Friday, December 29, 2006
From the Lighthouse Keeper 6.29
Well, friends, this is the final FTLHK of the year 2006, and the year is going out with a bang. I’ve been to two funerals and a wedding in the past week, and visited four church members in the hospital. This after months of no funerals and one hospitalized member (Edie).
Please pray for Irma M, who spent a few days at Phoenixville Hospital and is now at Beverly Health Care in Phoenixville. While it was stroke-like symptoms that caused Irma to check in, no one is really sure what happened, other than it was not a stroke. Remember Irma and her sister Naomi.
Please pray for Wiletta B, who spent several days at Phoenixville being treated for her strokes (two mini-strokes). When I saw her on Thursday she intended to come to church this Sunday, and she’s scheduled to come home today. Remember her and the change in lifestyle she faces.
Pray for Sadie W, who broke her hip on Sunday night. It’s the same one she broke before. She spent several days at Phoenixville, and is now at HealthSouth in Reading (formerly Reading Health Care). Sadie just recently moved to the Bard complex (the old knitting mill).
Pray for Joanne M, who took an ambulance to the hospital earlier this week after a heart attack. She received excellent care right away (by the grace of God). They discovered a blocked artery, which they addressed with a stent. She’s been with family and friends, and should be home today.
I ask that you lift Darlene H in prayer, as well as Mary Jane S, both who lost their mothers within the past two weeks. If you would also remember the Fredericks family, who had to put their 9-month old puppy Laci to sleep this week, after infection from one of her four hernia surgeries.
I also share with you that our brother and former District Superintendent Ralph B and his family are in a new season of grief as their 31-year old son was killed in a car accident the day before Christmas.
Friends, I do not mean this to be a “downer” at the end of the year, but an opportunity to give thanks for God who is the wind beneath our wings. Many of us have experienced deep loss at one time or another, and many of us wonder how it is that people get through these things without The Good Lord. We who know God know where our strength comes from. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2).
I also know that each of these families mentioned is already touched by your prayers and your support. Thank you for your compassion. We are one body in Christ.
I hope to see you soon at the lighthouse, and I pray that 2007 brings you even closer to Almighty God.
Pastor Kerry
Please pray for Irma M, who spent a few days at Phoenixville Hospital and is now at Beverly Health Care in Phoenixville. While it was stroke-like symptoms that caused Irma to check in, no one is really sure what happened, other than it was not a stroke. Remember Irma and her sister Naomi.
Please pray for Wiletta B, who spent several days at Phoenixville being treated for her strokes (two mini-strokes). When I saw her on Thursday she intended to come to church this Sunday, and she’s scheduled to come home today. Remember her and the change in lifestyle she faces.
Pray for Sadie W, who broke her hip on Sunday night. It’s the same one she broke before. She spent several days at Phoenixville, and is now at HealthSouth in Reading (formerly Reading Health Care). Sadie just recently moved to the Bard complex (the old knitting mill).
Pray for Joanne M, who took an ambulance to the hospital earlier this week after a heart attack. She received excellent care right away (by the grace of God). They discovered a blocked artery, which they addressed with a stent. She’s been with family and friends, and should be home today.
I ask that you lift Darlene H in prayer, as well as Mary Jane S, both who lost their mothers within the past two weeks. If you would also remember the Fredericks family, who had to put their 9-month old puppy Laci to sleep this week, after infection from one of her four hernia surgeries.
I also share with you that our brother and former District Superintendent Ralph B and his family are in a new season of grief as their 31-year old son was killed in a car accident the day before Christmas.
Friends, I do not mean this to be a “downer” at the end of the year, but an opportunity to give thanks for God who is the wind beneath our wings. Many of us have experienced deep loss at one time or another, and many of us wonder how it is that people get through these things without The Good Lord. We who know God know where our strength comes from. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2).
I also know that each of these families mentioned is already touched by your prayers and your support. Thank you for your compassion. We are one body in Christ.
I hope to see you soon at the lighthouse, and I pray that 2007 brings you even closer to Almighty God.
Pastor Kerry
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
From the Lighthouse Keeper 6.26
Greetings, saints and lighthouse keepers, all!
If you had one chance to communicate with a bunch of people, what would you say?
Sure, it depends on the context. But just before I sat down to write this I heard a song “You Are Loved” (by Rebecca St. James, Best Female Christian Singer 2006.) Rebecca told the radio audience: “I just wanted to tell everyone that God loves you.”
I listened recently to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll, founding pastor of the Mars Hill church in Seattle (surf around a bit at www.marshillchurch.com if you’re curious: Mark noted that there are more dogs in Seattle than there are Christians in Seattle…). Pastor Mark was a guest speaker at some gathering and he decided that given one chance to communicate with this group, he was going to talk about Jesus, so he walked (ran is more like it) through the Old Testament, highlighting 16 prophecies that pointed directly and explicitly to Jesus.
God loves us enough to create this elaborate plan for our salvation. And it’s a gift.
I hope and pray it’s a gift you open daily. Check it out again: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Hope to see you at the Lighthouse on Saturday (10 am as we decorate the sanctuary) and in worship on Sunday, as we light the second Advent Candle, the candle of “Precious Purity”.
Pastor Kerry
If you had one chance to communicate with a bunch of people, what would you say?
Sure, it depends on the context. But just before I sat down to write this I heard a song “You Are Loved” (by Rebecca St. James, Best Female Christian Singer 2006.) Rebecca told the radio audience: “I just wanted to tell everyone that God loves you.”
I listened recently to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll, founding pastor of the Mars Hill church in Seattle (surf around a bit at www.marshillchurch.com if you’re curious: Mark noted that there are more dogs in Seattle than there are Christians in Seattle…). Pastor Mark was a guest speaker at some gathering and he decided that given one chance to communicate with this group, he was going to talk about Jesus, so he walked (ran is more like it) through the Old Testament, highlighting 16 prophecies that pointed directly and explicitly to Jesus.
God loves us enough to create this elaborate plan for our salvation. And it’s a gift.
I hope and pray it’s a gift you open daily. Check it out again: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Hope to see you at the Lighthouse on Saturday (10 am as we decorate the sanctuary) and in worship on Sunday, as we light the second Advent Candle, the candle of “Precious Purity”.
Pastor Kerry
Friday, December 22, 2006
From the Lighthouse Keeper 6.28
Advent Greetings, saints and lighthouse keepers all!
Once again we are at the time when we say to one another “Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?”
Like many of you, my thoughts have been whirling recently as I make preparations these last few days. I remember the Christmas cards I haven’t yet sent. I think about the wedding I’m doing later today and the funeral that is taking place in our sanctuary tomorrow morning. I eagerly anticipate our worship services as we light our fourth Advent candle and then the Christ candle in the evening. I think about the precious age of three-and-three-quarters (my daughter) and her Christmas hope. And I think about the thousands of people affected by western snowstorms, thousands who may remember this Christmas as a Christmas that didn’t happen, as things don’t go as planned.
Things didn’t go as planned for Joseph. Not at the beginning. His fiancée Mary takes off after their engagement to visit her aunt, and returns six months later, pregnant. That wasn’t part of the plan.
To add insult to injury, his future wife tells him she hadn’t been with any man, though it was far easier to view the pregnancy as evidence to the contrary.
Even after Joseph heard from an angel that Mary’s child was indeed holy, there were still months of public shame, daily stares and perhaps silent judgements as Joseph and Mary went about their daily lives, grasping for some sense of normalcy. Knowing the truth inside was one thing, facing people on a daily basis was another.
The baby was born after a 100 mile journey to pay taxes. Not as planned.
After the birth the family didn’t return home but traveled several hundred miles more into a foreign land because the king wanted to kill their child.
Sometimes things don’t go as we imagine.
But God can still be glorified in the mess, and in the way we respond to things that don’t go according to plan. We know that there is nothing on earth or in heaven that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Neither snowstorms nor wars, celebrations nor hospital visits, goals achieved nor promises broken. The babe born in a manger leaves us with this promise: “I will be with you always, even to the end of the earth.”
Alleluia!
May you receive that blessing as the preparations roll along. And may you pass that blessing along.
Hope to see you at the lighthouse this weekend. The true light is coming into the world!
If you would remember Mary Jane S in prayer, as her mother Emma died this Tuesday. Emma was a member of this church before moving to Bloomsburg fifteen years ago. Her funeral is in our sanctuary Saturday morning: visitation 9-10am, funeral at 10am, followed by internment at Valley Forge Memorial Garden in King of Prussia.
Pastor Kerry
Once again we are at the time when we say to one another “Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?”
Like many of you, my thoughts have been whirling recently as I make preparations these last few days. I remember the Christmas cards I haven’t yet sent. I think about the wedding I’m doing later today and the funeral that is taking place in our sanctuary tomorrow morning. I eagerly anticipate our worship services as we light our fourth Advent candle and then the Christ candle in the evening. I think about the precious age of three-and-three-quarters (my daughter) and her Christmas hope. And I think about the thousands of people affected by western snowstorms, thousands who may remember this Christmas as a Christmas that didn’t happen, as things don’t go as planned.
Things didn’t go as planned for Joseph. Not at the beginning. His fiancée Mary takes off after their engagement to visit her aunt, and returns six months later, pregnant. That wasn’t part of the plan.
To add insult to injury, his future wife tells him she hadn’t been with any man, though it was far easier to view the pregnancy as evidence to the contrary.
Even after Joseph heard from an angel that Mary’s child was indeed holy, there were still months of public shame, daily stares and perhaps silent judgements as Joseph and Mary went about their daily lives, grasping for some sense of normalcy. Knowing the truth inside was one thing, facing people on a daily basis was another.
The baby was born after a 100 mile journey to pay taxes. Not as planned.
After the birth the family didn’t return home but traveled several hundred miles more into a foreign land because the king wanted to kill their child.
Sometimes things don’t go as we imagine.
But God can still be glorified in the mess, and in the way we respond to things that don’t go according to plan. We know that there is nothing on earth or in heaven that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Neither snowstorms nor wars, celebrations nor hospital visits, goals achieved nor promises broken. The babe born in a manger leaves us with this promise: “I will be with you always, even to the end of the earth.”
Alleluia!
May you receive that blessing as the preparations roll along. And may you pass that blessing along.
Hope to see you at the lighthouse this weekend. The true light is coming into the world!
If you would remember Mary Jane S in prayer, as her mother Emma died this Tuesday. Emma was a member of this church before moving to Bloomsburg fifteen years ago. Her funeral is in our sanctuary Saturday morning: visitation 9-10am, funeral at 10am, followed by internment at Valley Forge Memorial Garden in King of Prussia.
Pastor Kerry
Monday, December 18, 2006
From the Lighthouse Keeper 6.27
Greetings, saints and lighthouse keepers, all!
Every day we get closer to Christmas, it seems there are more Christmas-type emails that get circulated, and you know what? That’s fine with me. Emails that talk about “Happy holidays vs. Merry Christmas”, joke emails about Santa and snowball fights, serious ones about soldiers… though I don’t tend to pass too many of them on, they’re enjoyable. Something I enjoyed more, however, was a trip to the movie theatre.
I had the pleasure of watching the movie “The Nativity Story” yesterday. I don’t know what you’ve heard about it, but I thought it was lovely, and I would recommend seeing it (there are matinees at the Regal at Oaks, and it shows at Coventry too). Here’s a movie that weaves together the stories of Mary and her family, the three wise men, King Herod, and the awaiting of the Messiah. It took the Bible story and gave it bodies that experience love and joy, confusion and fear, even hunger and cold, and it left me feeling warm and thankful not only for God’s actions, but for people that follow God in any circumstance.
Friends, I pray you’re well, and that God blesses you with the strength of character to say with Mary “may it be as God has said”.
Remember to pray for the leaders of our church and denomination, for the young people in our congregation, and for people who experience loneliness and depression during this season.
I hope to see you on Sunday morning at the Lighthouse, and again Sunday evening for our cantata, “A Great and Mighty Wonder”. It’ll be a real treat!
God’s blessings to you –
Pastor Kerry
Every day we get closer to Christmas, it seems there are more Christmas-type emails that get circulated, and you know what? That’s fine with me. Emails that talk about “Happy holidays vs. Merry Christmas”, joke emails about Santa and snowball fights, serious ones about soldiers… though I don’t tend to pass too many of them on, they’re enjoyable. Something I enjoyed more, however, was a trip to the movie theatre.
I had the pleasure of watching the movie “The Nativity Story” yesterday. I don’t know what you’ve heard about it, but I thought it was lovely, and I would recommend seeing it (there are matinees at the Regal at Oaks, and it shows at Coventry too). Here’s a movie that weaves together the stories of Mary and her family, the three wise men, King Herod, and the awaiting of the Messiah. It took the Bible story and gave it bodies that experience love and joy, confusion and fear, even hunger and cold, and it left me feeling warm and thankful not only for God’s actions, but for people that follow God in any circumstance.
Friends, I pray you’re well, and that God blesses you with the strength of character to say with Mary “may it be as God has said”.
Remember to pray for the leaders of our church and denomination, for the young people in our congregation, and for people who experience loneliness and depression during this season.
I hope to see you on Sunday morning at the Lighthouse, and again Sunday evening for our cantata, “A Great and Mighty Wonder”. It’ll be a real treat!
God’s blessings to you –
Pastor Kerry
