Westminster Presbyterian Church

Van Gogh The Green Vineyard, 1888

I John 4:7-21 and John 15:1-8

A long time ago, Audrey asked me if I would preach on May 6, since she and Bruce were
planning to be away that Sunday. Given my fondness for the congregation at Westminster, and
my respect for Audrey, I replied “Of Course…I’d love to.” Little did either of us suspect that I
would be standing in front of you this morning, May 6th, the first Sunday as your new Associate
Pastor.

I don’t know about you, but for me, these sorts of unexpected surprises are not merely
coincidence; they are tangible reminders that God is very much involved in our lives, opening
doors, nudging us forward, getting us where we need to be to fulfill our calling most fully… and
perhaps chuckling a little bit in the process. I’m honored, and more than a bit humbled, by
the trust placed in me by your Search Committee and the Presbytery of the Cascades. In my
heart of hearts, I believe that you, and I, have responded faithfully to God’s will for our ministry
together.

Read more: Rooted, Knit, Intertwined and Completely Connected

The Good Shepherd William Dyce, 1856

Shepherd Sunday     

I John 3:16-24       John 10: 14-16

How do we help children know they are loved?  It’s one of the challenges for parents and family members who want not only to love their children, but to help them know, deep down, that they are loved.  Child psychologists have written endlessly on this topic, encouraging parents to spend time with their children, listen to them, tell them they are appreciated, tell them they are loved.[i]

In generations past, people tended to have a different approach.  In some cultures at least, showing love for children was done mainly through providing for them, keeping a roof over their heads and ensuring that they had enough to eat.  Love was shown rather than spoken; it wasn’t said so much as just lived out.

In our Scripture reading for today from the first letter of John, we find an answer for how it is that we know love.  First a little background on this letter of John.  Scholars believe it was written by the same writer as the gospel of John.  He was the one called the beloved disciple.  He was the only one of the twelve--along with the women—who stayed with Jesus even to the cross.[ii]  He was the one whom Jesus charged to take care of his mother after his death.  The beloved disciple had encountered the depths of God’s love, as he witnessed Christ breathe his last on the cross. 

Read more: Love Lived Out

 “God of our life, through all the circling years, we trust in thee.  In all the past, through all our hopes and fears, thy hand we see.”  Hugh Thompson Kerr wrote these words to a hymn many years ago, an expression amid all that changes in life of faith in the God whose steadfast love endures forever. 

Our lives are interwoven through the years with many who touch our hearts.  Over the past nearly six years, Westminster has been blessed to see the gifts and graces for ministry of our Director of Youth Ministries, Rebekah Hanson, come to flower.  Her spirit and music, her energy and exuberance have lent a note of joy to many aspects of our life as a church, not only the work with students, but also the Worship on Wednesdays and Vacation Bible School, among many others. 

We’ve had word recently that Rebekah has been accepted to study for pastoral ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.  She has been offered a Presidential scholarship to cover her studies there.  This is a bittersweet note for the church, as we rejoice in her being able to receive further training for the ministry to which she is called, and yet we will be sad to have her leave our staff later this summer.  For many of our youth members, Rebekah has been a shaping presence for their faith, someone they will always remember.

We are grateful that Rebekah will come under care of our church’s Session as she begins her ministry study, so there will be an ongoing link with the church through her years of preparation.  Later this summer, we will have time to farewell Rebekah and give thanks for her time among us. 

As providence would have it, the church has had in recent weeks an Associate Pastor interview team looking for a temporary supply associate to help coordinate work with families, youth and children in our congregation.   With the news of Rebekah’s plans for study, we have been able to expand the associate pastor role to a 2/3 time position, working with Rebekah over the coming months to get to know the students, and then including work with youth as part of the ongoing role.  This position is a temporary supply, while the church explores the possibility of a full time installed associate role, and the person taking up the temporary role would be eligible to be considered in the search for the full time position.

Read more: May Pastor's Ponderings

Earth Sunday         

Romans 8: 18-25, Luke 24: 36b-44

We give thanks this day for the beauty of the earth, a beauty that flowers in our gardens, and makes us marvel at life from the ruby hummingbird to the cougar on the mountainside.  As we sang the old hymn, “For the beauty of the earth,” each of us would have scenes that come to mind from our experience of earth’s beauties and wonders.  Some that stand out for me are the marvels of the rainbow parrot fish with their coats of many colors, flapping their way amid the corals of the Barrier Reef.  Or the beauty of earth, glimpsed in a silver backed grizzly bear in Glacier Park, a little closer to hand than one would have liked!  The beauty of earth, in the mica waters of a mountain lake in the Bear Tooth, amazingly cold to some young swimmers who ventured out into it.  The beauty of earth looking out from a winery terrace, the valley a land of milk and honey, mountains glimmering in the far distance.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Creation glows with a thousand beauties, even in its present fallen condition; yet, clearly it is not as it was when it came from the Maker's hand.”  Then he added, “the slime of the serpent is on it all.”[i]   

In our Scripture reading this morning, the letter to the Romans tells us that creation itself groans as though in birth pangs to be delivered from its suffering.  And we have only to turn on the evening news to hear how creation is crying out.  All around us are weather patterns out of the ordinary, with snow falling late in some places and hardly at all in others, floods causing havoc for some, while drought threatens famine for many. 

Creation groans to be delivered.  These words come to us from the apostle Paul, the writer of Romans.  He was writing in the context of reminding those in the early church who were enduring great pain that if they suffered with Christ, they would also be glorified with Christ.

Read more: Waiting for the Children of God