Charles Town Presbyterian Church

Summer vacation is here!

Well, at least for the students in our lives. For the rest of us, summer often means that at some point, we may go on vacation. Going on a vacation is a wonderful blessing, but we must keep in mind that we never take a vacation from our faith. As summer is unofficially underway, I thought I’d offer some perspective on how to stay consistent as we follow Christ.

Worship. Worship is the central act in the life of every Christian. It is the one time each week we are gathered before God and one another. When we go on vacation, there is always a temptation to skip worship. I suggest that when it is practical, we should always go to worship. If we are in a new city or vacation spot, it might be a great time to visit a church that is not Presbyterian. Worshiping in a different tradition and style can be a real blessing to our time away and recharge our spiritual batteries.
Obviously, if we are on a long drive or flying, it may not be practical, but when we can, we should go.

Devotions. This is the word Christians use for the daily practices we use to stay connected to Christ throughout the week when we aren’t in worship. How we do our devotions varies person to person. Typically, Bible reading and prayer are the main components. Some people use devotionals like The Present Word and other tools that are set up for daily readings. When we go on vacation, we need to maintain our daily practices as much as possible for one simple reason: If we stop doing devotions for vacation, it will become harder to pick it up when we return home. Before we know it, weeks or even months will go by, and we will soon find ourselves struggling.

Unique Opportunities. If we are blessed to go somewhere like the beach or the mountains, we must be sure to take advantage of the beauty we find in those places. A sunrise at the beach or the summit of a hike that ends with an exceptional view are perfect moments to spend some time in prayer. Some of the most powerful moments in my faith journey have happened at sunrise on the beach, or taking in a mountaintop vista.

For those blessed with a vacation this summer, my hope and prayer is that it will be a time for faith in Christ to be enriched, that it will supplement rather than supplant spiritual growth.

God bless,
Pastor John

This past week, I had the privilege of delivering the first of our community give-back gifts. I went to Mountaineer Recovery Center in Kearneysville. MRC is a residential treatment facility for people struggling with substance abuse disorder. MRC opened in November of 2019 and was immediately filled to capacity.

To help meet the need MRC made plans to build an adjoining facility for women and children. That building is in progress. They will be able to house twelve women with children and about a dozen women without children. One part of their plan for the women’s center was to have multi-use garden area for prayer, reflection, and occasional programs. This part of the plan remained unfunded until Wednesday. Our gift of $25,000 will significantly aid in moving that part of the project along and help them secure the remainder of the needed funding.

When I delivered the check on Wednesday, I was given a tour of the work in progress. I even remembered to take pictures and those are posted below. The target date for completion of the women’s center is November of this year, and, as you can see from the pictures below, they are well on their way.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the MRC staff are Christians, including the director. They see all their clients as people created by a holy God, worthy of the help they need to live better, happier, more productive lives. It is a great joy to help them realize their goals as they seek to demonstrate a strong love of neighbor.

I encourage all of us to lift MRC and its staff up in prayer regularly. Helping people recover from substance use disorder is hard work, and their work is needed in our community. I am so grateful that God led our congregation to be so generous.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Here we are at the end of May.

Wasn’t it just Easter and Christmas? If one thing has been true about the pandemic, it is the sense that it has compacted time. I do the cooking for our family (a job I kind of love), and a year ago, I remember telling the kids that it felt like I was cooking dinner every six hours. It still feels that way some days. The days seem to be rapidly passing by.

When Christians think about time, one of the most helpful books of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. The author of that book, likely Solomon, set out to find the meaning of life. The most oft-quoted portion of Ecclesiastes is chapter three, the part about there being a time for everything.

If we read to the end of the book, we find these words in the closing chapter: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his command-ments, for this is the whole duty of man. (12:13).

The days may indeed feel shorter. We may be busier and more stressed than we have been in quite a while. And something unexpected will most certainly come up to derail our plans. How we respond to all of that is critical. We all want to make the most of the time that is given us. For the Christian, how we spend our time ought to be in a way that honors and glorifies God.

How do we do that? According to the author of Ecclesiastes, it is by fearing God and keeping his commandments. That is pretty straightforward. And if we are not clear on what the commandments are, we need to start reading the scriptures to learn about them (hint: Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 6).

When we get to the end of our lives, and we are reflecting on how we’ve spent our days (provided we have the luxury of doing so), I wonder if we will say to ourselves things like, “Gee, I wish I watched more television,” or “I wish I spent more time cleaning the garage.” I highly doubt it.

None of us knows how much time we have. Therefore, we should spend our days wisely, and that begins with fearing God and living for God. If we do that, we will make the most of the days the Lord gives us, regardless of whether they are many or few.

Blessings,
Pastor John

One of the topics engaging every single Christian congregation in the world is stewardship.

Stewardship is the word we use to describe how we handle and manage the gifts and resources God give us. Stewardship is not just about money. Stewardship is about every facet of our lives – finances, housing, talents, gifts, the environment, etc. Basically, anything we might consider a gift from God can be understood through the lens of stewardship. For example, if I get a new vehicle, good stewardship of that vehicle means keeping it clean, changing the oil regularly, and taking good care of it. If a friend of mine needs a ride, good stewardship also means giving the ride or even letting that person borrow the car.

This past winter, Charles Town Presbyterian Church received a surprise gift of over a half-million dollars. The person who left this gift to the church was not involved in the congregation for more than fifty years. To say it was a surprise is an understatement!

In stewardship discussions with the congregation, church leaders have highlighted the idea of tithing, the biblical concept of giving ten percent of one’s income and resources to God’s work. It is in that spirit, that I share some exciting news. When we first received news that we were receiving the large gift from Ms. Bush’s estate, the session agreed that we would tithe – give ten percent – back to our community. This past week, at the May stated session meeting, the elders approved a recommendation from the small group that prayerfully considered where to give the money. I am thrilled to share that we are going to give gifts to the following organizations:

• Mountaineer Recovery Center – $25,000. This local in-patient treatment facility serves individuals struggling with substance use disorder, and they are currently building a women’s center. Our gift is earmarked for the new women’s center.
• Jefferson County Community Ministries – $20,000. JCCM recently learned that their electrical service is woefully out of date and needs a complete upgrade, which will cost between $15,000-20,000.
• Boys & Girls Club of the EP Jefferson County Chapter -$6,000. This will greatly aid their work with at-risk children.

For years, we have invited the community to help us raise money for various causes and missions. This is a wonderful opportunity to bless our community out of the amazing and unexpected blessings we have received. I encourage all of us to keep the good work of these organizations in prayer.

Blessings,
Pastor John

I can’t believe that as of this writing, we are experiencing a regional fuel shortage. It’s creating a mix of panic and anger, as people are clearly hoarding fuel, much like toilet paper was hoarded in the early days of the pandemic.

I am old enough to remember when this was a nationwide problem in the 1970’s. My mom would load my sister and me into the car, and we’d go get in line. I remember one time, the line was so long that I asked my mom where the gas station was. It was a crazy time. I remember when a rule about which letter or number ended a car’s license number, and that determined which day(s) you could get gas. And it was not unusual to get close to the pump only to have them run out of gas. Many people were frustrated.

Part of what fuels our feelings of panic is fear. Fear that we will run out; fear that right when we need it, there will be no fuel anywhere. What if there is an emergency of some kind?

This Sunday I am preaching on a well-known passage from Matthew’s gospel, where Jesus is walking on the water, Peter attempts to go to Jesus, and he ends up letting fear get the best of him, and he nearly drowns. It seems to fit well with what we are experiencing with this temporary gas shortage.

We will get through this. And don’t we usually? I am always struck by how easily we give in to fear and panic. For the Christian, fearing the calamities of the world should be a foreign idea. We serve a God who is Lord of all, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). The scriptures have over a hundred places where the people of God are encouraged to “fear not.” In fact, that very sentiment is often stated in the imperative, which makes it much more of a command than a suggestion.

In Isaiah 41:10, God speaks these words through the prophet, to comfort Judah during a time of great fear and anxiety, “…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that God will make life easy for us. It means that as we go through whatever we are facing, God will watch over us and protect us.

It’s extremely uncomfortable to imagine such a thing as a fuel shortage. But worse than that is imaging going through it without faith in Christ. For in Christ, we have the confidence that no matter how things are going, we can always trust in him.

Blessings,
Pastor John

My original idea for my column this week was to focus on in-person worship and what people can expect. Rather than rehash all that, let me sum that idea up this way: please read the guidelines, and go with the flow! As we prepare to return to in-person worship, I think it might be helpful to review a basic theology of worship.

Worship is first and foremost, about God. We are reminded in the very first question of the Westminster Catechism (in both the shorter and longer versions) that the chief end of all people is to glorify God and enjoy God forever. Therefore, when we gather for worship, God is the central focus. Another way to remember this is that in worship, God is the audience. We are there for God.

Worship is about offering, and this is about far more than material gifts. In worship, we offer prayers; musical selections meant to nurture praise and thankfulness, testimony to what God is doing; we offer our hearts as we hear the Word; we offer ourselves when we come to the table. And yes, we offer gifts, as well. All of this is symbolic and important. Our Book of Order reminds us that, “The first Christians, following Jesus, took three primary elements of life -water, bread, and wine – as symbols of God’s self-offering to us and our offering of ourselves to God.” When we gather for worship, we are remembering all that God offered for us so that we could be saved, and in turn we are offering ourselves -talents, gifts, abilities, and ourselves.

For worship to be most meaningful, it requires that we come with the right attitude. I’ve heard many people characterize coming to worship as “getting a fix,” (and I’m sure people who say that mean that they need worship to help them reset in some fashion). People also talk about “getting something out of worship.” I totally get that. But to come away from worship with something meaningful, it goes back to offering. We must come ready to meet God. Our denomination’s Book of Order characterizes worship this way, “Worship is a collective activity of the people of God and an expression of our common life and ministry. It demands the full, conscious, and active participation of the whole body of Christ, with heart, mind, soul, and strength” (W-2.0201).

When we gather on Sunday, I hope to see many of you, though I understand not everyone is ready yet. And I pray we come ready to meet God, to offer ourselves to him, just as he offered himself for us. It may seem strange, different, new, familiar, and hopefully meaningful and Christ-centered, which is most important.

May God continue to bless us as we gather.

Blessings,
Pastor John