Monthly Archives: May 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 23, 2015
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Staying Connected — Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 23, 2015

“One man esteems one day as better as another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to G*d…None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:1ff

“Wesley regretted that in his eighties he was usually only able to preach two sermons a day every day. Earlier he had often preached four or five times a day. He writes concerning his good health in old age:

May we not impute it as inferior means,
2. to my never having lost a night’s sleep, sick or well, at land or at sea, since I was born?
3. to my having slept at command so that whenever I feel ,m2015myself almost worn out I call it and it comes.
4. to my having constantly, for above sixty years, risen at four in the morning.
 5. to my constant preaching at five in the morning, for above fifty years.” John Wesley (1703 – 1791) “For All The Saints”, volume I

It is apparent that John Wesley lived a life of extraordinary health and well-being, at least according these notes. I wish I might have such a life where I always sleep peacefully, whenever I call upon it, fitfully and restfully. And, I wish I might have the privilege to be able to preach four or five times a day for sixty years. I wonder who was there at his preaching gigs at five in the morning? I look out at our 8:00 am service and wonder sometimes where all the people are.

One of the enduring problems and complaints I hear from older members of the church is how hard it is to get up in the morning and to get moving. On Saturday they are convinced they will make it to worship. But come Sunday morning, the mind is willing, but the body is not. However, there are so many ways to be a part of the worshipping community even if getting to church is a problem. My church has Lay Eucharistic Ministers who visit those who are unable to get out much, giving them communion if they wish, but also visiting — maintaining their connection with the congregation. Another way that the church can maintain those connections is to implement a Stephen’s Ministry program. This ministry is intentional toward visiting individuals for extended lengths of time (three months, six months, nine months) following a significant life event such as surgery, death of a spouse, or other life change.

John Wesley is an example of how, even in our advanced age, we can still be working for Christ and doing the Father’s will. But John Wesley was an extraordinary individual. We never retire from being “workers for the Kingdom of G*d”, but the church needs to help people stay connected. Now, just don’t forget that….. Let me leave you with these words from Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907 – 1972):

“No one eats figuratively, no one sleeps symbolically; so why should the pious man be content to worship G*d symbolically?”

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 5:44 pm on May 22, 2015
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Come, Holy Spirit — Rev. David J. Schreffler

What is the Holy Spirit? That is a great question, for all of us may experience the Holy Spirit in very distinctive and very different ways in our lives. So instead of trying to come up with one unifying answer to the question “What is the Holy Spirit?”, (beyond of course the third person of the Trinity), maybe we should start with remembering that we have been joined together through our Baptisms into communities of faith. And it is through our Baptisms that we believe we “receive” the Holy Spirit directly from Jesus. And then, as baptized Christians, we expect that the same Holy Spirit will come along side us and comfort, guide, enlighten but also shake things up, preparing and equipping each and all of us to share the life-giving word of Grace that comes from G*d — in the person of Jesus Christ. But the Holy Spirit is bigger than that — for it can also blow into our lives, will light us up, and sometimes will guide us into ventures of which we can not predict. You see the Holy Spirit has many roles in our faith lives — sometimes teaching us — sometimes sustaining and comforting us — sometimes speaking to us — and sometimes providing that feeling where we know without a doubt that we are connected to such an infinite G*d of love, mercy and Grace. The Holy Spirit might also drive us out into the world reminding us that we are supposed to play a part in telling all people about the abundant life that comes through Jesus Christ.

You and I know that we live in a society that no longer has a vested interest in “pressuring” people to attend church — there is no vested interest in just “encouraging” people in the community to come to church. If you have been paying attention at all, the mainline denomination churches are shrinking, shrinking, shrinking. Therefore, if we are to flourish as a community of faith — then we need to imagine a place where it is not only the pastor’s job to bear witness to the endless Grace of G*d. And that “Amazing Grace” also means we need to find better and healthier ways to deal with conflict — and to deal with differences of opinion — and to love people we find hard to love. Just as the Holy Spirit, or the Paraclete comes along side us to comfort, sustain, encourage, and even to guide us into the unknown — we are also driven by the Holy Spirit to come along side each other to comfort, sustain, encourage, and guide into the unknown and into the uncomfortable. But if we are too busy bickering with one another, tearing each other apart with our words, stabbing each other in the back, and taking our own pain out on our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, how effective will the Holy Spirit be in the world? G*d is expecting you and me to be people of Grace — not people who Grumble. And G*d expects us to be Agents of Mercy — not Agents of Maliciousness. G*d wants us to be Agents of Joy — not Agents of Judgment. And, G*d expects us to be Agents of Love — not givers of Tongue Lashings. We are a gathering of imperfect people in the church — people who will experience a lot of Pentecost moments in our dealings with each other. “How is that Pastor?”, you may ask. Well, in meetings and conversations we do “speak” to each other, but the language we choose to express ourselves will not always be the same; we do worship in one place, but our origins are vast because we come from all over the place with all kinds of experiences and baggage; and we are working for the common goal of reaching out to make disciples, baptizing and teaching the ways of Jesus, but our methods will be diverse – some wanting to go only to locals, and others wanting to reach out to the wider world. So, We “must” rely on the Holy Spirit to unite us in mission….unite us in Mercy….unite us in Grace…..unite us in Love….or we are doomed to long, painful wilderness experiences. And so we pray “Come — Holy Spirit — Come.”