Category: Pastor Thoughts - Edmonds Presbyterian Church

From the Desk of Pastor Rob

9/29/2021

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Many of you have been praying for me in the last few weeks. I am very grateful for your embrace of us as we become part of the community here at Edmonds. I just took my Ordination Exams in September. It was a real ordeal while also being in my last year in seminary and moving our household in Oregon. Your prayers sustained me, and Carol, and we are super appreciative. Thank you!

We are renewing the life of the church for the Fall. We began our Bible Study of Romans. We are following N. T. Wright’s Romans for Everyone. It is very easy to follow along and it can be picked up at any time along the way. I recorded a kickoff lesson to get started. Just search “Romans Bible Study Kickoff by Rob Christ” in YouTube. We are meeting on Sundays after church at 11am in person. And we are also meeting on Tuesdays at 10am on Zoom (usual zoom details, contact the office if you need help).

While we are not ready to start up choir again, Gina continues to provide rich and beautiful music for worship with the help of several wonderful worship leaders and soloists. Additionally, we continue to offer an online At Home worship option for those of you are not ready or able to join us in person on Sunday mornings.
I have a variety of interesting messages for you in worship for October:

On October 10, we will learn how to “Pray This Way” using a line-by-line study of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. I think you see that the Lord’s Prayer is richer and more intimate than you might think.

On October 17, Rob Hagan of the Presbyterian Foundation will tell us about the abundance of God’s grace. I will be his liturgist and we will host a light lunch afterwards.

On October 24, I will tell you how “Fear is Your Friend” in a provocative reading of Job.

On Halloween Sunday, October 31, we will learn about “Ruth and the Shema.”

You are an amazing and blessed community of believers! It is a privilege to serve with you! I wish you all every grace for autumn.

With the Peace of our God,
Pastor Rob

From the Desk of Pastor Rob

8/26/2021

Dear Fellow Travelers,
What a wonderful thing it is to worship together! Carol and I have really enjoyed meeting many of you. We look forward to getting to know you more as time goes on. I told some session members that it has been a beautiful honeymoon. They joked, “Well, we might not actually be married yet, until you are installed and ordained.” I said that’s all the better because it must mean that we are going steady! Whatever it is, it’s a delight to be with you.
One of the great things about writing to you is that I get to let you in on my secret plans. As I have spoken with many of you and observed how you work together, I have prayed for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for how we should re-emerge as a congregation. You have been through so much in the last couple years. It’s a lot to handle, but you’ve remained faithful and gracious. I have focused my messages on wisdom, trust, facing shame, and resting in the Word of God. Let’s take this time to regroup and consider what we want to be as we move forward. My goal is for you to feel grounded and supported by the grace of God.
We are going to spend some time in the book of James this month. I will talk about being “Interrupted by Love” in how we reach out to the community. We will explore the importance of what we say with “Words of Gold and Honey,” and our practical use of the Bible through the “Wisdom of Women.” I hope for wisdom as we make choices about what we will do this fall. We are watching the guidelines closely and discerning carefully about how to do worship, when and how to start choir and the bible studies again. In the meantime, we will continue to offer the At Home worship and online communion so you can stay connected wherever you are.
My big request of you this month is to pray for wisdom and discernment. I hope for us to come together with a mission focus that we all embrace. I also want us to find ways for our neighborhood and our city to experience the bounty of love we have in our church. Check out the updates to our website. Follow our Facebook and Instagram pages and share them widely. Let me know what you think. Please call or stop by. I look forward to chatting with you!
In the Grace and Peace of our God,
Pastor Rob

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

11/10/2020

Greetings –
As I write this, I am reminded that I am writing pre-November 3rd. I do not know what you will know when you open this newsletter, which candidate for president has won the election. And I do not know what reactions will happen, though I pray for peace and calm to prevail.
This moment reminds me of many other moments in my own lifetime, moments when I did not know what the future would hold.

The first was when I was seventeen, sitting by the window on an ordinary Sunday afternoon in May1980, and watching ash fall from the sky. We didn’t know if it was toxic. We didn’t know if we could drive in it, or if it would damage our vehicles. (We later learned that it did clog engines and scratch windshields). We didn’t know if schools would be closed, if events would be cancelled or postponed. It was an uncertain moment.

The most recent time I recall was when we first learned that COVID-19 had arrived in a Kirkland care center. What might that mean for us? Would our lives change? We are still living in that uncertain time. I have made over 30 cotton facemasks. And we are still waiting to return to worship in the sanctuary.
At our Presbytery’s Verge 3.0 conference in October, I had the opportunity to listen to Susan Beaumont speak about her book, “How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You Are Going.” In her presentation she reminded us that the traditional ways of leading – with clear direction, a five-year plan, and expectations that we will excel in this effort – just don’t work in times of uncertainty. Instead, she suggested that good leaders become comfortable with not having all the answers just yet; remembering to be present to ourselves, others, and to God; and acknowledging that we may be in this time of uncertainty for a while- and this uncertain time may have something to teach us.

Who in Scripture was faced with uncertainty? There are many examples to choose from. Moses in the desert of Sinai for what turned out to be 40 years. Ruth and Naomi, wondering what would happen to them following the death of their husbands. Mary, wondering about her pregnancy with Jesus. The disciples, following the crucifixion of Jesus. Or my favorite in this context, the persecutor, Saul, who was struck blind by the light of Christ. Blinded, and charged with heading into a city he could no longer see to find, Saul began his journey toward faith in Christ. His companions, who did not see the light or hear the voice, took Saul into the city of Damascus. Then, in Acts 9:9 we read, “For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” He was waiting, as instructed, to be told what to do next. Can you imagine the uncertainty and anxiety? I would have wondered if I was crazy. My companions would probably have become very impatient with me. But, he does wait, and Ananias appears, being instructed in his prayers to do so. Ananias heals Saul through his prayers, and teaches him the good news of Jesus. Saul, also known as Paul, becomes a great witness to faith in Jesus.

In our present moment of election and pandemic uncertainty, let’s look to the scriptures. Remember that God is faithful. Give thanks for all the times that God has been faithful in your life, and use those memories as encouragement to trust in God’s faithfulness today. Remember the trials God’s people have gone through over the centuries - and know that we are not exempt from such trials. Challenging times and situations will arise. Just as God was with Moses and the people of Israel in their 40 years of wanderings, God is with us as well. Finally, don’t forget to take time to give thanks and praise to God. Look outside – see the trees in all their fall splendor, and give thanks. On a clear night, notice the moon and the stars, and give thanks. And whether on Zoom or in real life, give thanks for each person you see this day, that they are a unique, beloved child of God.

In Christ,
Pastor Amy

Thank-you

11/10/2020

“I thank-you for the many emails and cards that I received in October for Pastor Appreciation Month! I don’t know who the instigator was, but it was delightful to hear from so many of you. I am truly blessed.” – Pastor Amy

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

10/1/2020

Greetings,
I have been thinking about discernment today. In particular, how do we discern which voices to listen to, and which voices to turn away from? I remember when our second child was born. When she first met her elder brother, she heard him talking as he entered the hospital room. While she was in my arms she turned her head and focused her gaze (as much as a newborn can do so) on that very familiar voice that she recognized from the womb. She knew the sound of his voice.

We talk about listening for the voice of God as one way to undertake discernment. What does that voice sound like? How do we turn our heads and focus our gaze when that voice appears in scripture, in our prayers, or through other people?

You may remember the account of the two disciples who encountered Jesus on their way home to the village of Emmaus on that very first Easter Sunday. They did not know that Jesus had been raised from the dead when a stranger joined them on their walk. Gradually he explained all that they needed to know about Jesus, the ways that the scriptures had foretold his birth, death, and resurrection. Then finally, when the two disciples invited the stranger to join them for a meal in their home, we read that “their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”

This account highlights many of the common steps we take in discernment. We begin by looking for connections between our own lives, our own experience and the witness of the scriptures. Some call this the “scripture test.” Would the actions we are considering be praised by what we understand as the teachings of Jesus?

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we often need someone else to help us see the connections. The disciples needed Jesus, the stranger on the road with them, to help them understand. We, too, often need someone to journey with us, to help us unpack the message of the scriptures and apply them to our lives. Our fellow Christians help us through their wisdom. We may also hear the voice of Jesus in our prayers and study helping us to make these connections.

But notice with me that in the Emmaus account, initially Jesus was the stranger on the road. He was not someone the disciples recognized. He was a stranger. And yet, they listened, they were willing to hear what this stranger had to say. And through the stranger’s voice they heard the voice of God.

I wonder what strangers we are listening to these days. I find that today’s strangers come in two forms for me. The first is the stranger who barges into my Facebook feed, or my email. I see the stranger in the video, the article, the news item that a friend likes and is therefore shown to me. But, is that a stranger I should listen to or not? At times like these, I am reminded of the wise words of the fictional character, Molly Weasley, in the Harry Potter books, who says to her children about a magically enchanted object that has become a source of trouble for them, "Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain." Applied to our newsfeeds, that means checking the source – who is behind this article? What is the purpose of it? It helps us to know whether this is a stranger’s voice worth our time, when we know the authors’ bias, or whether the news site is known for offering balanced or partisan views. A helpful link to sort this out is here: https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart Discernment in the daily email, the daily newsfeed, means knowing who is behind the message we are seeing or reading.

There is a lot of talk today about the bubble we each live in and in which we read the news of the world. That bubble tends to look a lot like us, and while I like a lot of people who look like me, I know that there are plenty of good ideas from people in other countries, people with different backgrounds and experiences than I have. But so often those people are outside my bubble – they are a second kind of stranger in my life. Lately I have been intentionally finding more of these strangers to listen to, to add to my discernment. A favorite way for me is to read or watch the news is to look for news from the Canadian press. I also have a number of respected clergy colleagues who are black, indigenous, or persons of color, and I seek out their writings, often on their blogs. I try to choose my strangers wisely. I listen to them and what they have to say, so that I may grow in my own understanding, and in the words of these strangers I may also hear God’s word to me, the word I am trying to discern.

In time, like the disciples at their kitchen table in Emmaus, the pieces of our discernment fall into place and we know what direction we need to take. The two disciples left their home and went back to Jerusalem to share with others the good news Jesus had shared with them. May our ordinary daily discernments and our more momentous ones be ones in which we hear clearly the voice of Jesus.

In Christ,
Pastor Amy

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

9/3/2020

Greetings –
2020 is turning out to be a year like no other. Some have speculated that in the future, if you’re having a really bad year, all you’ll need to say is “It’s 2020 all over again!” and everyone will know that you’re experiencing the worst of the worst. But poet Leslie Dwight encourages us to think differently of this year. In her now viral Instagram post and poem, she writes,

In the life of our congregation all in-person gatherings are on hold. We meet virtually on Zoom, grieving that not everyone can participate. We have needed to re-think our planned remodel of the church, as the Presbytery has chosen to not have physical office space in 2021. And in the midst of this change-filled year, I have announced another change – that I will end my pastorate with you in January, 2021. (There are family reasons behind the change. I had hoped for many more years with you before we needed to part ways. I trust that you have received my email with the details, so I will not repeat them here.) All these changes in the life of the congregation may lead you to wonder is it worth it? Does God still have a plan for this church community? These are fair questions, and ones the Session will wrestle with as they meet in the next few months.

But I wonder if we also need the wisdom from the poets among us? What if this “IS the year we have been waiting for?” What if this year is “the MOST important year of all?” When God’s people have lived through times of change, they have written about it in the Psalms, preached sermons about it, found inspiration in the words of Jesus, and guidance in their prayers. That’s how Christian discernment happens, and that’s what we will do, too.

This fall I will re-start the preaching series on the Seven Marks of Vitality, the seven areas of our congregational life that every congregation exhibits in large and small ways. These are the things that make us a church. The Session is undertaking two extended sessions of discernment together in September, using material developed for churches in times like these. In October we plan on opening up our discernment process to include other congregational participants. If you are feeling led to assist in this way, please let me or a Session elder know of your interest.

I intend to remain curious about what the future may hold for Edmonds Presbyterian Church. What if this “IS the year we have been waiting for?” What if this is the year that Isaiah speaks of, for us, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19

Please join me in holding the Session and our congregation in your prayers as we discern together God’s invitation for 2020 and beyond.

Pastor Amy

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

8/4/2020

I have been thinking about God’s grace these days. What is grace? How would you define it?

What I have learned about grace over the years is that it is not something we can earn, and it is not anything we deserve. Grace is a gift of favor, and as a gift it can only be given to us, extended to us in love. We show grace to the young mother shepherding tired preschoolers when we urge her to go ahead of us in the check-out line at Fred Meyer. We receive grace when we are surprised out of our self-centeredness, and given a gift often wrapped in wonder, awe, or thankfulness. Listening to the frogs in the pond at night can be a gift of grace. Breathing the cold clean air after a week of hot weather is a gift of grace for me today. Listening to a young child make up words and sing loudly a song no one has ever heard before is a gift of grace.

Frederick Buechner, in his book Wishful Thinking, under the title “Grace,” writes these words…

“Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?”

And just when I thought I had wrapped up my understanding of grace with a nice neat bow, author Kathleen Norris’s words remind me of the amazing depth of God’s grace. She writes,

“If grace is so wonderful, why do we have such difficulty recognizing and accepting it? Maybe it's because grace is not gentle or made-to-order. It often comes disguised as loss, or failure, or unwelcome change.”

As I thought about her words, I realized that sometimes the best gifts of God’s grace I have ever received appeared to me in times that were filled with grief, or other forms of loss. I remember distinctly a long-distance airplane ride many years ago, where I found myself crying without knowing why. The time in the air gave me the time to question those tears and realize that the tears I had first labeled grief over the death of my grandmother, were really tears for another kind of loss. I had realized through my tears that I needed to leave a computer support position that was becoming more and more life-draining. Discovering that I needed a change of direction was a gift of God’s grace, disguised in tears unleashed by grief.

Grace is also a theological word, a word that describes how God acts toward us. God’s grace in our lives is the very essence of our salvation. Buechner also describes this well when he writes,

'The grace of God means something like: "Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are, because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you."
As we enjoy the beauty of these August days, I encourage you to take a moment to sit without distraction and to consider the word grace. How have you experienced God’s loving grace in your life?'

with prayers for you and for our church community,

Pastor Amy

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

7/1/2020

“I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121: 1-2

Summer greetings!
Did someone you know graduate this year? We celebrated with several graduates– including EPC’s Kate S-D. As I watched portions of their online graduations, I was impressed with the way the colleges and high schools tried to make the day special for each graduate. Even elementary and middle schools across our area held graduation parades, with teachers standing at a social distance along the side of the street and parents with the children in their cars driving past in long lines. As they passed one another they shouted words of thanks, congratulations, and encouragement. Each graduation was creative and heartwarming, but it also just wasn’t the same. And that small discomfort I felt is a reminder that we crave the in-person connections with each other that we are missing in this time.

Earlier today I watched a recorded video of the Rev. Otis Moss III preaching a sermon for an annual Festival of Homiletics. He preached standing in the aisle of his church, surrounded by empty pews. Standing in that empty sanctuary, he talked about the alone-ness of this pandemic. The pews beside him were once filled with worshipers (and he showed us photos of them), singing, rejoicing, and praying together. But now they are empty. And it is easy to be discouraged. “Don’t lose heart,” Rev. Moss proclaimed. Why? Because we are not alone. He then asked the camera operator to widen the view, and he showed us that he was not alone – his wife was there praying for him as he preached, seated just outside the frame of the original camera angle. The camera operator was also there. And then Rev. Moss wondered about each of us. We can feel alone, but God is there with us, sometimes just out of sight, just outside of the frame.

It’s in times like these, preaching to an empty room, that I appreciate the Apostle Paul’s reminder to the church in Colossae, “… since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (Colossians 4:1). Our ministry together at Edmonds Presbyterian Church looks far different than anything we could have imagined even six months ago. While you may not see them at work, your session, your deacons, your staff, your property volunteers are all at work doing the ministry of this congregation – seen or unseen. This month’s newsletter is one place for me to offer them my thanks for not losing heart, for praying for one another as we continue to be the church in these changing times.

Friends, do not lose heart. God is at work – seen and unseen. God is at work in those near us and those just outside our frame of view. God is with us and will continue to encourage us in this walk of faith.

with thanks your prayers,
Pastor Amy

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

3/4/2020

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? - Isaiah 43:19
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? -1 Cor. 3:16
See, the home of God is among mortals … See, I am making all things new. - Rev. 21:3, 5

What do you think of when you hear the word vital? For many of us, the word is most closely connected with medicine. Medical professionals take at least three vital signs to assess our health: pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. Looking at these simple signs, they are able to begin to identify if we are healthy.
What vital signs do you think someone would use to assess the health and vitality of a congregation?
The PCUSA, along with other mainline denominations, has been intentional about identifying the vital signs that indicate healthy vitality in congregations. After completing two detailed national surveys they have identified seven signs, seven “marks of vitality,” that we can use to assess how our congregation is doing. How vital are we? In what areas are we the strongest and healthiest? You may have the impression that vitality exists only in large congregations – but that’s not what the studies found. Congregations of all sizes can be vital. The session and I are delighted to be part of the two year Vital Congregations Initiative in our Presbytery as we assess our marks of vitality and prayerfully consider how we can become even more vital.
What will the Vital Congregations Initiative look like? During Lent and Easter of this year we will be taking a closer look at the seven marks of vitality through prayer, scripture, our Sunday services, our Sunday adult classes, and our personal devotions. To begin, I invite you to pick up a copy of the Lenten devotional, Vital Signs, and use it to consider what a vital life in Christ looks like for you and for our church community. Then notice as Lent and Easter unfold how the upcoming sermon themes connect to the seven marks you have studied. And join us for opportunities to dive deeper into the meaning of each of the seven marks during our Adult Education time after worship.
It is our goal that by the time Pentecost arrives we will each know the seven marks of vitality – we will speak that shared language. This shared language will lay the foundation for the remainder of the two-year Vital Congregations Initiative. Over these two years we will make an honest assessment of our vitality; take a careful look at what God is already doing in our neighborhoods, and our community; and then prayerfully design experiments that will assist us in becoming more vital as we move into the second year of the initiative.
The Seven Marks of Vitality are:
1. Lifelong Discipleship Formation: continually growing as disciples of Jesus
2. Intentional Authentic Evangelism: sharing the story of God’s love at work in our lives
3. Outward Incarnational Focus: serving beyond our church community in Jesus’ name
4. Empowering Servant Leadership: recognizing and humbly offering our gifts of leadership
5. Spirit-filled Worship: proclaiming and celebrating the good news of God’s love
6. Caring Relationships: extending God’s love and compassion to all
7. Ecclesial Health: seeking with others to build up the Body of Christ
That’s a lot of information – but the key is this: pray! May we celebrate our existing vitality, notice the work God is already doing among us, and join in the new thing God would have us explore.
— In Christ,
Pastor Amy

Pastor Amy’s Thoughts….

2/5/2020

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
—1 Corinthians 3:16

As I wrote in my annual report to the congregation, we continue to be on the move at Edmonds Presbyterian Church! We have come to an agreement with Northwest Coast Presbytery to explore a remodel of the existing building to accommodate our church needs, the Presbytery’s office & meeting space, and at least two rooms dedicated for the use of therapists from Samaritan Counseling Service. Plans are being discussed, and this month there will be a design review with all parties to discuss and fine-tune the plans. If all goes well, we should begin remodeling the facility within the year.

A second big thing happening at the church is our participation in the PCUSA Vital Congregations Initiative (VCI) for 2020-2021. The purpose of the initiative is to
“…assess, discern and live into transformative actions that increase vitality. Through intentional spiritual practices and relational connections, this two-year process takes us deeper into following Jesus Christ, making disciples and being the vital community of Christ [in our] particular communities and the world.”1

In other words, we are looking to become a more vital congregation here in Edmonds. God’s Spirit does dwell within us. This year we will be even more intentional about listening to God’s Spirit through the practices of prayer, bible study, worship, and discernment. Throughout the process we will have the support of the Presbytery and other congregations who are undertaking this initiative.

What will it look like for us? First we will become familiar with the Seven Marks of Vitality, and begin to assess how we are doing in each area. We will do that primarily through our Lenten worship, and our Sunday adult education hour. The Seven Marks of Vitality2 are:

Lifelong Discipleship Formation : to embrace the love of God, nurture the compassion of Christ within you, and be changed by the Holy Spirit
Intentional Authentic Evangelism : to share the hope that is within you
Outward Incarnational Focus: to offer the grace of God to others
Empowering Servant Leadership: to love and serve one another
Spirit-filled Worship: to proclaim and celebrate the good news of God’s Love
Caring Relationships: to extend the love of God and the compassion of Jesus to all
Ecclesial Health: to work carefully with others to build up the Body of Christ

Then over the course of the year we will intentionally listen to our neighbors, and prayerfully enter into a season of discernment as a session and as a congregation about how we, in our community, may becomes a more vital congregation in the coming year.

I am also the Presbytery coordinator for the initiative – so please do ask me questions! I love talking about the Vital Congregations Initiative. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “God is about to do a new thing – do you perceive it?”

In Christ’s service,
Pastor Amy Delaney

1From the Vital Congregations Initiative Pastor’s Manual, PCUSA, 2019.
2Definitions courtesy of Rob Stewart, Riverside Presbytery, PCUSA.