|
From The Pastor's Study There are two questions that I have been thinking a lot about lately. They are perhaps on the surface of my consciousness because of the many losses I have experienced over the past year and the fact that we are beginning a new year. Being a pastor and dealing with personal grieving, I am usually not given the luxury of simply being with those closest to me as I go through the stages of letting go, but I am called upon to make an assessment of a person’s life as we gather in community to collectively worship God while saying our goodbyes. The questions are these: "How do I want to be remembered?" and "How will I be remembered?" Sometimes the way we will be remembered is not how we want to be remembered. Some people simply don’t care as they fatalistically face their end, but most of us do care for legacies are important to us and we want our lives to count for something after we are gone. There are many questions that we have of life that will always remain questions without clear answers; but they serve as the catalyst of our growing edges that keep us fully engaged with life. These are questions that function like grist in the mill of life that empower us to be more than what we can be without them. The questions I ask today fall somewhat into this category, as most questions do, but do we have clear answers to "How do I want to be remembered?" and "How will I be remembered?" The answer to the first question is easy and most of us could rather quickly make quite a list. The answer to the second question doesn’t come from the idealism of reflection but from the reality of how we choose to live our lives. I know how I want to be remembered and it probably isn’t much different from most of you who take the time to read this article. I want to be remembered as a generous person who always gave something back to the community both in terms of money and self. I want to be remembered as a person of compassion who took time to be fully present with people during times of transition. I want to be remembered as a person of faith who dared to ask honest questions and didn’t simply fall into the rut of what has always been. I want to be remembered as a loyal and faithful friend who could be counted on when another’s world collapsed around them. I want to be remembered as a creative person who experienced substantial successes as well as significant failures but never quit. I want to be remembered as a real person who kept both feet on the ground while seeking to understand the truths of God. I want to be remembered as a person who had the courage to examine his faith and his life.
Will I be remembered in ways that I want to be? Not completely, of course, but the degree to which I will be is up to me. If there is a way I want to be remembered I must live my life so that my life’s reality goes hand in hand with my wishes. Church is defined as the Body of Christ. I like that definition for it makes it clear that just as Jesus examined his life and knew life as we know life, so we as followers of Christ must continue to examine ourselves. In doing this in the context of community, which provides both support and challenge, we find the strength to be the people we wish to be and leave a legacy that says we counted for something beyond ourselves. This is the hallmark of the fulfilled life. How do you want to be remembered? How will you be remembered? Grace and Peace, Eric
 Christian Education Amy Partridge-Barber It may be cold and gray outside, but Christian Ed is full of warmth and color. When I look out my window I see white everywhere. The other day, I thought for a moment that the world had lost all its color. But then I turned on my computer to see nearly a dozen emails from parents in our church who were responding to an invitation to a mid-winter discussion on raising children. I smiled as I read the many ideas generated by my inquiry. I had asked if there were any subjects the group wanted to cover. Here is some of what I got: -- A conversation about raising spiritual and grounded children in a materialistic culture, teaching our children to get along with each other (instead of, how to beat the computer on their favorite video game), -- a book group to discuss a book entitled, The Myth of the Perfect Mother- Rethinking Womens’ Spirituality, and -- a discussion about what it means to be a mother or a father, how those roles are blended when the primary caregivers are men, or when both caregivers are women. Since we can’t cover all these ideas in one sitting, our plan is to meet on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 3:00-5:00pm in Fellowship Hall to talk about raising spiritual children in this materialist age. A month later, on Saturday, March 5, (same time same place), the women will meet to discuss the book The Myth of the Perfect Mother. We will plan to continue meeting once a month. If you want to come, just come; if you want a copy of the book for $10, contact Linda Riddell. If you have ideas for future groups, email me at amypb@maine.rr.com. We are blessed to have these children in our midst. They are our reason to hope. They are our reason to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, even when we would rather just take a nap. "Lord, we have pushed so many of our children into the tumultuous sea of life in leaky boats without survival gear. - Marian Wright Edelman  Spiritual Persistence Tanya Anderson One of the multiple responsibilities of the members of the Board of Deacons, as the lay ministry of our church, is to "attempt to lead our congregation into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the nature and mission of the church and to better meet the spiritual needs of its members." (taken from our website at www.willistonwest.org). In that vein, I offer to you the following: We are blessed by our pastor’s personal commitment, integrity, and willingness to share his knowledge. As the most visible leader within our midst and as busy as we all are, we may be inclined to look to him to spiritually carry us from week to week. We may be inclined to lean on our Sunday experience as our soul (pun intended) source of satisfaction before jumping (or muddling) into our week. This is entirely too easy to do, and I doubt that anyone would venture judgment on any of the rest of us who slip into this manner of functioning. We are all subject to our humanity and the resulting and inevitable wavering energy we devote to our individual spiritual journeys. If there is one truth that I have found in the last few years, it is this: I am by far more productive in my job, more available in my personal relationships, and calmer when I take personal time and energy and devote it to my own spiritual journey. The more time and energy I devote to my journey, the more energy and time I seem to have for the rest of my life! The more persistent I am in my journey, the better I feel, the better I interact with others, and the better I am prepared for the myriad "things" that I do in any particular day. Persistence is defined as "refusing to give up or let go; persevering obstinately" or "to go on stubbornly or resolutely despite difficulties." While "obstinately" and "stubbornly" are not generally positive adjectives, if we took time daily to support our spiritual journey, and we were obstinate and stubborn about expending that energy, we would each increase our emotional and spiritual reserves exponentially!! With that in mind, I challenge each of us (me included) to devote time and energy to our journeys on a daily basis. Do something – anything! Learn more about your church, read your Bible, develop your ability in prayer, attend a church function – anything.  Book Corner Sumner Moulton Betty Kelley stopped me after learning I had read Son of Laughter by Frederick Buechner (newsletter, March 2004): "now get the women’s side of life at that time", she said...read The Red Tent (Anita Diamant). Her name is Dinah. After that one terrible event (Genesis 34), she is not mentioned again; yet here is the life of that woman, from birth to death, and the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood, including the experience of all Hebrew women - married or not - in their reproductive years of living together in the "red tent." Make no mistake about it, this is fiction, with plots and people that do not appear in the Bible - thus in contrast to the strict discipline of Frederich Buechner’s Son of Laughter. ...But oh, what rich details of the personalities, living conditions, landscape and travel - all so believable. Dinah is young. Daughter of Leah, she becomes much closer to her aunt, Rachel, two of the four wives of Jacob ( indeed, all the aunts are her "mothers"); so in a temporal sense, this is a sequel to Buechner’s book, which traced the life of Jacob. The family in the red tent make fun of and compete with Dinah at times, but mostly sustain her through youth and then a calling to midwifery. That one event in Genesis 34 is her rape by a Canaanite, but Anita Diamant tells it differently - a wonderful, immediate love of two young people, delicately arranged and encouraged by his Egyptian mother. Nevertheless, the revenge ensues. Escape to Egypt. Remember the tale of Joseph in Egypt? Dinah also finds life there to be both easy (her mother-in-law is from a privileged family) and sad: her son, mother-in-law, and brother Joseph all become rather cool. Dinah is middle-aged. In the midst of this insouciance, the unexpected... "And yet, I did not understand my own heart, for this was nothing like what I felt when I first saw my first husband. No hot wind blew through Bemia and into me. This feeling was much cooler and calmer. Even so, my heart beat faster and I knew my eyes were brighter...Bemia and I had exchanged a few words and brushed against each other’s fingers. And yet I felt connected to this stranger. All the way home, my step beat out the rhythm of my wonder." He is a simple carpenter and yet a man of deep understanding. He, too, has been married before: "I was frightened of my own loneliness...so I took a wife... My sister found me a marriageable girl...It was a disaster. I was too old for her; she was too silly for me...We never spoke." Dinah is old. But it worked this time...she found the meaning of contentment: a loving husband, supportive stepchildren, and darling step-grandchildren. Even as the body found the limits of age, she knew that "...not even the elevation of little children can stave off death forever, and my time had arrived... In the moment before I crossed over, I knew that priests and magicians of Egypt were fools and charlatans for promising to prolong the beauties of life beyond the world we are given. Death is no enemy...Of all life’s pleasures, only love owes no debt to death." Suppers Of Eight Membership Committee The busy holidays are over, the kids are back in school, the snow and cold weather are here and it is time for church friends to get together for an evening of fellowship and a delicious meal. We had twelve couples sign up for the Suppers of Eight and we were able to create three groups. A large number of people did not feel that they could participate all four months, but asked to be placed on the substitute list and hope to be called to fill in if one of the scheduled couples can not attend a dinner. Our first dinners will be held during February and the following people will host the gatherings: Kathy Rauchfuss and Nancy Roberts Karl and Judy Reid-Parker Ann Worster and Gessie Roberts It's STILL Cold Out George Crockett We have had a good response to requests for clothing to help the homeless. But they are still cold. The major need is men’s cold weather clothing, with a particular need for gloves, socks and long underwear. Or, if you don’t have these around the house, they need toiletries. That would include toothpaste, soap, shampoo and conditioner. This message is short, but the need is great. Place items in the box at the entrance to the Sanctuary. Thank you. |
