. I've uploaded my comprehensive notes, with hyptertext table of contents in pdf, to the church website. Enjoy! It was quite a week.

In the news . . .

2008-05-01T20:50:00.002-05:00

Our partnership with Bethany made the York Daily Record today. It was a well-written and very positive article, and our story is the third one in.

Craft Fair at Bethany

2008-04-19T22:31:00.005-05:00

Several of us attended the craft fair at Bethany this weekend. The pic shows a few of the tables and a couple members of the craft guild - all set up in the "Gathering Room" used for the 11:15 am contemporary worship service. Our sons met folks from Bethany for the first time and came away excited about partnering with this congregation. What a welcome! Bob, Elaine, Chuck, & Lorri also came and enjoyed themselves. The next big event there is May 2/3 and features FOOD. On Sat May 3, they will be offering an all-you-can-eat breakfast for only $2.

Full Version: The Assassin of Character Creep

2008-04-16T22:38:00.001-05:00

Another connection to the Q2008 conference. Judd Wilhite was one of the presenters.

Jennifer Connelly in charity: water Clean Water Africa PSA

2008-04-09T17:20:00.001-05:00

Saw this vid and heard the founder of Charity tell his story today at the Q2008 conference. I believe it will be shown on American Idol this evening.

Easter

2008-03-29T20:58:00.002-05:00

After a Sunrise Service (at Sunset Park!), breakfast at Bob Evans, and our regularly scheduled 10:15 a.m. worship, we enjoyed our annual egg hunt. Thanks to Warkenda for putting that together.

Maundy Thursday

2008-03-29T20:55:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful Holy Thursday service with prayers, songs, Scripture, reflection, and Holy Communion. (Holy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter and it is called "Maundy" after the Latin root for "mandate", for the "new command" Jesus gave "to love one another as I have loved you".)

St Patrick's

2008-03-17T21:48:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday, Palm Sunday and the closest day to St. Patrick's Day, we welcomed Celtic harpist Julie Swope as a guest musician. Thanks, Julie!

Listening through the New Testament

2008-02-20T22:09:00.001-05:00

Looking for "it" in all the wrong places: The only Jesus' childhood story in the Bible tells of how Jesus stayed behind in the temple while his parents headed home, only to discover him missing at what was probably a Roman checkpoint, where a toll was due. Not finding him among the extended family, they search for THREE DAYS until finding him in discussion with the appointed teachers. "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?" I'm glad not to have any experience with looking for my kids for three days, but I certainly have spent a lot of time looking for "it" in all the wrong places.

For more reflections, and to offer your own, check out the church discussion board.

Listening Schedule

2008-02-14T14:01:00.004-05:00

Here is the listening/reading schedule for the New Testament in Lent. For audio versions you can download for free, go to Faith Comes by Hearing.

Day 1, Feb 6, Ash Wednesday, Matthew 1-7
Feb 7, Matt 8-12
Feb 8, Matt 13-18
Feb 9, Matt 19-24

Feb 10, Sunday, off day/catch up
Feb 11, Matt 25-28
Feb 12, Mark 1-6
Feb 13, Mark 7-11
Feb 14, Mark 12-16
Feb 15, Luke 1-4
Feb 16, Luke 5-9

Feb 17, Sunday, off day/catch up
Feb 18, Luke 10-13
Feb 19, Luke 14-19
Feb 20, Luke 20-24
Feb 21, John 1-5
Feb 22, John 6-9
Feb 23, John 10-14

Feb 24, Sunday, off day/catch up
Feb 25, John 15-19
Feb 26, John 20-Acts 4
Feb 27, Acts 5-9
Feb 28, Acts 10-15
Feb 29, Acts 16-20
March 1, Acts 21-26

Discussion Board

2008-02-13T21:56:00.001-05:00

Check our our recently launched discussion board which includes threads on recent Sunday messages and our Lenten emphasis on listening through the New Testament.

Malaria & Bed Nets

2008-02-01T07:24:00.001-05:00

Our church, along with the entire United Methodist Church and other partner groups like the NBA and Major League Soccer, have been providing bed nets in Africa to prevent malaria and save the lives of children. See the quotes below from a recent New York Times article, and check out the entire article for more detail. We are making a real difference!

“We saw a very drastic impact,” said Dr. Arata Kochi, chief of malaria for the W.H.O. “If this is done everywhere, we can reduce the disease burden 80 to 85 percent in most African countries within five years.” ... In Ethiopia, deaths of children from malaria dropped more than 50 percent. In Rwanda, they dropped more than 60 percent in only two months.

The Great Debaters

2008-01-22T21:36:00.000-05:00

Just wanting to pass on the cool news that the college debate team in the Oprah Winfrey/Denzel Washington film, The Great Debaters, is a United Methodist college supported by the Black College Fund. See further info, including a video greeting by Denzel Washington, at the UMC site.

Civil Rights

2008-01-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

Amid the chatter of political campaigns regarding whom to credit for the success of the Civil Rights movement, it is easy to write it off as "politics" and forget how blessed we are that such a conversation even takes place. Leonard Pitts, Jr. published a wonderful column giving credit to the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights movement and reminding us of the remarkable progress of the past forty years. The question before us, as always, is: How are we participating in the on-going transformation of our society? For Christian people, there remains much work to do in answer to our prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven".

Covenant Prayer

2008-01-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, we used the traditional Covenant Prayer in one adaptation. The Covenant Service goes back to the writing of Richard Alleine, a Puritan, whose work was included by John Wesley (the father figure of the Methodist movement) in his reference collection, A Christian Library. Wesley adapted it for use in worship in 1755 and regularly used the covenant service as he visited the Methodist Societies across the British Isles. He wrote in his journal that it was regularly "an occasion for a variety of spiritual experiences" including "a sense of pardon," "full salvation," and "a fresh manifestation of [God’s] graces." While the language is updated and abridged, it remains a series of dramatic and demanding prayers offering total devotion to God in Christ.

Commit yourselves to Christ.
Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him.
Christ has many services to be done.
Some are more easy and honorable,
others are more difficult and disgraceful.
Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests,
others are contrary to both.
In some we may please Christ and please ourselves.
But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ, cannot love Christ,
except by denying ourselves.

Let us, therefore, go to Christ, and pray:
I am no longer mine, but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you
or brought low for you.
Let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and with a willing heart
give it all to your pleasure and disposal.

Christ will be the Savior of his servants.
Christ will have no servants except by consent;
Christ will not accept anything except full consent
to all he requires.
Christ will be all in all, or he will be nothing.

God requires that you shall put away all your idols:
From the bottom of my heart, I renounce them all,
covenanting with you that no known sin shall be allowed in my life.
Through Christ, God offers to be your God again.
Before all heaven and earth,
I choose you as my Lord and my God.
I take you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for my portion,
and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your child,
to follow you in love and faithfulness all the days of my life.

Reading through the Bible

2008-01-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah: "When your words came, I ate them. They were my joy and my heart's delight."

I want to encourage each of you to read significantly in the Bible throughout 2008. It is the one of the most practical things that each one of us can do to submit ourselves to the transforming work of the Spirit of God. I promised to offer a couple resources, so I include several websites below. My favorite of the ones I have checked out is Bible Read Through, where you can create your own schedule, start at any point in the year, and be reading through several portions of the Bible at the same time (to prevent getting bogged down in a difficult portion in one area). A number of these resources offer on-line text, emailed daily readings, and on-line audio. During Lent (beginning Feb 6), we will have a congregation-wide emphasis on listening through the New Testament, and provide free mp3 files for use.

Notes on reading the Bible: Most people who try to read through the Bible from cover to cover find themselves stuck in the arcane legislation of sacrifice and holiness or in the two censuses (censii?) in Numbers, complete with family names and numbers of persons! There is no harm in skimming along until you find another spot to dig in! I've read the Bible many times, but haven't read those genealogies with equal focus each time . . . and it tends to be only after a lot of familiarity with the stories that the names in such a list mean anything. Stay flexible as you read. Those who read rigidly can't get back on track if they miss a couple days. The important thing is to hear God; it's God's Word after all.

So, recommended schedule sites:
http://www.biblereadthrough.com/
http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=53493
http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-calendar-niv.html

Far too true

2008-01-11T20:26:00.000-05:00

Just when we're sure we've got a "god" we like . . . .

Books, 2007 favorites

2008-01-10T20:47:00.000-05:00

By category, my favorite personal reading of the past year . . .

Children's literature (tie):
Fables by Arnold Lobel, beautifully illustrated
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, a wonderful re-imagined Cinderella

Scifi/Fantasy: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, war, war games, conditioning, and a child protagonist

Realistic fiction: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, another child protagonist, this time one with autism and an interest in prime numbers and the color yellow

Spirituality/Theology: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton, the leading voice of Catholic monasticism in the 20th century tells his own conversion story

Biography/History: Ike by Michael Korda, focused primarily on his development as a military leader, but inclusive of his presidency

Humor: Just a Guy by Bill Engvall with Alan Eisenstock

Leadership: Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World by Chris Lowney, an examination of the Jesuits' four pillars of leadership development - self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism - applied to business leadership by a former Jesuit seminarian and JP Morgan man

My best book of the year? Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World

What have you been reading?

Movies

2008-01-10T20:43:00.000-05:00

I saw two movies over the Christmas/New Year's holidays: Amazing Grace and Charlie Wilson's War. We saw Amazing Grace on DVD. It is fabulous, and focused on the true story of William Wilberforce, the British Minister of Parliament who fought slavery, started the SPCA, the first Bible society, and was instrumental on the legislative and institutional end in transforming and saving British society from the ravages of the Industrial Revolution and the potential of a violent revolution like the one in France. A great family film, rated PG.

Charlie Wilson's War, now in theaters, showcases known stars (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman) in another true story. Lots of witty one-liners: "Why does Congress say one thing and do nothing?" "Tradition, mostly." Plenty of derring-do from a US Congressman who was loose on some principles but pretty committed to others. . . and remarkable for the impact of a determined, crafty, flawed person. Rated R (some nudity, drugs, documentary clips from the Afghan-Soviet war, suggestive themes).

In both films, it is amazing to see what one committed person can accomplish. See any good movies lately?

Habitat

2007-12-13T09:40:00.001-05:00

The "first shift" from our Dec 1 work team. Thanks to all who came out!

Our Stories, Bob Druck

2007-12-11T23:15:00.000-05:00

My name is Bob Druck, born and raised outside of the Church, one who ran from Church his entire life. As a kid, I never once saw my parents inside of a church, never heard the name of Jesus unless it was used as a swear word. As an adult, I continued these same traditions for most of my life.

Sure, at times I would venture into a church and maybe even stay there for several months, then back to the old Bob, running and hiding from what deep in my heart I knew to be the truth. Had all the old excuses for not attending, you have heard them before so we won’t go there. But they worked for me for over fifty years.

Then about five years ago, my youngest daughter came to CrossWalk and brought home stories of how this little church was different. Of course, I paid her no mind and ignored her, and then during the summer she brought the preacher to the house for a summer’s kids program. Well, I did not like the guy and probably was rude and I know I made it known that I did not have time for him or them. The ole defensive mechanism at work, of course.

Finally for reasons I don’t recall I decided to check this church out and found what I had been running from or looking for all those years. A church where one is not judged but where anyone and everyone is accepted for who they are, no matter their history. Found out that we are all family of God bound to this world but for one purpose and that is to seek and find our salvation thru Jesus. When you think about it that is a pretty simple task, yet one that we make so very difficult.

Now five years later, I am still seeking and finding what I had been looking for, for more than a half century. Today, I am part of the leadership team of CrossWalk (who would have thought) and look forward to all the challenges ahead regarding making this little church without a home, a beacon in the mist for all those people out there who like me have been running and hiding and making the same ole excuses that I used.

Remember that Preacher I did not like, well today I am proud to call him Pastor and a friend.

Bob Druck

Our Stories, JP, Who is God?

2007-12-11T23:01:00.001-05:00

www.youtube.com/JPBohanan

Reading - Ike

2007-12-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

Last week, I finished Ike: An American Hero, a biography by Michael Korda of the NY Times. It is a fine book (723 pages of text, plus notes), though a bit more conversational and sympathetic than I expected. It was repetitive at some points and included a few typos . . . it obviously would have benefitted from some better editing. But, I liked the book and read through it quickly and easily. Definitely worth your time if you find biography and military history of interest. (Much less time is given to his presidency and politics.) Some interesting things that stood out to me:

First, that his life progressed along unexpected paths. Early in his career, he requested appointments to cutting edge military units, yet he continued to be told to stay put. He was ambitious and felt his talents were wasted. One of his postings was to Army recruitment, in an era when the Army wasn't doing much recruiting. Yet, he always seemed to meet the right people, be in the right place . . . to get the military education he needed under some remarkable generals and to step into leadership at the highest levels. It reminds me of God's guidance in my life, through unexpected paths that seemed like detours or dead ends, into new opportunity, new learning, new gifts.

Second, he had a remarkable ability to lead diverse coalitions and to foster diversity. Even today, with all the progress that has been made in civil rights (not nearly enough, but still very significant), such leadership is rare. It is an exciting thing to be part of a diverse church and to see our leaders at work!

Billboards

2007-12-10T07:45:00.000-05:00

Have you seen one of the three billboards yet? Each has a different design and they are located on North George at the creek, Susquehanna Trail at Sinking Springs Elementary, and Market at Carlisle.

Alternate Giving

2007-12-08T20:55:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, I suggested finding ways to avoid being consumed by consumerism. Among them, alternative gifts for the Christmas season. Consider Heifer International, a wonderful Christian mission that provides livestock of all kinds (guinea pigs to water buffalo) in the developing world. And, look into Kiva, an organization that provides the opportunity to make micro-loans through many different banks or lenders (including some with explicitly religious commitments) in countless regions of the world. You can purchase gift certficates, read the profile of the borrowers, and follow the progress of your loans.

We also have our church project, our "Christmas Gift for Jesus". We are collecting gifts for two efforts. The local one is energy assistance and other emergency cash relief through the Northeastern Food Pantry. The international one is support of the United Methodist Church in Litomerice, the Czech Republic, led by Radek & Lenka Novotny.

Robin, World AIDS Day

2007-12-03T14:36:00.001-05:00

Robin at World AIDS Day 2007. See her reflections in an earlier post.

Article from the Dispatch. Anyone catch the her on the television news that night?

For her slides, including statistics: [ppt] [web-based]

Media violence and aggressive behavior

2007-12-03T14:28:00.000-05:00

Wow! Excerpted from the University of Michigan news service:

"Exposure to violent electronic media has a larger effect than all but one other well-known threat to public health. The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer," Huesmann said.

"Our lives are saturated by the mass media, and for better or worse, violent media are having a particularly detrimental effect on the well-being of children," he said.

"As with many other public health threats, not every child who is exposed to this threat will acquire the affliction of violent behavior. But that does not diminish the need to address the threat—as a society and as parents by trying to control children's exposure to violent media to the extent that we can."

Our Stories, Robin, World AIDS Day

2007-12-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

Two years ago, I was in Lesotho on World AIDS Day. Did you know that World AIDS Day is celebrated annually on Dec. 1 around the world? Even in the small village where I worked, people took to the streets and sang songs of hope for a cure and treatment…for life. These are brief but powerful videos from village women in Lesotho. It reminds me so much of my time there and reinforces the great need that still exists in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two thirds of the world's HIV burden is in this region though only 10% of the world’s population live there. Out of the 2.5 million children estimated to be living with HIV, 2.2 million of these children live in Sub-Saharan Africa. I would ask that today you take time to view these videos and pray for the people of Lesotho. (Written by Robin.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22029535/

Reading - on community and faults

2007-11-27T09:49:00.000-05:00

Merton, now in the monastery, has an insider's view of what, from the outside looked like a perfect world (p.419):

Now I was face to face with monks that belonged not to some dream, not to some medieval novel, but to cold and inescapable reality. The community which I had seen functioning as a unity, in all the power of that impressive and formal liturgical anonymity which clothes a body of men obscurely in the very personality of Christ Himself, now appeared to me broken up into its constituent parts, and all the details, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, were there for me to observe at close range.

. . . one of the most important aspects of any religious vocation [call]: the first and most elementary test of one's call to the religious life . . . is the willingness to accept life in a community in which everybody is more or less imperfect.

The imperfections are much smaller and more trivial than the defects and vices of people outside in the world: and yet somehow you tend to notice them more and feel them more, because they get to be so greatly magnified by the responsibilities and ideals of the religious state, through which you cannot help looking at them.

Reading - for Advent

2007-11-27T09:47:00.000-05:00

A thought for our upcoming Advent season (beginning Sunday), again from Merton (p.417):

The soul of the monk is a Bethlehem where Christ comes to be born.

Reading - for our Marines

2007-11-27T09:43:00.000-05:00

Over the past months, I have been making my way through Thomas Merton's spiritual memoir, The Seven Storey Mountain. I'm nearing the end (which will be page 462) of this well-written personal reflection. (But it's not a page-turner.) Merton has finally entered the monastery and, as the "Father Master" of novices brings him into the novitiate, he hooks Merton up with a more experienced novice and says (p.416):

"That's your guardian angel. He used to be a Marine."

Labyrinth

2007-11-11T22:50:00.001-05:00

I enjoyed the labyrinth, built just like the traditional prayer labyrinths. Just when you think you are getting close to the center, you make another turn and find yourself further away. Nevertheless, there are no wrong turns ... the path continues to move forward and you finally find yourself at the center. I think it is a lot like following Jesus. As long as we keep following and do our best to make decisions in love, God will weave it all together into a seamless whole. We may not, and often do not, see the whole picture, but God does and we find ourselves finally in the "center" of God's will, God's love, God's Spirit. And, then we find ourselves headed back out again, taking on a new mission.

MaizeQuest

2007-11-11T22:39:00.000-05:00

Our group at MaizeQuest had a wonderful time (see pictures). We went through the feature corn maze in two competing groups and you'll have to ask different folks how it went. (The competition inspired some heated exchanges!) One group included Caleb, Coleman, Bob, Elaine, and JP and the other group had Jim, Lucas, Grace, Jeff, Jessica, Julia, Trevor, Kim, Mark, and Emma.

Help us solve the maze below. Enter the facing side on the cream pathway and make RIGHT TURNS ONLY to reach the center. Minimum number of turns for a correct solution is 20.

Church Picnic

2007-10-31T12:58:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at our picnic worship day, Sunday October 14 at Rocky Ridge Park. Thanks to Warkenda for organizing the games and to Lorri for coordinating the meal.
And, Happy Halloween!

Campout

2007-10-20T12:05:00.000-05:00

We had a great camping weekend [pics] with some of our men and boys at Po Paddy State Park, over the first weekend in October. Campfires, tall tales, fishing, three pounds of bacon, creek walks. Three days, two nights, no showers . . . Y-Chromosome required.

Pounding the Pastor

2007-10-12T07:15:00.000-05:00

Ouch! I weighed in at 172 pounds and our challenge was to give over four times my weight in gifts to the Food Pantry. The total given was 866 pounds, just over five times my weight (860). Wonderful! The Food Pantry continues to experience high demand, so all your continuing gifts are appreciated.

Small Things

2007-09-22T22:58:00.000-05:00

"Who despises the day of small things?" the prophet asks (Zechariah 4:10). For a wonderful story of how a young girl's 57 cents helped expand a church and found a university, see this 1886 story told in a 1912 sermon.

Nothing But Nets, update

2007-09-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

Malaria deaths have dropped almost a half in Kenya because of wider use and availability of bed nets. Annual deaths of children has been reduced from 34,000 to 16,000. Check out the complete article from the East Africa Standard. This year's kids coin drive (in August) raised $172 for Nothing But Nets, enough for 17 bed nets (video resources, UMChurch resources). Thanks for your generosity.

The most noble dog

2007-09-18T23:11:00.001-05:00

A fine joke from Clif. Nothing like dusting off the oldies!

Q: What is the most noble kind of dog?
A: The hot dog. It feeds the hand that bites it.

Play Ball!

2007-09-05T15:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at the Aug 26 York Revolution game . . . such a good time that some of us came back for more on Labor Day. See the pics.

Holy Mystery

2007-09-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

From the Epistle to Diognetus, dated about A. D. 150, written by "a disciple of the apostles", chapter xi:

The Father sent the Word, that He might be manifested to the world; and He, being despised by the people, was, when preached by the Apostles, believed on by the Gentiles. This is He who was from the beginning, who appeared as if new, and was found old, and yet who is ever born afresh in the hearts of the saints. This is He who, being from everlasting, is to-day called the Son; through whom the Church is enriched, and grace, widely spread, increases in the saints, furnishing understanding, revealing mysteries, announcing times, rejoicing over the faithful, giving to those that seek, by whom the limits of faith are not broken through, nor the boundaries set by the fathers passed over. Then the fear of the law is chanted, and the grace of the prophets known, and the faith of the gospels is established, and the tradition of the Apostles is preserved, and the grace of the church exults.

Baptism Day

2007-08-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Baptism Day celebration this past Sunday at Green Valley Pool. A friend of mine sent me a quote reflecting on Martin Luther, the monk whose reform efforts led to the founding of the Lutheran Church in the 1500's:

When Martin Luther got up in the morning and put water on his face, he would say, "I am baptized!" It was a way of reminding himself that living out his baptism was a key to discipleship ... For us as well as for Martin Luther, the baptismal covenant is to be lived out in daily discipleship (Dwight Vogel).

The King's Temple

2007-08-07T14:05:00.000-05:00

A bonus from Amos, the three Sunday series at the end of July . . . . Amos is preaching in Israel, the northern kingdom, and proclaiming God's judgment on their unfaithfulness to God and their oppression of the poor. The leading priest of Bethel tells him, "Flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom" (Amos 7:12-13). In the ancient world, religion and the king were inseparable. Today, in our country, we speak of it as "church" and "state". Our constitution has recognized an important separation between the two, something that preserves the critical independence and prophetic voice of God's people. The church is not a nation-state but a "holy nation" (1 Peter 3). The church is not to be identified with any nation, but with the King of the Universe, whose people encircle the globe. The practical application of the "separation of church and state" continues to be debated by constitutional scholars and regular folks . . . but it is a very good thing that we do not unite them the way they are united, even still, in some other parts of the world. In those nations, people lack the freedom and legal protections to convert from the state religion to another of their own choosing. I do not offer, here, a "final answer" to the church and state debate in the USA. But I want to talk back to Amaziah: We are not the king's sanctuary or a temple of the kingdom. We are the sanctuary and temple of the Living God.

Sopranos

2007-07-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

First, the caveat: I did not see the final episode of the Sopranos, nor have I managed to subscribe to HBO. Credit my innate frugality, thriftyness, or cheapness ... whatever. As I understand it, it ended with a black screen on an unresolved scene. The viewer is left wondering what happens next and must finish the story on their own.

I love it! (Anyone know where I can see the video online?) It is just like the ending of Mark's gospel. As best as scholars, of all ideological stripes, can tell, the gospel originally ended with Mark 16:8, "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." It is an unsatisfying end to the gospel story and the miracle of resurrection. And, it is obvious from the fact that we've heard the story that the story has been told over and over again. It begs for an ending, and the textual evidence indicates a couple major endings that were added (actually known by the creative titles of "the short ending" and "the long ending"). What I find most interesting is to work on our own endings, as if we are in the story (and we are!): Have we gotten in touch with the terror of resurrection? How does that get transformed in our experience to Good News? What finally compels you to tell the story?

Whale of a Time

2007-07-02T22:08:00.001-05:00

Been away from the blog, with "stuff" in general and vacation in particular. We had a wonderful time in Cape Cod. Thanks for your prayers for us . . . it was truly a time of renewal. You can check out our best vacation pics (and you've seen a few in worship already).

Nothing but Nets

2007-06-12T22:55:00.000-05:00

Check out this exciting cooperative initiative between The United Methodist Church, the NBA, the UN, and Sports Illustrated . . . an initiative to limit malaria in Africa with pyrethrin-treated mosquito netting. Nets cost only $5. See the website for stories and video: http://www.nothingbutnets.net/

Custom

2007-06-05T10:15:00.001-05:00

There is nothing quite like something custom-made or custom-fit. One size never fits ALL, it only standardizes the Many. At CrossWalk Community, we believe that spiritual formation and human development cannot be standardized. We enjoy seeing the fruit of God's custom work and recently celebrated the first Sunday preaching ever by Ruth Loyer, a ministerial candidate from the Red Lion area and celebrated our graduating students. There remains much to learn, for all of us, but we are proud to play our part in cheering on these fantastic folks!

Mother's Day, with regret

2007-05-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

Smithsonian Magazine has a remarkable article on the story of Anna Jarvis, the founding figure of Mother's Day. She spent seven years, from 1907 to 1914, campaigning for the day across the country until the US Congress established the holiday. But, by 1923, she was so fed up with the commercialization of the holiday that she regretted her involvement in creating it. Check out the full story.

True or False?

2007-05-03T13:26:00.000-05:00

Much is made today, both in anthropology and in popular culture, of the way the human desire for an object of worship so often results in gods made in our own image . . . a remarkably accurate description that reverses the biblical creation order: "In the image of God he created them" (Genesis 1). My reading today (2 Kings) reveals a more perverse reversal: "They went after false idols and became false" (2 Kings 17:15). It's tough but true: We become like what we worship, what we desire most, what most occupies our thoughts and dreams.

Easter

2007-04-27T10:24:00.000-05:00

Check out our website for pictures from this year's Easter worship and egg hunt!

Poor buggers

2007-04-26T23:52:00.000-05:00

Some years ago I read Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers. He tells the story of Easy Company (101st Airborne, 605th Parachute) in Europe during World War II. At one point in the account, they are surrounded by Germans in a small town and without reinforcements for some days. One of their injured personnel says, in words more colorful than I use here, "Poor buggers! They've got us surrounded." It's all a matter of perspective.

Today I read 2 Kings 6, a chapter which includes the story of an Aramean army surrounding the town of Dothan in order to arrest and detain the prophet Elisha. Elisha's servant looks out on the opposing army and asks, "Alas, master! What shall we do?" Elisha replies, "Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them." And, he goes on to pray that God may open the eyes of his servant . . . who then sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. It's all a matter of . . . .

Retreat

2007-04-26T16:35:00.000-05:00

My friend Jim (a Presbyterian pastor we got to know in our Airville days) and I have been at Ocean City this week on our annual spring study retreat. It has been a wonderful rhythm of study, running, cooking & eating, study, cooking & eating, and more study. It is amazing how much work can be accomplished when we are at rest. I love the Psalm text, "In vain do you rise up early and stay up late, you who toil for the bread you eat; He provides as much for His loved ones while they sleep" (Psalm 127:2). And, the picture? I had Jim scare the gulls while I caught them taking off.

Book Group, May

2007-04-26T15:34:00.000-05:00

We meet Tuesday May 8 at Jessica's to discuss The Chosen by Chaim Potok, a wonderful novel first printed in 1967, and a story of two sons and their fathers. A quote:

I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. . . . A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.

Virginia Tech

2007-04-25T11:12:00.000-05:00

For a video montage of pics from the Virginia Tech candlelight prayer vigil, see http://www.bluefishtv.com/ It can be downloaded for free and we showed it in worship on Sunday.

I offered some reflections from Sunday's Scripture (Psalm 30) in the message. You can download it in mp3 or pdf.

Thomas Merton

2007-04-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

I am enjoying Thomas Merton's spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, first published in 1948. He was a Trappist monk raised without overt faith or church. And, he's a great writer. The excerpt below is from his reflections on time spent living with the Privats, a faithful Catholic family in France. (His father was an artist and he moved about a good bit.) The first part describes the way in which they were holy, something that I like to call "domestic holiness" as opposed to "athletic holiness". The second part describes the way they shared their faith without argument ... something to consider for all those folks who ask me, "How do I help my friend believe?"

They were saints in the most effective and telling way: sanctified by leading ordinary lives in a completely supernatural manner, sanctified by obscurity, by usual skills, by common tasks, by routine, but skills, tasks, routine which received a supernatural form from grace within, and from the habitual union of their souls with God in deep faith and charity.

One of the humiliating things about it was that I wanted them to argue, and they despised argument. It was as if they realized, as I did not, that my attitude and my desire of argument and religioius discussion implied a fundamental and utter lack of faith, and a dependence on my own lights, and attachment to my own opinion.

Palm Sunday

2007-04-04T17:51:00.000-05:00

In 1541, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed the main gate in the eastern wall of Jerusalem, allegedly to prevent the entrance of the Messiah. Of course, someone could always come along and break through that bricked up gate, but Suleiman had thought of that. He put a Muslim cemetery outside the gate so that the land would be unclean to a Jewish holy person such has the Messiah or his messenger Elijah. Even if someone opened the gate in the future, they still could not pass that way, and prophecy – and Jewish Messianic expectation – would not be fulfilled. It is still sealed today.

April Fool’s, Sultan Suleiman! Nothing like locking the barn door after the horse is stolen. Jesus had already entered through that gate (a prior version of it located below it in the archaeological record), Jesus had already entered through the "Gate of Righteousness" mentioned in today’s psalm, 1500 years prior. . . .

Before we get too smug toward Suleiman and the countless others who have not recognized Jesus as Messiah, we should give some thought to our own expectations . . . .

For more from Sunday's message, sign up with me for the email notes or listen to the audio file on the church site.

Internet Parenting, the First Generation

2007-03-31T18:07:00.000-05:00

I remember being a young person as Atari games like Pong, arcade games like PacMan, and MTV became the big thing in popular culture. As the old ad from the same era states, "We've come a long way, baby." Content provided over a screen and enjoyed by consumers is being replaced, more and more, by interactive content created by consumers. Search engines are now experimenting with using people ("artificial artificial intelligence") to find the hard-to-find stuff on the net. Consumers are creating video and other content and uploading it to the web. Our kids, much more technology-savvy than their elders, are at increased risk of unwanted content - pornographic and otherwise. I've found a neat web filter resource that enhances my peace of mind as an internet parent. The company decided that their commercially successful product was too valuable to families to sell and they have GIVEN IT AWAY FOR FREE. Check out their blog, http://theinternetparent.blogspot.com/ and their product website, http://www.k9webprotection.com/

The Amazing Human Body

2007-03-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

As Robin is going through her schooling, she is passing on a few interesting tidbits along the way. Capillaries are the tiny vessels that connect the arteries to the veins. They are one-half to one millimeter in length and only 0.01 millimeter in width, so narrow that blood cells have to line up in single file in order to pass through. Nevertheless, if you were to remove all of them from the body, cut them lengthwise and lay them flat, they would cover an area larger than 100 football fields!

Psalm 139: I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Amazing Grace

2007-02-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

The movie will soon be in theaters: the true story of William Wilberforce and the fight to abolish slavery; John Newton, repentant slaver, priest and author of the hymn "Amazing Grace"; and others . . . . The release coicides with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. It is definitely on my list to see, and the site links to resources on the abolition of modern slavery.

I want to add the text of a letter written by John Wesley (founding figure of the Methodist movement) to William Wilberforce in February 1791, a full 16 years before the British Parliament abolished slavery:

Dear Sir,
Unless the divine power has raised you up to be as Athanasius contra mundum, I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villany which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.

Reading this morning a tract wrote by a poor African, I was particularly struck by that circumstance that a man who has a black skin, being wronged or outraged by a white man, can have no redress; it being a "law" in all our colonies that the oath of a black against a white goes for nothing. What villany is this?

That he who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is the prayer of, dear sir,
Your affectionate servant.

The Laramie Project

2007-02-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

I was buying hospitality supplies for the church today and the clerk asked about CrossWalk Community. In the course of the conversation, she asked if we were one of the churches that expected to be picketed this weekend by the so-called church in the midwest, the same folks that are picketing the York Suburban drama club production of The Laramie Project and military funerals across the country. The protesters are aptly described in one on-line article I read as a hate group masquerading with religious language, a hate group focusing their hatred against gays and lesbians.

The clerk told me that her church was on the list to be picketed AND that she was going to be baptized this Sunday. There is no sense in letting our faith and witness be hijacked by such violence and ignorance. The Scripture reference most invoked today, John 3:16, very clearly states that God loves "the world", and that means ALL of us.

While Christian people do not have a unified understanding of human sexuality, this is not about sex, but about being Christian, about the kind of God in which we believe. The protesters believe in a god of hatred. We believe, as the Apostle wrote, that "Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). We believe the Creation declaration that all God has made is Good (Genesis 1). We believe the Gospel story: That Christ died and is risen, that "one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all" (Romans 5:18). This story emphasizes that God's love is universal and that we have no room to stand in judgment of our fellow men and women. "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls" (Romans 14:4). Instead, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God" (Romans 15:7).

At CrossWalk Community, we speak about Mission as "Giving, Serving, and Welcoming All in Jesus' Name". If The Laramie Project can help us do that, and I believe it can, God be praised. But the protesters showcase hatred alone and dishonor the name of Christ.

Prayers at the Land

2007-01-21T20:43:00.000-05:00

We had a short site visit and prayer circle at a possible property. The process is in early stages, but we are excited about the possibilities. For more info, see the Soul of your Foot blog.

Spiritual Gifts

2007-01-21T00:51:00.000-05:00

Check out this on-line introduction to spiritual gifts from the United Methodist Church. Let me know what you think, what you learn about yourself, and we can explore this in more detail!

http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.1355371/k.9501/Spiritual_Gifts.htm

Baptism!

2007-01-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

As we celebrated the baptism of our Lord, we also celebrated Giada Christine's baptism. Congratulations to Giada and her family and friends. With the children, we read the story of Jesus' baptism from Luke (3:21-22) and discussed the signs of heaven open, the Spirit/dove, and the Father's voice.

Mr. Lincoln

2007-01-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

Between Christmas and New Year's, we had a family adventure in DC that included a twilight tour of the monuments. I was struck, again, by the power and holiness in the concluding remarks of Lincoln's second inaugural address. He offered a vision for healing a nation divided by war and extended the potential for peace beyond our own narrow borders to the entire world. "Peace on earth and mercy mild." Sadly, such eloquence and vision is rarely found today. Lincoln's words:

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work that we are in: To bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan -- to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Study of Job

2007-01-13T13:23:00.000-05:00

We are preparing to offer this study as our adult Sunday School experience, in cooperation with Lancaster Theological Seminary. Here's the synopsis of the course, led by my former professor Chuck Melchert.

Lent has traditionally been a time for addressing the “dark side” of our lives. After 9/11, hurricanes, earthquakes, and wars causing the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, what could be more timely than a biblical book which probes why innocent people suffer and die? Can God be held responsible? How can believers cope with the pain and questions raised by the untimely death of innocent people?

The "satan" says Job is only pious because it pays. Job's “friends” see his suffering and urge him to repent, yet Job refuses, insisting he is innocent - to repent would be to lie. God says Job's friends did not speak rightly "as Job did." Yet Job accused God of not being just, and filed a lawsuit charging God with malpractice. Who is right? How do we know?
Why do good things happen to bad people and why do bad things happen to innocent people? Should people fight with God? Can Job really put God on trial? What do we do when we are asked to explain the inexplicable? We will explore these and other issues raised by this brilliant and profound biblical book.

Don't Get Cocky Kid

2007-01-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

My "spiritual partner/friend" and I are reading the Scriptures and meeting to discuss our readings. We're in Joshua, and my favorite story is in Joshua 5:13-15. Israel has crossed the Jordan and is about to embark on their campaign of conquest (and slaughter) of the Canaanites. Joshua sees a man standing alone with a drawn sword and asks him the traditional "friend or foe" question: "Are you one of us, or one of our adversaries?" "Neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." If this weren't in the story, it would be so easy to read it "smugly", as my friend says, to believe that we somehow deserve such dominance and power. The short story reminds us that it's not about us, but about God.

Only a Rumor

2007-01-06T13:50:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this Epiphany reflection from Danish existential philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. (For those of you who care about the spelling, the "o" in Soren should have a slash through it, but I'm not sure how to get that to show here.)

Although the scribes could explain where the Messiah should be born, they remained quite unperturbed in Jerusalem. They did not accompany the Wise Men to seek him. Similarly we may be able to explain every article of our faith, yet remain spiritually motionless. The power that moved heaven and earth leaves us completely unmoved.

What a contrast! The three kings had only a rumor to go by. But it spurred them to set out a long, hard journey. The scribes, meanwhile, were much better informed, much better versed. They had sat and studied the scriptures for years, like so many dons. But it didn’t make any difference. Who had the more truth? Those who followed a rumor, or those who remained sitting, satisfied with all their knowledge?

Source: "Provocations" by Soren Kierkegaard

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T20:31:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve Candle-light service last night. Thanks to the musicians who shared their gifts, to all those who read, to the Sunday School for the children's gifts, to those who brought the "goodies" for our fellowship afterwards, to those who helped set up . . . . We've got a great team (even better than the Eagles did tonight). Once more, my favorite poem of the season, by Madeline L'Engle:

This is the irrational season
When love blooms bright and wild
If Mary had been filled with reason
She'd have had no room for the Child.

Africa and Childhood Diseases

2006-12-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

Malaria, measles, polio . . . preventable diseases that are decimating Africa's children. The United Methodist Church is involved in providing mosquito netting, through a partnership with the NBA and Major League Soccer. For info on larger inter-agency and international efforts, check out the New York Times.

Some Body

2006-12-20T17:54:00.000-05:00

When we think of spirituality, we often think about things such as prayer, worship, transcendence, angels, feelings of warmth or energy, and meditation practices. When we think of holiness, we generally think of what it is NOT – Sin – rather than what it actually IS – a life toward God, a life with God, a life of God. A few other extraneous items make the mix, namely "church work", such as teaching Sunday School, or "mission" that serves the poor. But, of all the things we consider, very little has to do, directly, with the human body.

For more, see the audio file
Or, the text

If you email me, I'll be happy to put you on the weekly message email list.

Signs

2006-11-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

Learning to recognize and follow signs was a major theme of the Scriptures for the first Sunday of Advent. It is also a big theme from the first book of our Literature & Faith book group, The Alchemist. The reflections from the message were on how to become more effective at reading the signs . . . by getting into the Scripture to discover patterns of God at work, to pray and read the signs in our own story, especially our past . . . and by simply following them one at a time. The more we step out in faith, the more guidance we receive. For an audio file of the message, go to the church site. And, if you are interested in the book group, let me know. Our next book is Vows by Peter Manseau and we'll meet to discuss it on Dec 12. Following the signs also shows up in some of my private reading, in the book of Joshua, in terms of contemplating the witness of Scripture and stepping out with boldness: "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night . . . For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. . . . Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:8-9).

Thanksgiving Feast

2006-11-21T18:46:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration and feast this past Sunday. That church cookbook keeps expanding! Praying that you will have a good, and safe, holiday. And thanks for the wonderful birthday cake for Robin and I (celebrating today, the 21st, and on the 23rd). Using what Skip & Clif call us, "Thanks to you from Mr. and Mrs. Pastor."

Culture, Faith, and Intolerance

2006-11-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

My learning this week has been intensely focused around two training events. I attended the Pennsylvania State Pastor's Conference on Monday and Tuesday (though I had to miss the Wednesday schedule) and a training on Assessing Potential Church Planters on Thursday and Friday (in Atlanta, Georgia). The latter is to help develop and implement a strategic process in the Central Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church. The former was focused on globalization and its impact on theology, culture, ethics, and church music.

One of the speakers at the PASPC was Lamin Sanneh, an African from Gambia, a practicing Catholic, historian at Yale, and Ph.D. in Islam. His talk was delivered as a series of questions and answers. I'm including some excerpts from my notes of his very interesting address; let me know if you would like more. It's a fresh approach to an important question:

Isn’t the insistence on Christian uniqueness a divisive thing? Intolerant? The insistence of uniqueness is not unique to Christianity, but shared by Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism.

Does it not then lead to permanent intolerance among religions? Should we not work out a common ground for all religions to cooperate? It is an important, but not valid question. If our differences prevent us from respecting each other, then prescribing a remedy by denying our uniqueness is another form of intolerance. A decaffeinated religion cannot awaken us to the diversity of our world.

All human beings are born into particular cultures. Solidarity with the cultures of the world has to be on the basis of cultural integrity, not a cosmopolitan universalism which fragments more than it unites. No culture or language, however powerful and richly endowed with literature or material means, can regard itself as exclusive. This creates a distinctive Christian understanding of equality. All are equal and equally inadequate. None is so marginal that it can be excluded. Christianity has become the pioneer behind the greatest movement for cultural diversity that the world has ever seen.

African Chorus

2006-11-09T22:36:00.000-05:00

We were blessed to welcome "Christ Care Ministry", an African chorus, in worship this past Sunday. They sang several songs, only one in English, and taught us to clap and sing along. Thanks so much for sharing your gift, not simply of song, but of passion and faith.

The Nearness of God

2006-11-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it feels that God is far from us, or that we are far from God. In the moment, it's not always easy to tell which it is. But I love that God promises to be near whenever we seek. We contemplate the vastness of time and space, we look through telescopes and see the glory of God. But we often forget to look at the small things, at living cells, at subatomic particles, at things that are near to us every moment, to see signs of God's glory and presence.

In Deuteronomy 30:14, Moses declares, "The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe." Here on study retreat I started a new section of St. Augustine's Confessions, a long term reading project, and read this prayer today: "Nowhere do you depart from us, and we scarcely return to you" (8.3.8).

My prayer is that we will find our way to God and discover, when we've completed that part of our journey, that God was nearby all along.

Voting

2006-11-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

Every election, I remember the January I spent in Jordan, Palestine, and Israel on a grad school trip to visit with and learn from disciples of Jesus in that region. It happened to coincide with the first-ever Palestinian elections and I was in Jerusalem on that day. We had some free time and I took a walk and caught a glimpse of the post office that served as one of the polling places. The IDF was on the roof with automatic weapons, the voter queue ran through yellow sawhorse barricades, and protesters lined the entire path. Jerusalem voter turnout was low, compared with elsewhere in Palestine. But, as I recall, "low" turnout was close to 80%. Democracy doesn't solve all the problems of the world (there are still plenty of "issues" for Palestine and Israel), but it is better than the alternatives. I just wish that we in the USA were more aware of the incredible privilege it is to vote, that we would not take our participation in civic life for granted, and that we would be less jaded (and less swayed) by the vitriolic tone of some political rhetoric. The Scriptures say to "pray for kings and those in authority." We get the chance to CHOOSE who we will be praying for. VOTE!

Guidance

2006-11-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

I am reading through Numbers with my friend. (If you are interested in connecting with a spiritual partner or friend, let me know. It is a great way to grow spiritually.) This short section from 9:18-23, about Israel following the simple guidance of the LORD, stuck with me. The setting is Israel in the wilderness, guided by the "cloud by day and pillar of fire by night". Whenever this manifestation of God's glory lifted, they struck camp to follow where God led. Whenever it remained at rest, they remained at rest. They were prepared, at a moment's notice, to pack and head out. And, they were prepared to stay as long as God rested. Sometimes I think we make guidance a complicated thing. But it is often as simple as paying attention to the signs God gives, being ready to set out when the door is opened, and being content to remain as long as God does. Here's an excerpt from the text:

Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it, the Israelites would remain in camp and would not set out; but when it lifted they would set out. At the command of the LORD they would camp, and at the command of the LORD they would set out.

Gees Bend Quilts

2006-10-27T16:34:00.000-05:00

They show up in this Sunday's message (10/29) and you can read about them in the October issue of the Smithsonian magazine, http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/october/geesbend.php
And, pick up your copy at the local post office!

Holy Communion on the Beach

2006-10-20T15:23:00.000-05:00

From our Men's Retreat

Rise Up, O Men of God

2006-10-20T15:15:00.000-05:00

Our retreat hymn and spiritual exercises:

Rise Up, O Men of God
Words: William P. Merrill, 1911
Music: William H. Walter, 1894

Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things.
Give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of kings.

Rise up, O men of God! The kingdom tarries long.
Bring in the day of brotherhood and end the night of wrong.

Rise up, O men of God! The church for you doth wait,
her strength unequal to her task; rise up, and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ! Tread where his feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man, rise up, O men of God!

Exercises for Spiritual Partners:

1. Leading Men: David & his Mighty Men, 2 Samuel 23
What hero deeds have you performed or witnessed?
Have you ever been around a man who inspired the kind of loyalty that David inspired? Tell the story.
Why did David pour out the water? How do you think the men reacted?

2. Under the Fig Tree: Nathanael Meets the Master, John 1:43-51
What is the connection between skepticism and truth?
Who knows you well enough to make a public declaration about the best aspects of your character? What would they say? What would you want them to say?
What small signs help you put faith in Jesus? Have you seen any "greater things" since?

3. Command Authority: The Centurion’s Great Faith, Matthew 8:5-13
What is the connection between faith and authority? faith and obedience?
Is the centurion placing himself under Jesus’ authority, or only acknowledging that the disease is under Jesus’ authority?
What in your life needs to be put under Jesus’ authority? What happens to "subjects of the kingdom" who do not believe, or put themselves under its authority?

Men's Retreat

2006-10-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful weekend at the beach, thanks to our hosts, the Grimms, and to our coordinator, Bob. We did a few short directed spiritual exercises with partners, swam (yes!), fished, watched the Penn State-Michigan game, went out to eat, and concluded with Holy Communion on the beach. Put it on your calendar for next year!

From Bishop Middleton re School Violence

2006-10-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

We have all been stunned by the terrible brutality on Monday morning as children assembled in what they unquestionably considered to be a place of safety, their school house. As of this writing five girls are dead and others gravely wounded. I know you join me in praying for these victims, for their families, and for the Amish community.

When the Amish families in Strasburg gathered Monday evening at the local fire house, they had already begun to talk about forgiving the man who had committed the atrocities against their children. They were making plans to reach out to his family with food and other acts of kindness. Surely, this is the essence of being Christian: even in the time of horror, to respond with forgiveness. How many times must we forgive our neighbors? Seven? "Not seven times, but, I tell you seventy-seven times," says Jesus in Matthew 18:22.

This dreadful event raises questions about the safety of our children. Even those who were not threatened by this incident may well be living with doubts and questions regarding their own security.

Our children are our treasures, but our children are also exposed to many dangers not faced 25 years ago. Incidents of school shootings have increased. A culture of violence seems to spawn more violence.

We in the Central Pennsylvania Conference are committed to keeping our children safe, encouraging them in their walk with Jesus, and supporting their families. They are not merely the future of the church; they are our present and deserve our love and protection.

In Christ's service,
Bishop Jane Allen Middleton

Prayer for the Innocents

2006-10-04T15:34:00.000-05:00

Words fail me as I think about the victims of the Lancaster school shootings just two days ago. So, I turn to a traditional prayer from The Book of Common Prayer. It is a "collect" for December 28th, the traditional date of remembrance for the innocent children of Bethlehem who were slaughtered by King Herod:

We remember this day, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by the order of King herod. Receive, we beseech thee, into the arms of thy mercy all innocent victims; and by thy great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish thy rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Apple Picking

2006-10-02T09:03:00.000-05:00

A small team went to First Fruits Farm - http://www.firstfruitsfarm.org/about.html - on Sunday afternoon and helped out in the pumpkin patch and the orchard. We brought back quite a load of apples for our local food pantries. All the produce from the farm is given away to food pantries from Baltimore to York.

Pounding the Pastor

2006-10-02T09:01:00.000-05:00

This month we are doing our annual "Pounding the Pastor" campaign for the Northeastern Food Pantry. I weighed in at 170 pounds and we'll try to quadruple my weight in gifts. (Last year we tripled it.) If we only triple my weight, we will have given more than a ton of food away in this calendar year. So far, our total weight of gifts is 1698 pounds this year, 219 of which has been received in Pounding the Pastor.

Picnic at Rocky Ridge

2006-09-29T09:16:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful time at Rocky Ridge last Sunday, holding an outdoor worship service and enjoying a covered dish picnic meal (with the addition of some fantastic chicken). Thanks to Lorri Julius for coordinating everything! We didn't bring projection, and went lo-tech instead, storyboarding on a white board. But I'm not about to post that artwork here!

Sunday School

2006-09-26T08:46:00.000-05:00

Sunday School is up and running, and lots of fun! Be sure to check it out, and remember that there are groups for adults too.

5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Sunday School!

2006-09-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday School launched last Sunday at 9:15 am, with a total of six groups meeting. Worship now begins at 10:15. Our existing groups and leaders are
PreK/K (Marla Wilson)
1st-3rd grade (Diana White)
4th-6th grade (Barbara Farnsworth)
Youth (Eric Carey)
Adult discussion group (Meg Wheeler)
Music Team (Michelle Zimmerman & Elaine Druck)
Thanks to Marla for getting this started!

Lit and Faith update

2006-09-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

The Literature and Faith group, led by Pastor JP for Penn State York (as a personal enrichment, non-credit course) will begin on Sept 26, rather than the original earlier date. There is still time to sign up for this discussion of some great popular books . . . The Poisonwood Bible, The Da Vinci Code, Traveling Mercies, and Life After God.

Mom and Me playtime

2006-09-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

Our Mom and Me playtime is up and running for the fall, on the first and third Wednesdays at 10:30 am at the Manchester Township building. It is designed for preschool children and their favorite adults to enjoy and hour together in free play, stories, snacks, crafts, games . . . each week always a little different than the week before.

Sunday Feast

2006-09-01T10:59:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday celebration, with guest band "To Be Determined" and covered dish meal to follow. And, we collected more recipes for our church cookbook. Upcoming weeks include Labor Day celebration and consecration of our Sunday School teachers (Sept 3), Sunday School launch and remembering 9/11 (Sept 10), Pay It Forward project reports (Sept 17), and outdoor worship and picnic at Rocky Ridge Park (Sept 24).