From the Pastor's Desk

December 2011

Everything was created through him; nothing – not one thing! - came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; The darkness couldn’t put it out.”
                                    John 1: 3-5 The Message

This is the season of expectation; the season where light blazes out of the darkness! This is the season to expect the Life-Light!

The month of December is often filled with busy-ness, shopping for the perfect present, finding time for family and friends—and all of this in the midst of everyday life! Despite that craziness, most of us still describe the season as a magical one—many of our most special memories are rooted in family traditions and we still feel a warmth in our hearts at the thought of the sheer joy of children on Christmas morning. Busyness, family, friends, memories—these are the things that we have come to expect out of the Christmas season. In the Mt. Zion family of faith, we too will be living into expectation- expectation of the Life-Light! Each week in worship we will be challenged to consider what it really means to expect hope, expect peace, expect joy, expect love; what it really means to live our faith in light of these expectations that become realities in the Christ-Child, the true Life-Light.

December 4th, 11th, and 18th we will have worship services at 8 AM and 10:30 AM to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming Christ. We invite you on December 11th from 2 to 4 to join us for the Advent Faire—a time to purchase handmade items to benefit Mt. Zion’s ministries. The youth group will also be collecting baby products for a local agency. For a complete list of items, please see reverse page of the newsletter. The Compassion York Food Run will take place on December 18th. This year, the blessings at Mt. Zion have been great—and we invite you to consider using the attached envelope to give a gift to continue these ministries at Mt. Zion.

Christmas Eve (on Saturday, December 24th) brings three opportunities to celebrate the birth of Christ with services at 3 PM, 7 PM, and 10 PM. We invite you to join us! We will have one worship service at 10:30 AM on Christmas Day (Sunday, December 25th).

We pray that this season of Advent is one that is filled with blessing—with all the friends, family, and community that you hope for… but also the peace, compassion, and love that we need. Wherever your journey takes you this month—may it be filled with God’s love and wholeness, as seen in the gift of grace given to us in Christ Jesus.

Blessings,

Pastor Cathy and Pastor Danielle

June 2011

Dear Friends,

Last year, we tried to have a garden, but neither Alan nor I could seem to get in the habit of watering and weeding. Even though we were on top of tending to a baby, our little garden was neglected—and yet still, we managed to get some tomatoes, some squash, and even a strawberry or two.

This year is different. We planted strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, squash, cucumbers, beans… and thanks to Sam and mother’s day, we planted a big fat yellow lily smack in the middle of all that. We still don’t know what we’re doing…but we take great joy in watching the plants grow and change and eventually (hopefully?), we will get some fruits and vegetables. We’ve planted seeds of faith in our little garden… we’ll have to see what takes root.

It’s the same way with our Christian community—we are planting seeds of faith. While of course, our seeds of faith are most often thought of in terms of our children, it’s important to remember that we are planting seeds of faith with anyone that we encounter- no matter their age. Through the way we live and treat others, people come to experience the love of God. Never, ever, underestimate the power of that.

It’s easy to think that you aren’t meant to be a gardener of faith… like us and our little garden from last year, we can get distracted with other important things in our lives… but just like our first year garden, seeds were still germinating and hope was still being planted. Whatever we did do, the plants soaked right up, and God took care of the rest.

A few years ago my uncle had a massive heart attack and was in a coma. My mom went out to Indiana to be with him. She was heavy with grief and so on that Sunday, she managed to find her way to a church. She sat in the pew and cried during the service. She said that slowly but surely, several women came one by one to sit with her, until she was surrounded by people comforting her. She didn’t know them… but she did… because they were her sisters in Christ. My mom is a faithful woman, so seeds of faith had long been planted in her… but she was nurtured and tended to that day and most certainly, new seeds were planted.  

Seeds are planted everyday… and some of them bloom into beautiful flowers and fruits and vegetables who then nurture others. So whatever you do, whoever you encounter… do it with love. Do it with God in your heart, and with some awareness that the seeds of faith are being planted. You may not always be around to tend to that seed… but you can trust that God is. I pray that this summer, as you plant and nurture and enjoy your gardens, that you will also do those same things with your relationship with God, and with others.

Pastor Danielle

May 2011

Recently, one of our members asked me, “How do the large, non-denominational churches do it?” The question was asked in regard to the ability of churches like the one that raised several million dollars to purchase the old Saturn dealership along Route 30.

The next day, I picked up a book on my shelf entitled, Church Wake-Up Call by William and LeEtta Benke. In one section on the purpose of the church, they refer to an interview they had with the pastor of a mega church who said churches should never allow discouragement, finances or circumstances to discourage the vision.

Long ago, the author of Proverbs wrote, “Without vision, the people perish.” (Prov. 29:18).

In the ensuing weeks of Eastertide, we will celebrate Jesus‟ ascension into heaven which takes place forty days after Easter. His last words to the disciples, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew were, “Go and make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” This is referred to as The Great Commission. It is the mission, purpose and vision the church is charged with carrying out.

We believe Jesus Christ is the head of the church.(Ephesians 1:22-23) We participate in the body of Christ in order to serve the world in His name, not to serve ourselves or our own purposes.

Dan Kotchkiss writes in his book, Governance and Ministry, “A congregation‟s „bottom line‟ is the degree to which its mission is achieved.” The purpose, ministry or vision of any church ultimately goes back to the Great Commission Jesus has given us himself.

Sometimes in our personal lives we have had to make sacrifices of time, talent or resources for our families. As a country we have made sacrifices by rationing food, fuel and material goods for a common purpose. We sacrifice, not for ourselves, but for something greater than ourselves. The same is true of the church. We make sacrifices for the sake of the vision, not for ourselves or institutional survival. It is when the body loses sight of its purpose or vision, that it risks demise.

As the Road to Vitality initiative is teaching us the commitment to the vision of ministry for Mt. Zion and the larger church, begins within each of us as we consider what we can offer in terms of time and resources to further God‟s vision as set forth by His Son, our Lord and Savior.

Blessings and peace, Pastor Cathy

April 2011

Dear Friends,

This year’s Lenten theme has been that “Lent is a time for letting go.” Sometimes, it just feels like God is talking right to you—and when this Lenten theme was introduced to me, I almost laughed out loud because I was certain that God was nudging and coaxing me to relinquish the areas of control that I have been frantically trying to maintain.

Since the introduction of our theme, God has slowly been softening my heart to witness the areas of my life where letting go is necessary—I have to let go of the idea that I can be all places at all times. I have to let go of the idea that I can be all things to all people. I have to let go of the idea that I can understand and/or heal everything. Really, I have to let go of the idea that I can be anywhere near as effective at those things as God.

God is the one who is at all places at all times. God is the one who can be all things for all people. God is the one who can understand and heal all things. God is the one who does all those things so that I can just be me—the best me I can be—formed by the loving hands of the One who created all things. God is the all in all—so I can let go of the absurd notion that I should be too.

But for as omnipresent as God is—God is also capable and willing to let go. The high school class recently had a great discussion about God’s influence in the world and where it can and can’t be seen. We talked about letting go—and one astute teenager pointed out that our free will was out of God’s willingness to let go of power. That student was absolutely right.

We are free to choose to love, to hate, to grasp, to release, to build, to tear down, to comfort, to bully… we are free to choose all these things because God first chooses to love and let go. We are free to choose to let go of control because God shows us the ultimate example of letting go, by offering His only Son to the world. God lets go of control so that we can choose how we want to live. We can choose to be enslaved by power, guilt, and inadequacy, or we can choose to give control back to God and live in the freedom and peace that has already been secured for us.

And thus, we arrive back at our Lenten theme. Lent is a time for letting go… and it’s also a time for giving all that I let go back to God. I pray that this Lenten journey has been a fruitful one for you… one that allows you to examine your relationship with God and deepen it. As we look towards the promise of the resurrection, I pray that your faith in God’s love and God’s control will be renewed and resurrected.

Blessings,

Pastor Danielle

March 2011

When my Mother moved out of the farm-house she and my Father shared for over 20 years, we discovered a dilapidated brown box in the attic filled with packs of letters, neatly banded with cotton string. They were letters my Father had written to his parents and they had written to him, on an almost daily basis, from the fall of 1942, when he entered Cadet Training, until the spring of 1944, when he went overseas. One and one-half year’s letters numbering 500 hundred or so in all. At the time we didn’t know what to do with them, except we didn’t just want to discard them, so I got a super big plastic container and took them to my home. It was several years later, until I began going through the letters and dis-covered what a treasure they are.

Each day, without fail, my grandparents wrote four page letters sharing the news from the community, day to day living experiences like hanging out laundry only to have it freeze, and visits with family or friends.
It was a difficult time when one had to be careful to “make ends meet” due to rationing. The letters reflect a time of uncertainty and a masked quiet anxiety in not knowing where their sons may be sent or when, yet there was always lots of encouragement, support, and love.

While our communication technology to-day far exceed the hand written letter, there seems to be something missing. E-mail and texting is here one instant and deleted the next. Often times our responses on e-mail or texting are instant, quick replies while writing the letter demanded time, thought, and love.

What I treasure most is the warmth of community and the joy in the simple pleasures of life that is implicit in each letter. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, said, in John 10:10, “I have come so that all may have life and have it abundantly.”

The community we share in fellowship with one another, the simplicity of bread broken, the love in shared prayers – this is the abundant life God intends for us. In the coming month, as we begin the season of Lent, we can experience a return to a spirit of simplicity and joy through increased opportunities for community fellowship and worship. I hope you will join us as we share the simple but abundant life that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pastor Cathy

February 2011

Dear Friends,

When I was in high school, our church theatre troupe did a production of Godspell. This delightful play takes the ministry of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of Matthew and transforms it into a high energy, inspiring musical where the audience learns to hear the gospel and feel its ebbs and flows. It literally brings the text to life. Throughout the month of February, we will be reading the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew. As we read it, I will delight in remembering my role in Godspell, and I will delight in thinking of new and exciting ways to read these instructions from Jesus.

I think it’s easy to forget that the words written in scripture were written by people who were like us: people who were seeking to know God better, people who encountered Jesus and wanted to live like him, people who had families and jobs and dreams. When they wrote those words, I don’t know if they knew the impact that they would have, but what I do know is that they wrote them out of a compelling desire to tell the story so that others might hear it and be changed by it. The words of scripture of meant to be read, yes, but they are also meant to be felt—they are meant to be responded to, argued with, and changed by. The words of scripture are not meant to stay on the page, they are meant to be lived out, and never does this feel more real or more important to me than in Jesus words from the Sermon on the Mount.

In the pages of this newsletter, you will find many opportunities to live out Jesus’ words—you will find opportunities to be in fellowship, to care for one another, to serve and to be served. You will find opportunities to love, to receive, and to give. In these pages you will find opportunities not just to hear about scripture, but to also be moved by it. I pray that in these winter months, you will continue to feel the movement of the Spirit and join with your church family in acting upon it.

Blessings,

Pastor Danielle

January 2011

Dear Friends,

My first winter in Chicago was cold. On one particular day, I was traveling to a doctor’s appoint-ment via public transit. I found myself waiting over thirty minutes for the bus in 6 degree weather (which did not include the wind chill). As I stood at the bus stop frustrated I became colder and colder until finally, I started to cry and the tears froze to my face. I learned pretty quick to stop crying at the bus stop.

Though my tears at the bus stop revealed much about the privileged life that I, and many of us lead, it also helped me discover another important lesson. While crying at the bus stop, I lost track of something very important: I was in control of more in my situation than I originally perceived. First, I could walk. Yes, it was too far to walk home, but it wasn’t too far to walk to the next bus stop and get my body temperature up. Second, I could take a cab and get home. Third, I could toughen up. The point is this: often when we feel the most hopeless or frustrated, we lose track of the choices available to us.

In the 29th chapter of Jeremiah, the prophet brings the message of God to a people in exile, “For surely I know the plans I have laid for you… plans for good and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (verse 11).

All of us during our lives face issues and challenges far greater than waiting at a bus stop on a cold day, but the lesson can still apply: try not to let the despair or disappointment of a moment make you lose sight of the “plans for good” and the “future with hope” that God has laid out for each of us. God wants nothing more than goodness and light for our lives and when we struggle, we have the unique opportunity to seek out those “plans for good”, we have the opportunity to rediscover where God would have us go and for what purposes. God does not create the struggles in our lives, but God is the one who can lead us through them and give us the hope we so crave.

The winter months are long and cold, but they are also filled with opportunities for growth, change, and revitalization. I pray that during this season of Epiphany, you will rediscover God’s plans for good, you will deepen your relationship with God, and you will experience a baptism of new energy for the work ahead.

Blessings this January and always,

Pastor Danielle

December 2010

For lo! The days are hastening on, by prophet bards foretold, when with the ever circling years, comes round the age of gold, when peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling, and the whole world give back the song which now the angels sing.”

I am in the midst of preparing my garden for winter, emptying the pots that once held flowers, cutting back the plants that flourished just weeks ago, and clearing the leaves, which is a never ending job! The sun comes and goes behind the clouds of the gray blue sky, making it colder and more urgent to complete than the spring time preparation I savor and enjoy. Yet the preparation is something that must be done.

I delight in preparing the menu for a dinner. I remember the time spent preparing for the trip to Colombia this summer and several months from now, I will begin to think about preparing my garden once more. Preparation is part of life.

Preparation also requires time. When there is a special event in our lives such as a wedding, the birth of a child, or a special anniversary we may spend an entire year or more preparing and scheduling meetings. Planning for a special event heightens the anticipation and increases the joy as the day approaches.

As Christians, the season of preparation called Advent, is upon us. It is a season related to Christmas, but often loses its distinct nature. It is easy to get side-tracked or overwhelmed by Christmas preparations and miss the heart of what we are really preparing for. Perhaps, instead of beginning with plans centered around what we are doing for Christmas and New Year’s we might begin by considering what we are going to do for Advent this year. Who or what are we preparing for? How will we prepare the gardens of our souls? Who will we set aside time to meet with?

As the familiar carol, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” conveys, the days are hastening on as the day fulfilling God’s promise approaches. May we prepare our hearts, our homes, our families and our spirits to receive the gift of God that lasts for all eternity, the gift of Love!

May God bless you with peace, faith, hope and love this Advent season that you may enter into the joy of our Lord on Christmas Day!

Pastor Cathy

November 2010

Dear Friends,
 
“When my heart whispered, “Seek God,” my whole being replied, “I’m seeking him!”
- Psalm 27: 8

Last year during the month of November, I took time each day to write something that I was grateful for. I never repeated the same thing twice and I worked hard to really think about what I was grateful for that day. Sometimes, I wrote things like, “I’m grateful for the little sighs Sam makes when he sleeps” or “I’m grateful that I have a roof over my head” or “I’m grateful for rain that soaks the earth and helps generate new life.” Though gratitude is part of my daily prayers throughout the year, it became a special part of my day to really focus on the positive, life-giving aspects of life, and not simply the daily grind.

Seek God, the Psalmist says. When the daily activities of life begin to take over your life… Seek God. When the soccer practices, conferences, cleaning, and yard work begin to be chores to accomplish and tasks to complete… Seek God. When you find yourself in a place where routine feels more like a hamster wheel than the gift of reliability… Seek God. But don’t just seek God elsewhere… seek God amidst the very activities that make life the chaotic mess that it is. Seek God, take notice of God, in the places where you are so embedded in routine that you might miss the very presence of the Holy.

In that soccer carpool… seek God in the time you have with your children or grand-children and witnessing their joy and reckless laughter with other kids. In the garden… seek God in the digging up of weeds and the turning of soil, seek God in connecting with the earth. In the grocery store… seek God in the encounter you have with the cashier.

Seek God in all places and all times… so that when your heart whispers, “Seek God”… your whole being can reply, “I’m seeking him!”

I pray that this November, and every day, we can all take time for gratitude, and take time to Seek God.

Blessings,
Pastor Danielle

October 2010

Two years ago this month, Mt. Zion accepted a profile that was based upon the outcomes of our self-study process. In that profile three major trends we envisioned in our church over the next five years were identified.
They were:

• Change in the demographics of the community will challenge us to be more inclusive ;
• Youth Programming to keep youth involved after confirmation and establish a thriving youth/young adult program; and
• An Aging Population within our church community and around us that will challenge us to find ways to stay connected to one another.

At the same time, we felt God was calling us to ensure spiritual needs for all ages were being met, to continue our mission involvement and to expand that aspect of ministry in conjunction with the larger church and community churches to meet the needs of the community.
This is the vision the community created and adopted to seek to implement. It is important that we keep this vision before as we move forward to give us guidance and direction. In a recent newsletter from Paul Nickerson, the Coach for the Road to Vitality initiative, he said one of the key factors to revitalization is the “balancing act.” He describes this as the challenging and delicate work of balancing the needs of the current congregation with those you are attempting to reach.
As we move into the vision we created for Mt. Zion, may we be reminded our journey began on the foundation of bedrock beliefs which included forgiveness and prayer. It grew into core values such as commitment, acceptance, faith, love and community.
In all things, the consummate vision we share is a love for God in Christ Jesus and a heartfelt passion to further the body of which Jesus Christ is the head.
May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, to which indeed we were called into one body. Colossians 3:15

In Christian love,

Pastor Cathy

September 2010

Dear Friends,

When I was a little girl, I loved the first day of school. I loved meeting my teacher, wearing my new clothes, and seeing my friends. I loved independent reading time; I loved signing up for clubs; I loved lunch on the first day of school in the cafeteria. Mostly, I loved the sense that we were on the verge of something great, of new experiences and new possibilities. I went to school expecting something wonderful. Though the church is not the school, I still believe that channeling the energy and anticipation of the first day of school is critical to being a vibrant church. After going to a church for many years, it might be hard to maintain excitement, to not feel jaded—but the God who makes all things new, promises to make us and our ministries new if we seek those opportunities. We must expect that God is breaking through. We must expect that hearts will be healed and lives will be changed.

But it takes more than our expectations and hopes to create and maintain the church that we yearn for. In the book of James, he talks about the importance of not just saying what you believe, but doing what you believe. He says that our words without our actions can ring false, that we have to match our intentions with our actions. He describes this interaction of valuing something and actually doing the things we value as “that seamless unity of believing and doing” (James 2:25, the Message). Though it’s difficult to do, we have to put our energies and talents where our beliefs say they need to be.

If we say we value mission, then we step forward to go on the Lakota Mission. If we say we value children in our church, then we step forward as teachers or youth leaders. If we say we value fellowship, we host events like Holy Heat. We step forward and do these things because part of our faith is recognizing that we are the ones that make it a living faith. If there is any magic pill to making and maintaining a church that teems with activity and promise—it’s by being a people that teems with activity and promise and not being afraid to step forward and give something a try, even if it is outside our comfort zone.

As we enter into this new time of visioning and the Road to Vitality, I pray that we continue to find ways to seamlessly unify what we believe with what we do. In the following pages of this newsletter, you will find countless opportunities to enact your faith—I pray that God will call you to find yourself in at least one of them.

This month marks the one year anniversary when I joined this congregation as your associate pastor. I thank you from the deepest parts of my heart for allowing me to be a part of this journey with you.

Blessings,

Pastor Danielle

August 2010

I still have a little red picnic basket in which I kept my “treasures” as a child. Among other things, it held a small wrought iron dog painted orange with black ears. Looking back I am not sure why it was a treasure.

As my son was growing up, he inherited the basket and added his own “treasures. ” In the midst of my housecleaning, I recently came across the basket and found his additions: bottle caps, wooden coins from the orthodontist, skeet ball tickets, stamps and numerous carnival trinkets to name a few. Fortunately I did not find any cicada shells!

Jesus had a lot to say about treasures. He told the young man who built huge barns to store his crops, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be? so it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

He told the people not to store up treasures on earth but to store up treasures in heaven and he also said “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6: 21)

Martin Copenhagen, a UCC pastor in Mass., writes, “ Jesus’ statement may sound familiar, but if we don’t read it with care we might reverse the statement through a kind of scriptural dyslexia. We might read it to say, ‘Where your heart is, there will be your treasure.’ That would make sense to us because much of the time our dollars follow our heart’s lead. We give to what matters to us. But that isn’t what Jesus said.” Copenhagen says, Jesus is referring to a different dynamic – give WHERE you want your heart to be!

The knick-knacks in our basket held some special meaning or were associated with something memorable at one time. We thought we would always remember their significance but alas over time the meaning, like the items themselves have faded.

Where is our real treasure: the body of Christ, leisure, peace, our homes, justice, family, friends…? What do we consider a lasting treasure for all eternity that does not fade but shines brighter over time? May God lead and guide us to identify our treasure and may our hearts, time and talent be used to the glory of God!

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Cathy
 
 “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all he had and bought it!”         Matt. 13:45
 

July 2010

Dear Friends,

I am a selfish vacationer. I like to lay on the beach all day with a book and take occasional breaks to wade in the water or nap. When I go to the beach, I don’t want to sightsee or water ski or go to nightclubs… I want to lay like broccoli during the day, and spend the evenings playing card games with my family. I want to be a noodle.

I recently became painfully aware that my days of selfish vacationing are over. My book is going to be replaced with a shovel and pail, my naps will be replaced with endless games of peek-a-boo and my evenings playing games will be replaced by cuddles on the couch. In short, my vacation will look a lot like my normal home life… except with the sound of the ocean in the background.

It’s easy to get disappointed when our plans get changed… when what we want to happen has to give way to what actually happens. It’s easy to get caught up in doing things the way we’ve always done them because it’s comforting and reassuring and peaceful. It’s easy to get caught up—but then we miss the new thing that God is doing… the new energy and momentum that is waiting to breakthrough, should we choose to engage with it.

Will I miss my old vacation ways? Absolutely—but what it has been replaced with exceeds all notions I had of happiness. Will I return from my vacation more tired than when I left? Most certainly… but it will be that blissful tired that you get whenever you feel accomplished and fulfilled.

Mt. Zion is doing great things and is on the cusp of realizing even more “new things” that God is doing. Over the last year we have seen so many exciting things happen (Chili Cook-Off, Advent Celebration, The Place, Youth Sunday), and we are embarking on a journey to learn how to be a more “vital” congregation now that we are enrolled in the Vitality Initiative. So far, as a congregation you have embraced these new ideas and approached them with a willing heart. My prayer is that as we continue on this journey, we will keep our ears, eyes, hands, hearts, and minds open to the movement of the Spirit—and that we will be moved to participate in the realization of what we are being called to.

God’s Blessings as we continue on the journey together,

Pastor Dani

June 2010

This morning I joined several members of Mt. Zion along with several hundred York Countians to construct the Inspiring H.O.P.E. playground at Cousler Park. By now you have probably heard about the project on television or in the news. It is a barrier free playground designed to enable children who cannot walk, see, or hear a place to play. According to the project website there are 5000 children in York county with sensory, physical and mental disabilities. Through the mission distributions from the endowment fund, Mt. Zion made a contribution of $2,500 to the project and the Ridgerunner’s contributed also.

What I want to share with you however, is not “just the facts” but the experience I had this morning. No surprise, I was in the unskilled category, identified by blue name tags. We were not to handle anything electrical, except to pass it to those identified as skilled by their red name tags. After signing in, I stood with fellow blue tags (there were quite a few of us) waiting to join someone with a red name tag so we could begin doing work. I thought of how the laborers in the vineyard must have felt, standing, waiting in the marketplace for someone to select them. We did not have to wait until noon or later. It was a short time until we were assigned a platform to complete .

It did not take long to observe that everyone who was working there was a living witness to Paul’s text in Colossians 3: “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.” People who did not know one another, called one another by name. Everyone asked before they picked up a tape measure, tool or even a pencil. It was a mix of high school students and master craftsmen, men and women. Strangers worked side by side. People paused from their work and stepped aside to let you pass as you were carrying a 12 ft. board. Every request for a tool or help was accompanied with a please or thank you. There was no reproach if someone made a mistake. The skilled workers took time from their project to cut or rout a board for the unskilled. People received and offered suggestions with grace.

Sometimes, we sign up to do something like this and think, why did I do this but then we go and we are blessed. Today I was truly blessed. I left this experience feeling I had seen a glimpse of heaven on earth. This project has inspired HOPE in a multitude of ways!

Blessings and peace,
Pastor Cathy
 
“Clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” ~ Col. 3:14

May 2010

Dear Mt. Zion Friends,

Throughout college and seminary, my friends used to joke that the umbilical cord that attached me to my mother could stretch an awfully long way.  They were right—I am a Mama’s Girl through and through.  I can remember as a child, clinging desperately to her when she would send me off to school.  I can remember wanting her to be at every sporting event, musical concert and special event that I ever participated in.  I can remember crying with her in church each year as we sang the Hallelujah Chorus at Christmas.  The truth is, my mother and I are connected like two magnets—we gravitate towards each other, and it’s not just because she is my mother, she is also a very dear friend.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the compelling draw that some people have on our lives, and during this month of May, it seems appropriate to especially think about the women who have touched our lives through their nurturing and teaching.  Some of them are still with us, and others have completed this life and moved on to their Loving Creator.

As I think of the gravitational pull, the sweet draw, the undying devotion that we feel towards these women—I think of our relationship to God.  This month, I am considering the ways in which I allow God’s gravitational pull to draw me in… and also the ways that perhaps I don’t allow it.

Scripture tells us that God is indeed like a mother—God gives birth to us (Deut. 32: 18),  God protects us like a bear robbed from her cubs (Hosea 13: 8),  God shelters us under wings like a bird (Psalm 57:1, 61:4).  Perhaps the best known image of God as a mother occurs when Jesus laments in Matthew (23: 37) and Luke (13:34), that God wants to gather us in like a hen protects her chicks—but we were not willing.

As we remember those who have special pull in our lives, let us also remember God and the pull that God should have in our lives.  Do we gravitate to the will of God?  Do we find that we simply can’t resist being in God’s company?  Do we seek the comfort and love that only God can provide?  This will be my challenge this month—to reconnect with God—to let myself be drawn in completely by the God who protects, loves, shelters, and guides us... and to be grateful to God for giving us the gift of mothers—we do the same thing!
 
Blessings to you all this beautiful spring season,
 
Pastor Danielle