(Disciples of Christ)
Greensburg, PA
The Pastor's Pen - Plus More
One of my favorite poems is a poem called “The Two Trees”, by William Butler Yeats. The poet describes two trees: one bright and beautiful, the other dark and dead. One blossoming and bearing fruit, the other jagged and forbidding. The unspoken truth of the poem is that these “two trees” are actually one and the same thing: life, seen through two different perspectives. We have less poetic terms for such perspective. We talk about the glass being half empty or half full. We talk about optimists and pessimists. We talk about clouds and silver linings. We know that every life, every person, every situation and every family - church families especially-have their good points and their bad points. Some of us, by our inborn nature, will more easily dwell in the good; others of us, also by nature, will be more likely to dwell on the bad.
The challenge for all of us, at every turn, is to learn how to strike the right balance in our perspective. How do we celebrate what's good, without denying & addressing the bad? And how do we admit and address what's bad, without becoming embittered and blind to the good? That is the trick, isn't it! And there's no place like church to help us embrace this challenge. Because church is a veritable stew - some might say “mosh pit” - of good and bad. The classic American image of church as a pretty room full of pretty people with smiling faces and demurely folded hands could not be more deceiving. There are people under all those smiles, and where there are people, there will be conflicts. There will be mistakes. There will be differences of opinion. There will be struggles and squabbles. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are young brothers and sisters, never hitting our full spiritual maturity until we are home in glory. And have you ever observed how young brothers and sisters actually relate??
Sooner or later, if we're around the church long enough, something will happen that we don't like. An unpleasant encounter. A difference of opinion, maybe a big one. A problem person or persons. A real or perceived slight from pastor, Elders or others. A direction or position the church takes that we think is going to you-know-where, and perhaps even bail out before it gets there; or, we can lift our hands in prayer, pray to God with all around us, and ask God to help us hang on through the wild ride that is church, life, love and faith, human-style.
Are we dying? Or are we living? Are we going to you-know-where? Or are we going to where God knows? The answers, in large part, are a question of perspective.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Tracy
Join me in July and August
for a “summer session” Bible Study at 8:30 am on Sunday mornings before worship!
Designed for adults and older youth, this Bible Study will help us all understand
“the Bible and how it got that way” and teach us ways to delve even more
deeply and faithfully into God's Word, to understand it for us, for today.
New Cell Phone Number for Pastor Tracy - 724-205-1837
....Pastor Tracy's "Day Off" has been moved from Fridays to Thursdays.
(To allow her some one-on-one time with her longsuffering husband!)
....Pastor Tracy will be out of the office the following times throughout
the year:
Please call John Owen or Robert Sommer in case of pastoral emergency.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Church, the Body
of Christ, is one of the high privileges and intimate decisions of human
life. First Christian Church is concerned about men and women, boys
and girls in our community who are not closely related to Jesus Christ
and His Church.
There is no better time than Easter to accept the gracious invitation
of the Master and His Church and to unite with His people in a fellowship
of service, concern and redemption.
Adults considering this all-important decision may call the church
office (724-834-2260),
Rev. Tracy Mills office (724-834-2260) or Home (724-925-2299).
She will be happy to meet with you at your convenience.
.....God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who
didn't have transportation.
.....God won't ask the square footage of your house. He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
.....God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet. He'll ask how many you helped
to clothe.
.....God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
.....God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of
your ability.
.....God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you
were a friend.
.....God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived. He'll ask how you treated your
neighbors.
.....God won't ask about the color of your skin. He'll ask about the content of your character.
.....God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your
mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.
People who regularly attend religious
services are likelier to pick up and maintain healthy habits compared with
less dedicated attendees,
a new study shows.
While studies have lined worship with
improved odds for living longer, it's been uncertain whether churches attract
people who already
smoke and drink less and are more physically active,
or if attending services somehow helps promote those behaviors.
"We found that attendees did not all
start off with such good behaviors. To some extent, their good health
behaviors occurred i
n conjunction with their attendance," said William
Strawbridge, researcher at the Human Population Laboratory in Berkeley,
California.
For the latest study, Strawbridge and
his colleagues looked at health surveys on more than 2,6000 people going
back nearly 30 years
to track both their health behavior and church attendance
over the years.
"Individuals who regularly attended
religious services were more likely to become more physically active, quit
smoking become less depressed,
increase social relationships and intimate
and maintain stable marriages," Strawbridge said.
Strawbridge said surveys don't make
it clear just how religious attendance helps increase survival or improve
healthy habits.
"But these mechanisms are worth understanding and
studying, since they could help with the design of health promotion strategies."
One experiment in a group of black North
Caroling churches found that church-based, scripture-backed nutrition education
effort
had a positive effect on the number of servings of fruits and vegetables
members were eating on a daily basis.
"It's a given that in churches, people
find new sources of social support that tend to make people healthier,"
said Michael McCullough,
researcher with the National Institute for Healthcare
Research.
BECAUSE:
Sunday School teaches the Bible, God's Word
Sunday School prepares one better to face life's problems.
Sunday School teaches obedience and respect for parents and those in authority.
Sunday School gives an opportunity to develop
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Sunday School helps builds strong character.
Sunday School offers opportunities to share one's faith.
Sunday School offers opportunities to serve others.
Sunday School builds friendships.
Sunday School gives opportunities to bring others to hear the Gospel.
Sunday School teaches songs of joy and praise.
Sunday School gives the opportunity to discuss spiritual problems in small groups.
COME TO SUNDAY SCHOOL
BECAUSE.....
God says: Seek the Lord while he may be found. Isaiah 55:6
God says: Search the scripture...for they testify of me. John 5:39
God says: Train up a child in the way he should go. Prov. 22:6
God says: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Col. 3:16.
Read the names on the Prayer List containd in your monthly paper newsletter, and pray for each one. You may not know them personally,
but God does, and each one is included at the request of one of you. Share in the fellowship of prayer.
Your pastor and church secretary need to know of the continued needs
for special prayer. Please call when it is appropriate to remove
names.
It would be a joy to share in prayers of gratitude for those
who no longer need our special prayers.
When you or a loved one is
hospitalized, you must notify the church.
Under the new privacy laws, the hospital cannot automatically notify us.
