The temperatures were climbing, the humidity was thick enough to spread on toast, and there were about twice as many who came to the small church than there were available seats.
Sounds like an old-time Southern revival. But instead, it was Salem Presbytery’s summer meeting at Bethel Presbyterian in McLeansville Saturday, July 19. The air-conditioning began panting and froze up, so that what remained working provided only partial cooling. Someone eventually plugged in large fans that helped a great deal. If you were fortunate enough to find a place inside to sit. Why this unprecedented surge of attendance on what is usually the least attended meeting of Presbytery for the year?
Several reasons account for the difference this year. Fewer were taking long trips for vacation, and perhaps even more significant was that Willie Garvin, Financial Officer at the presbytery office and presbytery staff person for 40 years total, was being recognized at her retirement. Many friends, co-workers, and family were present. The other reason was that reports were to be presented by our Commissioners to the recent General Assembly in San Jose, CA and a presbytery committee report was scheduled having to do with the Peace, Unity and Purity paper presented at the 2006 GA in Richmond. Our presbytery had followed up with a study focused locally.
For any who arrived just a bit too late, no seats in the sanctuary were available. Some of us packed the small narthex but went in and out the doors seeking cooler and fresher air. So a lot of us missed the retirement ceremony all together. What I did hear was full of good words for Willie, and her sister’s solo was outstanding. Refreshments and registration were outside, so that a number of folks gathered there all during the day in lieu of sweltering inside.
Despite the comments I overheard about discomforts encountered, to me there was something about that gathering that had a good spirit to it. The setting, perhaps, contributed. I felt as though we were experiencing what church in its core being was like. Singing the hymns, sharing in communion, listening and at times debating or arguing about various issues – this was carried on by a community of Christians. The sermons were outstanding. Canessa Stafford preached her ordination sermon on “God’s Funny Farm,” and described her grandparents’ gardens, one where weeds were free to thrive and one where a weed would not dare to put down roots. We were encouraged to reconsider those among us we would define as “weeds.” Perhaps God sees us differently. She saw the Farmer God as being like the sower in Jesus’ parable who joyfully and freely scatters seeds generously and sees none of us as weeds in the Garden of the Kingdom.
The meeting of Salem Presbytery was heated at times by more than the muggy weather, as words were said in anger or frustration. The words that we might weed out of that gathering because they could be hurtful or damaging were heard within the healing fellowship of the Church at work. We also heard words of joy from churches in Brazil, words of hope from committee reports, words of blessing in our being at Table with one another. All together, I felt that no matter what was said, the Spirit at work in that place would discern where the weeds were and nurture what could bloom forth in mission and faithful discipleship. We can count on that, whether we approve or dislike the actions taken and the words spoken. It’s not necessarily about us.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
About the Fellowship Blogger
As a retired minister now serving Fellowship Presbyterian Church as Parish Associate, I find little free time to be “retired,” but much time to do what I believe God calls me to do. In this blog, I will be commenting on all sorts of matters, some related to church or to faith, others to what is taking place in the world around us, and some to what goes on in my head.
As an officer of the North Carolina Council of Churches, First Vice-President, I hope to share with you some of the work that the Council does in ministries with the people of North Carolina. In addition to my participation in several organizations here in Greensboro and elsewhere, I am a writer. My book, Gather with the Saints, is a collection of stories about unusual people, unusual deaths and unusual funerals. Janie, the 12-year-old daughter of a Baptist preacher, shares these stories with the reader, as she describes some of what happens in her home town of Wheeler, NC. My other book, Signs of Hope: Messages for the Grieving, provides healing stories about grief and loss. They are both available on http://www.lulu.com/ by putting my name in the search window. I am also a poet and belong to the Writers' Group of the Triad. Currently I am working on a book about the WWII experiences of children.
The purpose of this blog is not to emphasize my opinions but to challenge you as a reader to respond with your own views about the topics I include here. All I ask is that you remember to use language that is appropriate for this website, that members of the church and perhaps others will read. It is not limited to comments by adults, as I welcome the responses from the youthful visitors to this blog.
As an officer of the North Carolina Council of Churches, First Vice-President, I hope to share with you some of the work that the Council does in ministries with the people of North Carolina. In addition to my participation in several organizations here in Greensboro and elsewhere, I am a writer. My book, Gather with the Saints, is a collection of stories about unusual people, unusual deaths and unusual funerals. Janie, the 12-year-old daughter of a Baptist preacher, shares these stories with the reader, as she describes some of what happens in her home town of Wheeler, NC. My other book, Signs of Hope: Messages for the Grieving, provides healing stories about grief and loss. They are both available on http://www.lulu.com/ by putting my name in the search window. I am also a poet and belong to the Writers' Group of the Triad. Currently I am working on a book about the WWII experiences of children.
The purpose of this blog is not to emphasize my opinions but to challenge you as a reader to respond with your own views about the topics I include here. All I ask is that you remember to use language that is appropriate for this website, that members of the church and perhaps others will read. It is not limited to comments by adults, as I welcome the responses from the youthful visitors to this blog.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Where in the World . . .?
As I begin the first blog for our church website, the question for me was where to begin. What would be a suitable first topic? Too many ideas running around in my head. Then this morning I picked up the copy of Highlights that came the other day. I had my subject matter.
Highlights is a Presbyterian publication that comes out twice a year, and informs readers of our Presbyterian international missions. Presbyterian World Mission is a branch of PCUSA that directs mission personnel, strengthens the “global church,” and equips Presbyterians for mission. There is good news: after a 50-year decrease in PCUSA co-workers, the trend has been reversed, and there are now nearly 200 mission co-workers around the world in addition to 35 long-term mission volunteers. By 2010, the number of co-workers will increase to 215. Such news reflects a “major shift in denominational mission policy,” notes Hunter Farrell, World Mission director.
Of special interest to Charlie and me is the article about a PCUSA-supported soup kitchen in Moscow, feeding elderly poor. It is operated through the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy and directed by the Rev. Bob Bronkema, who ministers to the multi-ethnic, multi-denominational congregation there. He came to Moscow in 2006 along with his wife Stacy, also a Presbyterian pastor, and their three daughters 12,10, and 8. Their responsibilities cover a wide range of ministries with MPC. About 200 meals are prepared each day for pensioners and special food items are provided for their guests to supplement the lunch meals. We have visited with, and been assisted by, the mission co-workers in Moscow, Ellen and Al Smith. They helped us arrange a Twin Church relationship in Belarus with our former church in Madison. The Smiths also greatly helped in our second trip of about 10 from Salem Presbytery when we participated in a study seminar on the nature of Orthodoxy as practiced by the Russian Orthodox Church. Gray Clark was with that group, and you have heard his accounts of the trip.
I learned that Presbyterians have an active ministry in the Sudan as well. Muslims in Darfur now receive Christian education, through teachers from the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, after a request by a Muslim sheik. He was amazed by the dedication Christians had shown in relief efforts and medical clinics. “What is it about you Christians that you are out here ready to help us?” he asked of Lee Watenpaugh, an elder from Virginia who had been with medical clinics in Darfur. Watenpaugh then recruited support from Sudan Mission Network members, mission personnel, World Mission staff, a presbytery, congregations, and a partner church and before long a two-room school began operating in one of the villages, with 273 students. They are hoping to expand the program in order to include adult students as well. Increased financial support from Presbyterians in this country has made it possible to begin expanding the school to six more rooms. These efforts are the results of a moment when Lee Watenpaugh, retired from his government position with the Secretary of Defense as an assistant for NATO policy, saw a need and responded to it, and the mission expanded into more than he ever imagined possible.
We have been hearing much about Iran as part of an “axis of evil.” There is another story, however, as described in an article about a trip last October to Iran by Presbyterians from Peachtree and Ogelthorpe churches in Atlanta. The ten travelers met unexpected welcomes from members of the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church of Iran. That church body originated in the 19th century when American Presbyterians visited the country, and today there are six congregations with approximately 6000 members. Surprised by the near absence of any anti-American posters and encountering no hostility during their visit, the visiting Presbyterians discovered the joy of sharing with their Iranian counterparts. The generosity which was displayed in their welcome made a lasting impression upon the group. “From the moment of our arrival, people fell over themselves to welcome us,” commented one member. They attended services, visited most of the congregations, and were impressed by the numbers of young people and by the energy of the leaders. The trip illustrated something important: that when brothers and sisters in the faith come together from such wide distances of culture and location, they demonstrate the inclusive love of God for all the world.
The magazine carries other stories as well: of Presbyterians in Indonesia, Malawi, Iraq, and Columbia, for example. There are news items about new staff members, about retiring mission workers, and opportunities for service. World Mission’s website features even more stories of Presbyterians at work in Armenia, France and Spain.
When I attended my first General Assembly in Atlanta in 1983, the year the two major Presbyterian bodies united, I overheard a conversation between two retired clergy. They were discussing the work of missionaries they had known throughout the years. “I think the best kind of ministry is to be a retired missionary,” one said. And they all laughed at the thought. Perhaps today the best kind of ministry is to provide mission wherever we are. That is what we are called to be and do, as disciples.
If you wish to make comments in response to this article, or ask questions, or add information, please do. That is what this blog is for!
Highlights is a Presbyterian publication that comes out twice a year, and informs readers of our Presbyterian international missions. Presbyterian World Mission is a branch of PCUSA that directs mission personnel, strengthens the “global church,” and equips Presbyterians for mission. There is good news: after a 50-year decrease in PCUSA co-workers, the trend has been reversed, and there are now nearly 200 mission co-workers around the world in addition to 35 long-term mission volunteers. By 2010, the number of co-workers will increase to 215. Such news reflects a “major shift in denominational mission policy,” notes Hunter Farrell, World Mission director.
Of special interest to Charlie and me is the article about a PCUSA-supported soup kitchen in Moscow, feeding elderly poor. It is operated through the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy and directed by the Rev. Bob Bronkema, who ministers to the multi-ethnic, multi-denominational congregation there. He came to Moscow in 2006 along with his wife Stacy, also a Presbyterian pastor, and their three daughters 12,10, and 8. Their responsibilities cover a wide range of ministries with MPC. About 200 meals are prepared each day for pensioners and special food items are provided for their guests to supplement the lunch meals. We have visited with, and been assisted by, the mission co-workers in Moscow, Ellen and Al Smith. They helped us arrange a Twin Church relationship in Belarus with our former church in Madison. The Smiths also greatly helped in our second trip of about 10 from Salem Presbytery when we participated in a study seminar on the nature of Orthodoxy as practiced by the Russian Orthodox Church. Gray Clark was with that group, and you have heard his accounts of the trip.
I learned that Presbyterians have an active ministry in the Sudan as well. Muslims in Darfur now receive Christian education, through teachers from the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, after a request by a Muslim sheik. He was amazed by the dedication Christians had shown in relief efforts and medical clinics. “What is it about you Christians that you are out here ready to help us?” he asked of Lee Watenpaugh, an elder from Virginia who had been with medical clinics in Darfur. Watenpaugh then recruited support from Sudan Mission Network members, mission personnel, World Mission staff, a presbytery, congregations, and a partner church and before long a two-room school began operating in one of the villages, with 273 students. They are hoping to expand the program in order to include adult students as well. Increased financial support from Presbyterians in this country has made it possible to begin expanding the school to six more rooms. These efforts are the results of a moment when Lee Watenpaugh, retired from his government position with the Secretary of Defense as an assistant for NATO policy, saw a need and responded to it, and the mission expanded into more than he ever imagined possible.
We have been hearing much about Iran as part of an “axis of evil.” There is another story, however, as described in an article about a trip last October to Iran by Presbyterians from Peachtree and Ogelthorpe churches in Atlanta. The ten travelers met unexpected welcomes from members of the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church of Iran. That church body originated in the 19th century when American Presbyterians visited the country, and today there are six congregations with approximately 6000 members. Surprised by the near absence of any anti-American posters and encountering no hostility during their visit, the visiting Presbyterians discovered the joy of sharing with their Iranian counterparts. The generosity which was displayed in their welcome made a lasting impression upon the group. “From the moment of our arrival, people fell over themselves to welcome us,” commented one member. They attended services, visited most of the congregations, and were impressed by the numbers of young people and by the energy of the leaders. The trip illustrated something important: that when brothers and sisters in the faith come together from such wide distances of culture and location, they demonstrate the inclusive love of God for all the world.
The magazine carries other stories as well: of Presbyterians in Indonesia, Malawi, Iraq, and Columbia, for example. There are news items about new staff members, about retiring mission workers, and opportunities for service. World Mission’s website features even more stories of Presbyterians at work in Armenia, France and Spain.
When I attended my first General Assembly in Atlanta in 1983, the year the two major Presbyterian bodies united, I overheard a conversation between two retired clergy. They were discussing the work of missionaries they had known throughout the years. “I think the best kind of ministry is to be a retired missionary,” one said. And they all laughed at the thought. Perhaps today the best kind of ministry is to provide mission wherever we are. That is what we are called to be and do, as disciples.
If you wish to make comments in response to this article, or ask questions, or add information, please do. That is what this blog is for!
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