Month: September 2014

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Representing the Church

Tomorrow, we’ll have a Service of Death and Resurrection (the official name for the funeral service) for a beloved saint of the church. There is a very good possibility that I will do one or two things that make me uncomfortable. The first is to lead the casket and the family into the old rugged crosssanctuary at the beginning of the service; the second is to drive before or immediately behind the hearse in the funeral procession. Both actions make me uncomfortable as I invariably feel that I am stepping out of my place. What right do I have to lead the casket into the sanctuary? Who do I think I am to take a place ahead of the family in the funeral procession?

The answer I come back to over and over again to reassure myself is that I lead the casket and drive toward the front of the procession not because of who I am as a person or even as a pastor, but because, as the pastor, I represent the church, both Abilene First United Methodist Church and the church universal and through the church, Jesus Christ. Christ has gone through death and come out the other side. It’s the task of the church to accompany our deceased brothers and sisters to their final resting place, to walk before those who grieve to show them the way and to comfort them. It’s not practical or even practicable for the church as a whole to lead the way, but it is possible for Jenny and me, representing the church, to do it on your behalf. It’s a great honor and one we take very seriously.

It’s not something we can really do well alone, but we don’t have to. You are there to back us up. The care, compassion, and hospitality you show as a church to those in the midst of grief is a wonderful expression of God’s love and a true fulfillment of your high calling to be the body of Christ for the world. It’s an honor to do what we do. It is an even greater honor that we get to do it with you.

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Voice of the Day: Elie Wiesel

microphoneSometimes I find myself apathetic in the face of the injustice, evil, and sin that stand between the way things are and the way things out be. In those times, I’m tempted to conclude that because I cannot do everything, there is no point in doing anything. Elie Wiesel, who survived the greatest atrocity of the 1900’s speaks against that impulse:

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” — Elie Wiesel

Hat Tip: Sojourners

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Funeral Services for Dorothy Hartman

A Service of Death and Resurrection for Dorothy Hartman will be held Monday, September 29, 2014 at 10:00 am in the Sanctuary of First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Clay Center, Kansas. Jenny and I will preside.

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Neglecting our Brothers and Sisters

Blue CrossIn his most recent column*, Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist for the New York Times makes the following statement about Christianity in the Middle East:

“If 2,000 years of Christian history in the Middle East ends in blood and ash and exile, the American right no less than the left and center will deserve a share of responsibility for that fate.”

I’ve been drawing the same conclusion. Christians in the United States who are quick to cry persecution in response to even the mildest slight have been silent on the actual persecution of their brothers and sisters taking place in the Middle East. Others are quick to rush to the defense of persons of minority faiths and those of no faith at all when Christians in the United States overstep proper bounds in the exercise of their political clout. I don’t criticize them for that (I think in the long run it’s probably good for us), but I have noticed that these same people seem far more reticent about defending a persecuted Christian minority oversees.

I would like to suggest a course of action, but I don’t know an organization that has taken up this cause. Instead I would encourage you to join me in prayer.

*This column is behind the New York Times’ paywall. If you’re like me and you don’t have a subscription, it will cost you one of the articles of your monthly allotment. Link: http://goo.gl/21jw64

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Rhae Thayer Memorial

You may (or may not) have noticed two new coffee makers in the church. These were purchased with funds from the Rhae Thayer Memorial. Unlike the previous coffee makers they are owned, not rented and will more than pay for themselves in the first year of use.

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Funeral Services for Rodney N. Sims

A Service of Death and Resurrection for Rodney N. “Rod” Sims will be held Tuesday, September 23, 2014 at 2 pm at First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Farmington-Pioneer Cemetery. I’ll be presiding with the assistance of Pastor Stan Norman as the guest preacher.

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Financial Peace University Coming Back to First

Megaphone on white with pathCindy Rempe will again be offering the Financial Peace University here at First United Methodist Church. This nine week series of classes will begin Tuesday, September 30, 2014. Each class meeting will last from 6:30 to 8 pm. The cost is $93, but scholarships are available (just contact me at 620-252-9622 or john@revcollins.com). You can learn more by speaking Cindy or someone who took last week’s class or online here. I would highly recommend this course to just about everyone.

Link: http://goo.gl/Vqy9Vh

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Voice of the Day: Peter Millar

Blue CrossI woke up angry and agitated about a number of things/issues/injustices this morning. And then I stumbled across this quote posted on facebook by a clergy friend several days ago.

“Let me pause and be still for a moment
and remember that each day
the One who sustains all of life
offers me a place in which to rest my soul
so that I may grow in love.” — Peter Millar

I don’t know who Peter Millar is and a quick internet search has proven fruitless, but the words ring true. And I needed to hear them.

Hat Tip: Rev. Blair Thompson

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Music Matters

Sheet MusicThe following post was received from Clark Williamson:

The Choir Sign-Up Days have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean our groups in music ministries have no room for new members.  We welcome and appreciate new participants in both the Chancel Choir and John Wesley Bell Choir.  All vocal parts are needed and the choir has a diverse background of music experience.  All singers are encouraged to get involved, auditions are not required.  The Chancel Choir practices on Wednesdays at 7 to 8:15 pm in the Wright Fellowship Hall.  Please enter the building through the narthex-sanctuary doors from the parking lot and continue down the stairs on your left.  An anthem is sung each Sunday at the 10:30am service with a warm-up starting at 10:10.

Our adult bell choir is another music ensemble which actively rehearses each week on Thursdays at 6 to 7 pm in the sanctuary.  The 13 ringers share their musical offering at church every 4 to 6 weeks.  Substitutes at practices are frequently in demand.  The ability to read music is not mandatory, but it sure helps.

Special music in the form of solos, duets, vocal, instrumental, keyboard are also a major part of our music ministries throughout the year.  Persons interested in working on special music should contact me at church throughout the week (263-2623) or catch me after worship service.

Our music ministries often promote the start of new friendships and our choirs become close knit small groups.  We celebrate with each other’s happy events and also become a support system when prayer is needed.  

In 1861, Katherine Hankey wrote: “I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.  I love to tell the story, because I know ‘tis true; it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.” Come help us tell the story, the Gospel story, through the language of Music!

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Memorials Used for New Screens

cross of christ built into a brick wallIn giving thanks to everyone who helped get the new screens into the sanctuary last Sunday, I neglected to mention how the screens were paid for. They were paid for by memorials in honor of Glenn Shockey, Jean Whitworth, George Thompson and Lois Jean Webb. We’ll be dedicating the screens and honoring the gifts at our next All Saints / Memorial Day observance on Sunday, May 24, 2015.

First United Methodist Church has been richly blessed with generous memorial gifts. We’re also very fortunate to have a dedicated memorial committee that makes sure they are well used.

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Voice of the Day: David Foster Wallace

Palm Cross with Green BackgroundToday’s voice of the day expresses a concept well known in Christian circles, but I don’t think it ever hurts to hear it again and David Foster Wallace says it very well.

“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” — David Foster Wallace

Hat Tip: Sojourners