February 2008

From the Pastor:

It's incredible how quickly we have gone from Christmas to Epiphany, and now we find ourselves at the beginning of the Lenten season. It's a miracle any of us is able to catch our breath.

We are living in hurried times. We run from one place to another and we are overwhelmed with the reality that no matter how fast we are going we are barely caught up. Living this kind of existence is affecting every aspect of our daily lives. This is especially true in our spiritual lives.

More than ever before Christians are having a hard time reading their Bibles. Did you know that 500 pastors were asked why this was happening to their members? Their answer was "lack of time." The result of this is biblical illiteracy. The fact is only 40% of Americans know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Fewer than half of American adults can name all four gospels.

Adults under the age of 30 and people who attend small churches express greater difficulties with Bible knowledge than older adults. People who attend small churches express greater difficulties with Bible knowledge than members of large churches.

Our on-the-go American lifestyle is a prime reason people feel pressed for time. With the average commute for most Americans at 23.4 minutes a day, most Americans spend more time driving to work each year (100) than they spend on vacation (80 hours). So when factored in, Americans spend on an average 21/2 hours in the car each day.

Another issue affecting Americans today that gets in the way of their growing spiritually is illiteracy. Illiteracy keeps people from knowing God's word. According to the U.S. Department of Education's 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 43% of American adults function at or below basic literacy levels. In Wisconsin alone 39% of the adult population read at or below basic levels.

Poor reading skills affect more than just job opportunities and financial prospects. Functionally illiterate Americans also face two specific challenges in receiving God's Word: 1) dependency upon others, and 2) a learning style that differs from the way most Bible teaching is done in this country. People who are functionally illiterate process information differently than people who are literate--they require story telling and dialog, not exposition, to understand and retain information.

Christian organizations are trying to be creative in how they share the word of God with those who have issues with reading. For over 30 years an organization called Faith Comes by Hearing, has embarked in the ministry of audio listening programs. Their belief is that audio listening programs empower individuals to discover the word of God for themselves -and they are highly accessible to people who may feel intimidated by a printed book.

In December Session looked at all of these realities of lack of time and illiteracy, and decided to do something about it. During Lent, each person at First Presbyterian Church will receive a CD copy of the New Testament. Children will also receive a copy of the children's New Testament.

Our hope is that you take 28 minutes a day for forty days to listen to Scripture. If you have a computer, we encourage you to copy the New Testament and listen to it from your computer. If you have an MP3 player, copy the New Testament on to your MP3. Listen to Scripture while cleaning your house, going to and from the grocery, from work, or while exercising. The opportunities are endless.

We are also asking you to team up with us as a Session and to reach into your pockets during Lent so that we can help sponsor more Bible translations for illiterate people around the world. The Faith Comes By Hearing ministry uses 100% of our donations towards translating the Bible. They provide audio Bibles and the equipment necessary for people who have never listened to God's word to do so in a powerful way. It costs $900 to translate one book of the New Testament. If fifty of our members gave $18.00, we could cove the cost of translating one book.

We have asked the ministry of Faith Comes By Hearing to use our donations towards the translation of indigenous languages in Colombia. Because our Presbytery has a partnership with the Presbyterian Church in Colombia, our prayer is that we impact that partnership by making sure the Bible is available in every language possible.

During Lent, inserts in our bulletins will provide more information regarding this ministry and what you can do to help. We at First Presbyterian Church are making our mission statement of learning and sharing come alive through this ministry. Please prayerfully consider what you will give and during this Lenten invitation.

Remember that the Bible tells us in Romans 10:17 that "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Join us during this Lenten journey and grow in faith.

Until next time.

In Peace and love,
Pastor Mara

January 2008

From the Pastor:

Happy New Year! As we begin our year at First Presbyterian Church, the session will start a book study entitled "Simple Church." The question is why?

We are in the midst of what some are calling "A Simple Revolution." Corporations like Apple Computer and Papa John's Pizza have looked at the way they do business and have decided to simplify. They have done this by looking at their mission statements and by cutting items from their businesses that make things complicated.

In the life of the church this process is called discernment. Part of what session does is engage in the process of discernment regularly. This process allows the session to take the spiritual pulse of the congregation. As spiritual leaders of this congregation, session takes this role seriously and tries to vision how it can help the church members grow in their spiritual journey.

As part of this discernment process over the last four months, the session has discovered the reality that we are called to make disciples. It was refreshing to hear the congregation articulate this too when we held two town hall meetings last September. The message for the session from you the congregation was "We must grow."

So during the next nine months the session will take time to study God's word and to evaluate the current ministry programs of First Presbyterian Church. Our hope is to develop a process that helps our members grow spiritually so that as we grow we can help new comers also grow in their spiritual journey once they come to First Presbyterian Church.

In essence we will look at how we can simply walk people through a spiritual maturity process. And this means that we will look at all that we do and say. We will ask ourselves some fundamental questions like, "How does this program help people love God, love self, and love their neighbor?" or "How does this ministry help members live out our mission statement of loving God, following his Son, learning His ways, sharing God’s grace, and serving the world."

Being a "Simple Church" means being clear about what it is we do and why we do it. It also means having a clear sense of movement or knowing where we are headed. And this means removing any congestion that gets in the way of the ministry. It's about being faithful to where God is now leading the church.

Being a "Simple Church" means engaging in a process of alignment, thus maximizing the energy of everyone. It means engaging in things that really matter and that move the church folks toward spiritual maturity and discipleship. Finally, being a "Simple Church" means focus. It means that there will be things we won't do because those things don't fit into our new vision for the church any more.

As we begin this journey, the session, together with a "Simple Church Team," will ask the congregation for prayer. Prayer is one tool God gave His church that effectively transforms lives. So please pray for us.

We will also covenant with the congregation to provide information and guidance throughout the next nine months through our monthly newsletter, sermons, and moments for mission. A copy of the Simple Church book is available in our church library. Anyone is welcome to take it and read it.

Our prayer is that as we discern God's will for First Presbyterian Church, each member encounters the transforming power of God. And thus as each person is transformed, we continue becoming the disciples Jesus called us to be, disciples who see the great commission of making disciples their true calling.

Until next time.

Peace and grace,
Pastor Mara

December 2007

From the Pastor:

Advent is a time of expectation. It is the season when people are asked to prepare themselves for the coming of the Christ child. But Advent is also a time when people are filled with mixed feelings of despair and dread over the coming holidays.
The question is why? For many, the time of Advent isn't about waiting for the birth of the Christ child. For many Advent has become a time when presents are bought and when family begins the yearly ritual of coming together for a meal or for a holiday visit. And so old family issues creep in and people begin experiencing anxiety.

Television commercials and programs add to the anxiety by displaying unrealistic images of what the culture believes the holidays are all about. So people who struggle with the pain of what the holidays have brought them through the years feel left out and disconnected from everyone else.

Some of you reading this are probably wondering why Pastor Mara is writing such depressing thoughts. Isn't the first page supposed to bring good news and good things to hear? Although there may be some truth to that, I write about this because there are many people experiencing pain during the holiday season. I also believe that the church's role is to be present to people in need.

There are folks right now wondering how they will get through the holidays. There are people wondering if they will be alone because they have no way of being with their loved ones. Yet there are others who want nothing to do with their families at all.

So how can we be good news to those in need? How do we reach out in love to those who desperately need our outstretched arms? It begins by simply being present to people.

Being present means taking the time to hear other people’s joy and pain. Being present means sharing God's love by showing compassion and understanding. And showing understanding means taking the time to listen.

Jesus made himself available to those in need. He took the time to listen, to heal, and to transform people’s lives. Following in his footsteps is what the body of Christ is being called to be about.

So ask yourself these questions: Are there people around you who are having a hard time with the holidays? Is there someone you can go out of your way to be a comfort to? Are there people you know about that are disconnected from their family either by distance or by family issues?

I am sure there are people around us that are feeling blue about the upcoming holidays. And I am also sure some want someone they can lean on. Jesus says, "Come to me all of you weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." As the hands and feet of Christ, these are the words we are to carry on his behalf.

Friends, people are waiting with great expectation for the Messiah to come into their lives. They are longing for their own Advent to take place. Perhaps they are longing for the reality of a new family. Perhaps they are longing for a family that will offer them the kind of presence you and your family can. The fact is each day Christ comes as the Babe dressed in swaddling clothes through his people's compassion. And this means that he comes through you and through me.

Will you be Christ's hands and feet this Advent and holiday season? Will you open your heart to someone else's pain? What if you who are reading this are in pain? Are you willing to let someone be Christ to you?

These are the questions we must ponder as we walk through Advent. Each day of Advent Christ offers us the opportunity to reach out in love. That's what Advent calls us to be about. Being Christ is what Christ is all about.

In love and peace,
Pastor Mara

November 2007

From the Pastor:

This morning as I watched the Today Show I was struck by the story of a man who tried to live as the Bible dictated for a year. During that year this man grew a beard, wore clothes that didn’t have blended materials, and went each day to the park to say prayers publicly.

At one point someone in the park asked him what he was doing. After he explained, he stated that one of the things he was supposed to do was stone someone. The Bible was clear about stoning adulterers. The gentleman responded by saying to him, "I am an adulterer." He then picked up pebbles and threw them at the strange man who was trying to follow the Bible. In turn this Moses-like figure threw pebbles at the adulterer.

During the interview he stated that there were some positives and some negatives as a result of the experience. The positive was that he had been a workaholic, and following the Sabbath had allowed him to spend time with his family and recoup his sanity after a long week at work. He also learned what it meant to be thankful. The downside was that his wife wasn't too happy when he built a tent structure in the middle of his living room.

In the interview he was asked what was the most difficult thing he had to observe. He responded by saying that not coveting was the most difficult thing. The man also stated, "Although I am an agnostic, I did learn how to live a godly existence.

With the help of religious leaders like rabbis and pastors, this man lived an interesting existence for a year. During that time he learned that no one could literally follow the teachings of the Bible. He also learned from different religious leaders that the purpose of the Bible isn’t to interpret and live it literally.

The fact of the matter is that we don't practice living the Bible literally. The ten commandments were given to us so that we could live out our lives according to God's ways. But the truth of the matter is we don't.

As a pastor I am truly aware that the only way to live faithful lives is living God's way. There is no other way that really works.

The Commandments were given to us as principles by which we are able to realize the purpose for which we were created. But they were never to be obeyed by our own strength. The same God who offers them offers us strength to live them.

That's where folks have gone wrong through the ages. Those who have tried following the commandments have broken them or have made it a point of following them on the basis of their own self justification.

It is my belief that all the commandments are part of the first commandment which is to put God first and have no other gods before Him. But this commandment is hard to follow. The fact is the world has many substitutes for God, and we are tempted every day to follow them. The rest of the commandment deals with the false gods of religion, worldly possessions, and power over people.

As you reflect on these, take time to see how you break the commandments each day. Then remind yourself that the reason you are breaking them is because you are trying to rely on your own efforts to fulfill them instead of depending on God to help you honor them.

The fact is when we take the Ten Commandmnets seriously, we realize how difficult it is not to break them in one way or another --if not in our actions, in our thoughts. As Christians we dare to live by the commandments through the power of grace through Christ.

Grace reminds us that when we fail, there is forgiveness, and the strength to begin again. This is what this young man failed to understand in his year of trying to live as the Scripture teach. Had he understood this, perhaps he would have encountered the God of love. A God who invites us to be in relationship with Him not through wearing unblended fibers or through stoning people for their sin, but raher through His Son Jesus Christ.

In love and peace,
Pastor Mara