Charles Town Presbyterian Church

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:

Scripture is one of the greatest gifts God has given the Church. It may be the greatest, next to the gift of the Son, of course. The scriptures allow us to read, learn, grow, and be challenged in our faith. We are not called to be static – to stay still or in one place, but rather, we are to keep moving closer to God in Christ. To do so we can use a variety of spiritual disciplines like worship, prayer, fasting, service, and so on.

What’s great about the scriptures is that we can keep returning to them over and over again. A worship service or prayer meeting are one-time events. It’s hard to replicate a powerfully moving worship service. But the scriptures are different. They can provide ongoing comfort and encouragement, and even when we think we’ve learned all we can about a particular passage, the Holy Spirit speaks to us and opens our eyes and our hearts!

We’ve been living with stress and anxiety for over eight months now, and the events of this election week are adding to that anxiety. All of it is over-whelming at times, and with the holidays approaching, the thought of how we gather and celebrate just seems exhausting.
When we feel this way, I think it is important to go back to those scripture passages that provide comfort and hope. As this strange week in this strange period of history draws to a close, I find great comfort in these verses:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

These verses remind me of important truths: This world is temporary. Today will pass. God is preparing us for something better than what’s in front of us. And that, my friends, provides great hope and comfort.

I encourage all of us to turn to the Word of God, and not only when things are hard. But yes, particularly when things are hard, we need the comfort only the scriptures can bring. Hang in there, keep the faith, and keep turning to the Word of God for hope and encouragement.

Blessings,
Pastor John

I rarely talk politics from the pulpit or in my newsletter column. I do touch on it from time to time on my personal Facebook page. This week, in my column, I’m going to address politics.
We face an historic election. Regardless of political leanings, most people view this election as exceptionally significant. No matter who people are voting for, there is a sense that the soul of America and our very Democracy lie in the balance of the outcome.

It is interesting to me that the same sentiments are shared regardless of which candidate people support. I’m not entirely sure what that means, though I suspect it reveals something incredibly important: that we are a people desperate for hope.

If we look to government for that hope, we will be disappointed, no matter who is in office. Human beings are flawed, and that frailty often leads to mistakes, missteps, and misfortune.
Hope must come from somewhere else, and it most definitely lies beyond the American political process. True hope – real hope, comes from God. Consider these words from scripture:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:7

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing
with the glory that is to be revealed to us…
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 8:18, 38-39

Many years ago, a member of our congregation reminded me that there is much about politics that is beyond individual control, so getting upset about it all the time is a waste of energy and resources. I am inclined to agree with that sentiment, especially in deference to the scriptures above.

Go and vote. Pray for our nation. But above all, do not trust in politicians or programs. If the candidate you support loses, don’t give in to despair. Remember that our God is bigger, and he will continue to guide us.

Blessings,

Pastor John

Count your blessings, name them one by one…

That is the beginning of the chorus of “Count Your Blessings,” the famous hymn written by Johnson Oatman, Jr., in 1897 [lyrics below]. For years I had thought that this was one of those simple songs we used in Sunday School to teach children something basic about the faith – that it was similar to songs like, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” I was surprised the learn that Oatman was a minister who wrote hundreds of songs, many of which are still sung today.

Counting our blessings is important. Though there is no direct command in scripture to count our blessings, there are several verses that encourage us to remember, or count, those gifts that come from God. Consider, for example, James 1:17,

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

In my work area at home, I have a “Joy Jar,” which is part of an idea I saw two years ago on social media. The idea is simple – throughout the year, every time something good happens, write it down on a little piece of paper, and stick it in the jar. On December 31, empty the jar and spend time remembering all the of the good things that happened throughout the year.

In addition to prayer and study of the scriptures, I cannot think of a more important practice during the pandemic. It is so easy to get discouraged, right now. As I have mentioned a few times from both the pulpit and in this newsletter, the pandemic has made everything harder. Every. Single. Thing. It would be so easy to sit back and catalog every terrible aspect of 2020, but what good is that? How will that help is to grow? How will our faith be stronger because of such negativity?

Friends, make it a point to keep track of the good. Not only will it bless us at the end of the year, but it orients us to look for the good. It will shape our attitude and perspective in a positive way. And we can certainly use more positive.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Johnson Oatman, Jr.

[November 30 Update: Thank you all for the support! Congratulations “CW” on winning! We’ll contact you!]

Your heart will also be warmed knowing that this quilt was given to members of our mission team by a family who they helped during CTPC’s mission trip to Webster Springs WV. We’ll be raffling off this quilt to one lucky winner.

Raffle chances can be purchased below for $20 each (or via check to CTPC sent to our office).

Proceeds to fund Mission & Outreach programs.  Winner to be announced soon!