From the Pastor’s Desk
Martha’s Vineyard
What a gift our Missions Committee (Jean Peterson, Chair) is to Trinity United Methodist Church. One of their fundraisers is to sell flowers in the spring and the fall. My wife, Martha, is always excited to place her order. She enjoys planting them, too. You can’t see it in this picture, but I purchased an outdoor sign which reads, “Martha’s Vineyard!” This spring, the committee raised approximately $1,100 in flower sales.
Another major fundraiser is our Church Garage Sale — huge props to Tim & Jacquelyn Harper and all of their team. We made right at $3,650 this year.
Our Missions Committee is a powerful, Spirit-driven force in our church. Here’s what’s happening now:
Ladies: Please bring any of your gently used purses that you no longer use to the church no later than Sunday, May 6th. They will be filled with women’s products and distributed to women in need at “Friends of the Family” on Mother’s Day. If you bring them on a Sunday, please put them inside the benches in the narthex. You’ll notice the seating benches. Simply lift the top and place the purses inside. If you bring them during the week, please bring them to the church office.
What’s In a Name?
Most everyone is familiar with this memorable line from William Shakespeare’s classic, “Romeo and Juliet.” Juliet was not in love with Romeo’s family name (Montague). Nor was Romeo in love with Juliet’s family name (Capulet). Each was in love with the person — not the name. And yet, I think there is something to be said about the Christocentric Gaither hymn, “There’s Something About That Name.”
In biblical times, names were considerably important. Names are still important to this day. Here is one of my favorite examples: I think it’s accurate to say that most everyone has at least heard the name Elton John. Elton John’s given name was Reginald K. Dwight. Do you think the singer we know as Elton John would have sky-rocketed to stardom had he kept his given name? I doubt it. My maternal grandmother named me “James Bradley” because she envisioned a little boy growing up to become a highly successful businessman with a brass plaque on the door inscribed with the big letters, “J.B.” Now that’s funny!
We named our older son Jordan Micah (Jordan River) and Micah (one of the Minor Prophets). We named our younger son Jackson Chase (Jackson, Mississippi) and Chase (because we knew we would always be chasing after this one)!
What is the story behind your name? Your children’s names?
I hope you will invite your friends to worship with you at Trinity this coming Sunday, April 15th. We will explore the meaning and power behind our Lord’s name (Jesus) and his title (Christ). Please bring your Bible and notepad. I will be making many references you will want to remember.
By the way, I may not be a highly successful businessman as my grandmother envisioned, but I do know what April 15th means! Always remember the command of our Lord and Christ: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” — Matthew 22:21. I.e., pay your tithes and your taxes!
Love,
Rev. Jim
“In Silence We Await”
Holy Saturday is the name given to the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Some Christians recognize Holy Saturday, the seventh day of Holy Week, as the day on which Jesus “rested” from His work of providing salvation. As Jesus died, He called out, “It is finished!” There was no further price to pay; sin had been atoned for.
After His crucifixion, Jesus was laid in a nearby tomb, and His body remained there the entirety of Holy Saturday (Matthew 27:59-60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53-54; John 19:39-42). Churches that celebrate Holy Saturday traditionally do so by observing a day of somber reflection as they contemplate the world of darkness that would exist without the hope of Christ’s resurrection.
Indeed, without the resurrection of Christ, we would be in dire straits. If Christ had never been raised, “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). The disciples had scattered when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:50), and they spent the first Holy Saturday hiding for fear of also being arrested (John 20:19). The day between Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection would have been a time of grief and shock as the stunned disciples tried to understand the murder of Jesus, the betrayal of Judas, and the dashing of their hopes.
The only biblical reference to what happened on Holy Saturday is found in Matthew 27:62-66. After sundown on Friday—the day of Preparation—the chief priests and Pharisees visited Pontius Pilate. This visit was on the Sabbath, since the Jews reckoned a day as starting at sundown. They asked Pilate for a guard for Jesus’ tomb. They remembered Jesus saying that He would rise again in three days (John 2:19-21) and wanted to do everything they could to prevent that. As we know, the Roman guards were inadequate to prevent the resurrection, and the women who returned to the tomb Sunday morning found it empty. The Lord had risen. (Source: gotquestions.org).
“Killing Jesus”
–written by Trinity’s Rebecca Jo Earls for Good Friday, 2018
Lights go off, heads bow during a prayer. Man dressed in a robe and sandals enters, takes his place. After prayer, soft light focuses on him.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is…”
(Interrupted by 3 dramatic clangs of a hammer)
“Wait! Did you hear that – that awful sound?”
Places hands over ears for a moment)
“You can’t hear that hammer, pounding again and again against those bloody nails?
It had never bothered me during my many years as a Roman soldier – not once. And I was good at my work. I knew precisely how to position the body and where to place those nails for maximum effect. The length of torture and pain a man endured before he tasted the sweet release of death was all in my hands.
But before you judge me too harshly, please know that I had a wife and two sons to clothe and feed – what choice did I have? I was a soldier, and a soldier does what he is commanded to do. So I did my duty. Each week I raised my hammer high and swung hard – there was no room for moral contemplation.
My heart became so calloused that I barely heard their screams for mercy as I drove metal into flesh and sent blood splattering about my tunic.
Then came that day – the day a man named Jesus was to be crucified. The one they called King of the Jews. Ha! How dare this imposter – this lunatic – put himself above Caesar and call himself King? Soon he would be just another bloody corpse for the worms…
Turns out he was no different than the rest. He screamed, bled and cried just like the man before him. He looked like no king now. I took pride in my work, for this man surely deserved his sentence.
In my zeal to end his life, I barely felt the weight as we hoisted his cross high up in the air – the sooner he hung for all to see, the better. Now everyone would see the Jew for what he really was – just an ordinary, pathetic man. The other men and I enjoyed mocking this “King.” We hurled insult after insult as some gathered nearby and cast lots for his garments.
Then this man, this bloodied mess of torn flesh, raised his head towards the Heavens and through split lips pleaded, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”
Ten simple words. But they turned my world upside down. I had just slammed three nails into the wrists and feet of this man, and he asked God to forgive me? To forgive ME? I still had his blood on my hands, and he wants to forgive ME???
The day this man called Jesus lost his life, I found mine. I no longer wear the uniform of Rome. I left behind my bloody armor and hate-riddled heart and took my family into hiding. How could I go back to my old way of life after that? I had found my Lord and I would never be the same.
But my hands….how can I get past what these hands have done?
I won’t deny it was my nails that bound Him to the cross. Only later did I realize – it wasn’t the nails that kept Him on that cross – no – it was His all-consuming love for me, and you, and all humanity that held Him there.
Yes, it was Love that took Him to the cross and kept Him there…Love.”
(Bows head – lights off).
“Killing Jesus” –Rebecca Jo Earls
Why Do We Call Good Friday “Good?”
Please join us on this Good Friday, March 30th, for a dramatic and deeply meaningful worship service. We will gather at 7 p.m. in our main sanctuary.
Where Does the Term “Good Friday” Come From?
The source of our term for the Friday before Easter, “Good Friday,” is not clear. It may be a corruption of the English phrase “God’s Friday,” according to Professor Laurence Hull Stookey in Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church (p. 96). It is the common name for the day among English- and Dutch-speaking people. It is a day that proclaims God’s purpose of loving and redeeming the world through the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a day that is good because God was drawing the world to God’s self in Christ. As seen in John’s gospel, particularly, God was in control. God was not making the best of a bad situation, but was working out God’s intention for the world — winning salvation for all people. We call it “good” because we look backward at the crucifixion through the lens of Easter!
“Good Friday” is not a universal name for the day. The liturgical title for the day in the Western church was “Friday of Preparation,” since the time Jews used the word paraskeue (getting ready) for Friday, meaning the “day of preparation.” Popular names for the day are “Holy Friday” among the Latin nations, “Great Friday” among the Slavic peoples, “Friday of Mourning” in Germany, “Long Friday” in Norway, and “Holy Friday” (Viernes Santo) among Hispanic peoples.
Don’t Become Comfortably Numb
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I never would have thought that another St. Valentine’s Day massacre would happen on Ash Wednesday in another one of our nation’s schools. But it did happen. Once again, we are a nation in crisis and mourning. Remember, though, and never forget: life has the final word, not death. During a televised on-site interview, one person made a very dark comment. She said, “It’s horrible, of course, but it seems to be ‘the new normal.’” Tragically, these shootings are not new, but for the sake of Christ and his Kingdom, these shootings cannot become normative in any society.
One news anchor remarked that shootings in our schools, churches, and entertainment venues are escalating at such a rapid pace that we are becoming numb. He could be right. One of my favorite songs is “Comfortably Numb” written and performed by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. The content of the song has nothing at all to do with the reality of the ongoing mass shootings; however, the song title hauntingly resonates throughout my mind. Have we become comfortably numb? Do we live with the belief that a tragedy like this could never happen any place close to us?
Call this deadly act of violence a manifestation of mental illness if you wish. Call it domestic violence. I choose to call it an act of pure premeditated evil. A 19 year-old man listened to the evil one — the prince of darkness. As children of the Light and children of the Most High God, we have a lot of work to do to in bringing people out of the darkness and into the light.
We pray that God will be with us and will keep us safe. God, however, also gives us the gift of reason and intelligence. Please stand vigilant in prayer, and know that Trinity’s leaders are working diligently to do everything possible on our end to keep all who come into our place of worship a safe sanctuary. I am thankful for the work of Jay Roach and our Board of Trustees and Claire Sanger, chair of our Emergency Response Team. We will not live in fear, but we will be smart.
The Lord be with us all.
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Sunday’s Palms are Wednesday’s Ashes
Trinity Saints! You may remember that on Palm Sunday of last year (2017) our choir processed in with the children waving fresh, beautiful palm fronds marking the triumphal entry of Jesus into the holy city of Jerusalem. After the service, I gathered up all the fronds and saved them. This morning, I burned them in order to have ash for this year’s Ash Wednesday service which will be held at 6:30 p.m. in our beautiful sanctuary. During the service, Rev. Dr. Jim Terry and I will use the ashes to make the sign of the cross on your forehead reminding you to repent and believe the good news! The ashes also symbolize the biblical truth that from the earth we were taken, and to the earth we shall return.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline.
Ash Wednesday emphasizes two themes: our sinfulness before God and our human mortality. The service focuses on both themes, helping us to realize that both have been triumphed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
During some Ash Wednesday services, the minister will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers. The use of ashes as a sign of mortality and repentance has a long history in Jewish and Christian worship. Historically, ashes signified purification and sorrow for sins.
It is traditional to save the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday service to burn to produce ashes for this service. The ash cross on the forehead is an outward sign of our sorrow and repentance for sins.
— Adapted from The United Methodist Book of Worship
I do: How United Methodists Understand Christian Marriage
It is a beautiful moment. A couple stands before a congregation of family and friends. They make lifelong promises to one another and maybe exchange rings. In a moment, their lives are changed. The two who have entered separately leave as one, joined together in marriage.
Christian marriage is not a sacrament in The United Methodist Church, but those who choose to marry enter into “a sacred covenant reflecting the Baptismal Covenant” (The United Methodist Book of Worship 115), and more specifically “a sacred covenant reflecting Christ’s covenant with the church” (The United Methodist Hymnal 864).
Very soon I will have the honor of uniting Catherine McKenney and Sid Shamshoian in Christian marriage. Sid and Catherine attend our 9:45 a.m. Refuel worship in our Lowrie Worship Center. They’re a great couple! Come worship with us at Refuel sometime to get to know them.
How To Grow A Church
How do we grow churches. We don’t — God does! We work cooperatively with God, of course, but it is God who grows the Church. Read I Corinthians 3:6. Paul wrote, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” The children of Trinity who attend our Trinity Learning Center, participate in our WELL, sing or play chimes in worship, attend Kid’s Night Out, Vacation Bible School, and a plethora of other children’s activities plant seeds by running to tell their friends about the love of Jesus they have discovered at Trinity United Methodist Church. Those kids then tell their parents that they want to go and the parents bring them to Trinity for worship, learning, and friendship. Our kids are “planting seeds.”
Next, these seeds need to be watered. Our team of faithful servant/leaders water the seeds which our kids have planted. They do this through teaching our children about God’s love for them and how important it is to love Jesus. Through people like Denise Davis, Vinny Thomas, Amanda Bova, Nancy Norrid, Ashley Baker, and the countless adult volunteers who serve, they are actually watering the seeds which the kids have already planted.
Then, in the mystery of God’s ways we begin to see exponential growth! These children delight our souls and inspire our hearts.
Is it any wonder Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” — Matthew 19:14 and And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”?
Very special thanks to all who water the seeds our children are planting — seeds of faith that all may come to know Jesus who is The Son, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. — Colossians 1:15.
Have you hugged your child today?
Love,
Rev. Jim