17 February
2008 “Getting
a Grasp on Life”
Holy
and all-inspiring God ~ Stretch our horizons with Your Holy Word, that we may
discover You anew among the fuller and richer paths of life. Amen.
(Select
1 pew with several members in it) …
OK!
I want everyone in this pew to pick up all of their things / belongings
/ stuff …
And, please move over to this other
pew.
(Use
choir …)
OK!
I want everyone in choir to ‘count off’ … beginning here in 1st
row …
NOW … every odd-numbered person … AT
END OF WORSHIP SERVICE … please:
·
Hang
up your robe
·
Go
home
·
Pack
up all your clothes / valuables / family members
·
Shut
down your home
·
Leave
… on a special journey
·
I’ll
contact you AGAIN … in a day or so … with SOME directions
(Sorry, Chris,
for taking some of your choir members!)
IMPORTANCE
of these 2 journeys: Your descendants
AND ALL future generations will be
richly rewarded and reap the benefits of your actions today.
HOW
DID THIS MAKE YOU FEEL? Your reactions?
~
Surprised AMAZED
~ Disbelief DISMAY
~
Anger (from BEING chosen or NOT being chosen)
~ Resentment … WHY ME?
~
Curiosity
WOULD
anyone here have REFUSED?
·
THIS
would have been a natural reaction
·
We
don’t like uncertainty
·
We
want GUARANTEES … a SURE THING
·
We
want DETAILS …
·
We
ask questions:
o
WHERE
are we going?
o
HOW
will we get there?
o
WHAT
will we do when we get there?
o
WHY
are we going there?
·
WHAT’S
THE POINT OF ALL THIS ANYWAY?
Old
Testament lesson ~ a story that could have turned out VERY DIFFERENTLY … IF our hero had stopped and
asked questions like I just mentioned.
Lesson
~ very short … 4 ½ verses … very abrupt … yet important in story of History of Salvation ~ beginning
with Divine Initiative.
And
the Lord speaks to 1 certain man … named Abram
… a senior citizen (75 years
old) … married to Sarai … who
presumably is equally as old and also barren.
Lord’s
message is very simple:
·
LEAVE
your country and your family and your father’s house …
o
IOW: LEAVE your comfort … LEAVE everything that is familiar … LEAVE everything that identifies you
§
Member
of a particular family
§
Member
of a community
§
Person
with particular occupation
·
GO
to the land that I will show you.
NOTE: God’s “directions” do NOT include any kind
of DIRECTION …
JUST
pack up everything you own … and GO.
Lord’s
promises to Abram …
·
Abram
will be founder of a great nation AND its people
·
Abram
will be blessed and will bless others
·
Abram
will be renowned by future generations
Abram’s
ONLY response was non-verbal:
SO HE WENT WITH
his family and possessions.
Amazing
story of BLESSING & PROMISE …
AND
of complete TRUST and FAITH in the Lord.
Ironically, from the words that the Lord spoke … we know
that Abram DID not even experience the outcome of the Lord’s promises … the
promises that began the History of Salvation were experienced by NOT by Abram
but by his descendants … by future
generations of God’s people.
Abram
sets out on a journey … leaving everything he knows … traveling to
·
Land
is un-named
·
No
clear direction OR details OR guarantees of any kind
YET: it was the Journey of a LIFE TIME … and also
a JOURNEY OF FAITH. … brought about by:
·
Abram’s
FAITH … that is, BELIEF … that the Lord was guiding him every step of the way
·
Abram’s
RECOGNITION that the Lord has been
and will be intimately
involved in EVERY detail / EVERY moment of Abram’s life.
Filled
with such TRUST and FAITH … we can understand Abram’s willingness to embark on
this awesome life AND faith journey.
DIFFERENCE
between LIFE journey and FAITH journey:
·
LIFE
journey ~ the many people / places / events / activities / relationships that
we interact WITH and engage IN throughout our life time.
·
FAITH
journey ~ looking at all of the experiences of our lives and pondering: Where has God been present in each of
these moments?
FAITH JOURNEYS are NOT JUST for ONLY certain
people … like folks in the Bible or ministers.
Faith
journeys
are experienced by anyone AND everyone … by individuals as well as by groups of people who share a common bond … such as congregations.
AND … just as each person is unique & individual
… each faith journey will be
a unique and individual experience of God in the midst of life … for that
person or group.
Throughout
my preparation / participation in Seminary … I had to write … and re-write …
and re-write my faith journey many times.
My DEFINITION of a faith journey:
·
Your
personal biography with a FOCUS on recognizing God’s presence in each:
o
Joy
… Sorrow
o
Question
… Uncertainty
o
Celebration
o
EVERY
MOMENT
Faith
journeys are a wonderful opportunity to QUESTION:
·
WHERE
is God calling me to be?
·
WHAT
does God want me to do in this moment? … with my life?
·
Regardless
of answer … REALIZATION that God IS
ALWAYS THERE.
My
own personal faith journey: serious look at:
·
My
family of origin … parents / grandparents / brother & sister …
o
Ethnic
background & traditions
·
My
family of faith …
o
Early
childhood: led by parents
o
My
own struggles with the church … BUT NOT WITH MY FAITH
o
Later
: my choice
·
The
values I learned from my family / friends
o
Shaped
my choices in life
o
My
personal growth
o
Advised
me in my many changes of direction
o
Sustained
me through my struggle with disabilities
·
Acknowledge
my maturity in my faith
o
Accepting
God’s call into ministry
·
SURE
KNOWLEDGE … that even when I didn’t have a “church home” … God was
ALWAYS active in my life … nudging me in His direction.
The
faith journey of a congregation involves many of these same considerations …
and perhaps more.
·
Families
of origin … IOW: ethnic & traditional background of members of congregation
·
Family
of Faith … the faith traditions AND practices AND denomination
·
Struggles
·
Values
·
Growth
and Maturity
Member
gave me a copy of 100th
Anniversary Book of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ … and the FAITH
JOURNEY contained in these pages WOWED ME!!!
Some
of the highlights of this journey:
·
1856
~ German Reformed members in Sellersville want “more convenient” place of
worship than old school house … UNION with Lutherans / plans to build Union
Church
·
3
acres purchased from Wm. Schlicter ~ cemetery lots sold
o
2
years later: solid foundation on which to found Lutheran/Reformed Union Church
·
May
1870 ~ Cornerstone laid on building to be made of stone quarried from local
field
·
May
1870 ~ formal organization of Reformed congregation in Sellersville
·
8 January 1871 ~ Officers elected and
Reformed Church declared “regularly established” … our anniversary date … 137
years old!
o
April
1871: 1st Communion & Confirmation
·
1892
~ Union Sunday School separated
·
1900
~ Union Church separates … Reformed Church sells its ½ interest to Lutherans
for $2,450
·
Efforts of Building Committee / Architects … TO
·
8
April 1901 (Easter) ~ ground broken
on lot @ Green & Penn Streets …
o
foundation
hand dug by “men of the
congregation” at no cost … only 2 weeks!
·
July
1901 ~ cornerstone laid
·
May
1902 ~ 1st Worship Service / Sunday School room completed /
auditorium still in process
·
14
December 1902 ~ New building “dedicated
to the Service of the Triune God”
o
named
St. Paul’s Reformed Church
Other
Momentous Events:
·
1904
~ decision to build parsonage / install Organ
·
Many
“redecorations” / “remodelings”
·
1937
~ Merger of Evangelical & Reformed Churches … St. Paul’s E & R Church
·
1944
~ rebuild pipe organ and redecorate Chancel
·
1951
~ “Memorial Social Room” dedicated to memory of Rev. James Shepley
·
1952
~ Remodeled Sanctuary
·
1957
~ Merger of E & R AND C & C Churches … St. Paul’s United Church of
Christ
·
25
June 1961 ~ Dedication of Christian Education addition
·
1970
~ purchase of Custom Rodgers Organ
·
1971
~ 100th Anniversary celebration
·
AND
… formation of wonderful ministries of:
o
Stewardship
o
Outreach
to local community ~ food / financial / Clown Ministry / Youth activities
o
Multiple
mission trips to Russia / Back Bay / Native American Reservations / Heifer
o
Celebration
of Bob Swartz’s 50 years of music ministry to congregation
o
Celebration
of 11 pastors
o
ETC
/ ETC / ETC
AND,
just where has God been in this chronology?
I
BELIEVE God has been in the …
·
Bold
decision of ancestors to asked for a Pastor to serve this small group of German
Reformed faith-filled people
·
Bold
decision to petition to become a formal congregation
·
Bold
decision to separate from Union Church and become OWN congregation
·
Bold
decision to
o
Build
o
Renovate
o
Grow
o
Add
on
·
Bold
decision to call 10 pastors in 135 years
·
Even
BOLDER decision to call 1st woman pastor in 2007
Like
the descendants of Abram … who experienced fully and benefited from the
BLESSINGS and PROMISES that the Lord made to Abram …
AS members of St. Paul’s United Church
of Christ, we too have been BLESSED and benefit
from the
·
Hard
work of our ancestors in faith
·
More
importantly … from their ability to discern where God was leading them … and
putting God’s plan into action, KNOWING that God would be with them ~ AND
future generations of St. Paul’s ~ every step of their journey of life … and
our JOURNEY OF FAITH.
Words
of Rev. Billmeyer in 100th Anniversary Book:
“Man lives not only in the present, but also with a
sense of what has happened in the past, with a lively hope for the future; and,
with a feeling that we belong to something that did not begin with us and will
not end with us. This is the Church ~
the fellowship of believers that has nurtured and sustained us.”
Today,
we welcome 4 new members into our family of faith ~ inviting them to join us in
building up the church for today and for OUR future generations.
Today,
we open ourselves to the movement of God in the Holy Spirit … dancing through
our lives and calling us to BE the church and LIVE richly in faith and TRUST in
God’s presence to guide us.
Today,
may we dedicate ourselves anew to GO where God sends us ~ to WELCOME God’s
blessings in our lives ~ and to BE a blessing to others.
Amen.