Letter from the Pastor

            It is a fact that we can never really know where we are unless we have an awareness of where we have been.  It is foolish to try to go back and live in the past.  But it is an act of wisdom to remember it, reflect on it, and learn from it.            Any accurate inventory of the past will include some happy memories.  We should hold on to those and carry them with us from one year to the next.  Then when the road gets difficult, as surely it will, we can […]

        A group of retired residents of an institution diplomatically called “A Home for    Senior Citizens” had gathered for an afternoon discussion led by a volunteer from a local university.  Each person was asked to quote a favorite poem or to sing a favorite song and then to comment on the verse or song.  One frail, little lady both began and ended the session when she lifted her hand and repeated part of a familiar line: “Grow old along with me… the best is yet to be.”  No sooner had her voice faded in the air than […]

             When Harry Truman was president of the United States, his daughter, Margaret, was aspiring to a career in opera.  The music critics had written some rather discouraging things about her future in that particular field.  Finally, she went to a specialist for an assessment of her chances of becoming an opera star.  After several days of evaluation, the specialist gave her opinion.  She said to Miss Truman, “You have a beautiful voice.  It is big enough and rich enough for opera.  The problem is with your ear.  And because of your ear, you will never attain greatness.”   […]

         Several years ago, there was a story in the news about a family in a small town in Florida. It consisted of a father, a mother, and two young sons. They were a normal family, except for one problem.  Both boys    had AIDS. Both boys had contracted the virus through a blood transfusion. Their presence in the public school was bitterly resisted by other parents, whose children attended that same school. One night, under suspicious  circumstances, the family’s house burned to the ground.  Finally, they were forced to move to another town. They had been rejected by their own community.       […]

          All good human relationships are based on mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual need. This is true of husbands and wives, parents’ children, employers and employees, friend and friend. It is true even of our relationship with Jesus. We     respect Him, that is clear enough. But it is also true that He respects us. We trust Him, and unbelievable though it is, He also trusts us. We need Him; this we freely acknowledge. For some of us, it is impossible  to imagine life without His presence and help. But has it ever occurred to you […]