Last week we welcomed three new members into our fold. Tim and Vicki Cease professed their faith during the early service and Josie Murdock, daughter of Brendan and Amy Murdock, was baptized in the late service. Please welcome these new members when you next see them.
Going Out West
The Collins family is vacationing near Westcliffe, Colorado this week. In the event of a pastoral emergency we can be reached at our cell phones.
Note: the Cox family cabin is on the base of the mountain on the left side of the road in among the trees. If you look really closely you still can’t see it.
The Great Plains Annual Conference
We just received the results of the vote to merge the Kansas East, Kansas West, and Nebraska Annual Conferences and create a new Great Plains Annual Conference on January 1, 2014. All three conferences, voting independently, approved the new annual conference, by a wide margin. The results of this vote will be far-reaching for all three annual conferences. Within the local church the effects will also be far-reaching, but probably not directly noticeable.
Voice of the Day: Cynthia Harvey
Last night we heard the Rev. Cynthia Harvey preach at the ordination service. She was preaching on Philippians 2.5-11 in which Paul begins by telling the church in Philippi to let the same mind be in them that was in Christ Jesus. She had the keen insight that:
“To take on the mind of Christ you have to lose your own.”
— Rev. Cynthia Harvey
Like most keen insights, this one works on more than one level.
The Church's Role in Health Care
As I write this, I’m listening to Scott Morris, a medical doctor and a United Methodist Pastor speak about the role of the church in healthcare. He just touched on an issue I’ve been struggling with as a pastor for a long time, how we die. Below is a close paraphrase (as close to a quote as I could get) of a point Scott Morris just made:
“What we are currently doing is torturing our parents and grandparents. People spend the last two weeks of their lives with a tube stuck down their nose, in a place where the lights are never turned off, surrounded by people who don’t know them well enough to love them. … The church needs to help people learn to die well. People can’t die with dignity, death takes away dignity, but we can die well.”
I’ve seen this so many times that I am fearful for my loved ones and myself. I’ve watched far too many people die in a manner similar to that described above. I’ve seen too many people linger on, kept barely alive when all quality of life is gone. All our medical technology, all of the fruits of research and development have only made it far harder for us to let go of life and move into the fullness of God’s love. Advances in medical science will not address this problem, but the gospel of Jesus Christ can. As the church, we have work to do and a contribution to make.
At Annual Conference …
Jenny and I are at Annual Conference. I’ve already found three helpful resources. I’m avoiding entirely new projects and instead looking for ways to improve our existing programs.
Free Bible for Kindle and Nook
Today and tomorrow, the entire Contemporary English Bible is available free for Kindles and Nooks. More details and links here. I’m somewhat ticked that I actually paid for mine, but that’s no reason for you not to get it free.
Thanks
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped with Mary Ingram’s funeral on Saturday. In his book on the theology of Christian funerals, Accompany Them with Singing, speaks of the importance of the funeral service as the work of the whole church and not just professionals (e.g. clergy, musicians, and funeral directors). Those who helped were performing important acts of mission and ministry. Thank you all.
20 at Family Movie Event
We had 20 people at our family movie event tonight. We watched two classics: Josh and the Big Wall and Dave and the Giant Pickle. I had forgotten how great these were.
Voice of the Day: Martin Luther King Jr.
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.
— Martin Luther King Jr.
The quote above is from his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. It is a profoundly Christian sentiment, because those who follow Christ affirm that God is (unconditional) love and Jesus is the way, the (unarmed) truth, and the life. The resurrection is the downpayment that guarantees that truth and love will win in the end.