Happy Week After Easter!

Greetings from New Jersey!

I hope all is well back in beautiful Northern Michigan. Currently, I am preparing to worship with some good friends in a seminary classmate's church. It is fantastic returning back to Princeton and getting the opportunity to worship and fellowship with dear friends from across the country. This week's trip also includes participation in the Institute for Pastoral Leadership, an event put on by the Princeton Theological Seminary continuing education department. This week is an excellent opportunity to make connections with other pastors and colleagues throughout the country as we share experiences in ministry.

As our snowbirds return to Bellaire, we should consider doing a similar thing. Share our winter experiences with our friends who have been away. Let them know what we've done in their absence. At the same time, we can learn so much from their experiences down south in their "migration" churches south of the snow. Even though we are a divided congregation for part of the year, we are all still part of the same body of Christ throughout the world.

Take care of one another, enjoy worship together, and celebrate again our common faith in the resurrected Christ, who lives and reigns. May the Holy Spirit unite us in our time apart and prepare us to worship together again.

Take care and have a great week in Bellaire!

Pastor Andrew

Have a blessed Maundy Thursday

As we approach the end of Holy Week, I would challenge everyone to again refocus themselves on the events of the Easter week. Take this time, this year, to establish a tradition within your household that can point your thoughts and prayers upon the sacrifice, miracle, and grace offered through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Take care of yourselves and have a wonderful Easter!

Pastor Andrew

Celebrations

Why do we celebrate with one another? Think about times in your life when you gather with others to have a party and be happy about something. For me, I think of birthdays, holidays, and sporting events. Each one of these celebrations is amplified because of the community gathered.

I spent three birthdays in a row in Alaska. The first two were with family and friends and they were incredible. The third was spent alone and wasn't really marked by any significant celebration.

My birthday didn't change but the surroundings were certainly different. The third one was spent driving and wasn't really different from any other day. I needed the other people to make that day special.

This week we celebrate Palm Sunday and prepare to move into Holy Week. Jesus begins the week surrounded by friends and ends the week alone in death. Yet, our faith moves past the emptiness and death to be full of joy and community.

As we seek to love one another and demonstrate Christ's love, do so in a way that not only comforts in times of hurt, but in a way that rejoices and celebrates with our community in times of joy. Seek to be with one another, share meals with one another, and be friends with all of God's children.

Vacation

Just a reminder to everyone that I will be on vacation all week, returning on March 10. Next week we will have a guest pastor in worship. I hope everyone has a blessed week and I look forward to seeing everyone when I return. Our Tuesday morning Bible study and our Wednesday evening classes are both canceled this week and will resume the following week.

Take care!

Pastor Andrew

Canceling Church

On Sunday, February 17, 2008, we did something at Church in the Hills that I never thought would ever happen – we called off our official Sunday morning worship. As a newly minted pastor, fresh out of seminary, the concept of postponing worship because of the weather astonished me. And of course, I didn’t look at it from a practical point of view or for reasons of safety. No, I looked at the canceling of worship as a direct result of my failure as a new pastor. Regardless of the weather conditions, the repeated warnings from the weather service, and the Michigan State Police driving reports, I saw the cessation of worship as indicative of my pastoral leadership at Church in the Hills.
Since then, I’ve had plenty of people talk me down and remind me of how dangerous it was to drive up into the “hills” in order to get to Church in the Hills. They’ve reminded me about the necessity for safety and care of their families and the need to be responsible when faced with adversity. Some even told about the worship they still were able to offer in their homes as a family.
I know that this was a fluke Sunday and this sort of thing is an anomaly. However, I was not upset about the weather, my self-doubt, or my failure to understand the danger of freezing rain. I was frustrated because of what “skipping” worship meant on a grander scale.
In the Presbyterian Church, we value communal worship very highly. We practice our faith in the context of a community of believers. While we are all individuals, equally loved by God, we are also members of a larger family of God’s children. We are called to be together in worship, fellowship, celebration, grief, and everything in between. We come to worship to stand beside the man, woman, or child next to us and join with them in our prayers, our songs, and our faith.
I was sad that week because that opportunity was missed for the community. However, our worship is not limited to a time or place. Our faith is not restricted by weather or driving conditions. And the love of God is not held back, restrained, or “canceled” because we miss one scheduled Sunday morning service.
So to everyone at Church in the Hills and any other house of worship in the area – make an effort to worship, work, and play together - but always do so in a way that takes care of yourselves and your families. Be a community that looks out for the well-being of all its members and seeks to share peace, justice, and love with the world.

Sign-up for the Passover Seder

I'm pretty excited about this prospect.

We're partnering up with the Bellaire Community United Methodist Church on March 20, Maunday Thursday, to celebrate the Passover Seder meal in an eccumenical worship service. We'll begin the meal that night at 6:00 pm.

The Seder is a symbolic meal that reflects upon the Passover of the Jews and their journey out of Egypt. It was a Passover meal that Christ shared with his apostles on the night he was betrayed. When we, as Christians, participate in the Lord's Supper, we are joining in this same Passover feast.

Sign up on the bulletin board or call the church to reserve your spot. We only have thirty or so spots left between the two churches. Sign up fast!

Lent and lenten preparations

Greetings everyone! We are rapidly approaching the beginning of Lent, traditionally marked by the celebration of Ash Wednesday. Lent is the forty days before Easter, excluding Sundays. It is a time of preparation for Easter. We take this time to prepare ourselves through prayer, fasting, study, and grace-filled works to be reminded of the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

What does this mean for our church? We're going to spend the next forty days preparing ourselves by being reminded of Jesus' Hebrew heritage and how we can learn from and expereince Judaism in order to get a better understanding of Christianity.

Here is a list of the Wednesday evening adult education classes through Lent, with a special Passover Seder dinner shared with the Bellaire Community United Methodist Church on Maunday Thursday to help celebrate Holy Week.

I hope many of you are able to attend. Remember, ask lots of questions and always seek to grow in your faith through the Holy Spirit. Take care! - Pastor Andrew

The Wednesday Evening Adult Education Classes for Lent – A Study of Judaism:

Wednesday Feb 13 – Festivals and Holidays of Judaism – From Rosh Shoshanna to Yom Kippur and everything in between. Learn about the major holidays in the Jewish faith and how Christians can incorporate them into our worship, fellowship, and discipleship

Feb 20 – The Hebrew Language – An introduction into the language, translations, and the Hebrew scriptures

Feb 27 – Israel: Place, Idea, and Theology

March 5 – Passover Meal Planning team – Pastor Andrew away

March 12 – Contemporary Judaism (modern interpretation of the faith, reformed Judaism, and the place of Judaism in our society

Thursday March 20 – Passover Seder Meal, shared with The Bellaire Community United Methodist Church – 6:00 pm - sign up soon, only 80 spots available for both churches!