Mike Nichols Memorial Concert
The Michael Nichols Memorial Concert will be held on Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 PM in the sanctuary with a time of receiving and visitation to take place immediately following the service in the MFC.
Bumping Into One Another Along the Way
One of the things that I love about church is that you find and encounter people at any number of points along the path.
I find this to be very encouraging.
For example, I have found great comfort during my season of grief to feel my brothers and sisters in Christ come up alongside me and share about a similar time of sorrow. These conversations along the way don’t take the pain away, of course. But the times of mutual sharing help me to feel less alone during this difficult time.
Being church means making a commitment to sharing our lives together. Some of these moments of communion occur by design. That is, we are given permission to self-disclose in our Sunday School classes, or around the table on Wednesday nights, or later during prayer times and Bible Study. To a lesser degree, our passing of the peace allows for us to bump into one another so that we can learn who we need to circle back around to and follow up with later in the week.
True, many of our encounters with one another at church are unscripted. They occur during a crisis, or while serving together on a project, or out in the parking lot after choir practice.
Whether serendipitous or providential in nature, these encounters remind us that the church is most powerful when it becomes a network of friends and neighbors, colleagues and elders, brothers and sisters who understand how life can be.
They know what it’s like to be in recovery.
They know what it’s like to be a caregiver to their children and to their parents; and all at the same time.
They know what it’s like to feel the heartbreak of miscarriage, the disappointment in failed marriages, the aching sense of loss that estrangement can bring.
They know joy, too. They know birth, reunion, and laughter.
But they also know fatigue and economic difficulty. They know about addiction and they know about failure. They have firsthand experience with tragedy and they know what horrors this life can wrought.
Through Christ, God gives us the gift of one another. Life is hard enough as it is. God certainly doesn’t want us to go through it alone. So God sends us travelers for the journey. Some are ahead of us, and some are behind us. Some, like us, are stuck in one place. Others are finishing up their journeys, while others are just getting started. We are all in this together and we can sense God’s strength when we allow our lives to intersect.
Now, finding places of intersection with one another doesn’t just happen. Being church together demands something of us. First off, it demands that we show up and that we are present with one another. Additionally, it requires that we look around to see other people, and to see where they are on the path. When we look beyond our own exhaustion, our own discontentment, and our own anxiety, we may just be surprised by what we see in others. We may just discover that those around us are not as different or unique as we have once thought. Sure, we’ll see things differently and we’ll naturally respond to life in any number of different ways. But, when we take the time to see one another, and to listen to one another, we’ll be more willing to extend and to receive grace.
These moments of epiphany, awareness, and revelation, are the salve that can soothe our wounds. For when we learn that we are not alone, we learn love. We learn persistence. We learn hope.
God is the genesis of our community and our relationships with one another. Because God came to dwell among us, He sought to demonstrate that love is best demonstrated in proximity and most fully revealed in understanding.
This past month, I’ve known and experienced grief differently than I ever have before. But our church—and our brothers and sisters in Christ—have taught me that I am not alone in this season because so many others have been through it themselves and know how it feels. My circumstances, while particular, are not unique. This realization helps me to know that this road has been walked once before and that it can be redemptive. The way forward looks hard, but it is not impossible. What’s most personal does tend to be what’s most universal.
And I know all this because I have learned it by traveling with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. I’ve learned it because you’ve been willing to share your life, and your heart, with me. God has comforted me through you, and your stories. I’m grateful for this new awareness and I am convicted to be as faithful, vulnerable, and as trusting as you.
Sundays in February
Youth Ski Retreat
This past weekend the youth joined youth groups from approximately 14 other North Carolina CBF churches in a time of worship and fellowship in West Virginia. We arrived on Friday night. First stop was check-in at Winterplace, where we met with the retreat organizer and picked up our equipment for Saturday. Although Saturday was very cold, it was a great day for skiing and snowboarding. Conditions were super and everyone had a good time. After a day of fellowship on the slopes, we all met at Tamarack center for a wonderful meal and Bible study, then a moving time of worship with the entire group. Worship leaders Katie and John Callaway did a terrific job of helping us examine the idea of community as believers. Using the story of Ruth, Katie led us to open our minds to faithful, unconditional love for others and providing a true sense of belonging within our communities. Sunday morning continued the theme of “Called Together” with worship that included communion. The send-off was a challenge to love others the way Christ has loved us.
Look Out!
Be on the lookout for a challenge coming your way.
Opening Doors
God has been nudging my heart with statements and questions that I have heard from refugees over the years of ministry to internationals. Statements such as: “I have been in the United States for 17 years and this is the first time I have been in an American home,” and questions like “Can you find me one American friend?”
I have been calling on my network of friends and asking them to host new immigrants in their homes. The degree of hosting varies: for tea, for dinner, overnight. I personally have been hosting and been hosted by Iranians, Afghan and Tajik for many years.
The blessings are many and the relationships are enriching. I am opening the door as wide as possible to help others experience this blessing. God is calling us to this work. The Bible says, “I was a stranger and you invited me in….” Matthew 25:35b. Pray for Christians who will open their doors!
- CBF field personnel ministering to Persian speakers worldwide (Afghan, Iranian and Tajik)
Parents Night Out
Parents Night Out will be on February 8th from 5:30 - 9:00 PM.
You can sign up for Parents Night Out here: http://firstbaptistsylva.com/giving
Celebrating the Unsung Heroes
During the recent season that is known for giving, our middle and high school students had a greater focus on Civic Engagement with a civic engagement initiative called “Celebrating the Unsung Heroes.”
Our first event focused on Mrs. Gloria, our housekeeper at our Overtown Site. The Touching Miami with Love youth worked hard and threw her a surprise “Appreciation Party.” In a very simple way our students learned the power of selfless giving and the beauty of loving others in proximity. They learned that you don’t have to go far to show love and there are always people around you who deserve appreciation.
Our second initiative was to honor our local firefighters. Our students baked and decorated cookies and delivered them to two local stations near our Overtown Site. The Miami firefighters from Stations 1 and 3 were grateful for their treats! The firefighters even took time to show us around their homes away from home. Making the time even more fun, they put some of our students to work a bit. It was a wonderful exchange of love in the community.
- Gary Francis, Touching Miami with Love, Overtown Youth Coordinator
Everyday Mercy
We know what God requires of us. We do. We know that God requires us to do justice, to love kindness, to have mercy, and to walk humbly with God.
But knowing these things and doing these things is another matter.
What exactly does it look like to have mercy?
The dictionary defines mercy as such: “Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.” It sounds grandiose, doesn’t it? And that’s precisely what I think stops us in our tracks. Having mercy seems like something that we reserve for weighty, monumental moments. But since those encounters seem rare, we rarely exercise mercy.
Extending mercy to others, however, can be an everyday experience.
I’m reminded of the story of a father who took his three-year old daughter to a baseball game during a pennant race some years ago. They were seated in the upper deck when a foul ball popped up to where the two were located. The father leaned over the rail, stretched to make the improbable catch, and nabbed the fly ball right out of the air. Delighted by his accomplishment and cheered on by the crowd, the proud father presented his prize to his daughter. Upon receiving it, the little girl held the ball for just a moment and then unceremoniously pitched the ball over the railing to the seats below. The gasp from the crowd was audible. How could she throw the foul ball away moments after being presented with it? What was she thinking? Didn’t she know how precious a gift like that was? No matter. Instead of fuming at his little girl, the smiling father picked his daughter up and enveloped her in a sweet embrace. The father’s gentle response to his daughter was an example of what everyday mercy can look like.
We are frequently like the little girl at the baseball game, are we not? We receive a gift, an opportunity, a grace, and we discard it. We disrespect it. We are careless with it. We fling it over the railing. But regardless of our bad behavior or our bad attitude, God shows us mercy by loving us without irritation or resentment.
Everyday mercy is gentle and non-possessive. It puts others first. It holds on loosely.
Everyday mercy is expressed in forgiveness and in the acknowledgement that there are a multitude of things that we do not know and cannot fully understand.
Everyday mercy looks like grace when we don’t want to give it. It’s embodied when we choose to shrug off a bad encounter even though we want to tell someone off. Mercy is exhibited when we give others the benefit of the doubt.
Everyday mercy is demonstrated when we choose to share. When we loosen our grip on things that are rightly ours and give them to those who need them, we are having mercy.
Everyday mercy begins with our attitude. When we choose to respond rather than react, we are choosing mercy over retribution. When we are internally non-anxious, we have the space and bandwidth to extend kindness instead of judgment. When we are able to be circumspect and see beyond ourselves, we are in a position to extend our arms to embrace those who are hurting.
Everyday mercy is frequently expressed by generosity and good cheer. And if we want a firsthand experience with mercy, consider your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Our church is comprised of individuals who are agents of mercy in our community. Our church members see their vocations as opportunities to extend God’s love to others in dynamic and extraordinary ways. Our retirees invest sweat equity in numerous projects to help those in need. We share together. We give together. We listen together. We love together. We worship together. We learn together. We serve together. This is what everyday mercy looks like. It looks like you and me when we choose to be the Body of Christ because Christ is God’s mercy to us.
So, yes. Mercy is the work of the church, and every day is an opportunity to clock in.