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| Download or view the PDF at www.susumc.org/link |
Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Connecting Ministries - Sojourner Truth Ministries Celebrates 20 Years of Caring for Williamsport Neighbors
Photo courtesy of Angelique Labadie
Rev. Victoria Rebeck, Director of Connecting Ministries
A room full of Williamsport neighbors slogged through torrential rain on September 22 to the warm home of Sojourner Truth Ministries. They came to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this United Methodist ministry that serves the area’s most vulnerable.
While the mission, which meets in a former church building, offers a breadth of opportunities to the neighbors, it may be best known for its community lunch, offered six days a week. Food for the body—a hot meal, served family style—is served along with food for the soul, a time of prayer and an uplifting message.
“Our guests can have a special meal with their families,” says Pat Bole, a long-time supporter of the ministry. “This is home for many people.”
Rev. Angelique Labadie-Cihanowyz, a Nazarene clergywoman, oversees the ministry in her role as executive director. An energetic, visionary leader, she is well known for her compassion. Children of all ages ran up to talk to her during the celebration.
“My takeaway from working here is that poverty is complex, with multifaceted barriers,” Rev. Labadie-Cihanowyz says. “And I have the honor and responsibility to find a way to connect with every single person who comes to us, to show the love of Christ and preach the Good News through actions and words.”
In addition to the weekday meals, Sojourner Truth offers a number of compassionate and empowering ministries.
After-School Kids (ASK) meets twice a week to provide a safe place for children to receive nurturing, homework help, one-on-one attention, Bible lessons, and a meal. More programming is offered to children in the summer. Neighbors can stop by for emergency food packages, hygiene items, socks, gloves, hats, and blankets. A sewing group that met in the building created a large quilt depicting Noah’s ark, which now graces a wall at the center. A Bible study meets on Tuesday mornings.
Dinner Church gathers on Saturdays for an abbreviated worship service and a meal.
“The goal is to make it feel like Thanksgiving dinner,” Rev. Labadie-Cihanowyz says. Visitors from other churches sit down at the table with the guests, engaging in conversation and getting to know each other. Building relationships and recognizing the guests’ dignity is as important as the meal.
“You can rely on these people,” says Paul, a regular luncheon guest whose story is featured on the organization’s website. Like many people, he needs to rely on the center to provide a meal every day, not just once or twice a month. “These are real people, real church,” he says. According to the website, Paul “came in for food, but received acceptance, help, love, and is being transformed by Jesus.”
Twenty years ago, a group of United Methodist clergy and laypeople felt called to start a meaningful ministry in Williamsport. They spent time walking around the city and praying. One of the walkers had a vision wheel with a center hub with spokes radiating out from it.
Sojourner Truth Ministries became that hub, and churches in the area became the spokes that assist the ministries. STM united the churches in shared ministry; together they were able to offer more than they would have individually.
On occasion they engage Hillside Catering, which hires some folks in the STM community.
“We’re not afraid to try new things,” Bole says. The board is dreaming of future ministries such as literacy classes for adults, rooms on Friday nights for Twelve Step groups, and perhaps serving as hub for gathering materials for Mission Central, the Mechanicsburg-based warehouse for medical supplies, flood recovery kits, and other missions materials.
Soon, House of Hope will open. This will provide a short-term, communal home for women coming out of homelessness. The women will also learn practical skills in budgeting to work toward sustainability
As a United Methodist Ministry, STM welcomes donations and volunteer help. Visit the website stmwilliamsport.org, Facebook page www.facebook.com/stmwilliamsport or email sojournertruthministries@gmail.com to learn more about how you can be a part of this life-saving, relationship-building Beloved Community.
Growing Spiritual Transformational Leaders - Youth Ministry Listening Posts – What Did We Learn?
Youth attending Youth Rally at Lake Winola UMC
Kim Shockley, Coordinator for Pathways of Spiritual Leadership, Staff Liaison to the Young People’s Ministry Council
On October 22 and 23 I partnered with Kenda Dean and Trey Wince from Ministry Incubators to talk with youth workers from around the Susquehanna Conference. Considering that we met by Zoom, we had an energetic conversation that helped us to learn what is changing in youth ministry from the perspective of those who are leading.
All of the youth workers (paid and volunteer) were able to name young people who are recognizing God’s presence in their lives and have some sense of their giftedness and how God may want to use them daily. Even the pandemic has not stopped the movement of God through our young people!
There are several ways in which youth ministry and a local churches ability to impact young people is changing. Most of our youth workers have indicated that the number of students and adult volunteers has lessened. We all know this and recognize it in the participation of all church events. That doesn’t minimize the discouragement that our youth workers feel! In some ways, this lessening has been happening before the pandemic as families have fewer children and younger families struggle with the demands of raising children in our hectic society.
One of the most significant changes that many of our youth workers noticed is that their students are mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. One even suggested that there should be a social worker who comes to meetings to help keep an eye on the health of the students. Where are the support systems for helping our young people thrive in today’s world? Helping our youth workers practice a listening ear and a caring attitude is one of their best ways of doing ministry.
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| Youth at Spry UMC, York |
Some of the more positive changes that our youth workers are noticing is that students love the opportunity to serve their communities – building sheds, serving meals – young people show up for these events more often and more consistently than they come to youth group meetings and worship. These event help youth workers to build relationships with their students and the students among each other. Adding a brief lesson and conversation to these events seems to work well! Just because we may not see these young people in worship on Sunday morning doesn’t mean that they aren’t actively being Jesus’ presence in the community!
Also, students will bring their friends when they are doing the kinds of activities that are helping them to develop as persons. One youth worker shared their emphasis on understanding personalities and giftedness as being a very positive experience for their teens.
In order for the Susquehanna Conference to offer youth ministries that thrive into the future, we all need to be praying for our youth workers and the young people they minister to. If you have a school in your community, then you have young people for which to pray!
For those of you who have active prayer lives, consider this daily prayer:
“Holy God, watch over our young people. Keep them safe from the chaos of life during these strange times. (Name those young people whom you know!) I ask that Your Holy Spirit breathe inspiration into the lives of our youth workers, pastors, and church leaders (Name those you know) so that we can courageously make decisions that uplift our young people as leaders for today! Help me to see how I can be a positive influence on the life of a young person today. Amen.”
As you pray, listen for God’s message, and share it with your church leaders. Share it with me – kshockley@susumc.org or 407-276-5114. Every renewal of any kind always starts with prayer and recognizing the work of the Holy Spirit among us. Let’s continue the conversation as we look for ways to actively support our youth workers and our young people!
Congratulations to our 2021 Class of Elders!
Left to right: Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, Rev. Daniel Wilt, Rev. Jason Schwartzman, Rev. David Layser, Rev. Kristopher Sledge, and Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi.
You can view the Ordination Service at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyG1NXxrB-I
Daniel L. Wilt was born in Altoona, PA, attending Altoona High School, University of Valley Forge and Wesley Theological Seminary. He was recommended for ministry by Second Avenue UMC, Altoona. He currently serves as pastor at St Paul’s UMC in Lewisburg in the Lewisburg District. His favorite scripture is John 15:15. “My faith begins and ends in relationship; rituals, traditions, songs, services, buildings, and all that are insignificant if I don’t remember the relationship.”
Jason M. Schwartzman was born in New York, New York; attending St Raymond High School (Bronx NY), Caldwell College, and United Theological Seminary. Jason is married to Michelle and father to Dante and Jahnavi. He was recommended for ministry by Aldersgate UMC in York. He currently serves as pastor at Grace UMC, Lemoyne in the Harrisburg District. His favorite scripture is John 10:10. “This verse is an inspiration and a challenge to each of us to embrace the full spectrum of human experience.”
David N. Layser was born in Harrisburg, PA., attending Hershey High School, Messiah College and Asbury Theological Seminary. David is married to Emily and father to Julia, Edison, Gideon, and Joel. He was recommended for ministry by Fishburn UMC in Hershey. He currently is pastor of Trinity UMC, Danville in the Lewisburg District. His favorite scripture is John 15:5 “It reminds me that the calling of discipleship and ministry—with all its adventures, demands, and challenges—is most basically an invitation to abide in an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus, from which the good fruit of the Kingdom naturally grows. When I am really living like this (and there are many times I am not!), the pressure is off, life is abundant, and ministry is good.”
Kristopher R. Sledge was born in Lewisburg, PA, attending Selinsgrove High School, Messiah University and Wesley Theological Seminary. Kris is married to Hannah and father to Lydia. He was recommended for ministry by Christ Community Church in Selinsgrove. He currently serves as pastor at The Journey in the Harrisburg District. His favorite scripture is from Romans 8:31. “In the midst of one of the darkest experiences in my life, Romans 8:31 gave me the deep assurance that even in the midst of trauma, God was present, caring, and indeed for me!”
You Did It! Thank you for making Matching Monday a huge success
The Matching Monday Challenge is our most important appeal of the year. This year, the challenge was to raise $40,000 for Camp and Retreat Ministry. We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate you, and share that you have far surpassed that goal and have currently raised $49,000 for camps during this appeal!
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, we know that some of you are continuing Matching Monday in your own ways. Churches in the Scranton Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport Districts, did you know you’ve been challenged!? If you are a church in one of these districts, check with your district office to see how you can continue to raise financial support for these sacred spaces through the Challenge your districts have put out.
While the six weeks of the Matching Monday Challenge may be complete, you can always support Camp and Retreat Ministry. Your generosity in financial giving remains a need. Donate Anytime!
Click here and select “2021 Camp Comeback Campaign” on the donation page. Any amount helps!
Do you prefer to donate with a check? Make an off-line donation by check payable to:
Susquehanna Conference
c/o Camp & Retreat Ministry
303 Mulberry Drive
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Memo line: “Matching Monday”
Thank you for your support!
Hearts Strangely Warmed
“While the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” — John Wesley, May 24, 1738
God calls us to tell our story so that others may come to know Jesus Christ. “Hearts Strangely Warmed” was created to share these stories about transformational encounters with the Living God.
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I had been offered a chance to pastor a church while I was a youth director at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in York. I flatly refused. I wasn’t a pastor. I was a youth director and I loved everything about that job! I was happy there and had no interest in being a pastor at all! God was patient.
Circumstances changed and soon my family discerned a call to be missionaries in India. I wanted to go there to help foster and build a deep sense of community and care. On September 12, 2011—24 hours before our plane left New York City—Michelle (my wife) and I were making a last run or two to CVS and some other places. We passed Otterbein United Methodist Church in York. I casually said to Michelle, “Now if I was ever asked to be the pastor of THAT church, I wouldn’t say no”. We finished our errands and boarded our plane the next afternoon. God was patient.
I can fill pages about the incredible and wonderful experiences we had in India. The stories of those children are forever etched in my heart and in my mind. Their courage, their joy and their SENSE OF COMMUNITY changed my life. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was the one who was learning while I was in India. I was learning that sense of community that I longed for so deeply was very present in that village and at that school. And that’s what I longed to bring home to the United States. God was patient…and wise.
Upon our arrival back in the US, the first few weeks were a blur! My daughter was born just a few weeks after we got back, there were a few places of employment that I would rather forget, but there was also a life-changing phone call. “Jason, I know you said no before…but I really think that this church would be a great match for you….” I sheepishly responded “Okay, which church…?” Wouldn’t you believe, it was Otterbein UMC in York? God was patient. God was wise. I couldn’t say no. I promised I wouldn’t say no!
Once again, I could fill PAGES with the joy that was becoming the pastor of Otterbein Church in York (RIP). I saw the sense of community that I longed to experience actually come to fruition in so many tangible ways at Otterbein! The following appointments have been equally as rewarding: East End/Fairview UMCs in Altoona and now Grace UMC in Lemoyne. It has always been, and I imagine always will be, my goal to make the church a part of the community in deep and meaningful ways. We, the church —every church—exist for the people who have not yet walked into our doors and have not yet experienced a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. This work is worth giving my life to! God was patient, even when I wasn’t. God was wise, even when I wasn’t.
I am honored to have been ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church. There are not enough pages in The LINK to thank the people that made this day possible. I am so filled with gratitude and awe of the tremendous churches I have had the privilege of serving, my incredible family who has supported every step of this journey, and of course the amazing grace of God, who was patient.
Called to Love All God’s People
By Bishop Jane Allen Middleton (retired)
2021 Susquehanna Annual Conference, June 19, 2021. Juneteenth.
tinyurl.com/y2havbdm (12:47-35:44)
Scriptures: 1 John 4:11-16, 19-21 and Luke 10:25-37
Love God with all your heart and mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. That is the commandment which Jesus gives us. He calls this the most important of all commandments. It sounds so simple but it isn’t because we humans, even we who are good church people, are very complex.
The neighbors Jesus tells us to love refers to all people. So this commandment sounds quite simple, but [in addition to us being] really complex, this word neighbor is all-inclusive—everybody! Neighbors really does means all, and some of the neighbors we are called to love are not the ones we want to love at all.
Underlying all of scripture is the fundamental truth of the power of God’s love. God out of His infinite love created the world and all that is in it and called it good. Underlying all of theology is God’s unconditional love of all people. All means all people.
Who are these people? That troublesome neighbor? Yes. That difficult father-in-law, parent, child? Yes. The ‘never Trumper’ that drives you nuts or the ‘Trumper’ that drives you nuts? Yes. The homeless, unkempt one with the sign “Will work for food”? The arrogant millionaire? The person who is constantly rude, even cruel to you? Yes, yes, yes! All are God’s beloved.
Love is so very basic. Love that a child learns in the crib in a wondrous cycle of love. The mother gazes at her child and smiles. The baby smiles in return awakening profound love in the mother. She reaches for her precious child and the child giggles, the sound brings joy to the mother who in turn embraces the child in a warm embrace. It’s a cycle; love is given, love is received, love is returned.
This is the loving gaze that God gives to every human being. We can love because God first loved us. This is our source, and when we can reach into our hearts for that source our capacity to love grows and grows. That same love relationship happens between people, or it can.
Mary Janecek was my classmate in third through sixth grades. Her family immigrated from Czechoslovakia when she was eight because of World War II. She really bugged me. The truth is, I was very jealous of her and I tried to make her life miserable, and it may be that she made mine miserable as well. Everything changed in the sixth grade. I don’t remember the details, but I do remember as if it were yesterday, that one day she invited me to her house after school. It was a beautiful spring day. We wandered in the woods near her house, picking beautiful wildflowers and rejoicing in the warmth and loveliness of the day, which was made more beautiful because we were enjoying friendship. Those years of hostility were obliterated by the glory of mutual friendship and yes, love. At the end of the school year my family moved away and I never saw her again, but I’ve never forgotten the wonder of that reconciliation and how it was so much more fun than being enemies.
How do we do this? What is expected of us? How do we love everyone?
When Jesus was asked who is my neighbor, who is the one I should love? He answered with a story. You probably know this story by heart. Perhaps not like the way I’m going to tell it, but this may be how Jesus would tell the story today...
A man was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho when suddenly a band of robbers attacked him and stole everything he had and left him half dead by the side of the road.
The first to come by was a pastor. He may have been a United Methodist. He saw this poor man but the man looked almost dead, beyond help and he walked on by. The second to come along may have also been a pastor, maybe an evangelical or Roman Catholic who also saw the terrible state he was in and kept walking.
And then a third came down the road. Who was he? We’re told he was a Samaritan. Today, perhaps a Hindu from India. Or Black. Or even an apparent recovering drug addict. Maybe he was Jewish, from Brooklyn. He was the ‘other’. And he immediately gave this wounded, suffering stranger his own garment, bound his wounds as best he could. And took him to a hospital telling them he would pay for everything and would check on him when he returned from his trip.
Well, that’s not exactly what the bible says but you get the picture.
Over and over the stories Jesus tells reach across societal and prejudicial boundaries and the mighty are struck low and the lowly are lifted up. The heroes of his stories are the tax collector, the woman with an issue of blood, the poor widow, the leper, the Samaritan woman. He turns the values of the world upside down and challenges us to do so today. But it’s hard. We are so much a product of our prejudices and assumptions.
I’m reminded of a time when our grandson Anthony was about nine years old and we were spending the day in New York City. As we were walking down the street I saw a man I recognized. I said as we approached him, “I know that man.” It happened that the church which I pastored at the time had a ministry called Midnight Run. About once a month we would take a van into New York City, arriving about midnight, and we would spend the night distributing soup, beverages, bag lunches, clothing and blankets. This man was frequently one of the people we encountered. Truthfully, I was actually trying to impress my grandson, but as we walked by I said nothing and I assume he didn’t recognize me. Anthony said with a puzzled expression, “Why didn’t he say hello?” I felt a huge pang of guilt. Why didn’t I even say hello? He wasn’t my friend and [I’d treated him like] an object, as one-among-many receiving my benevolence at 62nd and Park. I didn’t love him.
The kind of love Jesus is calling for is a profound love in which the Christ in me sees the Christ in the other—every other.
The power of love Christ requires of us is its all-inclusiveness. The most impossible reality of that love is its all-inclusiveness. How can we love, knowing our own frailties? We cannot love in this radically inclusive way through our own power. Only by surrendering our will, our idiosyncracies, our dysfunction, and our prejudices to God can we even begin to love with radical inclusiveness. Perhaps—even most important—if we can accept with every part of our being that we ourselves are unconditionally loved by God, perhaps then we can truly love.
For those of us in the white majority, the commandment of Jesus to love becomes much more specific. And it is more of a challenge as we face the reality that this wondrous nation of many peoples is a nation of immigrants, except for native peoples and blacks who came as slaves, representing almost the entire human spectrum.
And we are called to love all, people of every race and creed.
Love is a verb. It is a decision, a practice. Do it until you believe it.
Jesus calls us to a better way, The way of truly seeing one another as sisters and brothers, the way of infinite love.
Jesus calls us to understand that when one suffers we all suffer. One hundred years ago, in Tulsa Oklahoma, racial hatred resulted in the deaths of some 300 people and the destruction of an entire community of people whose only crime was to be born black. Jack grew up in Tulsa and had never even heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
The horrendous acts of May 31 and June 1, 1921, not only destroyed a whole community but these acts destroyed the future for hundreds. This truth struck me profoundly because our parents come from there. When the massacre occurred, Jack’s father who was born in Tulsa was four. My father who was born in nearby Muskogee was seven. Our mothers were both three years old. None of them were children of college graduates, but in spite of poor beginnings they accomplished a lot in their lives.
In contrast, many other three, four and seven year olds were also living in Tulsa at that same time. They were among approximately 13,000 people who lived in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa. It was a thriving community with many college graduates, doctors, pastors, teachers, financiers, as well as many large and small business owners. Their children could look forward to a very bright future. This community had only one very huge problem. The citizens of this very successful, thriving part of Tulsa were black.
The whole area of Greenwood was burned [by white rioters] overnight leaving some 10,000 people homeless. Details are still unknown but it is estimated that from 300 to 3000 were killed, wounded, or missing. Most of the area was destroyed by fire including over 600 businesses.
All of this was stolen by hatred. But more than that, those three, four, and seven-year-olds, along with hundreds of other surviving children, lost their future.
In her book Caste, Isabel Wilkerson compares the 400 years of blacks in the United States to the caste systems in India and Nazi Germany. She writes that the creation of a caste system happens when one group stigmatizes another and dehumanizes them in order to justify a system of perpetual domination. A caste system, according to Wilkerson sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry and often immutable traits.
Jesus invites us to live into a beloved community which destroys these systems and replaces them with justice and love.
Howard Thurman, the great African American scholar and pastor of Boston School of Theology, said, “When I have lost harmony with another, my whole life is thrown out of tune. God tends to be remote and far away when a desert and sea appear between me and another. I draw close to God as I draw close to my fellow people. The great incentive remains ever alert; I cannot be at peace without God, and I cannot be truly aware of God if I am not at peace with my fellow people.”
The words of first John remind us that the source of this love is God in Christ Jesus. We can’t do this by our own power but by God’s gift. It’s a wondrous circle of love. “If we love each other, God remains perfect in us.” (1 John 4:12) Only by God’s grace can we even hope to live a life of love. The proof of our capacity to love is in our relationships with the near one and the far one, with those closest to us as well as those who are unlike us, our opposites. “If anyone says I love God and hates their brother or sister he or she is a liar.” (1 John 4:20)We must love with every fiber of our being. We must love because God first loved us. How can we do this? By allowing the Christ in me, to recognize the Christ in you.
All things are possible through Jesus Christ who loves us. With this love in our hearts, anything is possible.
Can we be God’s beloved community? May it be so.
Connecting With Your Community
By Doug Hoy, SUSUMC Disaster Response Coordinator
Growing up, I spent many hours watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and learning life lessons that have formed who I am today. Fred Rogers was a pastor and, through his ministry and television show, he emphasized the importance of kindness, community, and friendship.
He once said, “All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.”
When we think of disasters, what comes to mind? Hurricanes…Flooding…Wildfires…Earthquakes? Have we considered the homeless, the hungry, single parents, seniors, or that forgotten population between 18 and twenty-something? While the needs of survivors of the former certainly should occupy our thoughts, prayers, and actions, the latter also suffer. They are our neighbors and friends. They live in our communities. They have needs!
And, while it is not about the numbers, research confirms this. Fifty seven percent of Americans surveyed indicated they only know some of their neighbors. Sixty nine percent of 13 to 25 year olds say they have three or four meaningful interactions within a day. Forty percent say they have no one to talk to and that no one really knows them well.
Our younger population is suffering as well. One in four young people say they have one or fewer adults in their lives they can turn to if they need to talk. Twenty-four percent of young people indicated they have no adult mentors and feel like their life has no meaning or purpose.
In a world so fraught over the impact of a pandemic, troubled by social and political discord, and divided by racial and social injustice, there are people in our communities who are hurting, lonely, and in search of someone who cares. They want to connect, talk, and find meaning and purpose in their lives.
Philippians 4:19 says, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This verse reveals that our God is an abundantly loving, caring, and giving. When we keep our eyes focused on Him, He will work in our lives and communities and give us opportunities to meet every need. He will supply us with the ability to be a caring, Christian presence to someone in need. And, according to the numbers, all we need to do is reach out.
So, who are those people in our neighborhoods? And, how can we identify their needs?
The Disaster Response Ministry offers the Connecting Neighbors program, which provides church leaders, laity, and congregations with ideas about how to do mission in our own back yards. Equipping Vital Congregations offers the Mission Insite program that can help congregations identify those areas of need within our community. Using these resources will help us to learn more about our communities. Through these programs, we can discover new, tangible ministry areas where we can connect and engage with them.
As your congregation works to identify opportunities and develop a plan, consider Mister Rogers’ advice.
“What really matters is helping others win, too, even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then.”
Ephesians 4 tells us we have all been equipped “for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Everyone has something they can contribute. And, by keeping our focus on God, prayerfully considering the needs of our community, and acting on the opportunities He provides, we can meet the needs of our neighbors and build the kingdom of God.
For additional information on these programs:
Connecting Neighbors – Visit the Disaster Response Ministry webpage at www.susmb.org/drm and click on the Connecting Neighbors Training link under Resources.
Mission Insite – Visit the Equipping Vital Congregations webpage at www.susumc.org/evc-mission-insite
Contact Doug Hoy at 717-766-7441, ext. 3402 or email drc@susumc.org
Your Neighbors Need Your Help
By Doug Hoy, SUSUMC Disaster Response Coordinator
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
Since recent hurricanes and storms passed through the east coast, your neighbors and friends have been working to address the destruction that has been left behind. Many are cleaning out flooded, wet basements, removing debris from their properties, and making necessary repairs to their walls and roofs. And, they need your help.
In Galatians 6, we are called to share one another’s burdens. And, as you can imagine, recovering from a disaster can be accompanied by some very heavy burdens. Are you called to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus? Do you have the gifts to be a caring, Christian presence in the lives of those who are struggling to address their disaster needs? In scripture, Jesus offers rest to those who labor and are burdened. Can you carry your neighbor’s burdens and provide them with an opportunity for respite? Matthew 11:28-30 also tells us that we are to take up the yoke of Jesus, one that is easy and light. Consider becoming yoked with Jesus and one another to lighten the load of your neighbors. And, as you do, know you will “fulfill the law of Christ.”
The Disaster Response Ministry has been awarded an UMCOR Solidarity Grant to assist in the disaster relief efforts taking place within the Annual Conference. In addition to the need for volunteers, there is also a need for local coordinators to assist with organizing the effort and working with other organizations to provide for community needs.
Williamsport District
The community of Knoxville (Tioga County) is struggling to recover from flooding left behind by Hurricane Henri. Many households have reported some kind of damage and indicated they have a need for help. The Knoxville UMC sustained a flooded basement that damaged everything and the church was without gas and electric service for some time.
York District
Communities throughout York County are working to recover from Tropical Storm Fred and Hurricane Ida. Efforts to provide assistance to nearly 500 households are ongoing. Work includes mucking out basements, clearing outside debris, assessing and tarping roofs, mitigating mold, removing drywall, and beginning the rebuilding process.
If you are interested in helping your neighbors in their time of need, please contact the Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Douglas Hoy, at drc@susumc.org or call 717-766-7441, ext. 3402.
Missionary Covenant Support
By Rebecca (Becky) Parsons, Missionary Serving as Mission Advocate in the NEJ
Churches are learning so much about who they are as Christ’s disciples in these 20 months into living in a pandemic: grief sharing, community connections, healthy relationships, technology, and how the holy spirit calls us even deeper into connection with one another in new ways.
One connection point in the United Methodist Church is to our 220 Missionaries in 60 countries. Local churches and individuals covenant with a missionary; covenants are statements of relationship and financial commitment: mutual care and witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ calls us to love one another in our local community and around the world. The around-the-world part is made possible by the work of missionaries serving in the local communities all over the world.
Covenants take what we treasure most: compassion, justice and peace and transform it into acts of love in missions, where we can join into the activity of the holy spirit through our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
What do you treasure most? How are you sharing it?
You treasure your time? Have you spent some of that time in prayer for Rev. Andrew Lee as Andrew coordinates the church activities of the UMC in Cambodia.
Or have you covenanted with Temba Nkomozepi at Mujila Falls Zambia, where it is so remote that it takes the ‘call to serve unto the ends of the Earth’ past that! Temba is an agriculturalist who attended Africa University—a world class university sponsored by a portion of every apportionment dollar you send to the global church.
Have you and your church been on a virtual Volunteer in Mission journey with Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena? Nothing will separate us from the love of God who calls us to love one another, and you don’t even have to leave your home to build relationships with people in Christian communities and learn how the holy spirit is transforming lives. Gather a group and visit your favorite missionary and the community they serve!
This year, your church can make a covenant with, pray for, and support our 220 missionaries serving in 60 countries sharing the good news, inviting all to warm themselves in the light of Christ, and transforming the world for the ‘Kin-dom’ of God. This advent season, as we prepare for Jesus coming into the world, consider inviting families, your congregation, or individuals to support a missionary. You’ll be glad you did.
The Conference Secretary of Global Ministries or I can help you navigate choosing a missionary. Contact me, Rebecca Parsons, Missionary Serving as Mission Advocate with the Northeastern Jourisdiction at 540-314-7911 or rparsons@umcmission.org.
May God’s peace strengthen you on this journey of love.
Discovery Place: Advent is Just Around the Corner
Discovery Place is ready to meet your needs for resources for small groups or Sunday School classes. The first Sunday of Advent is Thanksgiving weekend, so start thinking now about a study for Advent! Order early to avoid disappointment, as quantities are limited. Choose from the following titles:
Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas, by Adam Hamilton (2020). Jesus was known by many other names throughout his life. Learn the meaning behind the names of Christ and the difference He makes in our lives this Christmas. 4 sessions. (Also available – study books for Children and Youth.)
The Gift of the Nutcracker, by Matt Rawle (2018). Rawle looks at this Christmas classic in a new way: through the lens of faith. He uses the iconic tale to help us understand God’s greatest gift of the Christ child and of the kingdom Christ came to build. 4 sessions. (Also available – study books for Children and Youth.)
The Case for Christmas: Evidence for the Identity of Jesus, by Lee Strobel (2018). Strobel reveals what he discovered as he sought to separate the holiday from the holy day, the facts from the fantasy, and the truth from the tradition. You will learn what the Bible says about Jesus’ birth and how you can know it is accurate. 4 sessions.
Faithful: Christmas Through the Eyes of Joseph, by Adam Hamilton (2017). As the earthly father of Jesus, Joseph’s place in the Nativity story is sometimes overlooked, but contains valuable lessons for all of us. 4 sessions. (Also available – study books for Children and Youth and a large-print book.)
The Redemption of Scrooge, by Matt Rawle (2016). Based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this study explores the world of Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Cratchits, with an eye to Christian faith. Along the way we will meet the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come and learn about living with and for others in a world blessed by Jesus. 4 sessions. (Also available – study book for Youth.)
Because of Bethlehem, by Max Lucado (2016). In this Bible study, Lucado explores how the One who made everything chose to make Himself nothing and come into our world. Jesus’ birth gives us the promise that God is always near us, always for us, and always with us. 4 sessions.
Who Needs Christmas, by Andy Stanley (2019). The remarkable details of the Christmas story are what make it so believable. And Andy Stanley tells us why, after so many years, it took something unexpected to get people’s attention. 4 sessions.
Christmas Gifts That Won’t Break, by James Moore (2017). As we journey through Advent, we reflect on the unbreakable gifts God has given us: hope, love, joy, and peace…and of course the greatest gift of all: Jesus. 5 sessions.
Finding Bethlehem in the Midst of Bedlam, by James Moore (2015). This study explores how God comes to us in the midst of chaos and how we can be light that the world seeks, especially during the Christmas Season. Bethlehem or bedlam…which will you choose this year? 5 sessions.
The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) has published a challenging on-line resource for Advent called Reimagine Advent. Discover the Liberating Christ. Visit www.r2hub.org/premium-resources/p/advent2021 for more information.
Find more complete descriptions of Discovery Place resources at www.discovery-place.org. Click on ONLINE CATALOG and search by title, or use the “Advanced search” (subject: Christmas/Advent) to see a complete listing of all Advent resources we offer. Place an order directly from the catalog, call us at 717-766-7968, or e-mail discovery@susumc.org.
God’s blessings to you as we celebrate the upcoming seasons of thankfulness, joy, and hope!
Serving Christ with you,
Joni Robison
Remembering Our Heritage
Dr. Milton Loyer, Conference Archivist
November – 100 years ago.
On November 2, 1921, the Methodist congregation in Laporte, Sullivan County, purchased the Baptist church building on Main and Beech Streets and re-named it the “Maude D. Eddy Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church” as shown on the cornerstone. The first Methodist church building in Laporte, dedicated in 1874, had been open to all Protestant faiths, including the Baptists. In 1897 the Baptists erected their own church building. By 1921 the Methodist building was no longer adequate, while the Baptist congregation had declined to the point that their building was now a burden. The Methodists purchased the property for $700, the Eddy family donating $400 of that amount with the understanding that the church be named for the saintly Maude D. Eddy (1865-1915). The original Methodist building was purchased by the borough of Laporte for use as a community hall.
Established by circuit riders of the Genesee Conference in 1826, Laporte has had the following conference placements:
1826-46 Genesee Conference
1846-57 Baltimore Conference
1857-60 East Baltimore Conference
1860-64 East Genesee Conference
1864-69 East Baltimore Conference
1869- Central PA/Susquehanna Conference
December – 50 years ago
December 31, 1971, marked then end of the Quincy Home Press (formerly the Quincy Orphanage Press) – which had been a staple of the site since 1925. In that year a press was added to the orphanage school, and it became an integral part of the industrial building. Children of the orphanage received vocational training, and the press was soon printing the annual reports of the Orphanage and Home – as well as envelopes and bulletins for nearby congregations.
In 1930, a government contract for printing postal supplies was secured. Soon hardbound books were being printed for a wide variety of clients. A linotype machine was added in 1948, and the department ultimately came to show a comfortable margin of profit. But as the public schools took over the academic and vocational training of the children, the printing ministry had outlived its usefulness and ceased when long-time supervisor Lloyd F. Bender retired at the end of December after 47 years of faithful service.
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Growing Spiritual Transformational Leaders: Become a Camp Retreat Ministry Donor Partner
Rev. Kevin Witt, Director of Growing Spiritual Transformational Leaders
Kim Shockley, Coordinator for Pathways of Spiritual Leadership
Give to the Fall Camp Comeback Appeal
We celebrate the return of summer camp this year!! What a summer it has been! The children, youth and families came so ready and energized to connect with Christ, Community and Creation. Parents, church leaders and campers continue to express how much this particular summer meant and the profound positive impact it had. We want to say a special thanks to all of you who partnered as donors, volunteers, and staff who met every challenge with grace, love, and the wide embrace of God.
People may assume that since summer camp is underway again that the need for donations has lessened. The reality is, however, that participant numbers only reached less than half of what a typical summer would be due to continued Covid concerns, restrictions, and protocols that are a part of life right now. Operational and staffing expenses resumed, but with greatly reduced revenue. This year presents another pivotal opportunity to make a true difference exactly when it is needed, as an individual, family, congregation, or group.
Let’s join together as people who understand the importance of Christ centered camps and retreats. Camp and Retreat Ministry invites us to step up and bridge the gap through the practice of generosity. It is so gratifying to see our camp and retreat centers coming alive again with people in community growing in faith and finding joy in these special places we all share. Let’s keep the momentum going through our gifts. Close to $20,000 has already come in to encourage other donors. Let’s complete the journey to the $100,000 goal together by the end of the year.
Give now and know how deeply it is appreciated!!
Give On-line: www.susumcamps.org and click on the donate button in the upper right corner.
Donate By Check: Make payable to “The Susquehanna Conference UMC” and on the description line indicate 2021 Camp Comeback Campaign. Send to: SUS Camp and Retreat Ministry, 303 Mulberry Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Thank You Everyone! We cherish being in ministry together with you!
AC2021: How About Love?
By Bishop Peggy Johnson, Eastern PA Conference
2021 Susquehanna Annual Conference, June 18, 2021
Scripture: I Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
Prayer: Your Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. May you light a fire in our hearts this day that we will go from this place and do your Word in Spirit and truth. Now in spite of me or through me, speak your word to your people. Amen.
The Broadway Musical “Rent” officially closed production in 2008 making it one of the longest running musicals on Broadway. It included a show-stopper song that asks “Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear. Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure? Measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure a year in the life?”
Then the chorus resounds with: “How about love? How about love? How about love?”
I would take some liberty with these lyrics and say, “Five hundred twenty five thousand sessions of conference. How do you measure your annual conference? In resolutions, in debate, in budgets, in nominations? How about love?
How about love? Your theme this year for annual conference is A Vision of the Beloved Community. It is all about love and the love we have for one another. It the most important measure of the success of an annual conference or a church or your very life. Without it, you are a clanging cymbal or a noisy gong.
How about love? In these most strife-filled times we are living, it still remains the more excellent way, the thing that never fails and is the very heart of God.
As you begin this session of annual conference: how about love?
No better words can be found than I Corinthians 13. Too often read at weddings and little else, it has the practical kernels of love embedded in verses 4-7. May they be your guide for annual conference 2021.
Qualities of love
So what are the qualities of love that we should measure?
Love is patient and kind
They say that a broke clock is right two times every day and that is a loving attitude. If you know someone who bothers you and works your last nerve? Think about the good things in them, even if it is only two things and get to know them.
There was a person in my life who I had experienced great conflict. Know anyone like that? I showed up at a peace walk last summer and there was this person: my star detractor. I stiffened up, hoping things could at least be civil, remembering the sting of the past. We ended up walking from the school parking lot to the church and really talked. I found out more about his life and background and slowly began to understand his perspectives and hurts. I was suddenly humbled to think all this time I had judged him wrongly. I had been impatient with this person but he was indeed a precious child of God.
Jesus saw the heart of people: The woman at the well, Nicodemus at night, Peter by the charcoal fire after the resurrection. He patiently listened, engaged and looked at them with the eyes of God’s love and kindness.
Sometimes we are so busy or so sure we know what a person is like ahead of time that we don’t really see them, hear their hearts and understand their backgrounds. Pope Francis recently wrote, “This haste, this everything-right-now, does not come from God. If we get worked up about the right-now, we forget what remains forever, and we follow the passing clouds and lose sight of the sky.” Love has patience and sees the sky.
I believe we would have less racial tension in this country if people would practice patience and kindness and really see each other as God sees them, learn their life’s story and take time to engage.
When I was in parish ministry there was a lady who lived in the house next door to the church who was always complaining. There were many concerns: the tree in the church yard, the trash cans, cars parked near the driveway, etc. She sent letters of complaint, and with each letter, we tried to fix things. But nothing made her happy. We even tried to shovel her sidewalk after a snowstorm. She shouted out the window “don’t touch my snow!”
At Christmas one year my assistant pastor Nancy said she would give homemade sugar cookies to all the neighbors and invite them to church on Christmas Eve. I warned her not to go to this house next door. “She will toss you and your cookies off the front porch,” I said. Nancy ignored my faithless counsel and marched right up the steps of the house next door. The door opened, Nancy went in. She stayed there a long time. We thought we would have to call the police and report a hostage incident.
Finally, the front door opened and Nancy came back to church smiling. She explained that this elderly lady was lonely and not well and she was happy to have these cookies and the visit and that she would be at church on Christmas Eve. We never heard another complaint. Love is kind. I know you can’t win over everyone with a can of cookies, but you can try.
Where can we show patience and kindness? How about love?
Love does not insist on its own way.
Who doesn’t want to win? Who doesn’t think they are right? Who isn’t tempted to quit when we don’t get our way? All of us! But love doesn’t think about winners and losers. Love is willing to find a win-win solution and even allow the other to win.
My grandfather loved poetry and he quoted many a vintage poem in my presence. One of his favorites was by a poet named Edwin Markham who describes this kind of love: “He drew a circle that shut me out! Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win. We drew a circle that took him in.”
This means loving so much that you are willing to work with the very people that hurt you and exclude you. That is the kind of love that God has for God’s children, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
It’s not selling out your cause or giving in. It’s more like Martin Luther King’s Jr’s strategy of non-violent resistance that is motivated by love. It is about hanging in there to overcome evil with good.
Bishop Michael Curry in his amazing book “Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times” notes that there will always be difficulties with people, but it is all about rising higher than those bonds so that you have the vantage and strength to break them. It is about looking for dawn in the midnight hour and believing in the power of love.”
One of our retired women bishops shared with me about the power of persistent love in her life. She finished seminary and was newly ordained and all ready to serve a church, but the bishop refused to appoint her. “No one wants a woman,” he said. It is hard to believe and very sad. But, she kept working as a lay person in a local church doing exceptional ministry, getting the attention of a district superintendent, being her talented self. The following year there was a church that was going part time because they were likely going to close. The DS appointed her there. Within the year this church grew under her excellence and became a full time ministry! She did not insist on her own way, she won by the power of overcoming love. This still works today.
How can you win the day in an impossible impasse that you are facing? How about love? Finally….
Love rejoices in the right
The world is full of negativity and people talking against each other. Love looks at the bright side of things. Instead of talking death, love talks about life. Instead of giving up, love keeps going. Instead of being happy when someone gets what they deserve, love believes in restorative justice.
In the city of Philadelphia, 498 young black and brown men and women murdered in gun violence incidences in the year 2020. It is overwhelming and sad for so many families. It make you want to give up and stay away from Philadelphia. But love goes straight for the problems and makes a difference.
There is a group known as “Every Murder is Real” in one of my churches and they have classes, therapy, and resources for families who have lost loved ones in gun violence. They are making things better for so many families. I was at one of their prayer meetings recently and they are full of positivity and praise and hope. They rejoice in every victory. Instead of wanting to give up I was drawn to the love in their hearts and am happy to join their efforts of waging peace.
Rejoicing in the right means taking notice of all the good even when things are looking bleak. Lifting up the positive where there is negative and doing what you can is love. Sometimes it causes snowball affect of goodness in this world.
A long time ago my husband and I served a student pastorate in Indiana and one of the little country churches was having a serious problem with the foundation. The church was sinking. It looked like they might have to close. If they state came in they would likely condemn the building.
Then there was Mr. Watson. He went down in the basement and found one part of the building that was still worth saving. He started digging around and before you know it some other men got involved, and then some of neighbors and the cabinet company down the street and the next thing you know they had talked someone with a crane into lifting the church off of its foundation and put down some concrete and the church was saved. It just took one person to see the good in one remaining part of the foundation. The church was saved and I still get a Christmas card from one of the members to this day.
Where can you rejoice in something good and not looking at the negative? It is all about where your focus. A loving heart is always rejoicing in the right. How about love?
May you have a blessed annual conference session Susquehanna! My sister conference. The United Methodist Church is a facing some incredible moments in the next few years. How will you move forward into these uncharted waters? How about love? “Faith, hope and love abide forever, but the greatest is love.”
AC2021 COVID Memorial Service: Mending Nets
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| pixabay.com Franck Barske |
By Rev. Barry Robison, Harrisburg District Superintendant
COVID Memorial Service
2021 Susquehanna Annual Conference, June 18, 2021
Well, where to start? I don’t know about my colleagues, but I always find it a challenge to know how to begin a message for a service of death and resurrection or a celebration of life observance. Often, I struggle with what the best way would be to acknowledge the loss and pain that death brought to family and friends, but also to proclaim the hope and healing that Christ’s resurrection brings.
Perhaps I make it harder on myself than it needs to be because I’ve always made it a practice to craft the service, and especially the message, in as personal a way as possible. I believe it is important for family and friends to hear something personal in the liturgy as well as the message. There’s a healing aspect to knowing that your loved one was known, personally, by others and by God. There’s real comfort in being reminded that your loved one, and their life, mattered to others, and to God.
It’s also important to hear words acknowledging the reality of death, and more so to hear the hopeful words acknowledging the reality of victory over death. A significant aspect of hearing such words fairly soon after a death is that they help strengthen and prepare us for when death will intrude into our lives again down the road. These services and messages help us to move on and begin to put our lives back together again, sooner rather than later. But where to begin a message for a service intended to acknowledge all the losses and pain we have suffered due to COVID? I mean, persons have lost their lives and families and friends have lost loved ones to the pandemic, some as much as sixteen months ago.
Churches, too, have suffered losses. Congregations have been impacted, not just by deaths of congregants caused by COVID, but also by suffering the loss of ministries, of financial security, of momentum, and the loss of the sense of family as people choose to go elsewhere or not return to in person worship. Our churches, too, need to hear words acknowledging the reality of these kinds of death in their fellowships, and even more so, perhaps, to hear the hopeful words acknowledging the reality of victory over death.
It was the third Sunday of January this year when I tuned in to an on-line service from one of our churches. The scripture lesson was about Jesus calling Andrew and Peter, John and James. That Sunday was right after perhaps the largest spike in COVID cases since the pandemic began. Maybe that’s why I heard two verses of that very familiar passage of scripture as I never heard them before: “A little farther up the shore, Jesus saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.”
What jumped out at me that day was the phrase, “mending their nets.” Immediately my mind was drawn to the image of mending nets as an apt description of the work and effort required of us to put our lives back together as individuals, as churches, as our nation, and even as the world, as we come out of a devastating pandemic.
Interestingly, three months later I attended, in person, a worship service at the same church because I wanted to hear the guest speaker who was to preach. Lo and behold, I heard the same scripture from the same pulpit in person as I did virtually. That confirmed for me that “mending nets” was the way to start the message for this service acknowledging all of the losses and pain we have experienced because of the pandemic.
The nets of our lives, individually and congregationally, have been torn and the task of mending them is before us. COVID has torn the nets of our lives in different ways. It has affected the physical, mental and spiritual health of some people in ongoing ways. It has affected others through loss of income or employment. It has caused folks to feel isolated through the loss of relationships, both personally and congregationally. COVID has torn the nets of the ways we live life, at home, in public, and at church.
For those who fish with nets, it is inevitable that the nets will tear. One can’t escape the fact that using nets to fish causes the nets to become worn and/or broken. The more or the harder they are used, the quicker and more severe the tearing will be. That reality, though, shouldn’t discourage folks who fish from using nets. Those who use them simply need to understand and be prepared to make repairs frequently. Likewise, we shouldn’t shy away from living life and being the church simply because the nets of our lives and ministries will eventually get torn.
And so, part of a fisher’s work is spent fishing, and part spent mending. Repairing broken nets is tedious and often time-consuming work. I can’t imagine very many people look forward to or enjoy mending nets. Sometimes it may seem to those who fish that more time is spent mending than actually fishing. Whether true or not, mending nets is doing what needs to be done behind the scenes so the nets can be used again to catch fish.
All of us, as we live our lives, encounter times when the nets of our lives have been torn or broken. Relationships have ended, jobs have been lost, illness or accident have altered what we might be able to do, or not be able to do, physically. Death is certainly one of those times when the nets of life get torn, perhaps in wider or bigger ways than any other. Yes, the pandemic has torn the nets of our lives in many ways, but especially torn the nets of our hearts through the deaths of our loved ones.
For those of you who have lost loved ones over the course of this pandemic, you have been faced with the daunting task of trying to mend the nets of your life in ways that are not traditional. Services of Life and Resurrection, memorial services and funerals could not be held at all, much less in our accustomed ways. Family, friends and loved ones could not visit before death came, or gather afterwards for comfort, in the familiar ways that are so helpful. Mending the nets of our lives following a death has been difficult in these days because we have been denied the opportunity to hear words acknowledging the reality of death, and more so to hear the hopeful words acknowledging the reality of victory over death.
But the good news is that our hearts can be mended. God is in the mending business, you know. God can, will and does help us mend all the nets of life, but especially our hearts. May you hear in verses 14 and 15 of Psalm 90 the affect the mending work of God can have for you: “O Lord, satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace evil years with good.” Sounds like those words were written for today, doesn’t it?
One universal effect I’ve heard the pandemic has had on people, on pastors, and on parishioners alike is weariness and the sense of feeling burdened. Folks are just plain tired … tired of coping with and fighting over restrictions, tired of trying to hold life and ministry together now, while looking for creative ways to adapt ministries to a world that has changed, and tired of trying to mend the nets of our lives.
As we’re finding out, it takes time and effort to mend. Usually, it is slow and meticulous work that requires patience and steadfastness. The same will be true of mending the tears and brokenness in our human families, especially since some our grief work has been delayed. And it will also be true for our church families. So may we hear anew and take hope from Jesus’ invitation as recorded in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Applying the image of mending nets to our churches would mean that much work needs to be done behind the scenes to care for what has become torn or broken in our churches by this pandemic, so that the church can be best able to cast nets again to bring people to Christ, and hopefully into the church, as well. Hear that again: much work needs to be done behind the scenes to care for what has become torn or broken in our churches by this pandemic, so that the church can be best able to cast nets again to bring people to Christ, and hopefully into the church, as well.
Mending what is torn or broken is not glamorous work, whether on a lakeshore or in a zoom meeting room. It is not the work that usually gets recognized, acclaimed or even thanked. It can be hard and frustrating. But just as God is at work to mend the nets of our human hearts and lives, God will be present to help congregations mend the nets of their lives and ministries, no matter how great the tear or how big the holes.
The word “mending” implies an intention to keep using. One doesn’t mend something unless one intends to keep and use the item, as opposed to throwing it away and getting something new or different. But hear this: The thing mended, fixed or repaired, might not be able to do everything it used to do or in the way it was used to do it. Nevertheless, it still might have value and could still be useful.
An example: I inherited an electric trimmer for shrubbery. That means I have to use an extension cord to operate the thing. To reach all of the bushes at one parsonage, I needed a hundred-foot extension cord. One time as I was trimming, I went to flip the cord over the top of bush while still operating the trimmer. The cord caught on the bush and I “trimmed” off the last 12-18 inches of the cord. Now, being cheap—I mean being frugal and a wise steward— instead of throwing 98-½ or 99 feet of extension cord away and buying a new one, I asked a friend to “mend” the extension cord by splicing the plug back on to the remaining cord. I could then use the perfectly good cord, just not being able to reach quite as far.
Our churches and church families will not be the same; ministries, events, worship services will be different in part because some members of the family have chosen not to be there. Ministries, events and worship services will be different because many have discovered, and are now using, new and different ways to conduct those ministries, and by them are reaching new and different people. Because churches and church families will not be and are not the same even now, we can choose to look at the situation entirely negatively and try to go back to the old ways, like the disciples later wanted to do, or we can look at it as something new with all the potential and possibilities of new things.
Remember, God consistently proclaims throughout Scripture that God is a God of the new. It seems that we are poised today to experience Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. Already God has been at work through the people and pastors of our congregations to put nee flesh onto dry bones and to breathe new life into our churches and our ministries.
For instance, several of our churches opened their facilities to community children and their families as part of the Community Classroom Initiative. The goal of the Initiative is to provide a safe space where local elementary students could continue their on-line education when staying at home and/or going to school weren’t options. What a wonderful, new way for God’s people to connect with local people like never before.
As great as that is on its own, in at least one case God did even more. A family with elementary aged children utilized a church’s Community Classroom. The parents later came to the pastor and asked to have their children, and themselves, baptized and to perform their marriage. Beyond merely the ministry of the congregation, a net was mended for that family personally. What’s more, that connection between a church and neighbors the congregation never knew before is an example of how we can fulfill our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world even in a pandemic. As the pastor observed, “...sometimes it takes stressful and overwhelming circumstances to provide the catalyst to change in positive and uplifting ways.” Said another way, “Sometimes nets need to be torn so they can be mended in new and perhaps stronger ways.”
But you know, there do come times when the nets can no longer be mended sufficiently to be useful or effective to catch fish. In those times, the wiser and better course is to discard those nets and replace them with something new, and perhaps something different. Andrew and Peter, John and James were called by Jesus while they were mending the nets, not after they were finished. We may feel like all we can or should do at this time is mend our nets by trying to put our lives back together the way they were. But God may very well be taking the opportunities created by the pandemic to call us from mending only to some other purpose. Remember, in Ecclesiastes 3 it says there is a time to tear and a time to sew, but also there is a time to keep and a time to throw away.
This passage from Matthew reveals to us that Christ may come along and call us away from what we are trying to mend, calling us to follow him in new directions and into new ways to fish or to live instead. Jesus did that here, at the beginning of his ministry, calling Andrew and Peter, John and James away from their fishing and their mending.
Jesus also did it at the end of his earthly ministry. You may remember that after the crucifixion, the disciples wanted to go back to their old way of life. But Jesus came again and called them away from going back to what was, to moving ahead to what could be on the other side of the resurrection. The power of the resurrection made available through the coming of the Holy Spirit would make things possible that were impossible and inconceivable before the crucifixion tore apart the nets of their lives and their three-year ministry with Christ. I believe the same can and will be true for believers and congregations that look for and respond to Christ’s coming to them today as the church rises again post-pandemic.
Covid forced change on us. The pandemic forced our churches to consider all kinds of ways, most new and different, to “mend” the ways they did worship, Bible study and Sunday School. Churches had to figure out how they could mend the ways they offered food and clothing to the needy, care for and “visit” those confined to their homes or residential facilities, reach out to their neighbors and communities, and use the buildings which were suddenly vacant and underutilized.
A couple of weeks ago my wife was looking through a file drawer and came across a bunch of folders. She put them aside for me to look through, to see if there were things that we still wanted or needed to keep. In one folder, I found a message I wrote in 1999 to a congregation I was leaving for a new appointment. I had forgotten all about it, but it seems in God’s timing that God brought those words back to my attention again that I might share some of those words with you in closing today.
I wrote: There [was] a commercial by the Hershey’s Corporation that [said]: “Change Is Bad.” (The commercial referred to changing formulas or recipes of food products.) Don’t you believe it. Maybe for Hershey’s and Classic Coke change is bad, but for everything else change is essential. A wiser person than an advertising executive observed that “Living things that do not change, die.”
Think about it. Snakes shed their skin; if they didn’t, they would remain forever small or strangle in their too tightly fitting skin. Hermit crabs leave one shell to find a bigger one; if they didn’t, the pressure of growing against their cramped quarters would eventually kill them. We enjoy beautiful butterflies because caterpillars changed. Gorgeous flowers blossom because seeds first died.
Change is good! Human beings change all the time. No mother can give birth without her body going through tremendous changes. Although there are some days when we may long to return to the simpler times of childhood, most of the time we adults are glad that we endured the growing pains of childhood and the upheavals of adolescence. Without those changes, we would remain children.
The whole point of this [reflection] is to say that change in the church is good, too. No church wants to be known as a dead church. (Refer to Revelation 3:1-6 for Jesus’ rather strongly negative opinion of dead churches.) But to remain alive, churches must change. In order to grow, churches must change.
Like the hermit crab, the church I served changed in the past by moving from a building too small to a larger one. How painful that must have been to those folks who were baptized, married and had family buried out of that first sanctuary. But the work of the church flourished with bigger space, and the congregation enjoyed the benefits of the change undertaken so many years ago.
Like mothers, the church I served had undergone tremendous changes to give birth to many new, different and exciting ministries. Sometimes, like caterpillars, ministries had to be suspended for a time only to emerge in wonderfully new ways. Sound like today, folks? Other times, long-forgotten seeds planted by church members finally grew and sprouted into effective ministries in God’s time. Most of us have no idea of the struggles involved, the tears shed, the agonies endured by those who have gone before us. What we do know, is that [the church] and its individual members are stronger disciples for Christ because those changes took place.
And so today, as important as mending nets can be, I encourage you to resist the temptation to think that all you can or should do at this time is mend your nets by trying to put your lives back together the way they were. God may be calling all of us away from those efforts to some other purpose.
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