I’ve just gotten back from the Henderson Leadership Conference at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and I’ve hardly begun to absorb all of the things we talked about! A highlight, though, was Bishop Will Willimon’s talk on “Hope for the Many Churches Where Few Gather.”

Bishop Willimon gave a “state of the church” overview, and acknowledged what we already know: that many, many churches are smaller than they used to be, and that many people no longer assume that church “should” be a part of their lives. But he argues that we have lots of reason for hope—because God has always chosen to start with small groups or small individuals.

First, thank you to those of you who have filled out your Scripture reading tear-offs from the bulletin!  It has been helpful to learn what you’re thinking about, and how you encounter God’s word when we’re not already together in worship.  My hope is that you will also be able to ask yourselves, “What have I been reading lately?  Am I giving myself the chance to encounter God in the writings in the Bible?”

Second, I’d just like to say that I’ve truly enjoyed encountering Matthew with you in our services each week. 

Wednesday greetings!

 I want to thank all of you who brought or sent your current Scripture reading, and to encourage those who haven’t had time to do it or who might have read the Scriptures but forgot to write them down.  I’m making a bulletin board in the narthex (Welcome Center) so that we can all get a sense of what we’re looking it.  There won’t be any names attached—this isn’t about putting anyone on the spot.  But it will give us a sense of what people are looking at and thinking about, and it has the extra benefit of being a visual reminder of an important part of our discipleship.  We’ll be talking more about discipleship in the coming months. 

 If you need a starting place, you could think about reading from the book of Matthew, since that’s where the lectionary is taking us right now. 

This September marks a new liturgical season, The Season of Creation, which runs through October 4th.  It’s a large-scale ecumenical emphasis, with many denominations coming together to remember that part of gratitude is an awareness of the natural world, the world that God created and into which we were placed.  And part of that gratitude and awareness is respect for the created world, and for our place within it, among the rest of creation. 

The World Council of Churches nominated members of the committee whose job it was to discern and write and offer resources.  In one of their statements the committee writes, “Each year from September 1 to October 4, the Christian family unites for this worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home.  As followers of Christ from around the globe, we share a common call to care for creation. We are co-creatures and part of all that God has made. Our wellbeing is interwoven with the wellbeing of the Earth.” 

September greetings!

Like many of you, I start my mornings with prayer and devotion, or prayer and study.  My current study book is Pastor:  The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, by Will Willimon, a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church. 

In this morning’s reading, Willimon writes, “many of our current notions of the ordained ministry rest upon an innovation that occurred within the first two centuries of the church, and which was brought to fulfillment in the first thousand years—the creation of the laity.”  His point is that, although the church has always had leaders, we have somehow managed to forget, in practice if not in theory, the priesthood of all believers. 

I’m happily anticipating our church picnic/BBQ this evening, and if you read this newsletter before it happens, please come, whether or not you were able to RSVP.  Bring a side if you can and don’t if you can’t—we just want to spend some time together.  Because church is more than worship and service—even though those things are vitally important in our Christian life.  We are also a community—a body together.  Tonight, we lean into the community part of church life, and we’d love to see as many of you as possible, whatever the status of your current association/attendance at McKnight UMC. 

I’m going to focus on upcoming events today, because there’s a lot going on!

Our Summer Picnic is upcoming:  On the 23rd of this month, bring yourselves and maybe a blanket or lawnchairs, and we’ll meet outside for a good time of fellowship, along with some of the congregants from Epworth UMC.  Paper goods and desserts and a hot grill will be provided—all you’ll need to bring is a side to share and something to grill.  Let’s celebrate summer together before we move into fall!

On Sept. 9, at St. Paul’s UMC, the Pittsburgh District United Women in Faith will have their annual meeting and *all* are welcome.  The theme is Passion, Purpose, and Well-Being, . . .

Summer’s not yet over, but in the rhythm of things, vacations are coming to a close and people are beginning to organize themselves for another school year, or anticipating the fall rush of sports and yard cleanup and holidays, or even just becoming aware of that instinctive nudge that cooler days are coming.  I got my garden in late this year, so it’s only beginning to produce, but I’m going to have bushels of tomatoes soon (why don’t they ever pace themselves?).  So, it’s both new beginnings and fruition, all at once, and everything coming together at a dizzying pace.   

I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy your summer, whether you treat it as a time of work or a chance for some relaxation in the sun. And I’m looking forward to coming together with all of you as we all settle in a few weeks into that steadier rhythm of early fall schedules. 

But first, we have a summer barbecue, on Wednesday, August 23, at 6:00 p.m. here at the church, to celebrate these still beautiful sunny days, and to celebrate the fellowship that we have together. 

Now that it has been announced in church, I am delighted to tell you all here, in case you missed it, that Alex Sun has accepted our offer and is our new pianist!  Alex is young, but as you have likely already heard, very gifted, as well as willing and able to improvise, musically speaking.  We are very pleased to have him here at McKnight—he is a delight to listen to, and accompanies our hymns beautifully. 

We continue our efforts to raise funds for our Silent Fund (so called because it is entirely confidential).  So far this year our church has helped 10 different families, mostly with gift cards for grocery cards, and it is our privilege and our honor to represent the love of the church to a needy world.  Craig Fowler set up a whiteboard in our Welcome Center (that front room by the sanctuary) so that we can track our efforts there. 

In addition to studying for the sermon every week, I also try to read widely, in specifically Christian resources and outside of them as well.  This week several articles I read were about church renewal—it’s on everyone’s minds these days.  What are the next steps for the church?  How do we be faithful in the times in which we live?  

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little tired of chasing anxiously after the next “next” step.  The church has a pretty solid model:  we gather, we worship, we study, we turn outward toward the world in love.  Truly, it has stood the test of time—2000 years and still going.  That’s the model currently used in the areas of the world where the church is rapidly expanding, almost explosively, even as we here in the U.S. wonder if the model is why our congregations are aging. 

Fairly often during my weekday work, I am surprised to find someone else in the church, tinkering with something that needs a little work, or preparing something for the coming Sunday, or just doing a little cleaning or some extra yard work.  None of them, I think, would like to be named, but I’d like to say here how much I and the church appreciate the work that you do, and how much better the church can minister because this work is done.  Thank you! 

It’s often the things that happen in the background that oil the more visible gears, and the time and gifts quietly given that make things happen.  Craig addressed two more “background” items for us this past Sunday, and I’d like to take note of them here in the newsletter, too.

We’ve all had a year to get to know one another, and I’d like to say that I’m very grateful that I am appointed at McKnight again this year.  You are a faithful people, caring for each other and for me and my family, and looking outward to see what good you as a church can do in the world. 

Thinking about what McKnight can do, I’d like to know what causes are important to you.  Would you like to help a school, or fund some music lessons?  Or is there a medical mission that matters to you?  These are only a few ideas—there are many ways that churches can contribute, and many worthy causes to contribute to.  Some churches raise funds to pay off medical debt; others help with local food needs. 

Greetings from my vacation! Lucy and I took a trip to Louisville to visit my aunt and see some sights, and then when my older kids came home we all took a trip to Niagara Falls, which none of my kids had seen before. We even did the Maid of the Mist. We were skeptical of the cost—was it really worth it?—but oh, my! It was awesome. Literally. One of those moments that readjusts your sense of yourself in all of the awesomeness that is God’s creation.

Greetings to all, from the end of Annual Conference!

I have been in Erie most of this week, taking care of my responsibilities in legislative action but also in our larger community life as a United Methodist Conference—and I was also commissioned as a Prospective Elder!  As I told a colleague after, it was really important to me and a significant step in my journey to ordination, but I didn’t expect to feel it quite so deeply.  I am so very grateful that, by the grace of God, I have made it this far!

And I delighted to confirm what most of you already know:  that I will be staying at McKnight again this year.  I am very happy to continue to work with you, and to add Epworth in Allison Park to my charge. 

While Pastor Becky is away at Annual Conference this weekend, Becka Abbott will be leading us in worship. Please give her a warm welcome! Click below to read Becka’s bio.

There’s that one moment in our worship service every week where we “pass the peace.”  Often, we feel a little awkward—why are we saying “hello” in the middle of the service?  I thought I’d use this week’s letter to talk a little about why we still have that moment—why, even though it’s sometimes awkward, we keep it a part of the service. 

Summer greetings!

This coming Sunday we celebrate Peace with Justice Sunday.  It’s our Methodist acknowledgment that suppression of or lack of violence is insufficient to be called peace—and that that approach is likely also ineffective. 

Peace with Justice Sunday is when we ask ourselves how can we expect peace in the world when so much injustice remains.

We’re easing into summer now.  Preschool graduations were yesterday, and the families of about 65 young graduates gathered in lawn chairs in the church parking lot to celebrate their little ones’ growth and achievement with much love and enthusiasm.  The preschool staff organized and celebrated all of their many milestones, and showcased each of the students in song or reading or number games—it was an impressive group!  And thanks to an anonymous donation, on behalf of the church I was able to give small plaques to each young graduate as they received their diplomas.  The plaques were inscribed with the famous words of John Wesley: 

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.

This coming Sunday is both Heritage Sunday and, appropriately, the day we’ve chosen to celebrate Kathie Chavka as she moves toward retirement.  

Heritage Sunday is the day we remember the church as it came before us, both as United Methodists and as Christians generally.  We are preceded and supported by the love, prayer, and work of many Christians throughout the ages, and we have so much to be thankful for.  Christians before us and all around us have persisted in difficult times, have found ways to understand the Word of God in their own contexts, and have served their communities.  We know that the church has also made mistakes, but we trust that God keeps an eye on us, nudging us into better directions and shaping us as we grow and learn. 

Like many of you, I start my mornings with prayer and some kind of reading about God.  This morning my reading was a little abstract:  it was an excerpt from the World Council of Churches’ statement on Faith and Order, in the introduction of which I found this, about “the calling of the whole people of God”: 

How, according to the will of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is the life of the church to be understood and ordered, so that the Gospel may be spread and the community built up in love?