Pastor Blog

April 7, 2008

Dear Friend:

I AM NOT unmindful of the efforts (plural!) many folks make to get to church on Sundays.  Getting up and ready on time, getting the children ready and explaining once again why we “have to go”, forgoing the extra sleep, the other tasks and “necessaries” that are demanding to be done and will not go away, a quick breakfast, etc., etc, many efforts. And you do that; and I am both mindful of it and grateful for it.

It has always been the case you know, human beings, Christian people have always done this, and done more.  Some endured great danger to get to church, and some have braved ridicule and hostility and opposition of all kinds.  Others have attended to the worship of God when there was no such thing as a “comfortable pew”, there were hard benches in cold, drafty meeting halls, and long, long services with little to put a smile on the face or a lilt to the heart.  These were times when it was felt it is best to upbraid people, warn them, and keep them in line by sermons armed to challenge their most self-pleasing considerations.  People were best served, it was thought, by harsh, critical thinking and cold comfort.  Brace them.            

Still, people came, always; because people do find God a restoring Presence no matter what the words or how demanding the conditions.  People understand, here is the chance I just might find and feel myself in the Holy Presence, and a moment there will do more for my heart and soul than just about any entertainment ever would or could.  So, they came; still do.

I further have no hesitancy in urging you to continue to come.  I don’t just think so, I KNOW it shall be worth your while.  I also know and believe that you will do the rest of us “a world of good”, your presence, your interests, your concerns, your worship will inspire and sustain the rest of us, perhaps more than you can know.

So, on this Monday morning, and on every other one too, I find myself grateful for you, for this place, and for our promises to each other, to be here, on the Lord’s Day, seeking the Presence of the Holy One.  Never doubt that you are known and appreciated

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                                   Pastor Condon

February 28, 2008

Dear Friend: INCREASINGLY I LIKE the words “options”, “alternatives”, “contingency”. Some desireables (is that a word?!) may turn out not to work, turn out not to be affordable, turn out not to be after all “desireable”, so “options”. I like that. I have no quarrel with the thinking that there may very well in fact be one preferred way, one which is shorter, or quicker, or cheaper, etc, etc, but when it comes to the variety of interests, needs and concerns we most of us have, and the great variety most of us are, alternatives are nice, contingencies are helpful. Most weekdays I take the same route to work at church; it is familiar, I know the traffic patterns, I am prepared for the school busses and the trucks and other commuters, we get in line and make our way. It works well, nearly all the time. On Sundays, I take an entirely different route HOME FROM CHURCH; it takes a little longer, it is more varied, more interesting, it provides me with an alternative in case the usual way on weekends is blocked for some reason or other. Mostly I just like it. What I remind myself at this moment is that just knowing there IS an alternative, a contingency goes a long way to relieving the stress and frustration there might other wise be if the normal route was blocked, and I couldn’t use it. What I further remind myself is that this thinking has greater application. I do have my preferred ways, and often they have come about because of considerable effort and hard work. The time and energy spent on how we go about our Sunday worship or what to do in a Confirmation program can be considerable, and I put into them all I know how to do. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t; and there is the fact that still I most often have to do the best I can with what I have, alternatives, options, if there could be room for those, the out come can be better or even best for all. I am trying to keep that line of thinking part of my “game plan’. Glad to share how it is working. Glad to hear from you how (or even whether!) it works for you as well. Sincerely, Pastor Condon

February 1, 2008

Dear Friend:

                  WHAT ARE YOU, A CHRISTIAN, to do about someone who is being obnoxious?  How do you, Christian person, behave toward someone who makes daily life or work miserable?

                  I know what I am tempted to say and do, and I do not fault you one bit if you feel angry, attacked, and act out of that anger and attack.  That seems to me quite natural; may not be all that helpful but natural.  Feelings are what they are, they have been prompted, and our own health and well-being survives best if we do not ignore or suppress feelings.  ACTING upon those feelings is another matter; and acting as Christ would, another matter still.

                  This is tough business, that first; and no easier (maybe much harder) for a person making the effort to be Christian.  Matthew in the Bible has some counsel; he hears Jesus addressing a similar matter.  In the Bible it has to do with one Christian being violated by another, so this is not an exact duplication, but the counsel still may be worthwhile.

            Jesus says, “when someone else violates you, tell the other person what they have done to you - - disrespected you by their language, attacked you by charges or allegations, used language you find offensive, hateful.  You are NOT telling them they are hateful, vulgar, vile; you say what that which they have done has done to you, you speak for and about yourself.  That is a beginning, because it means talking MOST to the other person involved directly, not only about the other to someone else.  You may find useful the encouragement and counsel OF ANOTHER, but mostly speak directly to the one involved.

            Then, the Lord says, “If they listen, o.k., but if not (and he well recognizes they may not) if not, tell the matter to (he says) the church (you may have to substitute your own appropriate community, but it means you do not have to carry this all by yourself, it belongs on the shoulders of that community, family, company, etc).

            The Lord continues, “if they will not listen to the community (and again he knows they may not) let them be as one who has put THEMSELVES outside the community.”  Your dealing with them need not continue.

            Two things: one, that may be much easier said than done, and it shall not be done lightly, but no one must or should accept unchallenged another’s hateful, hurtful behavior.  Period.  Two, here in this matter, in the Bible, is where one of the great, often-quoted lines of Jesus is given, here in this difficult matter he says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  Remember that - - in this, one of the most upsetting and troubling circumstances we experience, he promises to be a partner to us.  You are not alone, you are not abandoned.  That remembered gives you an enormous advantage.

                  

                                          Sincerely,

                                                      Pastor Condon

June 8, 2007

Dear Friends,

               HERE IS our text: I Kings 17, beginning at verse 11. The central figure in the account is Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, the God of Israel. The time is during that of King Ahab, but Elijah is not directly in Israel, but a distance away, on the Phoenician coast. God is not pleased, there is a famine in the land, and after delivering the word to the King that these two facts are the condition for the present AND the foreseeable future, Elijah is sent away.

              Where he goes, to the distant Phoenician coast, not Israel, Elijah happens upon a widow and her son. They too have fallen victim to the famine; the few crusts the widow has managed to scrape together will do no more than postpone the inevitable end. The prophet asks her to bake him a small cake! With the added promise, should she do so, her resources shall not fail. She does, and they don’t!         

             Then her son falls ill, becomes unconscious, and looks to have died. This is not a happy story. The minister for God has performed an unpleasant task. The widow, with precious little promise, has jeopardized her own survival, and that of her child. Momentarily there is relief; but even that is cruelly crushed in the affliction to the widow’s son.

             What comes next could happen only in the Bible: Elijah asks the widow to give him her son! I think maybe he has done enough. I think he would think he better exercise some caution. I think he would fear to come anywhere near the child. I think wrong.

            Elijah takes the child into his own arms, goes to his chamber, and appeals to God; loudly; several times. He prays hard, soul-searching, heart-felt, life-requesting words, to God. And God, who provides meals for adults and a child from a crust of bread, exerts power that brings life. The child is returned to his mother. And the child is very much alive.

              The point of our reading accounts like this in the Bible is not to see if it is relevant to anything in our world, if it explains what happens in the world. The point, as Tom Long says, is to hear the account so clearly that it redefines what the real world is and questions what we believe can happen and cannot happen. The point is to tell ourselves and keep telling ourselves what happens in the world where God is alive and at work. The point is that in this account and in our own accounts the central figure is God. Even our own story is not primarily about us. A truth that is good news.

Sincerely,

Pastor Condon

May 18, 2007

Dear Friends,

BY ANY CALCULATION the overall bringing about of the plan of God, the will of God, is not designed to make us comfortable.  That is nearly a truism for people of the Bible, Abraham and Sarah and their long-delayed promise of a child; Moses and his fall from prince in Egypt to a raggedy shepherd – leader; Jonah, Jeremiah, Ruth, Mary, disappointment for all.  And our Lord himself, it doesn’t all work out as planned, thought, hoped.

A year and a half ago we embarked on a new plan for pastoral leadership in our church.  The plan was well-thought-out, and much effort was given to it by everyone.  Pastor Labonte and I were steadily committed to it, and we felt your support.  Now, for good reasons we need to revise the plan.  Deborah has felt the urgency of a call to serve a church on her own.  I am far from ready to bring my ministry to an end (that day will come, and I believe we can plan for that together as congregation and pastor, just not quite yet!) For now, we will be making some unforeseen changes, mostly back to my being full-time.

In all of this I express my appreciation to Deborah for the ministry she has had among us and the assistance she has provided me. I thank you the congregation for making a serious and fully-supported attempt.  It was a good experiment for us to try.  These new changes for us all mean not set-back, not loss, just new paths for how God is leading us on.  God always has bright promises ahead.

I see similar understanding in our Capital Campaign.  Many, many of you have been providing excellent leadership.  Results are astounding.  Careful and complete information is being gathered about how to address handicap accessibility.  The hours of devoted service for the well-being of the church and our people are inspiring. 

Some of our own church families have said they cannot participate at this time.  Some who cannot contribute financially have contributed in other ways; wonderful.  I hear of excellent visits with persons in our church family who cannot pledge now, demonstrating this whole campaign is not just about money, not at all.  I had one of those visits myself; it was the finest of pastoral conversations with one of you.

So, our plans, our designs do not always go as planned; it turns out they go forward even better than we ever could have devised ourselves.  And that was true in Bible times as it is true today.  We must work at it, we must make our plans, our attempts, our tries; and then cast them mightily in the hands of One who “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist”.  Take a  look, Romans, Chapter 4.

                                                                     Sincerely,

                                                                     Pastor Condon

May 1, 2007

Dear Friends,

FIRST, a large THANK YOU to the Congregation and all of you for the recognition of my 20 years of service as Pastor of our Church.  Sunday, April 22, I was very surprised, speechless (!), and over whelmed.  And Sue and I are most grateful to you.  Your gifts and words were in too great an abundance but deeply felt and warmly received.  Thank you.

I must also be quick to say to you, no one’s work stands alone, least of all a pastor’s.  There are so many of you who make possible, add significantly to, mightily multiply, and offer unending and critical encouragement.  I could name dozens, literally, dozens of names, and frequently do, in my prayers for all YOU do.

There is something about doing that naming that is very much a part of our Biblical Faith.  I do not know whether other religions do this or not, but Christianity does.  Read Chapter 16 in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans; it is filled with names:  Prisca and Aquila risked their lives for Paul’s sake, Mary worked very hard, Andronicus and Junia were in prison with him, Urbanus was a co-worker, Herodian a relative, Rufus’ mother a mother also to Paul!  Names, over and over.

The same thing is true in the Gospels.  Isn’t it striking that the Gospels tell the enormously extraordinary account of the Son of God, Son OF GOD coming to the earth and what He said and did, and THAT account is filled with names of others - - - Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph, Peter, James, John, Lazarus, Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus, Magdalene, page after page, every page.  So much that when the Lord Jesus says “the very hairs on your head are numbered” he is not engaged in exaggeration, hyperbole.  You are known, to God, by Name.

And what you do is not lost sight of either, both the “doing” and the “you” who do it, both known, to God (and to many of us as well).  I am going to name one of you now, I could name a great many, but one, Barbara Kimball.  For years, week in and week out, Barbara sent notes and cards and articles and pictures to many, many of us, things to inform and brighten our day.  Barbara and Dick were our uncommissioned ambassadors, visiting in hospital and homes people who would be cheered by a call.  Barbara Kimball is one of those angels of the Lord who make the kindnesses of God real and the lives of the rest of us, better.

I know others of you who are like that, and likely there are a great many more I do not know of; but God knows.  And YOUR NAME is in His Book.  For you God gives thanks, night and day.  Me too.

                                                                     Sincerely,

                                                                     Pastor Condon

Dear Friends

                IT IS USUAL for we ministers and preachers to rail about the lack of concern for things spiritual among even church folks, church members that on a Sunday many can be found at the Mall, the grocery store, the golf course, or at home sleeping!  Many aren’t at their place in the pew; and so, we preachers complain and criticize and rail against that.  We say things like, “if gold rusts, what shall iron do”?!

I am not for relaxing the discipline (or the disappointment!) one bit; BUT (and it is a large BUT) I find absolutely no backing in the Christian way for scolding, none.  People have their reasons why they cannot always be in church at an appointed hour; I am inclined to respect that.

I notice also that our Lord began his ministry, according to St. Luke, amidst much opposition and blatant rejection.  His first sermon at Nazareth started our wonderfully well, people were falling all over themselves with admiration and applause; before he finished they tried to throw him off the edge of a cliff, they were so incensed.  He got himself out of that and, after, said nothing about it.  He didn’t blame those who were not interested, not open, not positive, just not present; he turned his attention to those whose spirits were parched, troubled, tormented.  When “gold rusted” he sought out the “iron folks”

In other words he did not spend much time trying to convince the at-the-moment satisfied and doing o.k., where they were missing the mark, he concentrated on those who needed the help and support he could give.  Maybe he thought, “If we have something and people need it bad enough, they will come.”

More than that, and I think much more than that, Jesus took these experiences of disinterest and opposition and applied them to his own work.  He believed what he had come to offer people was important, that it would benefit in a great many ways. So, he set out to do his level best with what he had for those who found a way to receive it.  He knew there would always be those folks too.  Again and Again in those early, first days of his work, he brought peace and healing to those who were not well, he expelled the evil forces that dragged people down, he welcomed others who might join, might assist, might offer their own contributions.  He extended the realm of God wherever he went.

So, I think about that as I do my work, as we do our work as a Church.  We are not the ones to decide who needs what the Church and our Lord Jesus have to give, we are to do all we can to make that available wherever there is the need.  Bringing others together with God in joyful and fulfilling ways is what we are to do; the outcome is in hands other than our own.

It really isn’t a matter of how many, it’s a matter of how much and how well.  The pronouncement “Well Done” still rates highest.

                                                                     Sincerely,

                                                                                       Pastor Condon