Pastor's Pondering ̴
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Spire Barre Congregational Church, UCC Welcoming & Serving the Quabbin Area Phone—978-355-4041 Email—[email protected] website—www.barrechurch.com ̴ Pastor’s Pondering ̴~ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect t he mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ~ (Ephesians 4:15) On Sunday, September 27, a majority of the voting members present at the special congregational meet- ing accepted the six recommendations of the MACUCCC to help resolve “conflict and the financial sit- uation.” In her introduction to the recommendations, MACUCC Associate Conference Minister Rev. Kelly Gal- lagher stated: “It is clear from the conversations with groups within the church that there is a history of conflict and lack of communication within the congregation. Much like many congregations, this con- flict often surfaces around finances and change. There appears to be need for structural accountability and transparency throughout the governance of the church.” In her comments to those in attendance Sunday, she observed that the institutional church has not kept pace with the changes that have taken place in the world over the last 5 or 6 decades, and that we, like many other MA congregations need to review all aspects of our organizational structure so that we can continue to faithfully respond to the needs of our neighbors in this time. We know that the process itself will generate moments of disagreement, confusion, and a temporary sense of disorientation. However, the goals of this process are to clarify our sense of mission in response to God’s call, to identify the gifts for ministry within our own congregation and to maximize their effectiveness in ways that may bear no resemblance to how we’ve always done things. I woke up this morning with the words from Harry Emerson Fosdick’s hymn “God of Grace and God of Glory” on my mind – grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of these days, for the living of these days. I turned to hymn # 366 in the Pilgrim Hymnal, itself a reminder of Congregational history from the 1940’s and 50’s. Be- Inside this Issue fore I wrote this month’s Ponderings, I read not only the lyrics but 1-3 also something about Rev. Fosdick. I was curious to know what motivated him to write such prayerful, powerful words I verse 3 of the hymn: Cure thy children’s warring madness; Bend our pride to 4 thy control; Shame our wanton, selfish gladness, Rich in things and poor in soul. Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, Lest we miss thy 5 kingdom’s goal, Lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal. According to Wikipedia: The Reverend Harry Emerson Fosdick (May 24, 1878 – October 5, 1969) was one of the most prominent American pastors of the 20th Century. He became a central figure in 6 the "Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy" within American Protestantism in the 1920s and 1930s. He was ordained a Baptist 7 minister in 1903; he became a guest preacher in New York City, at First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan's West Village, and then at the historic, inter-denominational Riverside Church in Morningside 8/9 Heights, Manhattan. 1 On May 21, 1922, he delivered his famous sermon “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” in which he de- fended the modernist position. In that sermon, he presented the Bible as a record of the unfolding of God’s will, not as the literal "Word of God". He saw the history of Christianity as one of development, progress, and gradual change. To the fundamentalists, this was rank apostasy, and the battle lines were drawn. (I added the italics) Whenever October rolls around, I think of Martin Luther. On October 31, 1517, at Wittenberg, Germa- ny, Martin Luther affixed a list of 95 theses or points he wished to dispute, debate, or otherwise present to a gathering of his learned peers and church leaders. He wanted to talk not create a whole new church, but the result of years of “disputation” was the final break from the Church of Rome and as a result, the formation of many branches of Protestantism. The introduction to his irenic invitation reads: Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place. Therefore he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Thus began a transitional chapter in “The Reformation,” a process, truth be told, that had been under- way within the Christian Church for more than 300 years when Martin Luther set forth his challenges. A church history professor I had in seminary insisted his students use the term “reformationS” because, he taught us, God is constantly in the process of re-forming, reshaping the church for service to each age. Perhaps my professor was influenced by Harry Emerson Fosdick and surely both had been influ- enced by Martin Luther and the earliest apostles who, from the first, saw that discipleship in Christ’s name would never be a once and for all event but an ongoing, continual process. New Englanders may have inherited a tendency towards “disputation” from the Pilgrims who broke away from the Church of England and sought religious freedom first in Holland and then here in Amer- ica. Only thirty-five members of Robinson's Leiden congregation actually sailed to America on the May- flower joined by sixty-six people from Southampton and London who had little religious motivation for joining the Pilgrims. Before Carver and his group left Leiden, a solemn service was held, at which Robinson chose Ezra 8:21 as his text: “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” At the sailing of the Speedwell from Delfshaven, part of Robinson's Farewell speech read: "I Charge you before God and his blessed angels that you follow me no further than you have seen me follow Christ. If God reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as you were to receive any truth from my ministry, for I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth from His holy word. In the United Church of Christ, our God Is Still Speaking campaign was built on Rev. Robinson’s words: “I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth from His holy word.” Dear friends in Christ, our Lord Jesus prayed, as Rev. Kelly Gallagher observed, “that they [we] might all be one” (John 17:21) not that all might agree. John 17:21 is the motto of the United Church of Christ. 2 I, too, believe God has more truth for all of Christ’s followers to learn and is bringing about the in- breaking of His light through a process of dialog, debate, and undoubtedly some dispute. We’re in good and historic company. I am praying that we may learn to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) so that God’s word continues to be revealed through the voices and actions of those who are devoted to our church and committed to passing along the love of Christ to generations to come. Thank you for your faithfulness. Please pray for one another and for our church. With love, God of Grace and God of Glory God of grace and God of glory, on they people pour thy power; Crown thine ancient church’s sto- ry; Bring her bud to glorious flower. Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, For the facing of this hour, For the facing of this hour. Lo! The hosts of evil round us, Scorn thy Christ, assail his was! From the fears that long have bound us, Free our hearts to faith and praise. Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, For the living of these days, For the living of these days. Cure thy children’s warring madness; Bend our pride to thy control; Shame our wanton, selfish gladness, Rich in things and poor in soul. Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, Lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal, Lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal. Set our feet on lofty places; Gird our lives that they may be Armored with all Christ-like graces In the fight to set all free. Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, That we fail not man nor thee, That we fail not man nor thee. Save us from weak resignation To the evils we deplore; Let the search for thy salvation Be our glory evermore. Grant us wisdom, Grant us courage, Serving thee whom we adore, Serving thee whom we adore. 3 Good Things Travel by Work of Mouth Contacting the Pastor John Edgerton Thanks to the plethora of communications devices, I "The living, the living—they praise you, am almost always available if you have pastoral as I am doing today; needs. You may contact me at parents tell their children [email protected]; bar- about your faithfulness." - Isaiah 38:10-20 [email protected]; www.barrechurch.com; by When buying something on Amazon I always read calling the church office 978-355-4041 or my home the reviews first.