Charles Town Presbyterian Church

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

In January, I encouraged the congregation to “connect” through the shared experience of starting a three-year Bible reading plan. Five days a week we read one chapter each day. During my daily Facebook video I post Monday-Thursday mornings, I lift out one thing from the chapter for that day (click here if you want to jump in and be part of this).

This past week, we were continuing in Matthew and came across this wonderful passage in chapter 18:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

As the disciples continuing working with Jesus, the great servant of all, they still don’t get it. They are worried about who is the greatest. Jesus pulls a child close, something unheard of in first-century Jewish culture. Children were to be seen and not heard; they were second-class citizens in that regard. Jesus tells us that true humility is to be childlike.

Children love broadly and generously. Ever have a kid run up to you and hug you and nearly knock you over because they hug you so hard? That’s the best! That is how God wants us to love him – all in, no preconditions, just…love. Children are also very courageous. One of my favorite things in minis-try is to try something new and whacky at Vacation Bible School or in a youth group setting. They don’t ask questions; they just try it! If it turns out fun or awesome, great! If not, it’s on to the next whacky thing. Is that not what faith is all about? Trusting Christ to lead us, even if where he leads doesn’t always make sense!

Finally, children are not concerned with competition as much as adults are. Oh sure, they want to win the game, the race, etc., and they hate to be left out or lose, but they are not fixated on greatness the way adults tend to be. In fact, most kids love to celebrate the accomplishments of their friends. Notice that most of these traits are other-centered. And that’s the point.

When we focus on how great we are, we are not thinking about anyone else but ourselves. If we want to be great in Christ’s kingdom, then we must work to be loving, courageous, and encouraging, all with an eye toward lifting others above us.

Blessings,
Pastor John

This past week has been very interesting for me. On Wednesday, the trial of Derek Chauvin handed down their verdict. The obvious race component of that trial caused me to reflect on my journey with racial issues, which began two years ago. As I was preparing for my second sabbatical, a friend of mine encouraged me to read, Woke Church. As I read it, I was convicted of my stubbornness to not read a book that was being read widely by the Shenandoah Presbytery Waking Up White. As is typical when learning about a topic, one book led to another, which led to another. My research helped me realize I was woefully ignorant of prejudices and racist attitudes I had instinctively embraced and were a far cry from what our Lord Jesus meant when he told his followers to love their neighbors. I was surprised and somewhat angered to learn that huge parts of the history I learned in school were glossed over. For example, I had no idea how sinister Jim Crow laws really were; how strong a reaction our nation had to Brown v. Board of Education. I never learned about the Tulsa riots or Juneteenth. Most importantly, I realized there is still a race problem in our world, and I was part of the problem. I had convinced myself to turn away from that issue and focus on Jesus, but what I was really doing was dressing up my own ignorance in spiritual platitudes.

I came back from sabbatical knowing two things: First, I wanted to do something about this, and second, that it would be hard, given the emotional and divisive nature of the problem. Just before the pandemic, I launched a group to study Waking Up White. The pandemic and the difficult nature of the material whittled the group down to a handful of people. That group has remained faithful, wrestling with our own prejudices and attitudes. It has been hard work. The group even has a name now, R.E.A.D. (Racial Equity and Discipleship). The goal of the group is to learn about and figure out what these race issues mean in light of faithfulness to Christ. This Saturday, the READ group is beginning a new discussion, looking over the first section of Jerome Tisby’s How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice. This Christian book takes a sensitive and practical look at how Christians can respond to these important issues. Anyone curious about these issues is welcome to join us Saturday at 10am (the Zoom info is in this newsletter).

I completely understand that this is not easy, and that most of us would rather not deal with race. It is soul-crushing to realize that something that shaped us might be wrong or even harmful. No one wants to deal with that. And yet, in this fragile moment in our country, Christians are in a special place from which to approach this. Laws, verdicts, curricula – they are good steps, but they do not change people. Only the Spirit of God can do that. The Church of Jesus Christ has a unique opportunity to lead the way toward genuine reconciliation, for the gospel of Christ has the power not only to reconcile us to God, but to bring healing and genuine fellowship that can only come from God. So for now, I will continue to try and balance what it means as a pastor to wrestle with a new way of understanding a particular issue while pointing people to Jesus. For this, I humbly ask for your prayers.

-Pastor John

Many years ago, I thought I was going into the film and video business. I wanted to be a cinematographer, the person who designs the lighting and camera placement to meet the director’s vision. I spent my high school years in the school media program, I made films during my summer break, and I majored in film and video production at Penn State (and that probably explains why I watch so many films and use them as sermon illustrations).

An aspect of filmmaking that was quite vexing at times was the whole “hurry up and wait” part of production. Like any industry, time is money, so the whole set up of everything from sound to lights, to costumes, had a kind of hurriedness to it. Then suddenly, things would come to a grinding halt. Equipment problems. An unhappy director. Waiting for the fading daylight to be exactly right for a particular shot.

We seem to be at a “hurry up and wait” aspect of the pandemic. An unbelievable amount of people has had at least one vaccine, and many people are fully vaccinated. Getting to this moment felt kind of frenetic, like we were racing toward something. And yet, we still must keep socially distant and wear masks. The virus is still out there, and many people are still vulnerable. Hurry up and wait.

I am so thankful that God is not in the business of hurry up and wait. God has all of eternity to perfect us, and God will take as long as God will take. The impatience we feel, whether it is related to the pandemic, waiting in line, shopping online and then watching for the delivery – that is causally related to our natural life, our mortality. We feel time passing, and we all have a mental picture for how things should go. When we have to wait, for any reason, it creates an impatience in us, especially if the wait is for something we don’t like or don’t understand.

We do well to remember what Peter wrote in his second letter, in 2 Peter 3:8,9:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness.
Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

No matter what we are doing – fighting a pandemic, making a film, buying groceries – we must fix our eyes on Jesus who is not bound by time, but is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Doing so will give us the faith to carry on, and we all need that.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Easter 2021

Last Easter, I spent half of my column for the Easter newsletter explaining when I came to faith, and how I spent my first Holy Week as a new Christian. It was a meaningful time full of rich worship experiences. My goal was to show the contrast we were facing with the pandemic taking hold, that we were forced to worship virtually, a situation none of us wanted, but all of us had to face.
I had hoped this Easter would be different, and yet here we are, facing the same situation. The biggest difference this year is that we are having the annual Sunrise Service, which will be an outdoor, in-person event. On Good Friday morning, we are participating in the ecumenical “CrossWalk,” during which the group gathered participates in a kind of “stations of the cross” as we walk through town remembering the suffering of Jesus.

This Easter, we are once again celebrating virtually at CTPC. (All are Welcome – Attend here – Facebook account NOT required.) I’m not going to spend any time here defending or explaining the session’s decision to wait until May to re-open in-person worship. That information is in previous newsletters.

I do, however, want to revisit what I wrote last year at the end of my column…

“…it is vitally important to remember that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about how many times we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it’s not about which hymns we sing and when, it’s not about the Sunrise Service or the breakfast at church. Those things are important ways in which we celebrate the day, but they are not the day itself. We read these words in 1 John 4:9,10:

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

I know we would rather celebrate Christ’s resurrection in person. We must remember, though, that even though we are limited to virtual worship this Easter, nothing about Christ’s resurrection changes for us. That is the Good news: God loves us, God saves us, and God offers us eternal life through his risen Son! We may not be celebrating the way we want to, but we must absolutely celebrate, for this is the eternal gospel of God, the good news in which we place our hope!

Happy Easter,
Pastor John

I have some exciting news to share this week. Tuesday, the session met for their March stated meeting, and I want to share the highlights.

** Revised Guidance May 19, 2021 ** This post was revised to reflect the latest guidance.

• Masks. Per the revised CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated persons do not need to wear masks. So, if you are fully vaccinated, masks are optional in worship. Those who are not vaccinated or have health concerns are encouraged to continue masking. We trust that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we will honor each person’s decision on this matter.
• No singing…yet. The virus is still out there, and it is spread via aerosol, meaning the water droplets that come from our noses, mouths, etc. Even with masks, singing remains a spreader activity. For now, we encourage attendees to speak the words of the songs and hymns we sing. The first moment we can sing without fear of spread, sing we shall! So hang in there, that time is hope-fully coming soon!
• Seating and social distancing. We are still requesting that worshipers sit at least every other pew. When we serve communion, we will be bringing the bread and the cup to each person, not passing it down the pew. We will access by way of the pew in front.
• Offering. We will have offering plates available at the doors, and we ask that everyone drop their gifts into the plates as they enter. This is to limit contact.
• Virtual worship will still stream. We will continue to stream worship services live over Facebook. If you don’t feel well or don’t yet feel safe, worship with us virtually!

** Original CTPress Article resumes below, but In-Worship Guidance information above is more current.

In-Person Worship. The session decided to TENTATIVELY plan for resuming in-person worship on Sunday, May 9. Masks are required, and we will practice social distancing. Advance sign-ups are NOT required. The service will be streamed on Facebook, so that folks who are unable to come or are not comfortable with large-group gatherings can still worship with us.

Sunday School for all ages is set to TENTATIVELY resume Sunday, June 6. Like worship, masks are required, and social distancing will be practiced.

These decisions are dependent on good trends with the vaccine and the virus. Currently, in Jefferson County, the trend is going in the wrong direction. We are “in the red,” according to the state. Hopefully, this is temporary. If this turns out to be a long-term trend, the session may have to reconsider this decision, but we hope that is not the case.

Millie Bush Legacy. We are so blessed to receive this unexpected gift! The session decided that for now, those funds will be placed with the rest of our investments. Ten percent, a tithe, of this gift will be given to community, mission, and benevolence needs. The session created a task force of four elders and the pastor to explore how that ten percent will be used, and they will report back to the session. Kathy Donadio, Diane Mayhew, David Weil, and Patsy White make up that task force, and would love to hear your input. By the end of the year, hopefully, we will have a long-range plan for how we will steward that legacy.

The larger takeaway from these decisions is this: After more than a year of being “on hold” due to the pandemic, we are beginning to move forward. I am so excited for what the future holds for all of us. I doubt we will go completely back to normal. I prefer using the term, “moving forward.” I am reminded of this passage of scripture:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3

And speaking of moving forward, we are about to begin Holy Week. Even though most of the services are virtual, Holy Week provides a great time to consider all that Christ suffered on our behalf, and to reconnect with God’s matchless grace. I pray this Holy Week is time of great renewal for all of us!

Moving Forward,
Pastor John