Charles Town Presbyterian Church

This has been a hard week for our country. America is very obviously a divided nation. Over the days since the violence in our nation’s capital, many people have opined how we move forward. How will we heal from this? How do we move forward? Are we even able to do that?

Charles Town Presbyterian Church is an incredibly unique church. Many members may not realize this, but our membership has as many Republicans as Democrats; as many theologically progressive people as we do traditionally orthodox. What I love about our church family is that despite those personal viewpoints and differences, we make it work. We are…together. Not everyone can do that, and when I talk about our congregation with other pastors, it is a point I am proud to share.

In this moment of chaos and confusion, we need to hang on to that unity and togetherness. I fielded numerous phone calls, messages, and emails on Thursday, and one of them was from one of our elders, who reminded me of this verse:

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

Before we are Democrat or Republican, we are American. And before we are American, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We serve and have been saved by a Savior who is building a kingdom not of this world, a kingdom greater than any country or person on this earth. We are bound together by the grace of Christ and the good news of the gospel. That is what unifies Christians, that is what keeps us together in worship, mission, and fellowship.

It is in that unity, a unity we know well and practice at CTPC, where we will begin to find hope.
Obviously, “together” is difficult during the pandemic. However, there are still great ways we can demonstrate our togetherness in Christ. First, extend grace. None of us agrees on everything. Where we disagree, we must be gracious, kind, and loving toward one another. We may disagree on something, but disagreement does not mean we stop being together. If anything, it means we work harder to lift up that on which we find agreement, which for Christians, begins with Christ. Second, assume the best. This is needed more than ever. Let’s work to assume that people say what they mean and mean what they say, let’s expect the best of one another. And finally, we must pray. Perhaps that should be the first point, but it’s honestly something we ought to be doing anyway and always.

Keep one another in prayer, keep our nation in prayer, and pray that we, as Christ’s ambassadors in a broken world, are able to share his love and shine his light.

It is desperately needed.

Humbly,
Pastor John

Happy New Year!

Like most people, I cannot believe 2020 is over (finally!) and we’re into a new year. Let us hope and pray better days are ahead in 2021. I thought I’d start the new year by highlighting some upcoming events:

Congregational Meeting
Due to the pandemic, our annual meeting will be online. We will hear brief reports from each of the committees, a financial update, and vote on 2021 terms of call for the pastor. Here is the Zoom information for the meeting:

• Time: Jan 10, 2021 11:45 AM Eastern Time (approximately)
• https://zoom.us/j/94251222796?pwd=N1BsNlAzMjZmNEt5ZWNBblFCVkRvUT09
• Meeting ID: 942 5122 2796
• Passcode: CTPC21

Congregational Bible Reading
Because of the pandemic, it is almost impossible to connect and have fellow-ship and ministry in person. As I thought about this toward the end of the year, I looked for a way we could all engage in some activity separately together. It’s not the same as being in the same room, but we need some-thing to do together. I found a resource from a group called Navigators, which is a ministry committed to helping Christians experience deeper discipleship. The tool in the link below explains how five minutes a day, five days a week will allow us to get through the New Testament in 2021. I encourage you to click this link and get started this week. The beginning of a new year is a great time to begin new habits. I look forward to what the Lord will do in our congregation with so many of us engaging in this experience!

Ordination and Installation
Again, the pandemic is changing something we usually do in worship. We normally ordain and install officers on the second Sunday in January. This year, we will do it at their respective meetings. New deacons will be installed at their meeting on January 12, and the new elders at the session meeting on January 19. Please keep these new officers in your prayers.

Wednesday Night Bible Study
We will resume meeting on Wednesday, January 20 at 7pm. The Zoom information for that meeting will be posted in upcoming weeks.

If you have questions about any of these upcoming activities, please contact me via phone or email.

Blessings and Happy New Year,
Pastor John

Christmas is a week away.

For many of us, this will be a vastly different Christmas. We haven’t had the usual celebrations. We may have to skip the usual visit of relatives, or maybe we are scaling down the visit in some way. For some, the pandemic has led to a job loss or a decline in income, and gift giving isn’t what it usually is. Some of us are facing a Christmas for the first time without loved ones.
It’s tempting to think we are without hope.

We are never without hope.

No matter what happens in the world or in our lives, no matter how challenging a time we are facing personally or together, the good news of the gospel does not change, and it is that gospel we celebrate next week. We celebrate because it is our hope.

The coming of Christ is the beginning of the realization of God’s plan of salvation for his people. God has come in the flesh to call his people to himself. He looks at the need we have for a remedy from sin and our need for hope, and he gives his life as an offering for us. And in that offering he defeats the power of death to return to life.

God does all of this for us because he loves us and wants us with him. God comes for us at Christmas!

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is explaining the hardships he has endured in sharing the gospel with others, and he reminds the Corinthians, that no matter how hard the temporary struggles may be, they do not change the hope we have in Christ.

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

The way we celebrate Christmas this year may not be the way any of us imagined. But the momentary struggles of 2020 do not and will not change the love of God and the grace we have in Christ Jesus. And for this reason, we celebrate!

May this Christmas season renew all of us as we place our hope in the unchanging, eternal glory that God brings to us at Christmas!

Merry Christmas,
Pastor John

We are near the mid-point of the advent season. Advent is a season that not all Christians celebrate. Many people think of the “Christmas Season” as lasting from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Day. The truth, though, is that Christmas lasts from Christmas Day through Epiphany, on January 6.

No one knows for sure when advent began, but it is most certainly tied to the history of when Christmas began to be celebrated on December 25. Jesus was likely born in the spring, but with Easter being celebrated in March-April every year, it didn’t make sense to add a Christian celebration day so close Easter.

It took quite awhile for the Church to settle on December 25. There are records of Christmas on that date as early as the fourth century, but wide-spread celebration did not really take hold until the 6th-8th centuries. December 25 was chosen to counter pagan rituals like Saturnalia, a very hedonistic celebration. Additionally, the winter solstice is the darkest day of the year, and it made sense to Christians to celebrate the coming of light in Christ Jesus near that time. Advent came sometime after the date for Christ-mas was well-established.

Advent has a dual meeting. The word “advent” comes from the Latin “adventus,” which is a rendering of the Greek word Parousia, a word which denotes both the coming of Christ in the flesh at Christmas as well as his second coming when he returns to reign forever. In both cases, the coming of Christ is about hope and salvation.

I have to confess something. I have never appreciated advent all that much. Until now. I think it’s because there is still too much kid in me, and I am eager to get to Christmas. After Thanksgiving, I want to sing Christmas songs, and celebrate the coming of Christ.
Advent in 2020 has been different for all of us, including me. We always scale back meetings in December at CTPC to make room for seasonal celebrations, so in that regard, this year does not feel very different. What is different is that there is less gathering and less busyness in other parts of my life. That has led to a more deliberate awareness of preparing for the coming of Christ. The slower pace has allowed the scriptures, the prophecies and the preparation to take on a greater meaning.

In the days that remain this advent season, I encourage you to spend time focusing on the scriptures (the passages listed in calendar on the Kids page are a great resource). Ask God to point you to the hope we have in both the coming of Christ and the return of Christ. Ask God to use the remaining days to get ready – not in the material sense, but in the spiritual.

Happy Advent,
Pastor John

Dear Friends,

Over the past few days, since December started, I’ve noticed quite a few social media posts focused on the ending of the year. I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a horrible year, but the advent of a new year does not mean that on January 1, things will magically be better as we flip the calendar to a new page and a new year.

One of the best tools for navigating this difficult time is attitude. Attitude is a choice. Attitude is often shaped by what is happening around us. All too of-ten, people focus on the negative. It’s easy, because negative experiences produce anxiety and stress, and people want the stress and anxiety gone as soon as possible.

Focusing on the positive is harder work, but the reward is far greater. The pandemic has been hard for all of us and looks to be hard for a while. The questions below might help us obtain a more positive attitude, regardless of the date on the calendar:

During the pandemic…

• Did you learn to cook or bake something new?
• Did you spend more time with family?
• Have you been able to navigate a major change, like switching to work from home?
• Did you learn a new hobby?
• Did you start reading more?

None of these questions is meant to dismiss the difficult times we are enduring. But if all we do is focus on the negative, that is all we will see. If we take the time to adjust our attitude, we will more easily and ably face whatever comes our way January 1 and beyond.

I want to close with these words from Philippians 4:8, a verse I have committed to memory precisely for the hard times…

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Because this newsletter is “two-volume” edition, I want to highlight several matters.
I am sending a letter home via email and snail mail to those without email expanding on each of the topics listed below.

Virtual Worship
This past Tuesday, the session made the difficult decision to move to all-virtual worship beginning Sunday, 11/29. The spread of the virus and frequency of transmission has been steadily rising over recent weeks. Holiday gatherings providing opportunities for close contact with people will likely make things worse. Sadly, this includes worship on Christmas Eve, which will be virtual as well. I know this is extremely disappointing. To participate in virtual worship, please click this link. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can still participate. You’ll be asked if you want to set one up when you click the link, but simply click no, and you’ll get to the church page.

Advent Mission Projects
Every advent season, our congregation engages in several mission and out-reach projects. Obviously, the pandemic is affecting how we do that. The Joy Service, a long-standing tradition at our church, will not be held this year. We will still collect the Joy Offering. In recent years, we have also tried to reach out to our community during the Charles Town-Ranson Christmas parade. That has also been cancelled. This year, the mission and outreach committee is encouraging participation in a reverse advent calendar. A reverse advent calendar is a countdown to Christmas, and each day, we place an item from our pantry (or grocery store) in a box. That box can be dropped off to Jefferson County Community Ministries (they receive food donations most weekdays 9am-12n). This project will bless our community and can also serve to teach our children and grandchildren about giving to and helping others. The reverse advent calendar is in another section of the newsletter.

Moving Forward
The pandemic has greatly truncated the way every church does ministry. It’s been very disappointing – last winter, the session was began a meaningful conversations about creative approaches to our ministries. And then the pandemic came. The natural question is, “What do we do, now?” As I have wrestled with this question, I keep coming back to the same answer – Jesus. Instead of focusing on growing the church right now, our focus can (and should always) be on deepening our relationship with Christ. I want to encourage all of us to read the same scripture every day and to spend more time in prayer. I will provide a list each month of scriptures. This coming month, we will use the scriptures listed in the Kids Korner. These provide opportunity to read and pray with our kids and provide a focus on the real meaning of the season. So, get out that Bible, look up those verses, and go deeper with Christ through study and prayer. I think it’s exciting to consider that we all will be reading the same scriptures for a season!

Blessings,
Pastor John

Wednesday’s Thanksgiving Eve Service:

Sunday, November 29, 2020: