In the early 20th century, some missionaries in the Philippines set up a croquet game in their front yard. Several of their Agta Negrito neighbors became interested and wanted to join the fun. The missionaries explained the game and started them out, each with a mallet and ball. As the game progressed,  opportunity came for one of the players to take advantage of another by knocking that person’s ball out of the court. A missionary explained the procedure, but his advice only puzzled the Negrito friend. “Why would I want to knock his ball out of the court?” he asked. “So, you will be the one to win!” a missionary said. The short-statured man, clad only in a loincloth, shook his head in bewilderment. Competition is generally ruled out in a hunting and gathering society, where people survive not by competing but by sharing equally in every activity.

The game continued, but no one followed the missionaries’ advice. When a player successfully got through all the wickets, the game was not over for him. He went back and gave aid and advice to his fellows. As the final player moved toward the last wicket, the affair was still very much a team effort. And finally, when the last wicket was played, the “team” shouted happily, “We won! We won!”

That is how the Church, the body of Christ, should be. We’re a team. We all win together.

As a team, we have fought through this pandemic, and continue to celebrate in this community called St Peter United Church of Christ. More people are coming back to worship in person, our Sunday School is back and we are working together on fund raising and other projects.

Soon, we will be bringing in a group of new members, ready to add to our numbers and commit to give and receive care in our community, our team. One person before worship told me he was pleased that we have done well during this trying time. In many ways we have been a model of love, care and support for each other during this pandemic. I cannot be prouder of how we have all pulled together.

Someday, when we all look back at 2020 and beyond, we may see that we survived and thrived, of course with God’s help, but also because we all pulled together as a community, as a team, and as sons and daughters of God, and can proclaim “We Won! We Won!” We saw the Church, the Body of Christ as it should be.

As always, I welcome your response.

Cory

About 1930, the Communist leader Bukharin journeyed from Moscow to Kiev. His mission was to address a huge assembly. His subject, atheism. For a solid hour he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling argument and ridicule. At last, he was finished and viewed what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men’s faith. “Are there any questions?” Bukharin demanded. A solitary man arose and asked permission to speak. He mounted the platform and moved close to the Communist. The audience was breathlessly silent as the man surveyed them first to the right, then to the left. At last, he shouted the ancient Orthodox greeting, “CHRIST IS RISEN!” The vast assembly arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

The last twelve months have felt like we have been hit with a bombardment of uncertainty. The pandemic, political unrest, anger, riots, bombings, and brutal killings could have left us all in the smoldering ashes of our faith. And yet, the St Peter community has not only survived, but has thrived as we have refused to yield.

We dutifully shut down to “flatten the curve,” as we were told, but we didn’t stay down long. We were one of the first churches in our conference to re-open. We opened our doors after much planning and preparation, we followed many safety protocols to provide a safe place to worship.

In the meantime, we kept on reaching out to the community through online worship, food drives, drive-through fish fry’s, all the while slowly working our way forward, trying to discover our “new normal.”

By the way, as I finished writing this, it’s important to note, our Sunday School was in session today, and we had 102 members present in our Palm/Passion Sunday worship! As you witnessed this, I hope you took notice of all those who participated today to make this wonderful service happen.

I am so proud of our council, the Brotherhood, the Woman’s Fellowship, and all the ministry teams who have stepped up to make ALL of these things happen.

I feel like we are the one who has stepped on the stage to shout to this whole town, “CHRIST IS RISEN,” nothing can stop us, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

Easter blessing to you all!

Pastor Cory

Years ago, I was visiting a church where a missionary to Africa was the speaker that evening.

He told a story about his first sermon in the mission church to which he was assigned. When time came for the offering, the people danced their offerings forward. They danced and sang praise to God as they brought their offerings to the altar. It was a beautiful moment. What do you think? Could we get any of our ushers to do that?

After the service, he asked one of the people, “Why do you dance and sing when you bring your offering forward on Sunday morning?” Back came the answer: “How could we not dance? We are so grateful to God for what He has done for us in sending Jesus Christ to save us, that we have to dance and sing our thanksgiving and besides it says in the Bible, God loves a cheerful giver.”

Let me ask you something. Do you feel gratitude to God that strongly? Do you have a strong case of the “can’t help its” when it comes to gratitude? When you are Christians, gratitude is the spirit of your lifestyle. When you are a Christian, you can’t help but be grateful!

Let me tell you what I’m grateful for. I’m grateful for a church whose members have hung together during one of the most trying periods in America’s history.

I’m grateful when I hear so many people say, “Let’s move forward and work toward finding out what the new normal looks like for us.”

I’m grateful that our Christian Education Team is beginning to discuss opening up Sunday School again.

I’m grateful for all the faithful people here who didn’t let the pandemic keep them from organizing meaningful ministry events.

I’m grateful to a Women’s Fellowship who is looking to plan a Mother/Daughter banquet.

I’m grateful for the Brotherhood who started frying fish again.

I’m grateful for a group of confirmation students who hung in there with me and learned much in the process.

I’m grateful for a future that promises bright possibilities if we work together, trusting in our God to see us through.

As always, I welcome your thoughts!

Pastor Cory

My Dear Ones,

The year 2020 is behind us, and we survived violence, political upheaval, and are working our way through a pandemic. None of these things kept us from celebrating God in community, and doing work for the community of Red Bud. We have grown and adapted in many ways. I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of this congregation.

Many years ago, a Philadelphia congregation watched as three 9-year-old boys were baptized and joined the church. Not long after, because of dwindling membership, the church sold the building and disbanded.

One of those three boys was Tony Campolo, who became an author and Christian sociologist professor at Eastern College in Pennsylvania, as well as someone whom I read and quote in my sermons often. Listen to this short story as he tells it:

“Years later when I was doing research in the archives of our denominations, I decided to look up the church report for the year of my baptism. There was my name, and Dick White’s. He’s now a missionary. Bert Newman, now a professor of theology at an African seminary, was also there. Then I read that church’s report for the year of our baptism. It read: ‘It has not been a good year for our church. We have lost 27 members. Three joined, and they were only children.'”

Now, not everyone who is baptized grows up to be a Tony Campolo or a Seminary professor like Bert Newman. And while we might not go on the mission field like Dick White, we all become missionaries through the water of our baptism because, that water is the water of life. It changes everything. It cleans us up and gives us a starting over point. And it reminds us just how much we are loved. And all we’re asked to do is drink deep from the water of life.

Year B is the year of Mark. Mark starts his gospel, “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” I like that. It tells me every Baptism is a beginning. Every Christian has a new chance to tell the story of the beginning of the Gospel.

This is also a year to start again. May 2021 give us a new opportunity, in new ways, to share God’s Word.

Pastor Cory

At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ New Year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had
overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.

I don’t know how you are doing on your New Year’s resolutions. I do know something that is more important than resolutions, though. How do you see this New Year? Is it one that you approach with anxiety or anticipation? We can take our cues from scripture.

Here’s a list of Christian Resolutions for the New Year:

Like Paul, forget those things which are behind and press forward.

Like David, lift up my eyes to the hills from which my help comes.

Like Abraham, trust my God implicitly.

Like Enoch, walk in daily fellowship with my heavenly Father.

Like Moses, suffer rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time.

Like Job, be patient and faithful in all circumstances.

Like Joseph, turn my back on all evil advances.

Like Gideon, advance even when my friends are few.

Like Andrew, strive to lead my brother to Christ.

Not a bad list, wouldn’t you say? We have suffered much in 2020. With God’s help may we face 2021 with love, compassion, courage and anticipation.

Blessings, Pastor Cory

Dear friends, as we enter into the Season of Advent, preparing for the coming of the Christ-child, can we resist the temptation to cram as many activities, parties, shopping, etc…while leaving little time for God.
Our excuse is always (not just during Advent) I just don’t have the time.

The New Testament uses two different words for time. God operates in kairos, a Greek word which means the “fullness of time.” We operate in chronos, the Greek word which means the passage of minutes, days, years, centuries, and even millenniums.

For example: Mary did not give birth to Jesus on December 25 at 12:06 a.m. (chronos) as we are prone to say in our society when a baby is born. Rather, the Bible says it happened when (kairos) “the time came for her to be delivered” (i.e., the “fullness of time” for her pregnancy).

The opening words of John’s Gospel couldn’t be more appropriate for the first Sunday of a new year. If our New Year celebrations are about finding meaning in the passage of time, John starts his Gospel by taking us back to the beginning of time.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

I found a version of the 23rd Psalm that ought to be mandatory reading each day of Advent, and a unison reading each Advent Sunday.

The Lord is my pace setter . . .I shall not rush

He makes me stop for quiet intervals

He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity

He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind and his guidance is peace

Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for his presence is here

His timelessness, his all importance will keep me in balance

He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with his oils of tranquility

My cup of joyous energy overflows

Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the Pace of my Lord and dwell in his house for ever.

I was often reminded by a Pastor/Mentor/Friend of mine that time isn’t something we “have” or “don’t have,” rather it is something we take. It all depends on our priorities. This Advent season, as we prepare ourselves for Jesus’ miraculous birth, simply give others a bit of yourself; a thoughtful act, a helpful idea, a word of appreciation, a lift over a rough spot, a sense of understanding, a timely suggestion. We all have time for that. Take something out of your mind, garnished in kindness out of your heart, and put it
into the other fellow’s mind and heart. Take time to share God’s love.

Pastor Cory

November brings us to the beginnings of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

In one of my favorite Peanuts comic strips, Lucy’s feeling sorry for herself and she laments, “My life is a drag. I’m completely fed up. I’ve never felt so low in my life.”

Her little brother Linus tries to console her and he says, “Lucy, when you’re in a mood like this, you should try to think of things you have to be thankful for; in other words, count your blessings.”

To that, Lucy says, “Ha! That’s a good one! I could count my blessings on one finger! I’ve never had anything and I never will have anything. I don’t get half the breaks that other people do. Nothing ever goes right for me! And you talk about counting blessings! You talk about being thankful! What do I have to be thankful for?”

Linus says, “Well, for one thing, you have a little brother who loves you.”

With that, Lucy runs and hugs little brother Linus as she cries tears of joy, and while she’s hugging him tightly, Linus says, “Every now and then, I say the right thing.”

There is a story of a teenager and his very first job in a small-town general store. This was the day before malls and supermarket chains when the General Store was in every small town and in most  neighborhoods in large cities. At age thirteen he was hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the floor, bag items for customers, put up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled, he heard the owner say to one of the clerks “It’s that time of the year again, it’s time to take inventory.” The boy had never heard the word, “inventory” before. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the kindly owner and asked, Sir, what is an inventory? Patiently the owner explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you had from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still somewhat puzzled, the young man then asked, Why?

“Well,” responded the owner, “it’s easy to forget exactly how much you have each year. Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what all you have.”

That little story, to me, pretty well sums up what Thanksgiving is all about. It is a time when each of us needs to ask ourselves the question: Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all the things that I do have in life instead of complaining about the things that I don’t have? It is a good exercise especially when we are of a mind to brood or whine in self-pity. Have you taken inventory lately?

What I am suggesting here is not some shallow “count your blessings” platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and opportunities and challenges that God has given each one of us. Perhaps there is a deep underlying wisdom in the children’s poem that says: “Count your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised what the Lord has done.”

Right now, like Linus in the comic strip above, I’m going to say the right thing to you: We have a God who loves us. If that doesn’t make us sing a song of  Thanksgiving, I don’t know what would.

Thanksgiving blessings to you all!

Pastor Cory

My Dear Ones,

Have you ever felt called by God for some kind of service? We are all called by God to do something, and once we’ve followed God’s call and accomplished whatever it was, we are
called for something else. How have you responded? How do you respond today?

Every now and then, someone does respond in a radical and unexpected way. I was reading a story that Dr. Fred Craddock tells of a medical student who heard the call and made a radical response. A young woman came to him after hearing his sermon he preached that Sunday morning. She had decided to leave medical school and go to work among migrant workers in the Rio Grande Valley. Dr. Craddock did not manipulate her unexpected response. Instead, they talked for a long time about the meaning of her decision. Her parents were, understandably, furious with the new direction her life had taken. Like those fishermen whom Jesus called, she heard the call and she stayed with it.

And there have been others. People in the western tradition have long known about Francis of Assisi. He turned from a life of luxury to one of voluntary poverty with the intention of sharing his possessions with the poor. He became an example to his fellow townspeople of the biblical assurance that God can provide.

Likewise, Elizabeth Gurney Fry who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, exemplified an emphasis on living by Jesus’ example. In addition to raising a large family, this wife of a wealthy London merchant single-handedly initiated, and caused the implementation of, efforts to reform the prison system in England. These reforms spread throughout the continent even during her lifetime.

Similarly, in the United States, Dorothea Lynde Dix in the 19th century spearheaded the movement for the establishment of hospitals for the mentally ill, who were, at the time, being held in prisons. These people have admonished us to see Christ in  our neighbors and to serve all who are in need. In these people and in many others, we see an example of people “leaving their nets” to follow.

One business person sold his automobile dealer-ship in order to attend a theological seminary in preparation for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. His wife said, “My husband came home one day and said, ‘You will be very surprised at what I am about to say, but I want to sell the business and go into the ministry’!” Within a few days, the business had been sold, and the family began tramping along another path. “We have never been hap-pier,” said his wife. There was, for this family, a call and a response. Life, for them, has been reoriented…

Where does this leave us? If others have heard the call and have responded in a radical way, then shouldn’t we all do the same? That’s a question only you can answer. It has to be answered by each of us as we experience God’s call in our lives. How one hears the call and responds to it is a matter of personal decision.

I would encourage all of you to tune in to God, identify your gifts from the Spirit, and discern God’s call to you. As a pastor, one of my callings is to help you find your calling. So, let’s talk sometime!

Blessings to you all,
Pastor Cory

Last week, I gave the confirmation class one simple assignment. As we discussed how each of them has been given gifts from God, I assigned them this task: To be “salt” or “light” to someone in your community this week and tell me about it when we meet again. In this unit, among other things, the class and I will explore our spiritual gifts.

What are the gifts that God has given you? This is a difficult question. Some of our gifts we recognize ourselves. Other gifts will require friends, family, and faith community members to recognize. These gifts can be easily hidden from yourself. Identifying our gifts requires some thought and prayer, as well as the honest assessment of others.

Spend some time today asking God to help you to recognize the gifts given to you by the Spirit. Spend time considering whom you might trust to help you understand the gifts you have and how you might use them in your ministry. As you do this, remember that Paul’s list in his letter to the Romans is not exhaustive but only hints at the many gifts which God gives.

Give thanks for the gifts God has given you; pray that you might appreciate them and use them to God’s glory. Pray that God would show you other gifts not yet revealed to you.

Then, join the confirmands here at St Peter and be “salt” and “light” in the community. Amen??

Dear Friends, our children can teach us much. To illustrate this fact, please allow me to share a story provided by Rev. James W. Moore. It goes like this:

Some years ago in a mid-western town a little boy was born blind. His mother and father were heartsick, but they struggled with his blindness the best they could. Like all such parents, they prayed and hoped for some miracle. They wanted so much for their son to be able to see. Then one day when the little boy was 5 years old, the community doctor told them that he had heard about a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who was specializing in a new surgical procedure that might just work for their son…that might just give their little boy his eyesight.

The parents became excited at the prospect, but when they investigated further and discovered the cost of the surgery and the travel and the hospital expense involved, they became deflated because they were not people of means at all. In fact, some would call them poor. But word got out in the community and their church rallied to help them. In a short period of time, the money was raised to send them to Boston for the surgery.

On the morning they were to leave for Boston, the little boy gathered his things together including his tattered little teddy bear. It had an ear chewed off, was missing an eye, and was bursting at the seams. His mother said, “Son, why don’t you leave that old teddy bear at home? He’s about worn out. Maybe we can buy you a new one in Boston or when we get back.” But he said, “No, I need it.”

So off to Boston they went. He held tightly to that teddy bear all the way. The surgeon sensed how important the teddy bear was to the little boy, so he allowed the boy to keep the bear with him
throughout all the many examinations prior to surgery. On the morning of the surgery, the hospital staff brought in two surgical gowns – one for the little boy and a smaller version for the teddy bear – and off to the operating room they went… a little blind boy on a stretcher holding on dearly to his beloved teddy bear.

The surgery went well. The doctor felt good about what they were able to accomplish. “I think he will be able to see,” said the surgeon, “but we won’t know for sure until we remove the bandages in a few days.”

Finally the day came for the doctor to remove the bandages. The nurses and interns stood with the parents as the surgeon slowly unwound the gauze from the boy’s eyes. Miracle of miracles! The little boy could see! For the first time in his life…he saw his mother’s face, he saw his dad and his doctor, he saw flowers and candy and balloons and the people who had cared for him. For the first time in his life, he saw his teddy bear. It was a joyous celebration!

When it came time for the boy to leave the hospital, his surgeon came into the room. The doctor had grown so attached to the little boy that he had to busy himself with those insignificant gestures that we… when we are trying to surmount a great wall of emotion. They said their good-byes with tears of joy all around…and then the doctor turned to leave. The little boy called him back.

“Doctor,” the little boy said. “I want you to have this.” He was holding out the teddy bear! The doctor tried to refuse, but the little boy insisted. “Doctor, I don’t have any money. So I want to give you my teddy bear to pay you for helping me so see. I want you to have it. It’s my way of saying, ‘Thanks.'” The doctor took the teddy bear and shook the little boy’s hand and wished him well.

For a long time after that… on the 10th floor of the White Building of Massachusetts General Hospital, there was on display… a teddy bear, bursting at the seams with a chewed-off ear and one eye. And there was a sign under it written in the hand of that surgeon. It read: “This is the highest fee I have ever received for professional services rendered.”

That little boy was so thrilled that he now could see. So, in response, he gave away his most prized possession. There’s a name for that… it’s called thanks-giving. Now of course, that kind of appreciation has to be learned, but when our children learn it and express it so beautifully, it touches us and teaches us… the beauty, the power, the importance, and the necessity of gratitude.

Our Children do teach us much. I pray that we, as Christians are also teaching our children what is truly important! Amen??