An ICY MLK Weekend

Sunday morning we had to cancel church services for the first time since I have been here in Mount Kisco.  The icy conditions reminded me of Portland, Oregon which had freezing rain more often than snow.  We actually cancelled services more often there than we ever did in Pennsylvania or New York.

The big disappointment was the baptisms that were scheduled for the Ma family's two little girls.  They had family from Georgia (who may never return to New York in January) and New Jersey.  So Terry, a handful of PCMK members and the Ma family gathered in the evening and we held an abbreviated worship service and baptized those babies.  It was a Sunday we won't soon forget.

This is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in America and we had planned music and prayers that lifted up his legacy.  In preparation for the service I came across this prayer of Dr. King's that could not be more appropriate with what is going on in the world today.  I encourage you to read it, pray it, and live it.

See you in church (hopefully next Sunday's better),
Pastor Dale

A prayer for peace by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

O God, we thank you for the fact that you have inspired men and women in all nations and in all cultures.  We call you different names: some call you Allah, some call you Elohim, some call you Jehovah, some call you Brahma, some call you the Unnmoved Mover.  But we know that these are all names for one and the same God.  Grant that we follow you and become so committed to your way and your kingdom that we will be able to establish in our lives and in this world a brother and sisterhood, that we will be able to establish here a kingdom of understanding, where men and women will live together as brothers and sisters and respect the dignity and worth of every human being.  In the name and spirit of Jesus.  Amen.

Winter's Charm

The Christmas season is over and winter has finally settled in.  It is a bitter cold day, but the sun is shining and it is actually very beautiful.  I love watching the finches come in to our bird feeder.  They must keep themselves warm by flying back and forth.  They certainly get their exercise.

Exercise is something we are all supposed to get after eating too many goodies over the holidays.  I may not go to the gym, but I get a lot of exercise running up and down from the manse to the church and back.   Sometimes I feel like those finches zipping back and forth from meeting to meeting.  January is a very busy month in the life of the church.  In many ways it feels busier than December.  At least it is a different kind of busy.  There are committee and session meetings, planning for upcoming events, and preparing for the annual meeting.

Those finches are a good lesson in what we need to do when we are busy.  We need to keep coming back to the feeder.  Our feeder is the spiritual home we find in our church, in Scripture, in prayer and in nature.  Those are places where we encounter God's spirit and we can be renewed for our busy lives.

So stay warm, but bundle up and take a walk on a bright winter day, read a Psalm, or just be still for a moment.  You'll find your time at the feeder will get you through whatever you need to do today.

See you at the feeder (our church)

Pastor Dale