Come and See

On Sunday, August 12, 2007 the Community Presbyterian Church of Malverne was fortunate to have Rev. Victoria Affram-Boyd lead our worship. She issued an invitation to “Come and See” her home church in Peki, Ghana just as Jesus invited Peter and the other disciples to “come and follow me.” Sometimes it is necessary for us to step out of our comfort zone and take a chance as they did.

Peki is part of a vibrant Christian community in Ghana, and Rev. Affram-Boyd’s home church, the Peki Methodist Church, is in the midst of a building campaign to replace a church and school built in 1893 by Rev. Affram-Boyd’s grandfather. The congregation needs our help in three ways. First, we can support their efforts through our prayers, asking God to help them see their project through. Secondly, we can lend financial support. They need $130,000 to complete their building. Thirdly, we can go to Peki and witness their efforts. In August of 2008, Rev. Affram-Boyd is leading an educational trip to Ghana and especially Peki. If you are interested, let Pastor Fritz know.

Rev. Affram-Boyd’s passion is “to unite God’s people by bringing them to share the love of Christ across cultures.” To this end, she hopes to build sustainable partnerships between churches in the United States and the church in Ghana. It is more than the completion of a building. It is an opportunity to connect with a Christian community.

Ghana Calling

I just spent an amazing three hours with Rev. Victoria Affram-Boyd, our guest pastor for August 12th. If you want to believe in miracles again, if you want to be refreshed by the power of God, if you want to know without a doubt that God is still at work in our community and our world, forget about the beach, forget about sleeping in and be at church August 12.

Rev. Affram-Boyd was born and raised in the Peki Mothodist Church in Peki, Ghana. The congregation founded by her grandfather, who attended a Methodist gathering and was converted. Rev. Affram-Boyd immgrated to the United States in 1971 and worked for many years as a nurse at North Shore hospital. At age 50, God called her into ministry. She attended Drew University Seminary and was ordained, serving the Methodist Church in Amnityville until sickness forced her to step down.

In the midst of all her health problems, she heard God calling her to return to Peki. In late February, against the adivce of almost everyone concerned for her health she returned. That experience has launched a ministry of partnership between congregations on Long Island and churches in Ghana. Since her visit, most of her health problems have ceased.

Rev. Affram-Boyd will be visiting Community Presbyterian with James Winans, who accompanied her to Ghana, and a close friend from Peki who is visiting. A special discussion time will follow the worship and an offering will be taken in support of her ministry.

US State Department Ghana Site
Official Ghana tourism site
PC(USA) Partnerships in Ghana

Two Views

The omnipresence of God--God's presense in every corner of creation--has long triggered two opposite reactions: great comfort, and great shame and fear. For some, knowing that God is always with them means that they have constant protection and love. For others, it means that God knows all their shameful secrets.

Check out these two Psalms--one ancient and attributed to King David, the other modern and penned by songwriter Greg Brown. How many of us haven't felt something from each of them at one point or another?

Psalm 139
(excerpts; Today's New International Version, copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.)

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
[...]
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
[...]
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
[...]
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.


Lord, I Have Made You A Place in my Heart
by Greg Brown; copyright 1997 Hacklebarney Music

Oh Lord, I have made you a place in my heart
Among the rags and the bones and the dirt
There's piles of lies and the love gone from her eyes
And old moving boxes full of hurt.
Pull up a chair by the trouble and care
I got whiskey, you're welcome to some.

Oh Lord, I have made you a place in my heart
But I don't reckon you're gonna come.
[...]
Oh Lord, I have made you a place in my heart
So take a good look and then leave.
[...]
Lord if you made me, it's easy to see
Y'all make mistakes up above
But if I open the door
You will know that I'm poor
And my secrets are all that I own.

Oh Lord, I have made you a place in my heart
And I hope that you leave it alone.

(Originally recorded by Greg Brown on "The Poet Game" from Red House Records)

Our faith cycles, from rejoicing in God's presence in our lives to rudely asking God to leave us alone, from echoing David to singing along with the narrator of Greg Brown's song.

Here's the thing though: even if our hearts look like the one described in the modern song, God's hand guides us and holds us fast. After all, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

Special Food Offering

Stan Bishop told us in church on Sunday just how much our food donations to the Long Island Council of Churches food prantry are appreciated. During the summers:

• Demand increases because children aren't in school
• Day camps come to the food pantry to help stretch their own meager budgets
• Vacations mean that donations are down

When Stan dropped off our July donations, they had only a single box of cereal left, and were almost completely out of food.

Pastor Fritz has called a Special Food Offering for the next two Sundays: July 29 and August 5.

Please bring what you are able, especially breakfast cereal, baby formula, and other staples. Remember, the food pantry also welcomes grocery store gift cards, so if you don't want to haul shopping bags to church with you, this is a great option.

Every person is made in the image of God. Recognize Christ in every person. Help touch the lives of the people who are living with hunger.

Thank you, Marianela

Yesterday was Marianela's last Sunday as our music director. We're sorry to see her go, but certainly wish her the best as she begins working with the Lutheran church in Farmingdale--only two miles from her home.

While she did a wonderful job playing for us every Sunday, leading the choir, and encouraging our young people in their musical pursuits, if you ever heard her play at one of her recitals, you'll know just what a fabulous musician she is. From premiering new works at Carnegie Hall to going on international tours, her musical career is full of highlights. We were blessed to have her among us for a few years.

Thanks, Marianela. For all your hard work and for sharing your talent with us. God bless you in all that you do.

Monday Musings

I've been a bit distracted recently, what with various travels, visiting family, and so forth. I apologize for going so long without a Monday Musings (or even Tuesday Thoughts). As always, others are always welcome to post!! If you're not already on the list, just drop Pastor Fritz an e-mail, and someone will get you set up super quick.

Anyway, thanks to Stan, we sang a great old-timey hymn in church yesterday: "Jesus Calls us o'er the Tumult." I grew up with this hymn and have always liked it, but since it's not in the Presbyterian hymnal, it's been a while since I've sung it.

The ultimate message of that hymn is perhaps the essense of living life as a faithful Christian: Let nothing separate us from the love of Christ--not the tumult of our lives, not "the vain world's golden store," not all our cares and pleasures. As distracted as we get (by travels, visiting family, and so forth) we can always hear Jesus calling us to follow and love him. And, by extension, to love all those around us.

Day by day his sweet voice soundeth
Saying, "Christian, follow me."

Virginia - Money

"Money is the largest idol in American culture," said Scott Schantzenbach during a stewardship seminar. When churches talked about money, he continued, "they are looking into the eyes of the beast."

When we worship money instead of God, we become scared, shallow and slow - all traits of our larger culture, which specializes in often doing too little, too late resulting in frugal, timid, sacrifice free solutions to major problems such as Katrina, poverty, the Iraq war, global warming, education, etc.

Our God is a God of courage, of significance and of nimble response to problems and calls us to be the same. Our God could create a world where there was none, because all the molecules of the world are at his finger tips. Our God could create nations from the wombs of barren women because he has life at his abundance. Our God defeated death and sin because he has love beyond measure.

All these God gives to us. "Be strong and courageous," God tells Joshua as he takes over from Moses. Together let us take the bold step and fix our focus from our wallets (which feel empty no matter how much they contain) to our God of abundance and let ministry in God's name flow from our lives and our community of faith.

Virginia - Root memories

What are the snippets of your life that you remember, hold onto and that shape you now? How about those that shape your faith?

As I was challenged today by our speaker to consider this question, I thought of how the local Catholic priest in the town I grew up in always complemented me on how well the lawn of my (Protestant) church looked after I mowed it, and nobody from my own congregation ever said a thing. I thought of hymn sings, ice cream socials and Wednesday night dinners at another congregation when I was even younger. I thought of a semi-retired minister who put me to work within seconds of meeting me, keeping me from leaving the ministry before I ever got in. I remembered my grandmother's bedrock faith, lived out through handiwork such as blankets for premature babies, intricately stitched communion cloths for her church and more.

These root memories, or bedrock stories, provide us strength during times of challenge and remind us of God's presence throughout our lives and the lives of those who have gone before. And through bedrock stories we can project God's presence into the future.

Click on the comments link and add your bedrock stories.

Virginia - Stories

Since June 20, I've been at the Summer Collegium in support of small churches at Virginia Theological Seminary in VA.

Stories - For the past two days we've been talking about stories - our own personal stories of faith and the stories of our congregations. And last night we went to see an incredible presentation of the play Peter Pan - more stories.

Last week at coffee hour we put our stories on a great timeline of our congregation. Stories of confirmations, baptisms, weddings, funerals. Stories of pain and victory as a congregation. Stories of personal moments. Stories of faith regained. Put together these stories are, in part, our congregation's story.

"People become part of the congregation," Carl Dudley, our keynote speaker this week, said, "when they share and become part of our congregational story" - when they can tell some of our shared stories, when they contribute to our ongoing story. "Remember your story of faith," Karl, our collegium co-pastor, said," when you are facing difficult times. Your faith story sustains you."

When we live in faith, whether as individuals or as a congregation, we are living in our story. This does not mean that we live in the past. Rather our story is a wave and we are a surfer. We are on the front, breaking edge, moving with the water; but the wave is made up of the millions of memories, millions of experiences of our history and the history of faith. Just as millions of drops of water power a wave, our experience, our story powers our lives.

As I type this, the small congregation arts festival is continuing here on campus. The Hosanna banner from the sanctuary is on the wall, art from our children and Mary Hallam is on the table, all attracting many admirers.

Virginia - Evening Prayer

Earlier this year our congregation was selected to participate in the Summer Collegium for the Small Church at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA.   This is an intimate gathering of 25 small church pastors and many of their spouses to discuss some of the cultures of small churches and the challenges and opportunities for ministry.  It will also hopefully be a time of spiritual renewal for me.  Periodically I'm going to be posting thoughts and observations.

One quick observation:  Last night during a "get to know you" exercise we were each asked to name an exciting thing happening in our churches.  And a silence filled the room.  We've been so trained that exciting things happen at big churches with tons of cool programs that we forget to seek excitement from how God is working among us.   Elisabeth and I did mention program things - myself, the leadership training we are doing in October and Elisabeth the just completed food drive, but perhaps the most exciting thing is how everyone is lifting Mrs. Burns up in prayer and is supporting Joe with the death of his mother.  God works as we relate to one another.

Finally - an evening prayer:

Lord,

It is night.

The night is for stillness.

  Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.

   What has been done has been done;

   what has not been done has not been done.

   Let it be.

The night is dark.

  Let our fears of the darkness of the world

  and of our own lives 

  rest in you.

The night is quiet.

  Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,

    all dear to us,

    and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.

  Let us look expectantly to a new day.

    new joys

   new possibilities.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Tuesday Thoughts

Wasn't it great to walk into church on Sunday morning and see all those groceries we collected during the food drive?

There's a tendency sometimes to be defeatist: oh, we're so small we can't do anything. People don't have time to help. No one will donate anything--no one really cares any more.

But guess what? With just a little bit of effort on our part, we accomplished a heck of a lot in the space of a week. We made contact with hundreds of neighbors through the door hangers, spoke with many more on the street while collecting the food, and touched the lives of everyone who will open one of those cans or boxes to feed their family.

Who'd a thunk it?

Well, Pete, for one, since the food drive was his brain child. Pastor Fritz, who encouraged and embraced that brain child, and everyone in the congregation who hung a hanger, prayed for the harvest, highlighted maps, stuck stickers, table sat, drove around collecting from door steps, and brought a bag of food themselves.

Seems to me that brain child has grown into a mature, generous, loving brain adult. We should be proud.

Door hangers!

Don't forget to wear your walking shoes to church tomorrow!

After church, as many of us as are able will spread out through the streets of Malverne distributing door hangers to our neighbors inviting them to join us in our annual food drive. If everyone pitches in, we'll be able to reach more homes than ever before.

We'll have goodies left over from the picnic this afternoon as motivation and energy boosters, plenty of hangers to go around, and good fellowship.

Let's make this a team effort and really get the word out.

Risky Christianity

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has been touring China and posting a series of columns from his travels. Here are some excerpts from a recent column posted from the North Korea border:

In an archipelago of safe houses [along the China/North Korea border] I met groups of peple who live every moment in sickening fear. These are North Koreans who have escaped to the "free world" - China - and are now at constant risk of being captured by Chinese police who hand these escapees back to North Korea.

Those returned by China are often sentenced to prison for several years, and repeat offenders or Christians can be sent with their entire families to labor camps for life. ne Christian I spoke to had been beaten so badly after his return by China that he tried to commit suicide by swallowing a handful of pins. The prison, not wanting to have to dispose of a corpse, freed him — and he eventually made his way back to China. Christian missionaries in North Korea can face execution.

Read Kristof's entire column. (Must subscribe to Times Select.)

If confessing Jesus Christ meant risking life in a labor camp for you and your entire family would you still confess?

Talent Night Pictures

Below are a handful of pictures from Community Presbyterian's talent night last April. More pictures can be viewed here. Thanks to Alan and Emily Weil for the pictures.

The Gagstetter Family Band

Daniel reading poetry

Kayla and friend dancing

Childhood Lessons are often the Best

A few weeks ago on Heritage Sunday, we sang lots of hymns, and each one was submitted by a congregation member as the first hymn he or she remembers learning.

We've also had several people in our church family, including our extended church family, who have suffered various losses, stresses, worries, or concerns, including the loss of family members; some of our young people preparing to leave home for the larger world (both exciting and stressful!); illnesses; and neighbors, friends, or family members being deployed to various hot spots.

This is the perfect time to remember a song we could easily have sung on Heritage Sunday: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." It's a simple song, but in case you need a reminder, here's the basic verse:

He's got the whole world in his hands
He's got the whole wide world in his hands
He's got the whole world in his hands
He's got the whole world in his hands

The cool thing is that you can replace "the whole world" with just about anything you want. Some common variations:

• He's got you and me, Sister [or Brother], in his hands
• He's got the itty bitty baby in his hands
• He's got the wind and the rain in his hands

And on and on and on.

Here's another cool thing: The whole world that God has in his hands is way, way bigger than just this little round ball we call Earth. It's the past and the present and the future. It's those who have left us and those yet to come. And yet, even the itty bitty baby isn't too small for God's notice and won't slip through his fingers.

This really simple song has humongous implications, doesn't it? Isn't it amazing that something we learn as children can turn out to be deeply theological?

What verse do you need to sing right now to help you with your losses and stresses? Leave a comment (anonymous or not) with your new words to this old song.

Christ likeness emerges from conflict

I spent the morning with Rev. Joan Gray, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) at a discussion hosted by the Presbytery of Long Island at the beautiful Sweet Hollow Presbyterian Church in Melville, LI.

A response to a question about the considerable conflict in the Presbyterian Church (USA) struck me as especially poignant and useful for all of us in times of conflict and discord.

"God is trying to lay ahold of us and make us into real Christians, teaching us to love each other as Christ loved us; teaching us to be willing to be with each other in all our sinfulness."

She then went on to talk about how Jesus came down to us despite who we were and loved us despite our sinfulness and gave himself for us - not when we changed but because we couldn't
change.

"We must take the time to know each other," she said, "to know each other's hearts and then give ourselves to each other" out of servant love - not because we share an agenda, not because we like each other, not because giving ourselves to another person gains us anything - but because that is the model that Christ showed us; that is what it is to be Christian.

Monday Musings

Yesterday was Heritage Sunday. Fritz reminded us of CPC's heritage, both the original disciples who had the courage to keep the faith after Jesus' ascension, and those more recent disciples who had the courage to build a new church in the new village of Malverne.

He also reminded us that one day, some Heritage Sunday fifty or a hundred years from now, others will be looking back at us.

Our church is at a crossroads, and it's time to decide which direction we're going to go. Will we still be Community Presbyterian Church, embracing the whole community, no matter how it might be changing or will change in years to come? Or will we become Lingering Presbyterian Church, clinging desperately to how things used to be?

We as individuals won't be around forever. But the Community of Faith and the work of God will be--it's up to us to make sure CPC continues to be a witness in and around Malverne.

Farm Bill and Hunger

This Sunday our annual Bread for the World Offering of Letters will focus on the reauthorization of the Farm Bill. Letter writing will take place immediately following the service during coffee hour.

The following are some excerpts from an article by Leslie Woods of the PC(USA) Washington Office about why the Farm Bill is so important. The complete article can be found here.

The Farm Bill authorizes some of the country’s most important tools for fighting hunger in the U.S. and -- unlike its name implies -- it does not affect only American farmers. In fact, the Farm Bill touches the life of almost every person living in the United States, and many who live in the global community. Perhaps it would be more aptly named the “Comprehensive Food, Land, and Trade Policy Bill.”

Folded into the broad reaches of the Farm Bill are topics that range widely -- from anti-hunger measures like the Food Stamp Program, to government subsidies for farmers and policies that affect international trade agreements, to programs designed to protect the environment. The Farm Bill also governs international food aid policy, as well as plans to promote development in rural communities in the U.S.

Many are concerned that current farm policies are unsustainable and unjust, both in the global economy and environmentally.

The commodities program, for example, was originally intended as a safety net for family farmers. However they increasingly benefit large farms and agribusiness, leaving small and mid-size farmers without that important safety net.

Current Food Stamp benefits average $1 per person per meal and the household monthly minimum benefit is as low as $10.

The 2007 Farm Bill should:
• Increase investments that combat rural poverty and strengthen rural communities;
• Strengthen and expand programs that reduce hunger and improve nutrition in the United States;
• Strengthen and increase investment in policies that promote conservation and good stewardship of the land;
• Provide transitions for farmers to alternative forms of support that are more equitable and do not distort trade in ways that fuel hunger and poverty;
• Protect the health and safety of farmworkers;
• Expand research related to alternative, clean and renewable forms of energy; and
• Improve and expand international food aid in ways that encourage local food security.

A question about last Sunday

Last Sunday we were given the opportunity to come forward for a prayer of healing and forgiveness. It was a very personal moment with Pastor Fritz, God and myself. As I turned around, I noticed only women in line to come forward.

Where were the men? Don't they need this moment of healing or are they just willing to go it alone?

The Blog is Back

Sorry for the long gap between posts. The last couple weeks have been a little hectic. If anyone wants the opportunity to step in at times like this and post anything, send an e-mail to the church e-mail address.

Are you happy? I don't mean content or without sorrow, but truly, deeply happy? Not very many of us are, so if you're one of the few, leave a comment to let the rest of us know how you achieved it. For everyone else: Have you ever sat down and worked out why you're not happy?

Maybe we think it's because of the bills piling up on the table or the repairs that need done around the house or any of the other myriad worries that oppress us. But those are physical things, and I believe happiness is a spiritual state of being. Sometimes those who seem the most joyful are those who have the least. So I don't think our finances or our own particular worries necessarily have anything to do with our happiness.

It's harder than it sounds, but let's all try this: Find happiness in the assurances of God. Everything is in God's hands, and if God is in control, we can release all those things that weigh us down. And allow ourselves to be truly, deeply, spiritually happy.