Midweek Musings Newsletter

April 10, 2008

 

Midweek Musings by Reid Beveridge, Stated Clerk  

 

Some years ago, I heard a wonderful sermon preached by a leading national-level Presbyterian. Its title was “The Ten Suggestions.” The text, of course, was Exodus 20: 1-21.

 

The preacher was the Rev. Dr. James Mead, who at the time (1998-99) was vice moderator of General Assembly. He was a well-known evangelical pastor from, at the time, Seattle, who had run for GA moderator that year.

 

Mead did not preach on all 10 of the Ten Commandments. Like any good preacher, and he was very good, he selected three. One was the Fourth Commandment, which is the one I’d like to lift up today.

 

This is not about which day of the week is the Sabbath. Nor is it a regurgitation from my old UPNA roots where my parents never called the first day of the week “Sunday.” For them, it was “Sabbath Day.” No, this is about something else, including a recent experience in one of our local churches. It is about Sabbath-keeping for clergy. And it is about sabbaticals for clergy as well.

 

The first thing I’d like to direct at the elders reading this essay is that clergy generally are workaholics, and this is not a good thing for your Session or your local church. The fact is that most pastors’ Myers-Briggs personality type makes them caring, compassionate and generous of their own time. All too often, this generosity comes at the expense of their own rest and at a cost to their spouse and children. When someone in need calls, they go.

 

I still remember clearly, as a child, my “clerk-of-Session-for-life” father coming home one day just “shocked” at the new pastor’s announcement to the Session that Monday was his day off, and that he wouldn’t respond to anything short of life-threatening or death issues on Mondays. My father got over it quickly as he recognized my point: That pastor’s need Sabbath time, too. Further, and most important, Sunday is not a day of rest for clergy. It is a work day. Saturday can be a work day, too, if there is a wedding, funeral or meeting.

 

So my message to elders and Sessions is this: take your pastor’s Sabbath time seriously. Make sure your pastor takes his/her Sabbath time seriously, too. Very many seven-day work weeks are bad for both physical and mental health.

 

Which gets us to sabbaticals. New Castle Presbytery, along with many other presbyteries, has a strong and serious policy recommending a three-month clergy sabbatical every seven years. The pastor should have a plan for that sabbatical: Something that might be educational, a mental refreshment of some kind, and a period of rest and relaxation with spouse, too.

 

I attended a congregational meting at a local church a couple months ago at which the pastor’s sabbatical was the big issue. It was an interesting experience to observe the generation theory at work.

 

The GI and Silent Generation members were utterly opposed to the sabbatical. Paraphrasing to protect the innocent, they said they did not give money to that church so their pastor could take a three-month trip. Further, they said they had worked all their lives without a sabbatical and, in some cases, without much vacation. Those aged under 45 were generally supportive. Somehow, they understood burnout and mental fatigue better than their parents and grandparents.

 

So why do you think God, from the very beginning, ordained the Sabbath? Think about that, and then wonder with me why shouldn’t we, as mere mortals, take a day off, too?

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Immediate Past Moderator, Tom Mathew, named as Vice Moderator of the GA Committee on Church Growth and Christian Education

 

Matters coming under this Committee are:

 

1. Evangelism, Outreach, and Church Growth as they relate to Congregations and Governing bodies of the Church.

2. Higher Education.

3. Matters relating to Christian Educators.

4. Church Transfers.

5. Presbytery Investment and Loan Program.

 

Each Committee will have 50-70 Commissioners assigned to it.  Committees will be provided with support staff consisting of: Committee Assistant, Parliamentarian, Lead Resource Person.  

 

Congratulations Tom! 

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 CHESAPEAKE CITY PRESBYTERIAN

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 10:15 AM

 

"WHO ARE WE PRESBYTERIANS?" PART I

SOCIAL HOUR, VIDEO, DISCUSSION 

Just what does it mean to be Presbyterian? We come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities. While we are diverse in many ways, we share a common history, form of government, and set of beliefs. As diverse as we are we share unique commonalities. Come out and learn more about our denomination!

[Part 2: May 18, 2008]

 

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Limestone’s Musical Benefits Meeting Ground on April 20th 

 

 

“Moses and the Freedom Fanatics," a musical about the story of Moses, will be performed by the children and youth of Limestone Presbyterian Church!   The musical will be presented for the public on Sunday, April 20th, at 2:00 p.m.  There will be an offering to benefit Meeting Ground’s ministry with the homeless.  A map and directions to Limestone is available at http://www.limestonepresbyterian.org/map.htm

 

“Moses and the Freedom Fanatics," written by Presbyterian Hal Hopkins, is an exciting musical drama based on the Exodus story. The play opens with a grand procession of slaves that disturbs King Pharaoh's quest for a good night's sleep. From that point onward, the action begins! The slaves get organized and Moses emerges as the leader of the people. The dialogue, spiced with humor throughout, tells with clarity and strong role characterization the story of the Exodus. The music includes lamentations of the slaves, a song cleverly portraying the plagues cast on Egypt, and a final song of triumph.   Please contact Kelly Kline at KelRebecca@gmail.com or Linda Wardell at lwardell@comcast.net for more information.

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Concord Concert Series

 

 

Concord Concert Series

under the direction of Matthew Pressley

presents

Benjamin Britten's

 

NOYE'S FLUDDE

(Noah's Flood)

 

Fully staged with orchestra, professional soloists, bell choir, animal chorus, water,

and one really big boat!

 

STARRING

Michael Krueger as Noah

Kerry Ann Erickson as Mrs. Noah

Marian Delp as GOD

 

with

Daniel Potter                   Rebecca Jackson

Elizabeth Perry          Samantha Tan

as Noah's children

 

SUNDAY, APRIL 20 AT 4:00 PM

 

Concord Presbyterian Church

1800 Fairfax Boulevard / Wilmington, DE

 

No tickets required - offering will be taken to benefit the Concord Concert Series

Childcare provided

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Central Records Review

 

The Central Area Records Review will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newark from 9:30 am to 11:30 am.  All clerks will be notified by personal email or church email they need to be looking for the contact.

 

Nora Andresen

Records Clerk

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Free Seminar - Family Caregiver Skills Training

 

Giving Care/Taking Care

May 14 & 28

10:00 am to 3:00 pm

 

At Head of Christiana Presbyterian Church

1100 Church Road, Newark

 

Lunch and materials are provided.

 

There is no cost, but registration is requested.

 

For more information please call (302) 225-1040 or email deccf@aol.com

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Health Ministry

 

Email:  BOWCOM@COMCAST.NET

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Inter-Faith Resource Center (IRC)

 

New Resources:

 

The IRC has published a list of recently purchased resources that may be accessed from the ‘what’s new’ page of their website. It will serve as a good reminder of the many new resources on their shelves. Here are just two:

 

The Purpose Driven Life, Small Group Study Edition with Rick Warren is a six-session DVD-based study hosted by the author, who asks throughout the program, “What on earth am I here for?” The study has been used by over forty million people, offering a transformative look at life that has impacted people worldwide.

 

The Power of Forgiveness is an award-winning video produced by Martin Doblmeier that recently aired on PBS. It explores recent research into the psychological and physical effects of forgiveness and includes interviews with Elie Wiesel, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas More and others. This 78-minute film is a must see!

 

Don’t forget… you can also borrow video segments of Tom Long from the IRC to help your church prepare for his June 21^st visit!

 

Visit the IRC Website:  http://www.interfaithresourcecenter.com/index.htm

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If you want to learn to take better pictures and don't have the dough for workshops or courses, you might try Flickr, the online social network of amateur and professional photographers.  Flickr is just four years old, but already it has attracted top knotch photographers from all over the world.  Many beginners too.  After uploading pictures to Flickr you can organize them in sets and tag them with keywords, so that Web surfers can easily find them (provided you have given public access, that is).  At Flickr you can join groups of photographers who love shooting certain subjects or favor certain techniques. There are thousands of such groups at Flickr, but if you can't find any that appeal to you, you can start one yourself.  Flickr is free at the basic level.  For $25 a year you can purchase extra privileges, like unlimited uploads (which is great if you don't have much hard disk space to back up your photos.)  I've learned a great deal about bird photography by corresponding with Flickr friends.  A tip from one taught me the nack of capturing a speeding Great Blue Heron in mid air so that you can see every marvelous feather. You're welcome to download my picture on the left by clicking on it. It makes a great computer Desktop docoration!  I'm a Flickr fan, as you can see.  You might become one too!  Please visit my Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tcd123, and give Flickr a try.

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Funding Letters for 2008 Mission Development Unit Grant Requests

 

Mission Unit funding response letters have been sent out via email to the email address listed on the grant application by the church or organization.  From responses that we've received, it is clear that some folks read the email message but maybe others have not.  Please check your email for news about the 2008 grants.  Thank you.

 

 The Olivet Singers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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