Charles Town Presbyterian Church

Dear Friends,

School starts in Jefferson County next week. Like most people across the country, we are watching this carefully. If students can re-enter successfully, with little or no virus incidence, this will help shape how we do other activities while we await a vaccine for COVID-19, including church.

Training children in the faith is an important part of child’s education, and the COVID virus has made it hard for our family ministry to continue in the traditional manner. As we begin the school year, I’m happy to share a resource for parents and grandparents. The Christian curriculum company David C. Cook has free resources families can access at home.

You can access the main David C. Cook website here. If you scroll down to the box that says, “Free Resources,” you’ll find a list of helpful tools that can be used at home. I have looked through these, and I am particularly fond of Eight Lessons, which focuses on characteristics of God. Thirteen Lessons at Home focuses on thirteen different people Jesus interacted with in his ministry. I also think the family prayer resource is a great tool.

I wish I could tell you exactly when we plan to resume children’s ministry, but that would be dishonest. Until we are certain social distancing can be maintained, and that the church isn’t inadvertently a source of the virus, we need to put Sunday School on hold. We can spread out in the sanctuary, not so much in the classrooms. However, we also don’t want to ignore the fact that our children need to be trained. Long ago, before churches took on the responsibility of shaping the faith of their children, that discipleship happened at home.

These resources for which I’ve provided links can be modified in whatever way works best for your family. I encourage those who use it to make it fun and enjoyable. It would be ideal to review one lesson each week. These moments might prove to be extremely important in the lives of the children and it may create some amazing memories! And don’t worry about having all the answers. An honest, “I don’t know,” can sometimes inspire greater confidence than having the answers.

The Discipleship and Family Ministry team would appreciate hearing feedback from those who use these resources. Please share your experience via email at familyministry@ctpres.org.

Blessings,
Pastor John

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38,39

Consider what has transpired in the last six months:

• COVID-19. Aside from the infection and mortality rates, this disease has impacted just about every part of our lives in some way.
• Racial Inequality. We clearly have much to do on this issue.
• The Democrats and Republicans held their conventions. The race for president is on, and if the ugliness to date is any indicator, it will be get mean. Sadly.
• Hurricane Laura pummeled the coast of Louisiana and Texas.

There have been many other stressors, and this doesn’t even cover the day to day issues each of us deals with. There is no doubt about it, life has been harder for most of us in 2020. I suspect it may even get harder. Millions of people are unemployed. That always impacts homelessness and the number of people who are food insecure. That, in turn, raises the level of stress even more.

If ever there was a time to be seeking God, it is now.

As we do that, we need to remember that God has not left us, we have not been abandoned. As Romans 8 reminds us, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ – not pandemics, natural disasters, politicians, skin color or anything else! We must never forget this. Some days, as it feels like everything around us is crashing down, all we can say is, “At least I know God loves me,” and that, friends, may be all we need to get through today. Maybe even to get through all of this.

As we prepare to send our kids to school, respond to the hurricane, live with the pandemic and elect a president for the next four years, remember, God’s love will not leave us – no matter what is happening today, God’s love for us is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Friends, I hope you are encouraged, because no matter how chaotic the world is, God is not changing.

Peace,

Pastor John

Save the Steeple
We are only $2500 away from fully funding the project! The session would like to do that as quickly as possible. Please consider an additional gift for the steeple project, that we may celebrate 100% completion of this project! The session would like to announce the official end of the project at the October session meeting. Let’s see if we can wrap this up by the beginning of October!

A couple years after I came to Charles Town Presbyterian Church, I painted my office. It had been this drab peach color, and I wanted something a little more exciting. I settled on two main colors – a muted yellow, and a dark navy blue. I also repainted the trim bright white. It’s interesting – hard-core WVU fans come in and say, “I like the WVU colors! Nice!” while others, realizing I am a Penn State alum, will say something like, “Ah, Penn State!” The truth is, I was aiming for both. After all, I’m a Penn State boy in Mountaineer country!

Near my desk is a part of the trim that I missed in the painting. It should be white, but all I can see is the peach. It bothers me to the extent that some-times I feel like the only thing I can see is that mistake.

Christians tend to think that way about themselves. Christ has redeemed us, called us to faith, and saved us. He imputes (which literally means, “to give”) to us his own righteousness so that we always have good standing with God. When God looks at us, he does not see us, rather, God sees the Son.

And yet, so often, we focus on the negative. We look at the one or two areas where we are struggling, and think something like, “God can’t possibly love me! I’m so messed up.” We forget that it is precisely because we ARE messed up AND God loves us that he saves us through the work of the Son, and not our own works.

In Psalm 139:14, David writes these amazing words,

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

At first glance this might seem like an arrogant statement. David has just listed the intimacy and knowledge with which God created him, and so this is more a statement of fact.

Each of us is a marvelous, exciting, unique creation of a holy God. We are called to redeeming faith in Christ. We may have committed the most heinous sins, yet, through the grace of God, we are forgiven. We may struggle with particular sins, but God’s mercies are endless. God does not treat us as our sins deserve.

Rather, he treats us with love, mercy, and grace. His forgiveness will never end. God does not see the mistakes we make; God sees those whom the Son has saved.

That is what and who we must focus on!

Blessings,
Pastor John

It is a tremendous blessing to have the kind of technology that allows us to remain connected through this time of pandemic. This connectivity allows us to have two important educational opportunities.

Revelation Bible Study
Beginning Wednesday, September 2, weekly Bible Study will resume, and we will be studying the Revelation. With so many catastrophic and life-changing events shaping 2020, it seems appropriate to study the book of the Bible that focuses on the end times and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom. For those who have studied this book before, this will be an exciting refresher! Bible Study will meet over zoom, and will be recorded, so those unable to attend at that time will be able to review the material at their leisure. Everyone is welcome!

Join here on zoom or visit www.zoom.us/j then enter Meeting ID: 962 0204 2739
Then enter Passcode: 021517

READ Book Study
The Racial Equality and Discipleship group will resume meeting on Saturday, August 15, at 9:30am, over Zoom. We will begin studying Robin Diangelo’s White Fragility. The book is immensely popular at the moment, but it is currently available from Amazon. All participants are asked to read the forward, introduction, and chapter one. All are welcome to join us as we begin this study. The purpose of this group is to seek to understand the issue of racial inequality and how it connects to our faith in Christ. Those who are interested but unable to come to the first meeting should contact me and let me know.

Join here on zoom or visit www.zoom.us/j then enter Meeting ID: 917 6583 6995
Passcode: 901006

It is my hope that these groups will help each participant grow in his or her faith and develop a greater understanding of the issues covered in each group. I am looking forward to growing with you!

Blessings,
Pastor John

P.S. Please note that we’re NOW including the CTPress Weekly Newsletter along with the Virtual Worship program and songs below:

Many years ago, I attended a continuing education event across the country. My return flight brought me home in the evening, and as we neared the airport, we heard those welcome words from the captain, “Flight attendants prepare the cabin for arrival.” As we were making our approach, something unusual happened. We banked. Ten minutes later we banked again. Then again. It was obvious we were in the proverbial “holding pattern.” I remember that experience very clearly. The anxiety among the passengers seemed to increase every second. Every time the plane banked, you could almost hear audible groans. We were all tired, we were all anxious to get home.

Holding patterns occur for one reason: safety. At some point during the day, there is a delay, usually due to weather. Arriving and departing flights start backing up. The only way to mitigate a back up is to patiently allow flights to arrive and depart as safely as possible. Delays are inevitable. Planes can’t land whenever they want to – they must do so, to borrow a timeless Presbyterian phrase, “decently, and in order.” Otherwise, it might lead to a disaster.
This past Tuesday during the July stated meeting, the session debated when or if we could safely resume in-person worship. The session was unanimous: we must continue with our holding pattern. Like planes waiting to land, this is about one thing: safety. With positive cases on the uptick, and churches, restaurants, and bars serving as the leading places where infection is occurring, the session does not wish to risk the safety of the congregation.

This is going to require continued patience on the part of the congregation. The health and well-being of each person is the number one concern of the session. We will return to in-person worship eventually, and it will be a glorious time. It is important to remember that no one suffers from virtual, on-line worship. But all of us could suffer if our in-person worship service turned out to be the source of an outbreak. The only way to ensure the level of safety we want and need is to stay in the holding pattern.

Personally, I want to applaud all of you. Over the last four months we have stayed connected through social media. We are checking up on one another and staying in touch. The Discipleship and Family Ministry committee is looking into how we can help families teach their children more about faith in Christ. We continue to feed the homeless and the food insecure on a regular basis. And of course, we are worshiping every week, albeit virtually.

Throughout all of it, the congregation has been faithful with their giving! Well done!

Again, be patient. I promise, when it is safe to do so, we will land this plane!

Blessings,

Pastor John

The last few weeks have been hot! Really hot! You go outside, and it just feels oppressive. If you have any outdoor work activity, you must be incredi-bly careful to hydrate, or you might injure yourself or get seriously dehydrated.

When we are faced with summer weather like this, we usually plan. We stay indoors during the hottest part of the day. We make sure we are eating and drinking enough. We check on others. We make sure we don’t overdo it. If we fail to do those things, we court real trouble for ourselves.

As I was reflecting on the weather (I am no fan of extremes – really hot and really cold are not my thing!), I realized that it might be helpful to think of our spiritual lives in an environmental way. Sometimes we get too cold. We also forget to nurture our personal faith, leaving us spiritually hungry and thirsty.

In Psalm 63, David writes these words:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I’m sure we can all relate to the sense of thirst and fainting expressed in this psalm!

What are we to do when we feel this way? We are to go to God to find our thirst quenched and our spirit restored. We go to God in prayer, in worship, and we seek to know him in his Word. If you feel like your spiritual life is dry, perhaps it is time to intentionally spend more time in prayer, to make worship an unchangeable appointment on your calendar, to purposely study the scriptures. Doing these things will cause you to resonate with these words of David, also from Psalm 63:

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night

May the Lord quench your spiritual thirst, satisfy your hunger, and grant you great joy and peace in the days ahead!

Blessings,

Pastor John