THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH

If you look at the right hand side of this blog, you will see a picture of MARTIN LUTHER.  As we approach the last Sunday in October, we prepare to observe what has traditionally been called REFORMATION SUNDAY. The UCC has given it the title of REFORMATION/RECONCILIATION SUNDAY....

Luther's picture is up there because his actions in Germany in October of 1517 set off the sequences of events that have come to be known collectively as THE REFORMATION. Interestingly enough, this feast day coincides with the end of our religious history series in which we are looking at the current state of religion in these United States. It's also happening as we start our annual Budget deliberations and try to make decisions about our priorities as a congregation.

My Reformation Sunday message next week is entitled ' FUTURE CHURCH'.  The fact is that those events in the 16th century were spurred on by a  vision ( actually, a variety of visions) of what the church of the future should be.   And so I wonder.....

What's your vision of the church of the future?  How will or SHOULD it be different from the present or the past? How will or SHOULD it in any way be similar? Is there anything that remains ESSENTIAL about the church regardless of the age in which it exists?

I'd like to start a discussion on this here....Hope you join in!!...






PB

FAITH AND THE LIFE OF THE NATION: SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?

In preparing our recent Adult Education series on Religion in America, I am struck once again by the ongoing debate between the role of faith and governmental policy and decisions and what we mean in practical terms by 'separation of church and state'.

We'll be talking about that in our session tomorrow, but I'd like to open it up on this blog as well:

When it comes to practical questions like:

* Prayer in public schools
* The teaching of evolution
* How to present religion in public schools
' ' God' in the Pledge of allegiance and on our money......

and many more.....

How do YOU make decisions about religious faith and public life? The separation of church and state?

I'd love to read about that....

PB

FAMILY WORSHIP

This Sunday October 18 we will celebrate our first FAMILY WORSHIP service of the year. While it is a service deliberately designed to bring parents and children together in worship AND to provide a worship style conducive to ALL AGES, it's also going to be THE worship experience in our church this weekend...

ALL OF WHICH LEADS TO THIS POINT........

It is important that churches make significant efforts to reach those of all ages and to recognize that sometimes one needs to really do something a bit different to engage people in worship ( This, of course, is important in dealing with faith and young people!). HOWEVER, even as worship styles may vary to meet a variety of needs( THIS WEEKEND THE SERMON IS SHORTER THAN USUAL!!!), it is important that we understand that we are worshiping TOGETHER as a community.

Which is why I hope as the year rolls along, we can get more and more young people coming to worship with moms and dads and siblings..... It's important both that young people be exposed to the traditions of faith AND important too that those traditions evolve and adapt to meet the needs of those of different ages and backgrounds, all the while ENRICHING US ALL...

Blest be the tie that binds all of our hearts......young and older alike!!

PB

GOD: OUR HELP IN AGES PAST, OUR HOPE FOR YEARS TO COME

This coming Sunday, at Family Worship, I will deliver a BRIEF message with the simple title GOD. The brevity of the message is certainly not proportionate to the importance of the subject. I also like to think that week in and week out, we explore the breadth and depth of this topic. Nonetheless, in this BLOG entry, I wish to pose some questions for you to consider, questions that really get at the heart of your own THEOLOGY i.e. your thinking and talking...about GOD!

For now, I only have a few questions:

* When you think about God, what's the picture you have in your mind?
* In a related question: When you think about God, do you envision God as PERSON ?
* Where does Jesus fit in to your visualization/conceptualization of God?

I look forward to your responses...

PB

GOD: A NAME FOR GOD

The phrase ' God is a name for God' has been attributed to the late theologian Paul Tillich. While at first glance or hearing, it might sound  a bit flip, the phrase conveys an incredible depth of TRUTH. WHO and WHAT God is cannot be contained by any name or image. God is always greater than anything we portray Him to be....

Did you notice that I just added another limitation to God by saying HIM? Any human language is incomplete. This is not intended to be a picky point; rather, it is testimony to the majesty, power and love of that which we call by the name GOD.

On October 18, we are having a FAMILY WORSHIP SERVICE in which our young people will be very involved....My sermon title that day is a simple one:  GOD
In this VERY SHORT SERMON ( promise), I hope to help us all reflect not only on the ways we might limit God, but on all that GOD IS and all that we may have even have considered...

There's wisdom in Tillich's words-

PB

GRATITUDE AND CONVICTION

First...a word of GRATITUDE..............

Over the past two weeks, we have had some wonderful discussions in our EDUCATION SERIES about religious history, discussions which have probed the backgrounds of Catholicism and Protestantism........We have been fortunate to have really engaged participants sharing significant thoughts and questions...

AND....a CONVICTION

It is SO important that churches work to help people understand religious roots and history.  Faith, knowledge and reason need not be at war with one another...

Wherever you are reading this.....

I encourage you to be part of a church education group which probes deeply into history, the Bible, and ethics...and into great books that help us think, understand and question....

If your church does not offer this, perhaps you can suggest it.....

If you want more information and if I can be of help, just BE IN TOUCH via this BLOG-

PB