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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"It's Time To Come Home"
September 2, 2009
I was down in Waterford and decided to take a stroll down memory lane.
My grandparents used to live on Pleasure Beach. I have many fond
memories of going to their house when I was a little boy. I would fish off
the rocks. I would catch crabs in the shallow water inlet. I would walk up
to the little market and buy candy and gum. I enjoyed sitting out on their
porch in the large swing.
As I drove down the street I was alive with anticipation. I hadn't been by
the house in nearly twenty years. As I turned the corner and came down
Valley Street, I was quite disappointed. Everything seemed much smaller
than I had remembered. The house was not nearly as stately as the image in
my head. It was not as well kept as when my grandparents lived there. I
headed away with the realization that you really can't go back.
It is funny but a lot of people have memories of church from when they
were young. Some are good and some are bad. These memories either
disappoint us when we return or they keep us from coming back. The truth
is that church today is going to be different than it was back then. Life has
changed and we are different people today.
The good news is that God doesn't change. He still loves you and me and
God wants to walk with us through life. Whether God reconnects with us
through contemporary music or the long used rituals of our faith, through
something remembered or something totally new, it is the same God who
was there at your birth. He has watched your every moment with the joy of
a loving parent. The important thing is not what you remember but what it
means to you today.
As we celebrate Labor Day and the end of summer, a lot of Churches are
gearing up for an active year of worship, education and service. They will
be singing the songs of faith and sharing God's love with ministries that
touch the community around them. I hope you will consider coming home
this Fall. Things may not be as you remember but that isn't all bad.
You are a different person today. It's time to build new memories Let God
love you and bless you. Get involved in a ministry at church where you can
share your gifts. In doing so you can make new memories that you can
carry forward.
God Bless. See you in church. Cal
September 2, 2009
I was down in Waterford and decided to take a stroll down memory lane.
My grandparents used to live on Pleasure Beach. I have many fond
memories of going to their house when I was a little boy. I would fish off
the rocks. I would catch crabs in the shallow water inlet. I would walk up
to the little market and buy candy and gum. I enjoyed sitting out on their
porch in the large swing.
As I drove down the street I was alive with anticipation. I hadn't been by
the house in nearly twenty years. As I turned the corner and came down
Valley Street, I was quite disappointed. Everything seemed much smaller
than I had remembered. The house was not nearly as stately as the image in
my head. It was not as well kept as when my grandparents lived there. I
headed away with the realization that you really can't go back.
It is funny but a lot of people have memories of church from when they
were young. Some are good and some are bad. These memories either
disappoint us when we return or they keep us from coming back. The truth
is that church today is going to be different than it was back then. Life has
changed and we are different people today.
The good news is that God doesn't change. He still loves you and me and
God wants to walk with us through life. Whether God reconnects with us
through contemporary music or the long used rituals of our faith, through
something remembered or something totally new, it is the same God who
was there at your birth. He has watched your every moment with the joy of
a loving parent. The important thing is not what you remember but what it
means to you today.
As we celebrate Labor Day and the end of summer, a lot of Churches are
gearing up for an active year of worship, education and service. They will
be singing the songs of faith and sharing God's love with ministries that
touch the community around them. I hope you will consider coming home
this Fall. Things may not be as you remember but that isn't all bad.
You are a different person today. It's time to build new memories Let God
love you and bless you. Get involved in a ministry at church where you can
share your gifts. In doing so you can make new memories that you can
carry forward.
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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