From the Pastor’s Heart

This beautiful summer morning as I sit writing this short epistle I am eagerly waiting for the telephone to ring with the news that Melanie is in the hospital ready to deliver our fourth grandchild. Is today the day? Maybe it will be tomorrow! The baby is due any day now and the interesting thing is Melanie is still not sure of a name for her precious little girl. Several names have appeared on the list of possibilities.
 
Names are very special and much thought and prayer should be given to naming a child. Some names are given because of family tradition; others are given because of the meaning associated with the name. Some people even try to be humorous when naming their children. Perhaps you have heard of the Lear Jet? Well, the Lear family named their daughter Chanda Lear. A man by the name of Jerry Mellow named his son Marshall. Can you imagine growing up with the name Marshall Mellow?
 
The naming of our granddaughter made me wonder about God’s name. The subject of God’s name remains one of the most confusing and disputed issues in Christianity. This is partly because God has many names in Scripture. Every book of the Bible makes reference to “God” except one. Do you know that book? The Book of Esther never mentions God.
 
If you Google God you will find several names that are given in the Bible that help us understand our God. What is the “correct” name of God? The word so often translated “LORD” in the scriptures is a Biblical enigma. Nobody seems exactly sure how to pronounce that word. It is a combination of four Hebrew consonants, YHWH or JHVH. YHWH, meaning “self-existent or eternal one,” is God’s most common Hebrew name and is found about 6,823 times in the Bible.
 
There are some things that we can say for certain about God’s name….
 
God’s name is holy. Israel had a great reverence for God’s name, because the Mosaic Law taught that those who disrespected God’s name must pay the ultimate price (Leviticus 24:16). The name of God was so sacred to the ancient Jewish scribes that they used a special pen to write the name of God as they reproduced the Scriptures. Each time they came to the name of God, they would set down the regular pen and pick up a pen that was used only for writing God’s name. Only after saying a prayer, they would write God’s name with the designated pen and then resume their work.
 
God’s name is a name we can trust. God wants us to learn the true value of His name. God’s promises can be trusted. Each and every compound name of God shows how God meets every need of humanity in redemptive power. These compound words that we find in the Scriptures are always linked with some need of Humankind, and it is here that God will be all that His people need him to be.
 
God’s name is eternal. God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending.” Only a few things are declared to be eternal. These include His existence (Psalm 90:2), His Word (Mark 13:31), His gift of life for the redeemed (Romans 6:23), and His name (Exodus 3:15).
 
Do you know Him? God’s name is not a magic word, but a revelation of His character.
 
A newspaper ad read: “Lost one dog. Brown, scruffy hair with several bald spots. Right leg broken due to an auto accident. Left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in a dog fight. Answers to the name ‘Lucky’”. Obviously, that unfortunate little dog was “Lucky” in name only. Some Christians are like that! When we become Christians, we take the name of Jesus. Sadly, some people merely become nominal Christians, meaning in name only. When we say we are Christian, we have a responsibility to uplift the name of God in word and deed. Jesus began the Lord’s Prayer by saying, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed (holy) be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9).
 
One thing is for certain, whatever name Melanie and Kurt give their precious baby she will be loved unconditionally. She will grow up in a family that will do everything possible to make sure she is loved and protected.
 
It is hard to imagine but God’s love for each and every one of us is stronger and greater than any love we can bestow upon our children and grandchildren.

Four-year-old Billy states: “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Your name is safe in God’s mouth. Is God’s name safe in your mouth?
 
Blessings,
Pastor Russel
 

One Spring Sunday morning in 1996 when I was serving the Point Marion United Methodist Church a little boy came to worship with his mother. This young lad came with an agenda and with a great sense of anticipation. I am not sure that even his mother knew what was on his mind until they walked through the church doors and he turned to her and asked: “Where is God? I want to meet God?”

I saw this young family standing in the back of the church and with a hospitable heart I greeted them enthusiastically by introducing myself and welcoming them to the church. The young woman politely introduced herself and her son and immediately said: “My son wants to meet God.” The young fellow chimed in: “Yea, where is He?” Have you ever found yourself wondering where God is?

It was a tragic accident. A twenty-five-year-old man was killed in an automobile accident when he drove his vehicle into the Cheat River on Christmas Eve. I was called upon to conduct the funeral. Just minutes before the funeral was to begin this young man’s fiancé who was to give birth to their baby in a few weeks came up to me overwhelmed with grief. “I need to talk to you,” she cried. We went to the parlor and she sobbed: “Where is God in all of this? How could a good God allow such a horrible thing to happen to us?”

I had five minutes to give an abbreviated theology lesson about God to a devastated young woman whose world had been turned upside down. The only thing she was hearing was the pounding of her broken heart.

We are cognitive people. We have a great need to understand. We want to find God that we might understand the Almighty. Theologians have struggled for years trying to define (understand) God. Turn to the back of the hymnal and you will find not one but ten Affirmations of Faith all attempting to help us understand God. Many hymns make an attempt at explaining God.

The great theologian, Augustine, while puzzling over God, was walking along the beach one day when he observed a young boy with a bucket running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, “What are you doing?” the boy replied, “I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole.” Then Augustine realized that he had been trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind.

There is an old story about the theologian Karl Barth (pronounced Bart), who was on a speaking tour of the United States. On college campuses all across this country, he was drawing huge crowds to hear his very complex answers to the questions of life. When he was speaking at Princeton University, the great hall was packed with faculty, students and visitors who came to hear Karl Barth speak. During the question and answer period one student asked, “Dr. Barth, may I ask you a personal question?” Dr. Barth smiled and said, “Yes, you may ask anything.” The student asked: “Dr. Barth you are a very educated man. What is the greatest truth you have ever learned? Dr. Barth bowed his head, thinking for a moment about how he would respond. Then he raised his head and looked out at the student who asked the question and he said. “The greatest truth I ever learned was at my mother’s knee: Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so.” Maybe that is all we need to know about God, God is love.

This Sunday we will observe Memorial Day by honoring our veterans. We will also pause and pay tribute to those who have given their all in the fight for freedom. God has given us the greatest freedom we will ever know…freedom from the penalty of our sin, just because He loves us. Where is God? God is here loving us in all seasons of our lives.

This Sunday the chancel choir will sing one of my favorite anthems, ‘In This Very Room’ by Ron and Carol Harris. The words always speak to my heart.

In this very room, there’s quite enough love for one like me.
And in this very room, there’s quite enough joy for one like me,
And there’s quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom.
For Jesus, Lord Jesus, is in this very room.

In this very room, there’s quite enough love for all of us.
And in this very room, there’s quite enough joy for all of us.
And there’s quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom.
For Jesus, Lord Jesus, is in this very room.

In this very room, there’s quite enough love for all the world.
And in this very room, there’s quite enough joy for all the world.
And there’s quite enough hope and quite enough power to chase away any gloom,
For Jesus, Lord Jesus, is in this very room.
Where is God? God is right here loving us!

Blessings,

Pastor Russel

I recently read about a conversation a woman had with a street minister. I found it alarming and eye opening. “A street minister in Chicago tells the story of a young mother who came to his homeless shelter. She was sick, frightened, racked by guilt and despair and with tears streaming down her face she told her story of drug addiction, prostitution and how she had abused and endangered her two-year-old. Revolted by her degrading story, the street minister was silent. Finally he asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. ‘I will never forget the look of pure astonishment that crossed her face,’ he writes. ‘Church!’ She cried, ‘why would I ever go there? They’d just make me feel worse than I already do?’”

Troubling, isn’t it? I think her question is a question every church should ask and ask frequently…WHY WOULD I EVER GO THERE?

God never intended his boundaries to be less than the whole world. Whenever we look down on someone different than we are, or when we snicker at someone’s misfortune, or when we say, “Thank you, Lord, that I am not like them,” or when we say, “It’s too bad they do not believe as we believe,” we miss what it means to be the church. Sometimes it seems as if many of the people who fill church pews each Sunday have missed the whole meaning of what Christ was about? WHY WOULD I EVER GO THERE?

Richard Fairchild tells about a man living in the Appalachian area during the Depression, who went to Knoxville for the first time to transact some business. While there he saw a refrigerator that made ice. Since it was Summer, he thought it was a miracle of God. When he returned to his hometown in the mountains, his church was in the midst of a revival service. He arrived at the service during the time when people were giving testimonies. He told of the miracle of seeing ice made in the midst of summer. Well, a dispute broke out. Many claimed that there was no such thing. Others wanted to believe him. It resulted in a schism within the church. Many left the church to form a new church. Its name, to this very day, is “No Ice in The Summer Southern Baptist Church.” People can be petty, can’t they? We have all witnessed it, if not a victim of it. WHY WOULD I EVER GO THERE?

Sometimes the church doesn’t understand how to go about sharing the good news. It’s like the woman who read that dogs were healthier if fed a tablespoon of cod liver oil each day. So each day she followed the same routine—she chased her dog until she caught it, wrestled it down, and managed to force cod liver oil down the dog’s throat. Until one day when, in the middle of this grueling medicinal effort, the bottle was kicked over. With a sigh, she loosened her grip on the dog so she could wipe up the mess—only to watch the dog trot to the puddle and begin lapping it up. The dog loved cod liver oil! It was just the owner’s method of application the dog objected to. WHY WOULD I EVER GO THERE?

Even when we are in mission, we sometimes convey the wrong message or engage in mission for all the wrong reasons. A teen-aged boy informed his father of a wonderful activity that they were going to do at his church’s youth group. They were going to hand out blankets to the homeless. This was in Cleveland, Ohio where we know warmth is a necessity during the ruthless northeast winters. The young man exclaimed with fervor, “We’re passing out blankets so that we can tell them about Jesus!” His father, simply and with certainty, corrected him. He explained, “We don’t give blankets to the homeless to tell them about Jesus. We give them blankets because they are cold.” Do we understand the difference? If we are motivated by the idea that we’re going to make our church a bigger church, then our witness will ring false. If, on the other hand, we are motivated simply by the desire to transmit the love we have received from Jesus, then the world will gladly receive us. WHY WOULD I EVER GO THERE?

I appreciate the story from the Baptist tradition that rings true for all that wish to be the CHURCH. A young man was converted to Christ during his senior year in high school. Here is his story in his own words:
“I was a fresh, eager Christian, so when Tony Campolo came to our town to speak, I went to hear him. He was great! After he spoke, he asked us to sign up for his program of inner-city ministry in Philadelphia that Summer. So I did.

Well, in mid-June, I met about a hundred other kids in a Baptist church in Philadelphia. We had about an hour of singing before Dr. Campolo arrived. When he got to the church, we were really worked up, all enthusiastic and ready to go. Dr. Campolo then preached for about an hour, and when he finished people were shouting and standing on the pews and clapping. It was great! ‘OK gang, are you ready to go out there and tell’em about Jesus?’ Dr. Campolo asked. ‘Yeah, let’s go!’ we shouted back. ‘Get on the bus!’ Tony shouted. So we spilled out of the church onto the bus. We were singing and clapping. But then we began to drive deeper into the depths of the city. We weren’t in a great neighborhood when we started, but it got worse. Gradually, we stopped singing, and all of us kids were just staring out the windows. We were scared. Then the bus pulled up before one of the worst looking housing projects in Philadelphia. Tony jumped on the bus and said, ‘All right gang, go out there and tell’em about Jesus. I’ll be back at five o’clock.’

We made our way off the bus hesitantly. We stood there on the corner and had a prayer, and then we spread out. I walked down the sidewalk and stopped before a huge tenement house. I gulped, said a prayer, and ventured inside. There was a terrible odor. Windows were broken out, no lights in the hall. I walked up one flight of stairs and toward a door, where I heard a baby crying. I knocked on the door. ‘Who is it?’ said a loud voice inside. Then the door cracked open, and a woman holding a naked baby peered out at me. ‘What do you want?’ she asked in a rather mean voice. I told her that I wanted to tell her about Jesus. With that, she swung the door open and began cursing me. She cursed me all the way down the hall, down the steps, and out to the sidewalk.

I felt terrible. ‘Look at me,’ I said to myself. ‘Some Mr. Christian I am. How in the world could somebody like me think that I could tell people about Jesus?” I sat down on the curb and cried. Then I looked up and noticed a store on the corner, windows all boarded up, bars over the door. I went to the store, walked in, and looked around. Then I remembered: the baby had no diapers and the mother was smoking. I bought a box of pampers and a pack of cigarettes.

I walked back to the tenement house, said another prayer, walked in and up the flight of stairs, gulped, stood before the door and knocked. ‘Who is it?’ growled the voice inside. When she opened the door, I slid the box of diapers and the cigarettes in. She looked at them, then looked at me, and said, ‘Come in.’ I stepped into the dingy apartment. ‘Sit down!’ she commanded. I sat down on the old sofa and began to play with the baby. I put a diaper on the baby, even though I had never put a diaper on a baby before in my life. When the woman offered me a cigarette, even though I don’t smoke, I smoked. I stayed there all afternoon talking, playing with the baby, and listening to the woman. About four 0’clock, the woman looked at me and said, ‘Let me ask you something. What’s a nice boy like you doing in a place like this? So I told her everything I knew about Jesus. It took me about five minutes. Then she said, ‘Pray for me and my baby, that we can make it out of here alive.’ And I prayed.

That afternoon, after we were all back on the bus, Tony asked, ‘Well, gang, did any of you get to tell’em about Jesus?’ And I said, ‘I not only got to tell’em about Jesus. I met Jesus.’”

Jesus said that his followers can be identified by their love. Not by their clothes, not by their bumper stickers, not by what part of town they live in, but by their love. Our actions are so loud and clear that people can’t hear what we are saying. It’s easy to love in the abstract. Love in action is what the church is about.

WHY WOULD I EVER WANT TO GO THERE?

It is my prayer that the day will come when every church will be able to say, “Come, for it is here you will not find judgment, but love. It is here you will be treated as a beloved child of God.

Blessings,

Pastor Russel

This past week a phone call came into the secretary’s office. I heard Joan talking and then I heard her put the caller on hold. Joan came to my office and said there is a man on the phone who thinks you may have been his teacher many years ago when he was in 3rd grade. I never taught school full time. In addition to my student teaching I substitute taught in the Albert Gallatin School District and the Erie School District. I couldn’t imagine why a former student would be looking for me!
Joan transferred the call and the man on the other end said this may seem like a strange call but I was wondering if you did your student teaching at Harmer Elementary School? I was more than surprised, as I told him indeed I did do my student teaching at that school. He said, “My name is Bob and I am so glad that I found you. I have thought of you so many times over the years. I googled your name and wondered if this was the same Russel Shuluga that I had as a student teacher.” He continued, “I wanted to thank you for all that you did for me back then. You were so kind and patient with me. My parents didn’t go to church or Sunday School and I had such a curiosity about God and you took the time to tell me about faith and God. You even brought in your Sunday bulletins (I was also serving as a student pastor at the time) and went over them with me explaining the worship service. I just had to thank you for being the face of Christ for me. Because of you I accepted Christ into my life during my college years and then went on and served as a Youth Pastor for ten years. I just wanted you to know.”

I student taught in 1985. I am a second career person and went to college a little later in life. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After all these years, a student looked for me. At first I didn’t remember any of what he was saying. But as we talked my memory of him started to come back. He explained that he is now married and has three children and they are living in Glenshaw. I invited him to come to church, as I would love to meet him again. We ended our phone call with him saying, “Thank you again, Rev. Shuluga for taking the time for a little 3rd grader; it has made all the difference in my life.” I ended by saying, “Thank you for making my day, but it is God that you want to thank.”

After the phone call I sat and thought about what he said with a smile on my face. God had used me…even someone like me…in some small way to touch a young boy’s life. And then I became very troubled as I thought about those times when I know I had an opportunity to be the face, the hands, the feet of Christ but chose not to.

Bob is an example of how often we give very little thought to those lives around us that we touch. Sometimes we touch someone’s life for the better. But there are also those times when we have left scars rather than Christian love.

We are Easter people and the resurrection of the Christ not only means our victory over death but it also means we are to live resurrected lives. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians… “Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus…”

As Easter people we are to live resurrected lives by conforming our minds to that of Christ—not simply to imitate, but to have the living Christ come to life in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God condescended to become human; now God calls us to begin to live as a resurrected people.

May our Easter celebration be more than an event; may Easter become our way of living.

Easter Blessings,

Pastor Russel

Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Do you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are” (1Corinthians 3: 16 & 17b). We are called to care for God’s temple. It is that calling that Sandra Lane gave birth to our new Health and Wellness Ministry. She continues to post helpful suggestions on the church Web page. She also coordinates monthly workshops and/or lectures on interesting and helpful topics so that we might not only be mindful of our bodies but that we might better care for our God given bodies.

One of our recent workshops for our Health and Wellness ministry was “line dancing”, taught by Lou Ann Scott. The response was so overwhelming we decided we would hold monthly line dancing lessons in the downstairs social hall.

I watch in awe at the number of people who are able to watch Lou Ann only once and are able to put it all together with such joy and rhythm. And then there is me. You have heard the term ‘two left feet?’ Just when I think I have it, Lou Ann turns on the music and my feet just don’t seem to do what my head is telling them to do. The good news is you don’t have a partner and you don’t have to worry about stepping on someone’s feet. (Sorry Sandra Dewitt. I have no idea how I managed to step on your foot and almost break your foot.) I struggle to relax and allow the rhythm to flow. (Is there any way we can slow the music down a bit?)

I have shared in the past how I enjoyed watching my parents dance. My mom could follow my father’s lead with such ease and grace. Their feet would just glide across the dance floor, swaying to the music. The two moved as one. My sister, Diana, was able to dance with our dad with the same kind of ease and rhythm as our mother. At a wedding reception, I once saw Diana dance to “Wipe Out”. I have no idea how she did that without dislocating her hip! I must have been in the other room when God was handing out rhythm.

Even though this dancing thing doesn’t seem to come naturally, I think I am seeing some small improvement as I stick to it and practice the dances over and over again. (Keep this just between us, this morning I was practicing a few of the steps in the hallway and I looked up and there was Louie standing at the top of the steps watching. I am sure he was shaking his head in disbelief wondering what my problem was. Now let’s see there is….the jazz box step, the shuffle, the fan, the Charleston step, kick ball change, left and right vine, heels and toes, the knee pops and you sway your hips. Then someone commented that Sandra Lane said, “Oh I have to see Russel do that!”

PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE..

God invites us to join Him in a dance. And for many that dance doesn’t seem to come very naturally. There are some complicated and complex steps in God’s dance. Now let’s see, there is…

• You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.
• You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
• Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
• This I command you, to love one another.
• If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
• Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God, in Christ, forgave you.
• If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.

All of those steps (and there are more…many more) don’t always come naturally; in fact, we struggle with many of these dance steps. We are not alone in our struggle. John Wesley, our founding father, struggled as well. On his journey to the colonies, the ship he boarded encountered a severe storm and he feared for his life. A group of Moravians was also on board and during the storm they peacefully sang hymns. That night John wrote in his journal, “I have come to save the Indians, but who will save me?” Even as an ordained priest, John Wesley struggled with his faith and his salvation. His good friend, Peter Bohler, told John: “Preach faith until you have it and because you have, you will preach faith.”

If we are to be good dancers we must persevere. We must not give up. We must practice again and again and again. If we are to be good and faithful Christians, it takes much perseverance. We must not give up. We must practice…practice…practice…until our Christ likeness comes naturally. I invite you to come and join our dance lessons. I will try not to step on your foot. The good news is no one is judgmental. Everyone is patient and kind. No one laughs at you. They are most helpful when you struggle. I invite you to come to worship, Bible study, Sunday School and other faith-enhancing opportunities where you will not have to worry about being judged or laughed at. It is a safe place, where we help each other when we struggle; when this faith thing seems not to come naturally. We pick each other up and we walk hand in hand, as we dance with God. The good news for us is when we stumble and fall, God’s grace is always sufficient.

Sydney Carter’s folk hymn, Lord of the Dance, written in 1963, is interpreted to be life lived in its fullest abundance, or as Carter defines it, “the image of all faith.” The stanzas choreograph the life of Christ, with the refrain inviting singers to “Dance then, where you may be.”

Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I invite you to dance with me as God leads the way. And the dance goes on….

Blessings,
Pastor Russel

We do it every four years, at least those of us who have a driver’s license; we must go and get our picture taken for our driver’s license. It is my turn once again this year. In fact, I need to go this month. Now I don’t know why but I keep my outdated licenses. I was looking at my collection the other day and was quite surprised to see how much I change in looks in a four-year period. Yikes! I can only imagine what I will look like when I go for my picture in 2014.

Some say the older I get the more I look like my father. Some even say I walk just like him. Although I think I have mother’s temperament.

My mother has a couple of boxes filled with old pictures stored in a closet. In that box is a picture of my dad when he was about 4 or 5 years of age sitting on a pony dressed in a cowboy outfit. There is also in that box a picture of my brother about the same age sitting on a pony in a cowboy outfit. It is almost impossible to tell which one is my dad and which one is my brother.

Nancy has often said that she is startled in the morning when she looks in the mirror and sees her mother looking back. Our grandson Mac looks just like his mother and Amy looks just like me. Our Granddaughter Victoria looks just like her mother and Lee Ann looks just like Nancy. It will be interesting to see whom the two new grandbabies will look like.

Genetics are interesting…they dictate how we look and often our medical history. What about our mannerisms? Are they learned or genetic? Can we blame our behavior on our genes?

Who do you look like? Are you able to identify specific characteristics that you inherited?

“God spoke: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature…’” (Genesis 1:26a The Message). Hmmm…. Does that mean God has gray hair and a white mustache?

Who do we look like? What is our nature? May we each strive for the same goal…. When others look at us they see the face of Christ! May others say I know who you belong to, I see the resemblance; you are a child of God.

May our prayer be the words found in Adelaide A. Pollard’s 1902 hymn, Have Thine Own Way, Lord:

Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!

Blessings,

Pastor Russel…a forgiven and redeemed child of God.

Like so many of you, I have been following closely the David Goldman custody battle. I can’t imagine the heart-wrenching ache of losing custody of one’s child. The boy’s mother, Bruna Bianchi, took Sean (then 4 years of age) to her native Brazil in 2004, divorced Goldman and remarried. Goldman began legal efforts to get his son back.

After Bianchi died last year in childbirth, her husband Paulo Lins e Silva, continued the legal fight and won temporary custody.

The last several months, each time David Goldman was able to embrace hope that he would be reunited with his son, that hope was met with devastating disappointment when yet another court ruling prevented the father and son reunion.

Finally, a ruling last week by the chief justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court finally cleared the way for the boy’s return on Christmas Eve. David and his son Sean were finally reunited. After five long agonizing years, Sean and his dad began a new journey… a journey home.

A recent report stated: “A man who brought his son home to the United States from Brazil after winning a bitter custody battle said in an interview aired Monday that he’s thrilled they have been reunited but is still waiting to be called ‘Dad.’” “I said, ‘You can call me Dad,’” David Goldman said on NBC’s “Today” show. “And he didn’t say anything.”

And so David Goldman rejoices in their reunion but patiently waits for healing and for his son to embrace their relationship so that he will once again call him “Dad.”

This is the time of year when we again meet up with the Magi. They too are on a journey. The story of the Magi is astonishing. Magi living hundreds of miles from Israel leave their families and the comforts of home to chase the mere possibility of encountering the long-awaited King of the Jews.

The Magi offer a model for life. When they were confronted with the opportunity to connect authentically with God and experience true life, they left all that was familiar for a journey into the unknown. The Magi are not content to experience Jesus from afar. They want to experience him personally. That encounter… that experience changed their lives forever.

As we approach 2010, I wonder about God’s agonizing wait for His children to return home and call him Abba (Daddy). There is no judge or court prohibiting our rightful custody with our eternal father. We are our own stumbling blocks in returning to our rightful home.

It is not enough to experience Jesus from afar. How long will God the Father have His hopes dashed and experience disappointment after disappointment because His children refuse to come home and embrace the relationship that God offers each of us in becoming part of God’s family?

Give thanks if you call God “Abba”. But if you are still only curious from afar, the New Year is a great time to come home! There will be no court ruling ordering you home. There is however, the Father’s outstretched open arms and loving invitation. And He waits for your response. He longingly waits to hear you say, “I want to come home ‘Abba!’ I want to come home.” This morning I heard David Goldman say with tears of rejoicing: “He is home, he is home.”

I can imagine every time one of God’s children comes home, God rejoices with the same exclamation… “He is home! She is home!”

Won’t you come home?

Peace and Blessings for the New Year,
Pastor Russel

With Grateful Hearts…

We have been showered with blessings by the outpouring of your expressions of love this Christmas season. Thank you for the generous gifts from our Church family and the many other expressions of love. Nancy and Pastor Russel

Last week Nancy and I spent a few days with our daughter Amy and her family. It is always a blessing to spend time with our children and grandchildren. Mac, our soon to be two-year-old grandson has discovered the world of “bugs”. On one of our many walks we saw a rather large night crawler. We spent several minutes examining and watching this worm inch its way across the road. On another walk we encountered a grasshopper. Mac’s squeals of joy were delightful. He sat on the pavement closely eyeing the “bug”. He watched his every move. As Mac observed this fascinating bug he would slowly move a little closer to get a better look until the grasshopper would jump and Mac would squeal again and move away. This went on for several minutes. He wanted to be brave and touch the insect as he moved his little hand ever so carefully closer to the grasshopper. He wasn’t quite sure what would happen and couldn’t bring himself to actually touch the “bug”. His curiosity and fascination were overflowing but he always maintained a safe distance from this mysterious little creature.

We find ourselves stepping into the Advent and Christmas seasons. We begin our journey to Bethlehem to the stable that we might once again peer into the manger at the Christ Child. Like my grandson, our fascination, enthusiasm, joy and curiosity are overflowing this time of year. Something wonderfully mysterious has happened in Bethlehem. And we want to be part of excitement. We want to join the choirs of angels and sing of that holy night. Sadly, however, too many do not move beyond their curiosity and fascination when it comes to the babe in the stable. We find that we would much rather keep a safe distance between the Christ Child and us.

My grandson did not know what would happen if he touched that grasshopper. But we know… we know that the Son of God not only brings love, compassion, and forgiveness; this tiny little baby grows up and says: “If anyone would come after me, deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” We know that if we get too close to this tiny little baby we are called to move beyond fascination and curiosity and embrace the Son of God. We are called to complete commitment in our discipleship. I invite you to journey with me once again as we follow the star to the place where we will look upon the face of God. I invite you to come with your enthusiasm, joy, curiosity and fascination as we celebrate. And then as God calls you to be a faithful servant you are invited to move beyond curiosity and fascination and embrace this holy child as you give yourself completely, for we need not fear the one who is called Emmanuel, the Savior of the world.

Christmas Peace and Blessings,

Pastor Russel

Many of us find grief a long and difficult journey. We wonder if we will ever laugh again and truly mean it. We wonder if we will ever dance again with joyful enthusiasm. We begin to wonder if all of our remaining days will be clouded with sorrow. We wonder….

I recently read the following story about a grief support group.

“The first session of the grief support group was gut-wrenching. One by one, the broken, lost grieving people shared their stories. Each person’s life had moved from normal to shattered, because of cancer, car accidents, heart attacks, or other tragedies that robbed them of their loved one. Raw emotion and buckets of tears accompanied story after story about how those real life losses manifested themselves in daily life.

One woman shared, ‘Last night I dreamed the doorbell rang and when I opened the door, my husband was standing there. He was no longer thin and sick from cancer. He was no longer bald from chemotherapy. He was healthy and strong like he used to be. When I woke up, I realized that I’ve only been grieving so far for the loss of my sickly husband and haven’t even begun to grieve over the loss of my strong, healthy husband.’

Another group member tentatively shared that he had spent the night, more than once, lying on his wife’s grave because ‘it is the only place I can feel close to her.’

One woman lamented the sheer terror at the idea of facing the holidays alone.

The room was filled with deep, real grief. It was tearing people apart. One member of the group asked, ‘Will we ever feel differently? How will we ever come out of this?’ As the facilitator, I knew it was important that my response paint a picture of hope. ‘I know it is hard to imagine, but I believe the day will come when you will smile again….when you will be able to enjoy life,’ I said gently, finding it a little hard to imagine myself.

After working closely with these people for about a year, I moved to another city. Years later, I returned to the town for a speaking engagement. Just before I was to speak, I was surprised to see many of the members of the grief group, seated on the front row.

Later, when I greeted them, some told me of new relationships in their lives, new jobs, and traveling adventures. I asked if they still met together as a group and they laughed, ‘You won’t believe this, but we only meet now to go line dancing.’

A line dancing grief group…who would have thought? But when God shows up, healing happens, hope springs forth, and new life emerges.”

Sunday, November 1 we will celebrate All Saint’s Sunday. It will be a day when we remember loved ones who have died in the last year. Yes, there will be tears and raw grief. There will be those who will wonder if it will ever get any better. We will share our grief and we will remember. We will remember our loved ones.

We will also rejoice because we will also remember that we are not alone in our troubles. We are not alone in our losses, our grief, and our heartache. God is with us.

We will celebrate the risen Christ who whispers in the darkness: ‘Didn’t I tell you, you would see the glory of God? Didn’t I tell you this is not over yet? Didn’t I tell you God will wipe away every tear?’

We no longer have to wonder because when God shows up (and God always shows up) even grief groups will line dance one day.

I pray you will show up this All Saint’s Sunday because God is going to show up and remind each of us that we will dance again.

Thanks be to God!

Pastor Russel

Have you ever been curious about something? Every morning when I am walking Louie I pass a vacant house on the corner of Blackburn and Centennial. It has been vacant for over three years (since my arrival to Sewickley) and perhaps much longer. I have watched the vines grow up over the front door and the wicker chair on the porch crumble. There are wax Christmas candles in the window. The curtains are looking dingy. On what appears to be the dinning room table is a flower arrangement that long ago dried up and in the middle of that arrangement is a flower pick with a little card. I am curious. I wonder about the owner’s story. Why has the house remained untouched all of these years? Did the person who lived there receive an arrangement of flowers when he or she was sick? Did the owner of the home die? Did he/she have to make other living arrangements?

People’s stories are interesting. Our stories help define who and what we are. During the interviewing process for a custodian we interviewed a gentleman who had listed on his resume that he had worked on a track gang. I could relate. I too worked as a laborer on a track gang. We were able to connect and share our stories.

Some on our committee were surprised to learn of my “track gang” experiences. One even said, “Pastor Russel, I can’t even imagine you working at a job where you would get your hands dirty!” Often times our stories may seem unimaginable. But they are a part of our fabric woven into our very being.

We all have our stories to share. In our individual families we tell our stories again and again. Telling our stories is one way of remembering our loved ones and keeping them close. Telling our stories makes us “family.”

God’s house should be a safe place where we can come together to share our stories as a family. Some stories we eagerly celebrate. There are other stories that give birth to pain and grief. Often times sharing these stories brings healing. Sometimes we are surprised to learn that we share a common bond because our stories are so similar.

We come to God’s house to hear God’s story, a story that includes you and me. It is a story that binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a love story that continues in God’s love. God continually reminds us that His love story, our love story, always ends with… “and they lived happily ever after!”

I pray you will come and be a part of the greatest story ever told or lived. May your story be blessed.

Blessings,

Pastor Russel