From the Pastor’s Heart

A few months ago Nancy and I bought a new kitchen table. When we saw it we both thought the same thing, the bench that came with this table would be perfect for our grandchildren, now that we are blessed with four. (It seems like yesterday that their mothers were just little ones gathering around our table.) We could just see them all sitting there eating Grammy’s wonderful homemade food or Pappy’s homemade pizza. We can hardly wait until they are all old enough to gather around Grammy and Pappy’s table along with their parents. Oh the celebrations this table will see. It is on this table we will color Easter eggs, we will delight in Grammy’s Christmas cookies and when Great Grandma Shuluga visits she will bring some of her famous wedding soup and/or eggplant. Or maybe some halushkies!

Nancy has been setting our table since May of 1974. From the very beginning of our marriage she has set the table for at least three. You see my youngest sister was only four when we married and Brenda often came home with me and joined us for supper. There was always room around our table for any and all who came through the door.

Many of you probably still remember the kitchen or dining room table from the home of your childhood, or your grandmother’s table or the first kitchen table you bought when you set up housekeeping.

The first table I remember at my parent’s home had a red Formica top and shiny silver colored legs. The chairs were upholstered with a vinyl to match the tabletop and the chair legs matched the shiny legs of the table. Every day that table was set by 4:00 P.M. when my dad got off work. At four o’clock sharp the Carbon Limestone whistle would blow, the beagles would howl and we knew our dad would soon appear. He would wash his hands and face and we would gather around that red table. And when company came the extra leaf would come out of the closet and would be put into place.

The kitchen or dinning room table is so important to the life of a family. And the most important thing about them is not the food that is placed on them but the people who gather around them. It is not the food that is most important but the fellowship, the conversation, the love that feeds the heart and soul.

God has a spectacular table as well. Sadly, there are those who are attempting to monitor the table and the guest list allowing only a select few to find a place around the table.

God’s Good News is no one is excluded. There is a place for you, a place for me and a place for any and all who will come. Around God’s table we will find a love like no other.

God has a mission for each of us. We all are to go out into God’s world and remind folks that there is a place at the table just waiting for them, a place where they will join their brothers and sisters in Christ, a place where we will celebrate being a family….the family of God. So slide on down and make room for all who will come!

Your Table Partner,
Pastor Russel