Pastor's Message
February 2009
Ash Wednesday was fast approaching and Lent looked to be a cold, hard season for a local pastor. She liked to decorate her office in accordance with the season of the church year. The pastor had a rather heavy cross she liked to put up on one of her shelves, but the shelf she wanted to put it on wasn't strong enough to hold the weight of the cross. She went home to cut two pieces of wood the size of the shelf intending to glue them together and put them under the shelf for extra support.
She had to rush to the office the next day and brought her two pieces of wood and glue. Unfortunately, she forgot her clamps to hold the boards together while the glue dried between the two pieces. One of the members of the congregation stopped into the office to see the large cross, a crown of thorns, the purple cloth draped around the pastor’s office and a whip in the pastor’s hand.
The pastor was a bit angry with herself as the man walked into her office. The frustration must have been greater than she realized because she almost growled at the man as he entered her office asking, 'Do you have any heavy-duty vises?'
'Sorry, Pastor,' said he, actually rather taken off his guard at the tone of her voice, 'I gave them all up for lent...'
Ash Wednesday is coming and Lent is about to come at a time when it does seem like a very cold, hard season of the year is already upon us. Giving up things for Lent seems strange when so many have already had their jobs taken from them or a strong possibility of loosing a job looms before them. The stressors of such a time seem to impact more than just our individual lives and lifestyles. Friends, families and entire communities are impacted as fear and uncertainty gather about us.
I would simply like to remind you that fear associated with anxiety will hinder us from thinking. It will cause us to react more often than not in negative and abusive ways. It is at such times that we need to discover ways to become calmer (anxiety is always there for those of us who breathe) in the midst of anxiety and fear. You can know that “because you belong to Christ, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel”. (CEV Phil. 4:7)
It may be that the 150th Anniversary of Emmanuel comes at a difficult time in history. You will be hearing about some upcoming dates soon that will look at Emmanuel’s past, present and future. We will be celebrating our past in the spring, our present in the summer and our future in the fall. This is the time to remember that we belong to God and nothing can separate us from God’s love as we have received it from Jesus Christ.
One of Christ’s servants,
Pastor Dave - Child of God