http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/ Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church in West Windsor, New Jersey en-us Copyright 2008 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:16:05 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Thursday, May 1st Registration begins for Vacation Bible Camp 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, May 2nd 7:30 PM - Youth Fellowship Lock In Saturday, May 3rd 7:30 AM – Youth Fellowship Lock In Ends Sunday, May 4th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship / Choir Appreciation Sunday - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 12:!5 PM - Worship Committee Meeting 2:00 PM - Tea in Celebration of Janet Churn 2:00 PM - Men's Softball at WWPHS North 3:30 PM - Men's Softball at WWPHS North Monday, May 5th 7:30 PM Transition Team Meeting Tuesday, May 6th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 10:00 AM - World Sewing 6:30 PM - Confirmation Dinner with Session Wednesday, May 7th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, May 8th 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, May 10th 8:15 AM - Immigration Conference at Plainsboro Presbyterian Church Sunday, May 11th - Pentecost SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE BEGINS - One Service of Worship 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 11:00 AM 9:30 AM - Worship / Confirmation - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship 10:30 Fellowship Hour - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels Monday, May 12th 7:30 PM - Transition Team Meeting Tuesday, May 13th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 6:45 PM - Presbytery of New Brunswick at Plainsboro Wednesday, May 14th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, May 15th General Public Registration for Vacation Bible Camp 10:30 AM - Cornerbrighteners II 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, May 17th 10:00 AM - Women's Spring Brunch Sunday, May 18th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 11:00 AM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 12:00 PM - Youth Fellowship Paintball 2:00 PM - Men's Softball at WWPHS North Monday, May 19th 7:30 PM - Transition Team Meeting Tuesday, May 20th June Newsletter Items Due 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 7:30 PM - Session Meeting Wednesday, May 21st 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, May 22nd 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Sunday, May 25th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 11:00 AM 9:30 AM - Worship 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour Monday, May 26th Memorial Day - Church Office Closed Tuesday, May 27th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, May 28th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:20 AM - TASK 7:30 PM - Deacons Meeting Thursday, May 29th 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, May 30th 9:00 AM - Women's Breakfast Club at the Americana Diner Saturday, May 31st 7:30 PM Double Roast Part 1]]> http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/04/may_calendar_1.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/04/may_calendar_1.php Calendar Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:16:05 -0500 Lightening the Load Janet and I are discovering, in preparing to leave the manse in June after 26 years, what many other "nesters" before us have discovered: it is unbelievable how much household accumulation mark that many years of life in one place. We, who never thought of ourselves as conspicuous collectors of odds and ends - expensive accoutrements or bargain basement treasures - are coming to realize that even small piles of bits and pieces add up to a mountain of matter to be dealt with when the time finally comes to move on. What to take...what to toss... what to donate... what to parcel out to family... what to sell... what to shred. What might be taken to a new place... and discovered untouched after another 15 years or so? What might be deep-sixed for which a need might arise in 6 or so months? I am also astounded at how many books have filled every available bookshelf in those years, plus the many carried here 26 years ago. Today I took the final 8 large boxes of books to the Princeton Seminary annual Book Sale, adding to the 8 I had taken over last month. It was hard at first to say goodbye to these books - some treasured ones, yes, but even the ones I barely looked at but just knew I'd get to read someday. Books bring many associations of time and place and circumstance, they beckon one back to what was happening in a life, a family, a church, a society, a world, in the season the book was read. But I found that once I had bid farewell to the first batch, the sense of "saying goodbye to good friends" was replaced by the grace of "lightening the load" one takes on the life journey. And that is the way we are coming to feel about disposing of other things - the once important but now superfluous household items. It feels good to be preparing to travel a little bit lighter into the next phase of our life adventure. So a necessity becomes a blessing. Of course, the process has also brought some chuckles along the way. "Now exactly what is this? I don't remember even buying it?" Or maybe "Can you believe we ever thought we'd actually need something like this?" or "Remember the Christmas when these (yogurt makers, fondue pots, bread-makers, you name it) were all the rage?" It can sometimes feel overwhelming in moving through the many piles of accumulated goods, family "keepers." and once oft-used equipment (anyone need a vintage Nordic Track?). We have tried to keep grounded in all of this by taking to heart the wisdom expressed by Anne Lamott in her book on writing, Bird By Bird. The story that gives the book its title comes out of her school days and concerns her younger brother, who in school was given the assignment of writing a report on all the birds who were native to their geographic area. Having put off any work on the assignment for many weeks, he found himself, the night before it was due, in near despair, sitting at the table with books and articles and blank notebook papers spread out before him. Completely overwhelmed at the prospect of completing the assignment in time, he wailed, "This is impossible! How am I ever going to get this done by tomorrow morning?" His father looked at him: "Bird by bird, Buddy - bird by bird." That's how we're "deconstructing" the manse - "bird by bird" - but also with the growing sense of blessing that it's good to lessen the load of life and travel lighter on the journey stretching ahead - and that it would probably be a good thing to do this "load-lightening" much more frequently than most of us tend to do. But then, oftimes necessity bears the just the gift of grace we need. Faithfully, Rev. Dr. Floyd W. Churn http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/04/pastors_message_for_april_2008.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/04/pastors_message_for_april_2008.php Pastor's Message Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:42:00 -0500 REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!! 1 Peter 2:2-10 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:_'See, I am laying in Zion a stone,_ a cornerstone chosen and precious;_and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.' _To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,_'The stone that the builders rejected_ has become the very head of the corner', _and_'A stone that makes them stumble,_ and a rock that makes them fall.'_They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. _Once you were not a people,_ but now you are God's people;_once you had not received mercy,_ but now you have received mercy. This letter purported to be written by Peter to Gentile Christians who had been only recently converted to Christ, who once participated in the cultural and social life of their communities but now have found a new community, the community of faith. He likens them to newborn infants who are just beginning to be nurtured by the spiritual milk of Christ, early on their faith journey. He says that they are to grow into salvation, which suggests that faith is not a status attained but an "on-the-way" life of growing, seeking, stretching, deepening, learning, and discerning. They have left behind an old life and taken on a new identity, "God's own people." But this new identity has created problem for them vis-à-vis their old society - the people with whom they hung out...the practices and pleasures they enjoyed...the outlooks and attitudes they embraced...the priorities they pursued. All this has changed, and now they have become marginalized by their former society, regarded as an unwelcome, dangerous sect. So Peter writes to them to encourage them to keep the faith amid the surrounding hostility... to hold on to their new identity, to know themselves as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people." He is saying to the something similar to what urged the Romans: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds..." Build your life upon the reliable cornerstone of Christ, but recognize that this is a stone the builders rejected...rejected as too weak, too out-of-step with the values of the world...too compassionate and forgiving of those who merit condemnation...too ready to cross boundaries and engage outsiders...too focused on the poor and the outcast. Not the cornerstone a respectable, upward mobile Greek of the day would want to build upon. And so, the people of God draw strength from their unique identity and strengthen that identity in their common life together, scorned by those who choose the more traveled, conventional roads of conformity and cultural acceptance. How unlike our situation today, where the church of Jesus Christ is embraced by society and accepted one of its pillars, where politicians have to pay homage to their faith or else be regarded as unworthy, where legislatures have chaplains to invoke God's presence, where very conservative, evangelical Christian leaders influence political platforms. How unlike our situation today - or is it really? Much has changed in the relation of Christianity to society in the last sixty years. The Church no longer calls the shots as it did as late as the 1950's in many areas of life. There is much more diversity of belief, a great plurality of religions as close as our own community and at the same time there is an increasingly secular perspective in the land. While Christians are not scorned or abused by the society around us, the church has been marginalized in many respects; at least it no longer dominates the public square as it once did. Is this a bad thing? An unfortunate development over recent decades? Not necessarily. For often the faith that was embraced by the culture was a watered-down version of Christianity, a civil religion that came near baptizing "the American way of life" as God's way. The new opportunity that this change in our status from established to disestablished has brought us is that it invites us, constrains us to rediscover our true identity as the people of God, just as the writer of 1 Peter implored the new Gentile Christians to build on the cornerstone rejected by society and its builders. We do have something unique to bring to a wounded, starving world because we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people." We are chosen not to enjoy privilege but to enjoy serving God and proclaiming God's mighty acts. We are a priesthood, a priesthood of all believers, in that every one has been given a ministry to take up, no matter what our job, our means of employment, we all have a vocation of being the light in the darkness and the leaven in the dough of life. We are a holy nation, not in the sense of a church-dominated state, but more in the sense of the original French meaning of nation...a people bound together by common loyalties, shared history, and mutual ties. When we reclaim our true identity and remember who we are in our daily comings and goings, we discover how unlike so many of the conventions of society we are called to be. Stanley Haurwaus wrote a book some years back lauding our more recent status as outsiders called "Resident Aliens," suggesting that we take quite seriously Christ's call to be "in the world but not of the world." Sometime like secret agents working behind the scenes to transform an uncaring, self-absorbed society...sometimes out front on the battle lines for justice and peace and the more excellent way of love. Where society seeks change by coercion, God's agents embody the transforming power of reconciliation. Where society becomes blind or accepting of the unmanageable gap between rich and poor, God's agents live out of a Bible that has more to say about addressing poverty than anything else. Where society is all too motivated by fear, seeking to close doors to people who are different in culture, color, or sexual orientation, resident aliens are committed to open the doors of love and justice to all. Where society dances around the Maypole of the first person singular or a very limited first person plural, a royal priesthood works for the common good, abundance for all of God's children. "Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people." And it's all due to mercy, not our deserving: "Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." So as we make our way through a dangerous and often cold, uncaring world, a world of spiritual poverty and enormous appetites for unhealthy things, let us remember who we are and hold fast to our adoption as God's own people. Amen http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/04/sermonofthemonth_for_april_200.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/04/sermonofthemonth_for_april_200.php Sermons Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:39:56 -0500 Tuesday, April 1st 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 10:00 AM - World Sewing Wednesday, April 2nd 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Study 9:15 AM - Weekly Walk About Thursday, April 3rd 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, April 4th Confirmation Retreat begins Saturday, April 5th 10:00 AM - Poverty Simulation for Students Sunday, April 6th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 12:00 PM - Confirmation Class returns from Johnsonburg 2:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship Monday, April 7th 7:30 PM - Transition Team Meeting Tuesday, April 8th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, April 9th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:15 AM - Weekly Walk About Thursday, April 10th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, April 11th 4:00 PM - Women's Retreat Begins Sunday, April 13th Women's Retreat Returns 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship / Elder & Deacon Ordination and Installation - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:40 AM - Special Congregational Meeting - Fellowship Hour immediately following 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 2:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 3:30 PM - Men's Softball at WWPHS-North 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 6:00 PM - Youth Fellowship Rock Climbing Monday, April 14th 7:30 PM - Transition Team Meeting Tuesday, April 15th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 7:30 PM - Session Meeting with New Elders Wednesday, April 16th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:15 AM - Weekly Walk About Thursday, April 17th 10:30 AM - Cornerbrighteners II 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, April 19th 9:00 AM - Footprints Walk 9:00 AM - Presbyterian Women's Spring Gathering at Kirkpatrick Memorial Church, Ringoes 7:00 PM - Gospel of John at Nassau Presbyterian Church Sunday, April 20th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship / All Church Memorial Service - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 2:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 2;00 PM - Men's Softball at Community Middle School Monday, April 21st May Newsletter items due 7:30 PM - Transition Team Meeting Tuesday, April 22nd 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, April 23rd 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:20 AM - TASK 7:30 PM - Book Club Thursday, April 24th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, April 25th 9:00 AM - Women's Breakfast Club Saturday, April 26th 7:00 PM - Coffeehouse Sunday, April 27th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship / Spring Musical 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 2:00 PM - Men's Softball at Pond Road Middle School 4:00 PM - Confirmation 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Monday, April 28th 7:30 PM - Transition Team Meeting 7:30 PM - Women's Group Meeting Tuesday, April 29th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 7:30 PM - Session Meeting Wednesday, April 30th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 7:30 PM - Deacons Meeting with New Deacons]]> http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/03/april_calendar_2.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/03/april_calendar_2.php Calendar Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:37:27 -0500 Early Easter Easter comes early this year!...about as early as it can possibly come. That fact throws worship planners into a bit of a panic mode as the services of Holy Week and Easter seem to be coming upon us from behind and gaining fast! Several persons, noting the early date, have asked me how the date of Easter gets calculated. Easter comes in the spring (in the northern hemisphere) because, like Christmas, the early missionaries took a pagan festival and "Christianized" it. Eastre was the goddess of offspring and springtime for the northern tribes; the strategy was to allow the new converts to Christianity to continue their pagan festivals, such as the return of spring, but to do so in a Christian manner, connecting it to the resurrection of Jesus. The actual dating of Easter was established by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., the same council that gave us the Nicene Creed we often recite. Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 20 - but it is based on the Ecclesiastical Full Moon rather than the Astronomical Full Moon, so it gets a little complicated. These Ecclesiastical Full Moons were calculated at Nicea in 325, when the March equinox was on March 20. A further complication arises because of different ways that the Western and Orthodox Churches converted the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, beginning in 1583 (though not until 1753 in England and its American colonies). For anyone interested in unpacking this puzzle further, I refer you to this website: http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/easter.htm. The upshot is that Easter can come as early as March 22 and as late as April 25, and this year we are in for an early Easter. We may initially see this earliness as an impediment to a high-spirited Easter celebration. After all, the flowers will not yet be out (except in the hothouses), the days may yet be frosty with even snowstorms a possibility, the grass will not have greened up, and the trees will still be bare of leaf. There will not be the "creation coming alive!" that would be more evident in an April Easter. It will be Easter amid lingering signs of winter. But perhaps, in a deeper sense, that is exactly the real message of Easter: when all the signs around us still seem to proclaim deadness, when our spirits are yet cold with unrealized hopes and dreams, when our souls still feel buried in the wintry storms of life...this is the time that the resurrection power is ready to break upon us and is even already at work invisibly in the winter of our discontent, as Shakespeare named the season. The message of the empty tomb of Easter morning is that when we least expect to find the longed-for life that seems to have expired, it has been set free in resurrection power, even amid the signs around us that appear to deny it. Even before March 23, the date of Easter this year, the earth has been warming as the days have been lengthening, in preparation for the breaking forth of life. We don't need the return of spring to assure us of God's power to bring life out of death. We have the promise of faith that is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus, the event that forever changes our perspective on what God intends for us and for all creation. Early or late, Easter is the very spiritual center of our faith and I pray that your Easter may embrace you in hope and joy this year. Christ the Lord is risen - the Lord is risen indeed! Faithfully,]]> http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/03/pastors_message_for_march_2008.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/03/pastors_message_for_march_2008.php Pastor's Message Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:18:19 -0500 A MEDITATION ON PSALM 130 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. The season of Lent, which we are moving through in these weeks leading up to Easter, is, along with Advent, called a penitential season in the life of the church. The word penitential is likely problematic for many of us, reminding us of words like penalty, penitentiary, or penance – so it is easy to think of Lent as a season that robs us of the joy and laughter of life, a time for morbid introspection or obsessive dwelling on the sufferings of Christ. It is indeed a season that graciously invites us to look honestly at our lives and confront the broken places there that keep us from living in the wholeness and spiritual well-being that God intended for each of us. But the invitation is always issued in the assurance of God’s mercy and the hope of transformation, just as our weekly prayers of confession are never prayed apart from an assurance of God’s pardon. The Psalm designated for the 5th Sunday in Lent is Psalm 130, which is one of the church’s seven penitential Psalms, and I think there is no better reflection on the meaning and message of Lent than this brief hymn from the Psalmist. It begins in a mood of near despair and self-contempt. “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord...” We don’t need Lent to find ourselves cast down and shamed by the brokenness of our lives; we don’t need a faith that knocks us down because we already live too much of our lives in great pain and restlessness, beaten down by our inability to attain the longed-for perfection in our life, by the old compulsions won’t let go and by our self-disgust that destroys our joy and courage. Not all the time...but enough of the time that the Psalmist speaks for us in crying out from the depths for relief and renewal. Some might say that the basic human problem is that we love ourselves too much; but I think the greater problem is that we love ourselves too little and therefore have too little love to share. The depths in Hebrew poetry have always symbolized the chaotic forces that threaten us with devastation and death; they are like water because we can drown in our own brokenness. But the Psalmist knows enough even in such depths of despondency to know that God is near, just as the Psalm of the 23rd Psalm knows that in the deepest valleys “thou art with me.” So the Psalmist does something...he cries out in anticipation of being heard; we’re never so overwhelmed by sinfulness that God can’t hear us. Ann Lamott says in her writing that she really only has two basic prayers: “Thank you” and “HELP!” This is a “HELP!” Psalm, a cry of lament but at the same time a cry of hope because of who God is. The Psalmist knows that God is not a God whose resolute mission with us is to watch for our failures and catalog our iniquities. God is not the “gotcha” God that haunts so many people, like a neurotic parent who takes delight in catching children in their naughtiness. No – if that were the case, there would be no hope for anyone. “If you marked down iniquities Lord, who could stand?” – we’d all be “up the river.” But no, the basic disposition of the Lord is to forgive, not condemn: “There is forgiveness with you” – “and that’s why you're worshiped.” What an erroneous understanding of God burdens so many people who can’t get beyond their self-loathing. There is a strong measure of realism here, however. Life seldom gets transformed immediately. We’re rightly suspicious of remedies that promise overnight success; spiritual healing usually takes time. Faith is more a traveling than an arrival; panacea believers who want quick fixes and instant answers and immediate relief of all struggle need to hear these next words of the Psalmist; “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.” Waiting and hoping are two great expressions of faith. You need both because waiting without hope would be a hell of futility. Waiting doesn’t mean calling a halt to life and sitting in our despair until “something happens.” It’s been said that when you’re going through hell, the best thing is to keep moving. But as we move we pray the “HELP!” prayer and we live in hope, awaiting the transforming love of God to deliver us from our captivity to despondence. We “watch for the morning” to break upon the darkness that has enclosed us. It will come. And there is a certainty in which we live and move: God is a God of steadfast love and great power to redeem...and God will redeem Israel, will redeem all of his children, from our iniquities, our battered and broken lives. It will happen, and because that final word is a word of mercy and love, not condemnation and separation, we live in the hope of that fulfillment and the knowledge, in Paul’s words, that “nothing in all creation” – and that would include our self-destructive compulsions and our contemptuous self-assessments – “nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Yes, we can see how this Lenten Psalm points us to the kind of love we have seen in Jesus on the cross, his own experience of “the depths,” where God was present to turn the place of human sin at its very worst to the place of God’s redemptive love at its very best. Amen. ]]> http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/03/sermonofthemonth_for_march_200.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/03/sermonofthemonth_for_march_200.php Sermons Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:15:59 -0500 Sunday, March 2nd 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Tuesday, March 4th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 10:00 AM - World Sewing 7:30 PM - Ministry Night 7:30 PM - Youth Committee Meeting Wednesday, March 5th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, March 6th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, March 7th 6:30 PM - Reel to Real - In The Valley of Elah Sunday, March 9th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education with Senior High - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study 11:15 AM - Worship 12:00 PM - Deacon's Soup Luncheon for New Members 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 4:30 PM - Membership / Inquirers Meeting 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship Tuesday, March 11th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 6:45 PM - Presbytery of New Brunswick at Bound Brook Wednesday, March 12th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, March 13th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, March 15th 8:00 AM - Crisis Ministry Sunday, March 16th - Palm Sunday 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 2:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 4:00 PM - Youth Fellowship - Girl's Night at the Movies 4:30 PM - Membership / Inquirers Meeting 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship - Boy's Game Night Tuesday, March 18th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 7:30 PM - Session Meeting Wednesday, March 19th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, March 20th - Maundy Thursday - Newsletter Items Due for April 8:00 PM - Worship Friday, March 21st Good Friday - Church Office Closed 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM - Sanctuary Open for Reflection Sunday, March 23rd - EASTER SUNDAY 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:15 AM - Worship Tuesday, March 25th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, March 26th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:20 AM - TASK 7:30 PM - Deacon's Meeting Thursday, March 27th 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, March 28th 9:00 AM - Women's Breakfast Club Saturday, March 29th 9:00 AM - New Elder/Deacon Orientation Sunday, March 30th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship / Receive New Members - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Special CE Program 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play 11:15 AM - Worship 2:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal ]]> http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/02/march_calendar_2.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/02/march_calendar_2.php Calendar Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:59:52 -0500 UNTIL THE MORNING STAR RISES IN YOUR HEARTS Text: 2 Peter 1:16-21 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. ****** The writer of this letter we know as 2 Peter to some of the 1st or 2nd generation Christians was addressing one of the perplexing issues of the early church. We don't know who wrote the letter - it was frequent and acceptable in that era to attribute writings to earlier leaders of influence and renown, and this writer has chosen Peter no doubt because of Peter's reputation and his presence with Jesus in the events of his ministry, including the transfiguration. We'll call the writer Peter but realize that it is someone writing in his name, decades after Peter's work in carrying the gospel message beyond his own Hebrew community, a writer writing probably in the late 1st or early 2nd century, well after Peter's death. By that time a major problem had developed for the early Christians: the unexplainable delay of the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus had told his first followers that he would be returning soon -even within their lifetimes - to wrap up the work of God's salvation drama...to judge the living and the dead and bring history to an end, with Jesus installed as King of Kings. This promise is how the young church got through those early years of persecution and suffering: it's bad now, but hold on...God is about to deliver his people from their torment and bring about a new heaven and a new earth with the Messiah's return...any day now...any minute...keep alert and awake. But how long can one live on the qui vive in such intense anticipation? How long, O Lord...? The familiar cry reflects a frustrating impatience with God's timing. And we know that mood as well. How long before the suffering of the innocent ends? How long before all people are treated equally with respect and honor? How long before the advances of scientific and medical knowledge wipe out the devastations of disease? How long before the emotionally and mentally broken find wholeness and health? How long before nations come to realize the irreparable folly of war and live in peace? Some of these "how long" questions were caught up in the folk anthem of the 1960's by Bob Dylan, "Blowin' in the Wind." How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? How many times must the cannonball fly before they're forever banned? How many times must a man look up, before he can see the sky? How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind... Even though many of these delayed endings are attributable to human intransigence and call for human commitment, we tend to bring God in on the delay: How could a loving God stand by while this or that misfortune is taking place? When is God going to act decisively to bring in this new age of love, peace, justice, and wholeness? Or... is it not going to happen? Are we just players in an unending drama of glory and misery, agony and ecstasy, hopes raised and hopes dashed? Is this notion of God having won the victory in Christ and promising us that God's purpose will prevail and that the end is Life, not Death...is all this just a myth to comfort pitifully deluded people? These were exactly the kinds of questions being echoed in the communities where Christians were trying to live out what Peter calls "this faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." (1:1). Some were beginning to accuse the leaders of the apostolic tradition of propagating false hopes for the Christian faithful. So Peter counters: "We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses to his majesty." We saw and heard it ourselves...this faith is not built upon some concocted story of God sending his Son. It's true. And then come some of what must be the most beautiful and compelling images of hope in all of scripture. No - you don't have the final consummation in your midst; for whatever reason, God's timing is not your timing, for God's ways are not our ways. What you do have is the hope you need to live triumphantly and abundantly: a lamp shining in a dark place. Everything is not illumined, all mystery explained, all misery overcome. But in Christ you have the lamp you need to make your way in faith and live in hope. You walk by faith, not complete sight - but you do have what you need to walk boldly into the future. The world is a dark place - and who would contradict that appraisal today? Live in the light of the lamp until the fullness of light dawns...the sunrise of that new day. Live as people of hope "until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." What a beautiful picture: making our way through the dark place with the lamp of hope until we see that star that rises at dawn - the morning star - that heralds the approaching daylight. And this morning star is not just seen with our eyes, it is seen and known in our hearts. It's beyond intellectual convincing, it is hope's dawning in our hearts. God's promise is not a myth, and we will know its truth some morning; meanwhile we live in that promise, the hope of the rising, the dawning of God's day. As I see it we can choose to live in one of the two basic modes: Life is one damned thing after another (and I use that word "damned" in its truest sense) and there is no reason to be hopeful that the ways of love, justice, and peace will prevail, so let's just divest ourselves of that illusion and face life grimly and stoically. Or we can trust that we have reliable lamps to live by that will see us through the dark places until dawn, and that we can live by that light and work in this dark world for the ends that will one day arrive in fullness. It makes a huge difference how we choose, because to a great extent, we are what we hope for...or what we despair of. We can live toward the coming of the light...or be creatures of the dark place. "You will do well to be attentive to this as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." Amen. http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/02/sermonofthemonth_for_february_2.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/02/sermonofthemonth_for_february_2.php Sermons Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:08:29 -0500 Sunday, February 3rd 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - One Service Today - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Deacon's Pancake Brunch - After Brunch Activity for Children 11:30 AM - Annual Meeting 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 6:00 PM - Middle School Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Fellowship Tuesday, February 5th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 10:00 AM - World Sewing Wednesday, February 6th - Ash Wednesday 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 7:00 PM - Ash Wednesday Simple Supper & Worship with Wholeness/Healing service Thursday, February 7th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Music & Drama Team 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Sunday, February 10th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 5:45 PM - Middle School Youth Bowling - Cost $10. 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Tuesday, February 12th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 7:30 PM - Youth Committee Meeting Wednesday, February 13th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 7:30 PM - Counted Cross-Stitch Klatch Thursday, February 14th 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Sunday, February 17th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - Middle School Bible Study 11:15 AM - Worship Monday, February 18th Presidents Day - Office Closed Tuesday, February 19th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 7:30 PM - Session Meeting Wednesday, February 20th - March Newsletter Items Due 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, February 21st 10:30 AM - Cornerbrighteners II 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, February 23rd 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM - Deacon's Blood Drive Sunday, February 24th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 4:30 PM - Membership/Inquirers Meeting 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Tuesday, February 26th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, February 27th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:20 AM - TASK 7:30 PM - Deacon's Meeting Thursday, February 28th 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 7:30 PM - Book Club Meeting 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, February 29th 9:00 AM - Women's Breakfast Club 7:00 PM - Friendship Circle http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/february_calendar_1.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/february_calendar_1.php Calendar Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:26:26 -0500 Sermon-of-the-Month for January, 2008 "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?" Text: John 1:29-42 John's Gospel is the only one of the four that doesn't relate the story of Jesus' baptism, the event that we celebrated last Sunday. What we rather have in John's Gospel is John telling us about the baptism that has already happened but is not reported directly. "I'm the one who said, 'After me come a greater one...'"... I came baptizing...I saw the Spirit descending... I myself have seen that this is the Son of God." It's almost as though John is saying, "Folks, you gotta' believe! I'm telling you straight! He's the one!" But who is this person Jesus who suddenly appears on the scene after 30 years of anonymity? Someone so unique that one title only will not suffice. In one chapter of John, Chapter 1, the Evangelist uses no fewer than 12 titles to point to Jesus and his work: he is the Word of God (v. 1), the Word made flesh (v. 14)...the Light of all people (v. 4-5)... Life (v. 4), the father's only son (v. 14)... the Son of God (vv. 39, 44)... the Lamb of God ((vv. 29, 34)... Rabbi, or Teacher (v. 38)... Messiah, or Anointed One (v. 41)... son of Joseph (v. 45)... King of Israel (v. 49)...Son of Man (v. 51). Don't try to capture Jesus is one word, or one title; he's more than you can wrap your mind around. And yet ... he's a friend of sinners who walks and talks with us intimately along the journey of life. What strikes me especially in the stories of Jesus is his spirit of invitation, letting us discern what our deepest need might be. We get it wrong, often, but Jesus wants us to live the questions more than give us the pat answers. He is not a teacher who goes around offering advice, giving us solutions to our problems, declaiming authoritatively from his vast storehouse of wisdom. No...he tells stories and lets us draw the inferences ("He who has ears, let him hear.") And, time and time again, he asks us to ponder what we most desire of him. "Do you want to be healed?" "What do you want me to do for you?" "What did you come out to see?" "Who do you say that I am?" And in today's text, "What are you looking for?" Jesus embodies the truth of the wise counselor, that one cannot hear words of advice or direction without having come to know his or her deepest need, and even then must uncover the way ahead himself or herself, in the company of a trusted friend. "What are you looking for?" Because if you don't know you are not likely to find it and my telling you what I think you need will be of little avail. Yes, of course, sometimes we need the jolt of truth, as when a King David needs to hear from his friend Nathan, "You are the man!" - the nefarious plotter in Nathan's tragic little parable. But such truth is heard only in the context of a deeply mutual and trustworthy friendship. So Jesus invites: "What are you looking for?" Help us, Lord, to discover the true desire of our heart. While there are serendipitous surprises in life...things we couldn't see coming down the road to bless us, nonetheless it is generally true that our expectations determine our perceptions; the net determines the catch. What are you looking for? + Go to the opera looking to be bored, and you will! + Make up your mind that you won't have a good time at the party, and you likely won't! + Determine that the church is a haven for hypocrites, and it will be - for you! + Read the newspaper for further evidence of social rot, and you'll find it! + Search for employment expecting to be discriminated against - and you will be! What are you looking for? It is obvious that Andrew and the other disciple who heard John extol Jesus as Son of God and Passover Lamb were looking for something they soon found Jesus could offer them: a purpose...a calling...something to give their lives for...the fulfillment of a long-awaited hope: "We have found the Messiah!" It is a haunting question in many aspects of life: "What are you looking for?" As I've come to announce my impending retirement in June, it's a question that has bored itself into my soul this week as I've studied this text. What do I look for as I move into a new phase of my life journey? I have some fairly clear notions, but I also know it is a question I need to continue to ponder, and be open to the Lord's guidance. And I propose that it is a question that you too, as God's people at Dutch Neck, need to take into your hearts as you enter a new leg of your journey. What are you looking for in discerning God's vision for this congregation? What are you looking for in leadership to guide you through the new journey? These are questions that will be before you after June and through an interim season of your life. Don't try to rush it...just be open to God's timings. I would urge one important thing as you ask the disciples' question: Expect that it will be a season of growth in your faith...look for a season of exciting discovery about yourselves and your mission...expect it to be a good thing, a window of opportunity to set some new direction even as you hold on to what has proven good and faithful through the journey past. To a large degree, we are what we anticipate. Don't let the "glass-half-empty" spirit set the course of your interim time, those who see only negative possibilities and onerous tasks to be grimly undertaken. See rather that God has brought you to this time for a positive and exciting purpose. What are you looking for? Look for God's blessing your life together in new ways as you move through the inevitable challenges of this transition. See the challenges as new growth points, not dead ends; look for signs of the coming age for Dutch Neck, don't let the many good things of the past years be the obstacle to embracing the new things God will show you in the months and years ahead. And always keep central in your life and in your looking, the One to whom John points disciples: "Behold the Lamb of God"...the Son of God...the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Amen. http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/what_are_you_looking_for.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/what_are_you_looking_for.php Sermons Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:51:01 -0500 This week all of you who are members or friends of the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church received the letter announcing my retirement, to be effective June 1st of this year. This morning I would like to reiterate some of the things shared in my letter, and underscore a few procedural things very briefly. First, the big transitions in life nearly always come with a large bag of mixed emotions, and Janet and I feel that mix. We are excited - very excited - as we look to enter this new adventure in our life. That excitement is coupled with the awareness of how deeply we will miss the many friendships we have made here over the years - some over many years and some more recent. We will miss them all, long or short term. My retiring comes as a decision freely made after a time of much prayer and discerning; nothing from within the church has prompted the timing of this decision. Second, I want to assure you that while Janet and I will need to be making preparations for our time ahead, I will be fully engaged as your pastor until June. Third, things will not be left to chance after I depart. There is a definite process that you will be following and guidance along the way; after all, we are Presbyterians and Presbyterian do things decently and in order!! There won't be chaos. A special meeting of the congregation will be called in April to act upon my request that the call be dissolved so that I can become honorably retired in June. A Transition Team will be appointed by Session to communicate with you and to seek an interim pastor to begin (hopefully) in the fall. Until an interim is on the scene, there will be pulpit supply and our Associate Pastor will pick up some additional responsibilities in worship and pastoral care. That means she will need to be relieved of some other responsibilities for that time and Session will have some added responsibilities. In due time, you will undertake a mission study and elect a Pastor Nominating Committee to begin the search for your next pastor; that committee will work in strict confidence, but will communicate with you where things are in the process. The Presbytery Committee on Ministry will work closely with the Session, the Transition Team, the Associate, the Interim Pastor, and later the Pastor Nominating Committee. The interim time for a congregation typically takes about two years, plus or minus. I know from chairing the Presbytery's Committee on Ministry for three years that this time in the life of the church can be a most exciting time of learning and awareness; it can also be a time when unfounded rumors and assumptions may surface, so take care to seek truth and not be part of anything that would tear the precious fabric of our community. Please feel free to communicate with me directly about anything during the remaining months that I will be your pastor. And... be assured that you will be in my prayers long beyond June! Affectionately in Christ, Pastor Floyd Churn http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/pastors_words_to_congregation.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/pastors_words_to_congregation.php Pastor's Message Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:47:36 -0500 January 15, 2008 Dear Dutch Neck Members and Friends, I am writing to all of my friends in Christ of the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church to share with you my decision to set my retirement date of June 1, 2008. The wisdom of the writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes has long been a guiding insight for me, and I am sure, for many of you: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." I have no doubt that 26 years ago, in the winter of 1981-82, it was the right season for me to accept the call of this congregation to be pastor and move to Dutch Neck with my wife, Janet, and daughters, Stephanie and Nancy. The 26 years since then have comprised well over a third of my life and been filled with the great privilege of serving God's people in this place. We have shared much together in that time: welcoming new friends and saying good-bye to old ones, launching new initiatives and maintaining vital traditions, healing and reconciliation, hopes and anxieties. We have worshiped together, enjoyed fellowship, nurtured our lives in God's Word, and served as Christ's hands and heart in mission undertakings. In the words of the wedding vow, we have been together "in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health." It has been good to be your pastor, and I treasure all the gifts of friendship and service in the Lord that these years have brought to my life and the lives of my family. I have also come to believe, in the biblical wisdom of God's timings, that this is a new season of opportunity and spiritual growth both for me and for the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church. Turning 65, as I did in November, is not, in my mind, an automatic trigger to retirement, but it is a milestone that invites one to ponder the deep promptings that inform our understanding of what season of life we are living through. I believe that the time is right for new pastoral leadership to guide God's Dutch Neck family into the future, to work with our Associate Pastor, Wendi Werner, and the lay leaders in the congregation to discover and live into God's vision for this church in the years ahead. I also have come to trust that retirement will open new possibilities for me to move in some new directions, try on some "new ministry clothes," and look for volunteer service opportunities that schedules have not permitted. Though I have some possibilities in mind, I am purposely not setting any agenda for these years at this point, but treasure the opportunity to listen for the whispers of God's leading. I will also covet the chance to spend more time with family, especially five delightful grandchildren, and to enjoy the many natural gifts of Cape Cod, where we have had a home for 24 years and where we look forward to nurturing new friendships. I want you to know several things: that I do not make this decision out of a strong desire to separate myself from the people I have come to love in our church family, that I do not make this decision without considerable prayer for discernment, and that I do intend to be fully engaged as pastor here between now and the first of June. I also want to assure you that the Presbytery of New Brunswick, through its Committee on Ministry, will walk with you through this transition, helping you to identify an interim pastor and providing support and resources in moving through the steps of calling and installing a new pastor. I am confident that this involvement by the Presbytery will be helpful because I have seen how Janet, who presently serves on the Committee on Ministry, has been a strong support for several of our sister churches in transition. In conclusion, the words of Paul to the Philippians seem to capture many of my sentiments at this time: "I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me.... And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with the knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best...for the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:3-11) While I will no longer be your pastor or perform pastoral services for you after June 1, I will continue to be your friend in Christ and thank God for all we have shared as I remember you in prayer. May peace and joy be with you and your family in the New Year, Pastor Floyd Churn http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/letter_of_january_15_2008_anno.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2008/01/letter_of_january_15_2008_anno.php Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:43:46 -0500 Tuesday, January 1st New Year's Day - Office Closed Wednesday, January 2nd 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, January 3rd 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, January 5th 11:00 AM - Epiphany Luncheon 5:30 PM - Pot Luck Dinner/Harold's 80th Sunday, January 6th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship & Baptism of Emily Marie Werner - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study Monday, January 7th Montreat Early Registration Due Tuesday, January 8th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 10:00 AM - World Sewing 6:45 PM - Presbytery of New Brunswick at Ewing Wednesday, January 9th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, January 10th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Music & Drama Team 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir 8:00 PM - Youth Committee Meeting Sunday, January 13th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Musical Auditions K - 8th grades 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Tuesday, January 15th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting 6:00 PM - Session Dinner 7:30 PM - Session Meeting Wednesday, January 16th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, January 17th 10:30 AM - Cornerbrighteners II 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Music & Drama Team 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Saturday, January 19th Officer Training Leadership Registration Due 7:00 PM - Coffeehouse Sunday, January 20th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Monday, January 21st Martin Luther King Day - Office Closed Tuesday, January 22nd 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, January 23rd 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship 9:20 AM - TASK 7:30 PM - Deacon's Meeting Thursday, January 24th 6:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Music & Drama Team 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir Friday, January 25th 9:00 AM - Women's Breakfast Club Sunday, January 27th 9:20 AM - Child Care begins and runs until 12:10 PM 9:30 AM - Worship - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Young Children in Worship - K to 5th graders - Kid's Kingdom 10:30 AM - Fellowship Hour 11:00 AM - Adult Education - 3-1/2 to 5 year olds - Sunday School - 1st to 5th graders - Godly play - 6th to 8th graders - Middle School Bible Study - Senior High God Talk & Bagels 11:15 AM - Worship 4:00 PM - Confirmation Class 6:00 PM - Middle School Youth Fellowship 7:30 PM - Senior High Youth Fellowship Tuesday, January 29th 10:00 AM - Office Staff Meeting Wednesday, January 30th 7:00 AM - Men's Bible Fellowship Thursday, January 31st 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM - Middle School Dinner with Wendi 6:30 PM - Cherub Choir 7:00 PM - Music & Drama Team 7:00 PM - Spring Musical Rehearsal 7:00 PM - Bell Choir 8:00 PM - Chancel Choir http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2007/12/january_2008_calendar.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2007/12/january_2008_calendar.php Calendar Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:34:34 -0500 SPIRIT AND FIRE Text: Matthew 3:1-12 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.' " Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." "Christmas is everywhere -- in the malls, on broadcast airwaves, in the big box retailers, in the magazines and newspapers. It's everywhere but one place: Churches! Instead we have Advent. The season of waiting for Christmas. What a killjoy! We're Americans. We hate waiting. Nobody waits for Christmas, except churches! We want Christmas NOW. No wonder nobody comes to church anymore. So what happens is, while the rest of the world goes hog wild with Christmas, churches play this game of pretend -- quaintly waiting for Christmas. As a consequence, by the time the churches catch up to Christmas, on Dec. 25, everybody else has had it up to here and is ready to move on. After saturating us with Christmas trees, Jingle Bells and Santa for six weeks, the stores lose the decorations PRONTO! So my proposal is to do away with Advent entirely. Beginning with the Sunday after Thanksgiving, it's the season of Christmas. Let'er rip! Let's get the church calendar in line with the commercial calendar once and for all. It'll be good for us all. That way, we can end the Christmas season when the advertisers, retailers and media do -- on Dec. 25. While we're at it, let's adjust the rest of the church calendar to fit the commercial calendar... Taking the cues from the stores, the Sunday after Christmas will be the first Sunday in the new liturgical season of Valentines. Liturgical colors will be red (of course!) and the season will ponder the sweet after-Christmas shopping deals and the syrupy goodness of Jesus." (Copyright (c) 2007, the Rev. Robert Blezard, www.stewardshipoflife.org. Used by permission.) So writes Rob Blezard in a satirical poke at our culture's Christmas celebrations in a publication Stewardship of Life, which someone sent me after reading my December newsletter article on" keeping Advent purple." We buy into our culture's commercially driven Christmas practices at risk to our own spiritual health - and quite often, our physical health as well. So what in the world is full-blown and full-grown John the Baptist doing here in our Advent? Isn't he just a bouncing baby boy at the time Jesus is born? Isn't he supposed to show up closer to Lent, when things start to heat up and Jesus is a grown up sparring with Satan in the wilderness? No one could embody the "purpleness" of Advent more than John the Baptizer. He didn't wear purple but he may as well have because his message was a penitential one: "Repent, the kingdom of heaven has come near!" In his excellent sermon a few weeks ago on the Song of Zechariah, John's father and a temple priest, Ryan spoke of the two movements of that little oratorio: the thunder of the Hebrew prophets of old...and the new thing coming to which John would be herald; a looking back and a looking ahead; both a communal restoration and a personal transformation. Here John arrives out of the wilderness as an Old Testament figure, one of God's fierce prophets, and specifically here dressed as the prophet Elijah is described in 2 Kings: "a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist." So make no mistake, people of Judea, what is happening with this bizarre figure from the wilds is very much related to your old, old story of God and God's love for his people. This is not something totally new that John just thought up yesterday to get some attention. And for centuries the Hebrews had known that when Elijah would reappear, it would be the sign of a new and glorious age about to happen. Well...look at John and know that centuries of hope and longing are about to come to fruition. That's the first movement of Zechariah's song now taking on flesh and blood in John, crying in the wilderness. Let's pause and think of the importance of wilderness. In the Bible, wildernesses are known to be what the Celtic Christian tradition calls "thin places," places where the boundary between the human and the divine is thinned to the point of communion. The wilderness is where the despairing Hagar is ministered to by the angel of the Lord (Genesis 21:14); where Moses meets the presence of the Lord in a burning bush (Exodus 3:1); it is where the Hebrews wandered for fifty years, led by God as cloud and fire, sustained by God's gift of manna, and blessed by the gift of God's Law, the Ten Commandments; it is the place where the Hebrew exiles are called by Isaiah to make a way for the Lord, a way of restoration and return home; and of course it is the place where Jesus spends forty days wrestling with the Temptor in discerning what it means to live out his messianic calling. Wildernesses are places where we can expect to meet God, and we all live through wildernesses now and then, places, seasons of our life that are distressing without the familiar landmarks and assurances, places or seasons when we feel lost or lonely or wounded or weary, helpless or hopeless, perplexed or purposeless. The good news is: this is where we are most likely to encounter the God who wants to make us whole and healed and transformed in spirit. What has been or may now be your wilderness? Getting out of a wilderness means turning in a new direction and that is what John's message of repentance is about. If the kingdom is coming near, if God is reaching across a thin place, we need to turn to receive the gift of God's grace. Repentance, as I said last week, is not a matter of feeling bad about ourselves but thinking differently about ourselves, our life and its possibilities and priorities. Matthew writes that those who repented were baptized by John in the Jordan, confessing their sins. And again, confessing sins is not simply feeling bad about ourselves, or making a list of all the bad thing' we've done. In the words of Tom Long, confessing means "coming to the recognition that one has been basing one's life on a lie, on a flawed view of what is true and of lasting value." It's not wallowing in guilt, but recognizing the need to change, to make a turn in life, maybe a U-turn. John then has some especially hard words for the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious establishment, who have come to be baptized. Maybe it is we who are the insiders of faith, the most comfortable with spiritual business-as-usual, the keepers of the church keys, those who used to be called "the pillars of the church" - who are most at risk of missing the call to be changed and transformed. But the Pharisees and Sadducees did come to be baptized - was John's perception that a baptism for them was just one more religious ritual to enact without any soul-shaking consequence? We can't get into their minds, or John's; but John is clear that past connections and credentials mean little when it comes to God's transforming work, the kingdom drawing near. "God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." Don't assume you are indispensable to God's work. Then John points with high drama and vivid image to the new thing unfolding in Jesus, the new creation, as Paul calls it, that is the future secured by God's promise. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." The Spirit sustains us, the fire purifies us. Living into this new reality is life's greatest joy because it is more closely attuned to God's way of grace and abundance and lovingkindness. But at the same time, living the new reality entails the fire that burns away the "bad stuff" that impedes our freedom. We will be winnowed, as will all who come through the waters of baptism. These words of John that may seem ominous and hard are really words of hope. We won't have to live carrying around the burden of those stubborn ounces of our sin. The chaff of our life will get thrown up by the Lord's winnowing fork, carried off by the Spirit-wind, and then burned, leaving only the good wheat of our lives, the parts that make for peace and joy and blessing and purpose and love. Has this happened? Of course not, not in fullness. But the winnowing is happening and we can live into it and be thankful that God will use Spirit and fire to make us new creations in Jesus Christ. To quote Tom Long once again: "Matthew...understands that those who belong to Jesus Christ have already begun to experience the freedom and confidence of those who belong to the kingdom of heaven. They can live in a world of people all around them climbing over each other's backs to grasp a little more cash and know, nonetheless, that true treasure lies elsewhere. They discern that anonymous life teaching children in an inner city school is of more value, in the kingdom sense, than being famous enough to appear on the cover of a glitter magazine. They realize that dishing out meals in a soup kitchen for the homeless will stand eternally, long after the satisfaction of pulling down a six-figure income cutting corporate deals has been burned away. They can even stand at gravesides, peering into the terrible face of the final foe, and affirm, 'if we have died with Christ, we shall surely be raised with him.' " Advent is purple for a good reason: it gets us ready to receive the fullness of the meaning of the coming of the One whom " God sent into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world - our particular lives and all creation - might be saved through him." And that's the real Christmas gift we prepare to receive in Advent. Amen. http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2007/12/sermonofthemonth_for_december_1.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2007/12/sermonofthemonth_for_december_1.php Sermons Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:02:05 -0500 Keep Advent Purple! I was in the local Dunkin Donuts last week purchasing a "Box o' Joe" while a loud pop version of a familiar Christmas carol rang out among the bagels and the coffee beans. As it was yet some days before Thanksgiving, my look of mild disgust must have been evident to the next person in line. "How does that feel to you?" she asked. "Invasive," I replied, realizing once again that the commercial season of Christmas had begun its annual invasion of our sensibilities - seemingly earlier every year. Advent, the season not to celebrate Christmas but to prepare ourselves spiritually for celebrating Christ's birth, was still almost two weeks away. I know I probably ring this theme every year, and that it is a losing cause given the fact that Christmas observances in our society are driven by powerful materialistic engines and deep melancholic sentiments rather than by the spiritual rhythm of faith. By a spiritual calendar, the four weeks before Christmas, the Season of Advent, are to be spent somewhat like the Season of Lent in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. Advent is often called "a little Lent." Then Christmas begins, not ends as seems to be our cultural practice, on December 25th and is celebrated joyously for twelve days (You've heard of the popular song, but did you know that Bach wrote a beautiful Christmas Oratorio in sections to be performed on certain of the 12 days of Christmas?). However, when Christmas begins on "Black Friday" if not sooner, and consists not of reflective pondering and patient waiting but rather of frantic buying and partying - well...no wonder folks are "Christmas-ed out" by dinnertime of the 25th. Again, I know I am fighting a losing battle with powerful cultural forces, but how I long for a more measured and meditative December flowing into an extended season of real joy, not the boisterous "Ho-Ho-Ho's" of manufactured merriment ringing through the malls and media. Purple is the color of Advent, and it is the color of penitence and preparation, as well as of the royalty of Christ the coming King. I think that for Christians, penitence can mean here not excessive remorsefulness, but a serious contemplation of our life's priorities and a commitment to change things that are getting in the way of true abundance, of shalom, of the blessing of serving Christ in the world. But it is hard to do such contemplation when shopping and endless to-do lists direct our agendas and elicit anxiety, when secular Christmas music is blasting and TVs deliver Christmas specials that major in the trivialities of the holiday. Perhaps the best we can hope for is to try to carve out as much "purple time" as possible and not give in totally to the season's frenetic demands and impossible expectations. Some time to light Advent candles...maybe a ritual of opening a daily Advent calendar...listening to the Advent section of Handel's Messiah...or a concert of sacred music... turning off the TV or CD and reading a book that nurtures one's soul... pondering Christmas gifts of experience or service rather than of '"things"... going for "Advent walks" on brisk mornings and lifting up friends and loved ones in prayer while walking... Perhaps you have some things your family does to keep Advent a season of measured preparation rather than of frenzied activity; I'd love to hear about it. Little things can mean a lot. One thing we will do in worship to keep Advent purple is hold off Christmas carols in our service until December 23rd, the final Sunday of Advent (well, maybe one on the 16th) and then continue to sing them after December 25th and up to Epiphany (January 6) when we celebrate the arrival of the three kings. It's similar to the way we suppress our "Alleluia's" during Lent so that our Easter celebration may erupt with the exuberant joy of great anticipation. May this Christmas come to you as a blessing rather than a burden, and may your heart be touched anew by the Love which came to dwell with us, Pastor Floyd Churn http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2007/12/pastors_message_for_december_2_1.php http://www.dutchneckpresbyterian.com/2007/12/pastors_message_for_december_2_1.php Pastor's Message Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:45:18 -0500