Resolutions— and Change

It is a new year—we have flipped the pages over on the calendar.  Many of us have made resolutions to make some changes in our lives:  get more exercise, eat better, read Scripture daily.

Change is difficult. Psychologists tell us it takes at least 6 weeks for a change to take hold, and move from something we struggle with to being a habit.

Sometimes change is imposed upon us, whether we want it or not.  The mainline church as a whole has been experiencing change, as has this congregation. 

In 3 years, this church will celebrate 200 years of mission and worship.  The world today is much different than it was in 1818.  The "heyday" of the mainline Protestant church was 1965— those were our glory days, the height of church influence on society, the days when the pews were filled and the Sunday school rooms were overflowing.

But society has changed, and we tend to get nostalgic when looking back at our past. We think: once we were great and glorious, and now we are not.  Things were better back then.  But such romanticism keeps us from seeing the ministry right in front of us.  Such pining for the past can keep us from being the church that Christ is calling us to be today.

As part of this interim time together, the first "task" is to look at our history and heritage.  We appreciate where we have come from, we celebrate the accomplishments God has granted to us, we are honest in looking back on our failings….but we do all this so we can know where we are, right now, so we can better see what ministry God is calling us to join in.  This January, there will be formal and informal groups to talk about and celebrate the history of this church—I hope you will join us— more information will follow.

The world will not be as it was in 1965, or 1909, or 1818.  But God is here with us now.  God, whose steadfast love is unchanging, goes with us and calls us into the future He is creating. God, who comes to us as Immanuel, "God with us", is here as we live in this interim time together.



Blessings,
Pastor Nancy

Christian Education Update

Thanks to all who helped with the Christmas Pageant and Jesus’ birthday party afterward. We couldn’t have done it without you! What a fun and entertaining way to teach the children the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

The elementary age class will be taught by Angela Weeden in January and February.
Sunday School will begin in a new format beginning Sunday, January 3, 2016.  Children will leave worship after the children's sermon, and go to the Nursery or their Sunday School class.  Parents may pick up children after worship ends.
This new format will replace the traditional Sunday School time of 9:45 for the children only. Adult Bible study will remain at 9:45am Sunday mornings.

A Future with Hope

It is my blessing to serve the congregation of Watkins Glen as your Interim Minister.  Some of you, I know already. By the time you receive this, I will have met many of you, and hope to meet nearly all of you by year’s end.  Please feel free to stop by the office, or call me—I look forward to getting to know you better!

The work of "interim" is many things: working with the Session, providing pastoral care and worship leadership. It is listening to and learning your stories.  It is discerning where God is calling us next, and what pastoral leadership will fit that best.

I have said that an Interim Pastor must stand with a foot on two worlds:  one in the past, and one in the future.  We stand in that gap, together.  Watkins Glen Presbyterian has a long and faithful past, and will continue to serve God faithfully in the present and in the future.

Advent began this year on Sunday, November 29.  Advent is a time we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child.  Traditionally, the Sundays during Advent are labeled: 

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

I find it significant that I join your congregation near Advent time, and I am mindful of all those who journeyed to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child.  I think of our work as a journey together.

There are specific tasks to be done (a mission study, the Interim or Transitional tasks, which are: Heritage, Missions, Connections, Leadership and Future, preparing for calling the next pastor).  But in this in-between time, there is faithful life to be lived, together, as well.  Life goes on: babies are born, anniversaries are celebrated, people we love die.  And God, who is faithful, is with us through all our journeys, including this one. My favorite Bible verse is one I learned at summer camp:  “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not to harm you, to give you a future with hope.”  (Jeremiah 29:11)

The first candle of Advent is the candle of Hope. It is with Hope that we begin our interim work, trusting in the One who is Love to guide our work and life together.


 In Christ,
Reverend Nancy Meehan Yao

Harvest Dinner Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who helped with the Harvest Dinner.  Many, many people helped in many, many ways – cooking, baking, serving, and cleaning.

This wouldn’t have been possible without ALL OF YOU!!!

Some dishes are left at Fellowship Hall from the dinner.  If you are missing one, it’s probably here waiting for you to pick it up.

Christian Education Update: Sunday School for All Ages

Sunday School is currently offered for all ages every Sunday at 9:45am.  Come, bring your children or grandchildren and join the fun!
Our new Junior Church program will start in January, 2016.  This will replace our traditional Sunday school hour (9:45-10:45).  Junior Church will be for our young worshipers (ages 4 through grade 5) and will take place during the regular worship time.

Children will attend church with their families and be dismissed after the children’s message by the pastor.  They then go to Sunday School where they will hear an age appropriate Bible story, enjoy a craft and a snack and then meet their families after worship.
 
There will continue to be a nursery for those children younger than four.  Of course, any children who wish to remain in the worship service are certainly welcome to do so.

Adult Sunday School will continue to meet at 9:45 in the library.  All adults are welcome!

Christmas Program 2015

Mark you calendars now for the 2015 Christmas Program on December 13th during the Sunday morning worship service. 

The program this year will be something new and exciting and you are not going to want to miss it. All children and youth are invited to participate. 

We are starting the creative process in November and will begin to practice after Thanksgiving, so please try to have your children and youth in attendance. Following the service, you are all invited to join us for a special “Happy Birthday, Jesus” coffee hour in Fellowship Hall complete with birthday cake!

We Need Each Other

Paul's letter to the Philippians was the topic of Rev. Kotun's sermon on October 18, 2015.  I felt much of his sermon was very meaningful.  With Rev. Kotun's permission, I will repeat parts of the sermon.

Paul helped found the church at Philippi in Greece, during his journeys as a missionary.  The people of Philippi had no synagogue, but met together for prayer out by the river bank.  Many were baptized by Paul and when he left Philippi there was a congregation that would live and grow.  Paul wrote to them when he was a prisoner.  This letter was Paul's farewell message to the church which perhaps above all others was dearest to his heart.  He was not sad, but joyful.  He will depart and be with Christ.  He wrote about what Christ had meant to him and can mean to all who try to follow him.  "I can do all things in him who strengthens me" and because the Christians in Philippi can have that same trust he says to them, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice".

The people in Philippi could not concentrate.  Paul is in prison.  What about our church?  What will happen to our fellowship?  What about us?  Paul led us to Jesus.  How can we manage without him?  He was our founder, our teacher, our pastor and he is behind bars.  Will we see him again?  What will happen to our church with no Paul to guide us?

The church at Philippi felt like many of us when we became empty-nesters.  There is a gap in the congregation and in many hearts and minds whenever the pastor leaves.  Why is our beloved minister gone.  How are we going to manage?  What is going to happen to our church?  Will our church go down the tubes?  Will people stop coming to our worship or bible study?

Then, Paul wrote to the church.  Get your mind off me.  I'm not the center of the church.  I'm doing fine.  I'm ready to live or die.  If I die I'll be with the Lord.  And I'm ready for that.  If I live God may have some other work for me to do.  Stop your fretting.  Your church is not about me.  The church is about Jesus Christ.  I may be away from you, but Jesus Christ is not.  He is present in your midst and He is the Lord of the church.

Christ was in the midst of the first Christian church in Philippi in the year 50 A.D. and He is still in the midst of the Watkins Glen Presbyterian Church in 2015.  As long as two or three meet in His name in this place, He is in your midst.  Last week, this week, and next week when you gather it is in His name.

Paul challenged the church at Philippi.  Don't drift off because I'm not with you.  Stick together.  Be forever in prayer, in worship, in witness, in caring.  This church is the body of Christ in Watkins Glen.
 

You need one another.  

This community needs you.  

The broken world needs you.  

God has put you here for a reason.  

He needs and wants you here.  

Hear the good news!

- Karen Rhodes, Clerk of Session