April 08, 2005
News Briefs for April 2005
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After Holy Week
Once again this year, my congregation - like many, no doubt - was profoundly blessed by three powerful services: the dark, foreboding Tenebrae service on Thursday evening; then, from noon to three on Friday, a series of half-hour meditations to mark the hours Jesus hung on the cross; and finally, of course, the joyous resurrection service on Easter morning. Late on Easter Sunday evening I ran across this, which catches a good deal of what Is on my mind these days. Perhaps it resonates for you too :
“The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground of my hope that I too, shall be raised on the Last Day. Our salvation is ‘external to us.’ I find no salvation in my life history, but only in the history of Jesus Christ.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together) GW
Quo Vadis?
Since the NACC’s 2004 AGM, your national Steering Committee has been trying hard to figure out what God wants from the Alliance at this time, and how best to meet his wishes. -- How should we be organized? (As we have been?) What should we be doing? (The same things as before?)
Jesus seems to be very clear that, if we all are to be truly his followers, we are to believe and act:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matt 7:21) (My emphasis)
Tough words. Jesus seems to be saying that if we’re not part of his solution, we’re part of the world’s problem – perhaps even “evildoers”!
So, we all have work to do, and during its April 17 teleconference the Committee will be going over the options again. That way we hope we can go to the 2005 AGM (June 9-11, Lewisporte, NF) with a better understanding of the Father’s will.
St. Augustine famously said, “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” There’s an implicit challenge in that - one your reps. at the AGM must confront in about two months. So, to be evenhanded, and give everyone a chance to be in on the action here’s a specific challenge, and I believe it comes to each of you from God. Tell us,
From where you sit, what do you think the NACC should, must, could be doing over the next few years to advance the Kingdom of God?
Your thoughts could come straight in to NBs, or you could share them with your regional President. Thank you in advance, . . . and, please, pray for the AGM.
Marriage . . . Again, . . . Still
Where this national issue is going is hard to say. The one thing that seems increasingly clear is that any vote in Parliament will be a close run thing. So your writing your MP, c/o House of Commons, Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 (no postage required), remains critical. And what has the NACC been up to on your behalf? It has provided the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada with materials and advice as it speaks for traditional marriage in the Supreme Court and on Parliament Hill. It has written to every Member of Parliament. It has made public its disagreement with the pro-same-sex marriage position of General Council. It has argued (successfully) that, no matter what the denomination’s official attitude, local congregations call the shots on whether their premises or ministers can be used for such ceremonies.
The Moderator Reports
Many who read News Briefs do not see The Observer and so they will have missed a brief but important item in the January ’05 issue (p. 11). While traveling across Canada, Moderator Peter Short has been talking pastorally with UCC clergy about the stresses they face and how they find themselves able to cope with them. The Observer reports he told General Council Executive that when he asked clergy what sustained them in their work (“What turns the lights on”), “they didn’t talk about Jesus.” He has put that question to 475 clergy, and “only a handful” named Jesus. “Somehow the name of Jesus or the personality of Jesus, however that came up for them, has gone away.” Asked to reflect on why this might be, GC Executive came up with a variety of reasons, many of which may well strike NBs readers as shallow and predictable. The item’s concluding statement?- “[M]any of the people in paid accountable ministry are in spiritual crisis and don’t know Jesus.”
Fellowship Magazine
Lately FM has been struggling financially, but its Office Manager tells us things are looking a bit better now, with the outstanding bills paid off and about half of the $25,000 needed for the next issue now in hand.
FM is a fine voice for orthodoxy in the UCC. Please hold it in your prayers and, if you can, send in a donation, c/o Box 237, Barrie ON L4M 4T2.
Posted at April 8, 2005 01:13 PM