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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Celebrating Our Faith"
September 16, 2009
You should have seen the smile on his face when I gave him the peach
cobbler. It was truly priceless. After the meal was over he came up to me
and asked why we did this. I told him that this is what God tells the Church
to do. God blessed us and told us to share that blessing with others. The
man smiled again, said thank you and walked away. I have to tell you that
on Sunday I saw the Church at its best.
The exciting news is that this happens every Sunday afternoon here in
Norwich. The churches pick up where the crew at the soup kitchen leaves
off. St. Vincent de Paul ministers to these folks and serve them hot meals
six days a week. On Sunday the Salvation Army, the Lutherans, the Roman
Catholics, the Episcopalians, the Methodists the Congregationalists, the
Unitarians and the Baptists become THE Church, the body of Christ, and
put aside their sectarian differences to honor God by loving and serving
their neighbors.
I am proud to be a part of this movement that reflects God's love in such a
concrete way. Too many people today associate the Church with negativity.
They think of us as angry, hateful people. They see us as hypocritical, self
serving, and narrow minded. The truth is that we have no one to blame for
this perception but ourselves. In our zeal to be faithful to the laws of
righteousness, we have often sacrificed the laws of mercy and grace that
Christ lived and died for.
The truth is that the Church is at its best when it comes together to praise
God and to serve him. For example you will see God if you head out to
Veteran's Memorial Park in Jewett City this Saturday between 1:00 and 8:00
p.m. A group of churches and specialized ministries got together and
planned a day to lift up His name. There will be music, games, giveaways
and more. I think God smiles when he sees his children come together to
praise him like this.
When I heard about this event I thought about the "Marches for Jesus" of
the 1980's. They began in London and spread around the world. At first
they were simply a gathering of Christians from all backgrounds coming
together to celebrate their common faith. In 2000 the organizers decided to
take it a step further. The day also included an invitation to the participants
to go from the parade to designated places where they could serve the
people in that community. The idea was to give Jesus a human face for a
day. What an idea!
The truth is that we don't need to set aside one day to do this. We can do it
every day. God provides opportunities for us to share his grace with others
in our daily walk. We simply need to open our eyes and look for them. So
go on out and make someone's day by simply celebrating your faith in the
Lord and sharing a blessing.
God Bless. See you in Church. Cal.
September 16, 2009
You should have seen the smile on his face when I gave him the peach
cobbler. It was truly priceless. After the meal was over he came up to me
and asked why we did this. I told him that this is what God tells the Church
to do. God blessed us and told us to share that blessing with others. The
man smiled again, said thank you and walked away. I have to tell you that
on Sunday I saw the Church at its best.
The exciting news is that this happens every Sunday afternoon here in
Norwich. The churches pick up where the crew at the soup kitchen leaves
off. St. Vincent de Paul ministers to these folks and serve them hot meals
six days a week. On Sunday the Salvation Army, the Lutherans, the Roman
Catholics, the Episcopalians, the Methodists the Congregationalists, the
Unitarians and the Baptists become THE Church, the body of Christ, and
put aside their sectarian differences to honor God by loving and serving
their neighbors.
I am proud to be a part of this movement that reflects God's love in such a
concrete way. Too many people today associate the Church with negativity.
They think of us as angry, hateful people. They see us as hypocritical, self
serving, and narrow minded. The truth is that we have no one to blame for
this perception but ourselves. In our zeal to be faithful to the laws of
righteousness, we have often sacrificed the laws of mercy and grace that
Christ lived and died for.
The truth is that the Church is at its best when it comes together to praise
God and to serve him. For example you will see God if you head out to
Veteran's Memorial Park in Jewett City this Saturday between 1:00 and 8:00
p.m. A group of churches and specialized ministries got together and
planned a day to lift up His name. There will be music, games, giveaways
and more. I think God smiles when he sees his children come together to
praise him like this.
When I heard about this event I thought about the "Marches for Jesus" of
the 1980's. They began in London and spread around the world. At first
they were simply a gathering of Christians from all backgrounds coming
together to celebrate their common faith. In 2000 the organizers decided to
take it a step further. The day also included an invitation to the participants
to go from the parade to designated places where they could serve the
people in that community. The idea was to give Jesus a human face for a
day. What an idea!
The truth is that we don't need to set aside one day to do this. We can do it
every day. God provides opportunities for us to share his grace with others
in our daily walk. We simply need to open our eyes and look for them. So
go on out and make someone's day by simply celebrating your faith in the
Lord and sharing a blessing.
God Bless. See you in Church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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