April 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends:

     Certain passages of scripture have, at various times in the church’s history, been “weaponized” as a means of restricting the degree to which women have been able to participate in the full life of the church. That might be hard to imagine today, when so many churches could not function without the full participation of women, but it is true, and it is still a pattern in a number of different church traditions even today.

      Many of those passages have come from the letters of the New Testament, particularly those attributed to Paul. How do we deal with such passages, particularly those which seem to be inconsistent with other parts of scripture?

      Frances Taylor Gench, professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA (my alma mater), wrote the book “Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts: Reflections on Paul, Women, and the Authority of Scripture” to address such questions. This book will be our next reading in the regular book study group. The group will return to meeting Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. in the conference room beginning April 14, and continuing through May 19. All are invited to attend; let Alberta know so she can order enough books.

      Note: I will be away for a brief study leave from April 6-9, an event on creation care wrapped around observing the upcoming solar eclipse, at the Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center near Little Rock, AR (which will be in the path of totality).  Shannon TL Kearns will be preaching in my absence.

                                                                                           Charles

March 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends:

     March has many things going on, as the month concludes with the work of Holy Week. Indeed, the final day of the month is Easter Sunday. The service that day will be characterized by a lot of music, among other things.

      Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday on March 24, and everybody should be prepared to bear a palm for that day’s worship.   

     Maundy Thursday, on March 28, Will be marked with “agape meal” and communion in Gehman Hall, starting at 6:00. The meal will be a true potluck, with the sacrament of communion taking place during the meal, in manner in which the sacrament was frequently observed in the early church as the faith was first beginning to spread.

      All are of course welcome for all of these celebrations. While our church is not holding a service for Good Friday, you are encouraged to find a local church that is holding one and mark that holy day in worship.

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     The work of the transition group is accelerating. If you have ideas about the move towards a new pastor, why aren’t you working with them?

                                                                                           Charles 

February 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends:

        During the month of February a few different things will happen. They might seem unrelated to one another, but I think they may be connected in more ways than might be apparent.

        The season of Lent, a time of self-examination and preparation leading up to Holy Week, begins on February 14 (yes, Lent starts on Valentine’s Day this year). While there will not be a full service that day, there will be a time, yet to be determined, that the pastor will be available to provide the imposition of ashes for any who so desire.

  Sometime after Lent begins the study group that began its examination of the oratorio Messiah will resume its studies. One teaser: it turns out that even so beloved and consistently sung work has its small dark sides here and there. 

In the meantime, the transition group will come together and start its work in earnest.  What does the transition group need to do? It needs data gatherers – folks who enjoy digging up information and sharing it with the group. It needs what Walt Disney called “imagineers” – folks who can not only dream of new visions and callings for this church, but also can work out how the church can step up and live into those new dreams and callings. It needs communicators – folks who can communicate to the church as a whole, to the presbytery officers who will work with the church in this process. It needs listeners – folks who will, with minds open, hear from and listen to each other and to the whole church, and even to the community around us, as to what this church can and needs to be.

  If any of those sound like you, talk to Kym Kays or myself about finding a role in this transition.

                                                                                         Charles

January 2024 Newsletter Message

Dear Friends:

          On January 6, 2024 (I’ll have to get used to typing that), First Presbyterian Church will hold a service at 11:00 a.m. for Epiphany, marking the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus. After the service we will share a simple soup-and-salad lunch, and after lunch the holiday decorations in the sanctuary will be taken down and put away for the year.

          Then, following on the work of last fall’s book group, it will be time to kick this transition process into high gear.

           We will be looking to start a ‘transition group’ to engage in the research and follow-up questions arising from that study, for the purpose of putting together the church’s Ministry Development Profile (or MDP, the new name for what was previously called the Ministry Information Form or MIF). Some of the work will involve ‘homework’ or some basic data-gathering on the church and the community; other parts of the work will involve sharing and receiving information from the larger congregation, and some will involve being in touch with representatives of the Presbytery of Southern Kansas about Presbyterian process and development (this will be important as some parts of the process look different now even since I was called as interim here).

           It is not necessary to have been a part of the book team to be part of the transition group, nor does being a part of the transition group require you to be on the eventual Pastor Nominating Committee. The point is to get as broad a representation of the church as possible. Meeting times will need to be flexible, and some Zoom meetings with presbytery representatives will probably be necessary. If you care about the future of this church, this is a good opportunity to show up and help develop that future.

                                                                                   Charles
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I will be on vacation the week of January 15-21. It has not yet been determined who will fill the pulpit that Sunday. 

December 2023 Newsletter Message

Dear Friends,

          The season of Advent is probably one of the least understood elements of the life of the church, as well as possibly one of the least fully-observed. The season is marked on the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day and is designed to promote reflection and devotional meditation on the impending coming of Jesus. This includes the Nativity at Bethlehem and the coming for which we all await now, the time to be united with Christ for all eternity (that is mostly marked on the first Sunday of Advent). Scriptures for the season also point us to the foretelling of the prophets in Hebrew scripture, the work of John, Jesus’s cousin, crying out in the wilderness, and the angel’s announcement to Mary of what was to come.

          It’s common for the Sundays of Advent to be marked by a particular theme around which the scriptures and hymns and prayers for the day can be loosely organized. For this season the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love are identified with the four Sundays of the season. It may be that, in a time when those properties seem especially lacking in the world around us, deliberate reflection on those ideas might be the best possible way to prepare for the coming of the Messiah in the birth of a child.

          December 24 becomes a particularly active day when the calendar for Advent falls this way. The morning’s service will mark the fourth Sunday of Advent and then the Christmas Eve service at 5:00 that afternoon will bring in the season of Christmas with a lot of music and scripture, among other things, in a Service of Lessons and Carols. The following Sunday, December 31 (also known as the seventh day of Christmas) will feature possibly even more singing of music for Christmas, even if the rest of the world has moved on from Christmas by then.

          One added feature this year will be a special service and lunch here at the church on Saturday, January 6 at 11:00 a.m. in observance of Epiphany, the festival marking the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus. The service marks the official end of the season of Christmas. A simple soup-and-sandwich lunch will follow, and at long last the decorations that went up on November 26 will be taken down.

          I hope you will make extra effort to join in this season of preparation and celebration in the worshiping life of the church.

                                                                                                 Charles

November 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
            As the month of November arrives, there are many things going on in the life of the church.

          The church has traditionally gathered for a Thanksgiving meal during this season, and this year will be no different.  This year’s meal will happen on Sunday, November 12, directly after morning worship. Coincidentally, November 12 will also be the day when the book study group wraps up its gatherings on the book “Interim Ministry in Action: A Handbook for Churches in Transition” by Norman B. Bendroth, and my hope is that members of the group will be able to share what they have learned and what has challenged them over the course of the study as the lunch wraps up, as well as looking ahead to what the next steps for the church will be. I hope you will not only be able to come enjoy the lunch, but also to join in the discussion as to how this church might proceed towards the call of a new installed pastor.

           Also, for those who have not been able to submit pledge cards yet, November is the month when the budget has to be worked out, taking into account the financial needs of the church, pledges made, and whatever other resources might be available to the church. If you haven’t been able to submit yet, please do so as soon as possible. No pledge is too small; what you can afford to give is between you and God, and nobody else needs to know.

           Once November is over, the “New Year” is upon us – new church year, that is. December 3 will mark the first Sunday of Advent, and that season will see a different kind of group study, one that will involve listening as much as reading. For the four Sundays of Advent we will study a portion of the oratorio Messiah, by George Frideric Handel. Specifically, we will listen to and study the opening works of the oratorio, works which get an awful lot of performance and airplay during the season. There is a book that can be read for the study, “Hallelujah: The Bible and Handel’s Messiah,” but it might be more important to have a recording of Messiah for your own listening. After the calendar New Year, the study will resume during Lent with an examination of other parts of the oratorio (and the same book contains those studies as well).

           Busy times are ahead for the church. Be sure to make time for your own devotion and study.
Charles

October 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

           October brings many changes. The weather cools off (hopefully). The big Neewollah festival happens (I’m told it’s rather a big deal). And in the church, it’s stewardship season.  That’s a lot.

           This is a particularly pivotal time in the life of First Presbyterian. We are of course in a period of transition, as the process of preparing for and seeking a new installed pastor kicks into gear in earnest. The financial health of the church is not the only issue that matters in that preparation, but it is an important one. Aside from the obvious implications for actually hiring and paying an installed minister, it also speaks to the health of the church and its sense of mission and purpose, both among the membership and in the larger community. I hope that as Stewardship Sunday approaches on October 15, you will be prayerfully considering the ways you can support the work of this congregation, with gifts both financial and personal.

  In other matters, I will be away on October 8, taking one brief bit of vacation before the final stretch of the liturgical and the approach of the seasons of Advent and Christmas. We are fortunate to have Father Shannon TL Kearns to step into the pulpit for that Sunday.

  Finally, a brief acknowledgment of some health issues I have been experiencing. I know some of you saw me desperately struggling to walk or stand while suffering a bout of sciatica. I can say with great relief that a period of physical therapy, just completed last week, has rendered that nerve painless and allows me to walk and move around more freely.

  Unfortunately, a second issue has come along that might cause a slightly bigger problem. I apparently have developed a rather painful cyst that, while it has responded somewhat to being drained and treated, has not quite gone away. The concern is that it might be deep enough to require surgery to deal with. That evaluation is set for the first week of October; hopefully by then it will have gone away and averted the need for surgery. You’ll know more when I know more.

  Sometimes we know the challenges ahead; sometimes they come as a surprise. Either way, we trust in God to work for our good through all of those things that challenge us.

  Charles

September 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
          While in the most basic sense a pastor (interim or otherwise) is involved in all facets of a church’s life, the area in which a pastor is most consistently involved is in the church’s worship. The Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order makes clear just how much involvement is designated to the pastor (or teaching elder or Minister of Word and Sacrament, to use proper church-speak):  Ministers of the Word and Sacrament…are called to proclaim the word, preside at the Sacraments, and equip the people for ministry in Jesus’ name. Specifically, ministers of the Word and Sacrament are responsible for:
¨  The selection of Scriptures to be read,
¨  The preparation of the sermon,
¨  The prayers to be offered,
¨  The selection of music to be sung,
¨  Printed worship aids or media presentations for a given service, and
¨  The use of drama, dance, and other art forms in a particular service of worship.

 That’s a lot.

With that in mind as well as my role as an interim pastor, I would like to put some things before the congregation at worship during my tenure here. One of the first things you’ll see is the insertion (or perhaps return) of a Statement or Affirmation of Faith, typically directly after the sermon. While there are a few exceptions, the large majority of such statements used in PC(USA) worship are drawn from the church’s Book of Confessions. This resource, which is periodically updated, contains confessional statements reaching back as far as the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed, from the earliest days of the church, and forward as the Confession of Belhar, an anti-apartheid statement from the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, and A Brief Statement of Faith, commissioned by the newly-reunited PC(USA) in 1983 and added to the Book of Confessions in 1991.

While the Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed are short enough to be included whole in a service, the others are lengthier documents which are best used in excerpted form. Furthermore, some of the confessions, while worthy and even needful for the church’s study, don’t easily translate into spoken affirmation of faith due to their specific references to the situation that prompted their creation. The Barmen Declaration, while perhaps one of the strongest and most powerful such statements in the Reformed tradition, is frequently so specific to its context (Germany in the 1930s as the Nazi Party came to power and much of the church in that nation rushed to support it, can be difficult to fit into an American worship service (even as its relevance seems to grow greater and greater).

Look for the Affirmation of Faith to begin appearing in worship soon, most likely starting with the familiar Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed (which is most typically used in services in which the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is observed).

Charles

August 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

          One of the principal tasks of the church during any kind of transitional period is to take stock of itself, to review its current condition and evaluate what things might need to be updated in practice. One such thing in need of review is the financial condition of the church, which means bringing up everyone’s least favorite subject: money.

From our treasurer Gayle Holum and finance committee moderator Fritz Menning, I relay the following information:

“This (upcoming year) year will be the church’s first fiscal year after Covid.  Prior to Covid our pledges constituted a robust 75% ($160,000) of the entire $210,000 budget. This year’s actual budget is $202,000 with $129,000 pledged, a 16% decrease in pledges.  Compounding this shortfall, and no doubt contributing to it, is the fact that our membership and active participation has decreased significantly.”

I claim no financial genius, but that is a notable drop, and there are numerous factors that have contributed to that drop. I am less concerned with the reasons for that drop than with what the church will do about it going forward.

With that in mind, a few observations:

1) Are there ways to increase the church’s giving to help reduce that gap between pledges and budget? What might remind folks of the need to support the church’s financial resources? Do we need to find more or better ways of communicating this need?

2) Are there folks whose giving might have dropped or stopped, and how can we encourage them to get back to giving (without shaming anybody)? Nobody needs to be embarrassed over these things, but is there some gentle way to encourage folks to pledge that support if they’ve let it slide the past few years?

3) Might we need to take other steps to meet some of the current or future needs of the church? I don’t know anybody who gets a great thrill out of capital campaigns, but might something of that type be necessary to get the church’s financial situation more in balance?

4) Are there some things that just need to be cut?  Are there any budget things that don’t really relate to the church and where it is now?  Are some budget items obsolete?  What needs to be updated, reduced, or maybe even eliminated?

  Of course, once you start to look at a thing like this, it doesn’t take long for other questions about the church and its work to come along. A budget isn’t an abstract thing; it reflects the priorities and activities of the church. Budgets have consequences, and the church’s choice of what to do and who to be will show up in the budget at some point.

In short, now is the time to take an in-depth look at the budget, not just for making up for any one particular shortfall but to be prepared for where this church is going to go and what this church is going to be for years to come.

Charles

July 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
          As I frequently point out, I am the interim pastor of this church.
          That word “interim” becomes a challenge for some people and churches. Quite a few choose to bypass any kind of interim or transitional process, going directly from one installed pastor to another with sometimes not a pause at all in between. When the new pastor doesn’t turn out to be an exact close of the previous pastor, tensions fray, conflicts erupt, and that pastor’s tenure ends very quickly, and with a great deal of pain. I’ve known too many pastors who have been burned in such situations.
Part of the role of an interim pastor is to be, well, a pastor; to preach and lead worship and visit and do the things a pastor of a non-interim variety does. At the same time, though, that interim pastor helps the congregation through a process of examination, both of the church itself and of the community in which it lives, to catch up with how things have changed that we might not have completely noticed or fully grasped.
I understand that the recently retired pastor here served a tenure of eighteen years, which suggests he was hired in or around 2004. One of the simplest ways to take up such a process of examination and reflection might be to consider how things are different now than they were in 2004. 
How is your own life different than it was in 2004? What has changed in your life? New job, retirement, family come or gone, relocation, refurbishing? How much difference can you tell?  How about the church? How has this church changed since 2004? Larger or smaller, new additions or remodeling's in the building, classes that no longer meet or new groups meeting or things happening? 
How about Independence and Montgomery County? What used to be here in 2004 that isn’t anymore?  What new things have come to town – businesses, restaurants, highways? Is the population bigger or smaller, more similar or more diverse? Has the weather changed?
These are just a few small examples of the process of examination that becomes the part of a healthy and thoughtful transition time in a church, one that allows a new installed pastor to take up the work with a church informed and prepared for the work to come, and perhaps with a new vision of what that work might be.
Soon we will begin the book group study on “Interim Ministry in Action; A Handbook for Churches in Transition,” by Norman B. Bendroth. If you haven’t ordered a copy, I hope you will, even if you can’t necessarily participate in the group discussions. Everybody is a part of the transition. It’s time to get started in earnest.

Charles

June 2023 Newsletter

So hello there. Finally I’m in a spot to contribute to this regular newsletter about what’s going on in First Presbyterian Church. As the new guy in a transitional setting, it seems appropriate to start off with some questions.

           I have had the chance to talk to some members about the book “Interim Ministry in Action: A Handbook for Churches in Transition,” by Norman B. Bendroth (Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield, 2018). Unlike most books in this area that are targeted at folks like me in interim pastoral situations, “Ministry in Action” is directed primarily at the congregation facing a time of change and seeking a way forward. (The three questions posted around the church building – Who are we? Who is our neighbor? What is God calling us to do and to be? – come in part from this book.)

  I’d like to suggest that folks who are interested can go ahead and order the book (it should be available for ordering from your usual sources).  Since summertime is frequently interrupted with vacations and such (and I’ll be gone two different weeks for continuing education myself), we might delay the start of the reading group until late July or early August, or even to after Labor Day. We can decide that later; I invite those interested to get in to the book now, even if you’re not sure you’ll be able to be part of the study group meetings.

  Now a second question: who likes movies? I couldn’t help but notice that mini-theater upstairs. What I’d like to try doing is getting together to watch the occasional movie and to talk about what it might have to say about the world we live in, even if it is set “long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” (yes, that’s a clue to what genre of movie I’d like to start with, if there’s interest).  Those who are familiar with the Star Wars saga might be surprised by which movie I’d like to start with, but that whole movie galaxy has an awful lot to say about faith and practice, even if it is clothed in different language and actions. What is a good night for movie night? When might we start?

  Meanwhile, Sunday mornings will bring a deep dive into the book of Romans. I’ve never preached from this letter of Paul in a town that has several businesses with that name, so that will be new for me. Not only is Romans the longest epistle in the New Testament, it also works as about as close as we will ever come to a comprehensive understanding of what the church is and how it works in the world from the point of view of those who were first being the church. Hope you’ll be ready to dig in.

  Charles

 (NOTE TO MEMBERS OF FPC:  If you are interested in getting a copy of the book, Alberta will take orders during the month of June and order the books the first week of July.  There is still funds in the donation from Ethan Temple to cover study books, so the book will be free.  If you want to purchase your book yourself, it can be found on Amazon.)

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for making our last Sunday a memorable one. Thank you for the grill and patio furniture. We will certainly enjoy them. Also, thanks for the many warm wishes as I move into retirement. We visited our former congregation in Miami, Oklahoma, this past Sunday and had a good time catching up with old friends. We look forward to seeing you around town. Thanks again for all the support over the last eighteen years.

Have a blessed week,
John

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Dear Friends,

    The time has come to say goodbye. I hope that you will be able to be here this Sunday as we bring to a close the relationship we have had as congregation and pastor. Once again let me say what a privilege it has been for me to be here for the last eighteen years. I want to say a special thank you to our church staff- Alberta, Gayle, Pamela, Ray, Warren, and Sarah for all of your hard work and dedication. What's next for the Wilsons? You will see Sarah at the next CUFF Dinner and both of us on Flu Shot Day, but after that we will not be involved with the congregation. A number of people have asked where we will go for worship. We haven't decided that yet. On Sunday, September 25, we will go back to Miami, OK, where I was pastor before here for a visit. After that we will probably end up at one of the Presbyterian churches in Bartlesville or Coffeyville. We will certainly miss being here. Although we'll see each other at the coffee shop or grocery store, it won't be the same. We wish the very best for this congregation and will be praying for you as you look for a new pastor. Thanks again for all that all of you have done to make this a loving congregation.

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Leroy Brownlow writes this: "In fulfilling your duty toward your neighbor, keep a pleasing manner and a smiling face. Strive to make yourself a source of pleasure to him or her. Be sincere. Be humble. Be encouraging. Be consoling. Follow after the things which make for peace. Conceal his or her faults and mistakes, remembering that you have yours. Express appreciation for the kindness he or she renders you."

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

A message from our Pastor:

One of the tasks I have been working on for the last couple of weeks is clearing out the books in the pastor's study. Many of these books I am donating to the church library as a resource for anyone who might like to use them. Most, but not all, of these books are biblical commentaries. They have all been segregated in one section of the library. The sign above them says "Take and Keep" or "Borrow and Return." Feel free to do either. My hope is that you will enjoy these books as I have.

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

I just heard that well-known Christian author and theologian Frederick Buechner has died. Here is one of his quotes: "A crucial eccentricity of the Christian faith is the assertion that people are saved by grace. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. There's nothing you have to do. The grace of God means something like: 'Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party would not have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you.' There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too."

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, August 10, 2021

Frederick Buechner writes this: "The love for equals is a human thing- of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles. The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing- the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world. The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing- to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich... The world is always bewildered by its saints. And then there is the love for the enemy- love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured's love for the torturer. This is God's love. It conquers the world."

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Frederick Buechner writes this: "But if good works are not the cause of salvation, they are nonetheless the mark and effect of it. If the forgiven (person) does not become forgiving, the loved (person) loving, then (that person) is only deceiving him/ herself. 'You shall know them by their fruits,' Jesus says and here Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild becomes Christ the Tiger, becomes both at once, this stern and loving man. 'Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire,' he says, and Saint Paul is only echoing him when he writes to the Galatians, 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.'"

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

A message from our Pastor:

Leroy Brownlow writes this: "Our trust in (God) gives assurance for today and anticipation for tomorrow. It takes the fear and dread out of life. Even the clouds reflect a goodness and the night conveys a peace. Trust says, 'Take a step, another, and another,' and on we go- planting crops, building houses, expanding business, entering school, switching jobs- looking to the dawn. We make plans. We strive to carry them out. We do the best we can for ourselves and trust God for the rest."

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

A message from our Pastor:

Frederick Buechner writes this:

“Vocation:  It comes from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the work a man is called to by God.

There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Super-Ego, or Self-Interest.

By and large a good rule for finding out is this.  The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done.  If you really get a kick out of your work, you’ve presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant commercials, the chances are you’ve missed requirement (b).  On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirements (b), but if most of the time you’re bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a) but probably aren't helping your patients much either.

 Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do.  The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Have a blessed week,
Pastor John