Sermon in German

Sunday was a day of glorious music.  The words were by Martin Luther set to music by Bach.  Not a bad combination, eh?  My job was to say something intelligent in a few minutes before we gave the morning to the musicians.  The theme of the day was the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the music was truly divine.  The cantata included our wonderful choir, a small orchestra, soloists and even our children's choir learned the German for the last chorale.

Music is truly an important part of worship at PCMK.  On Sunday, the music was even the sermon.
Thanks be to God!

See you in church,
Pastor Dale

Proud of the "P" in PCMK

The New York Times

"Presbyterians Approve Gay Marriage in Church Constitution"

This has been a good week to be a Presbyterian.  Once again the Presbyterian Church (USA) made headlines, including the NY Times.  On Tuesday, our neighbors of the Palisades Presbytery in New Jersey voted to affirm the change to our constitution which defines marriage as "a unique commitment between two people, traditionally a man and a woman, to love and support each other for the rest of their lives."  Palisades was the 86th Presbytery (out of 171) to affirm, so it is now part of our Book of Order.  I am particularly proud because I was one of the commissioners from Hudson River Presbytery to the 221st General Assembly where we approved this language.  I was there when the amendment was made to add the words, "traditionally a man and a woman."  That clause seemed to calm any last minute jitters and it was passed by a wide margin.

It has been quite a journey, but it feels like we can finally move beyond decades of conflict at Presbytery and General Assembly gatherings.  There are those who think the denomination has lost its soul, but I think we have been wise and even inspired as we have taken steps to remove a significant barrier to the inclusive justice we proclaim.  There is room in our church for people who are not yet comfortable with gay pastors or same sex marriage, but more importantly there is room and a warm welcome for those who face so much discrimination in life.

It's a proud day to be a Presbyterian, and it is a proud day to be a part of PCMK.  On Sunday our Church School children packed over 100 lunches for the homeless of New York City.  One touching story is shared by our CE Director, Kathy Anderson.  While helping the younger children decorate the lunch bags one child asked why their mommies didn't make lunches for these people.  When Kathy explained that these people are grown ups who don't have mommies around, the child said she wanted to give lots of hugs through her lunch bag.  She proceeded to completely cover it in X's and O's (hugs and kisses).

So, I think you can see why I am proud to be a "P", especially since it is part of PCMK!

Seeking Light for the Journey

It has been a long dark winter, but the light is on the way.  Tonight we move our clocks ahead and suddenly there will be daylight that lasts beyond dinner.  It will feel so good to go for a walk and see neighbors who have hibernated for months.  But first we  have mountains of snow to melt.  I grew up in Canada and spent several winters in the Great Lakes snow belt, but this winter has taken the cake.  In fact, the pyramid of snow on our patio table looks like a giant white cake. 


Our mission statement starts with the line, "seeking light for the journey," which feels even more appropriate than ever.  The growing light of spring accompanies us on the journey through Lent.  In a few weeks we will celebrate the light of Easter with joy.  In the weeks between now and then we should get all we can out of the season of Lent.  There are small groups exploring the question, "what Jesus is this?", and there will be a beautiful Bach cantata in worship on March 22nd.


So, even though we are looking forward to spring, there is plenty of light for the journey in these last weeks of winter.


See you in church,
Pastor Dale