Welcome
Each week one of our pastors or staff members writes a column observing what is going on in our congregation, the Church and the world, and offering reflections on the Christian life and faith. Through this series of columns, we hope to connect your and our story to the enduring story of Christ; to offer pastoral reflections on our ongoing congregational life and mission; to report on news of the Presbyterian Church and Church universal; and to invite further reflection and deeper discipleship. We welcome your comments and suggestions. In other words, our words here are an invitation to continue the conversation.
I have an especially grateful heart as we look ahead to Thanksgiving this year. Sarah and I continue to be overjoyed as we expect our first child in March. I’m also grateful for the Thanksgiving Pancake Breakfast that we are able to enjoy with such a wonderful congregation.
Once a month, we welcome children into the family of God through the sacrament of Baptism. We have the privilege of coming alongside parents and promising to help some of the youngest in our congregation grow in faith and in love.
I've been membership director at BMPC for more than 20 years, so if anyone is going to describe who we are as a congregation, it might as well be me.
One of the greatest privileges of being a church musician is that of providing music for memorial services. During my tenure at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church I have provided music for more than 1,500 memorial services.
In September, a day or two before Don and Jody Smith moved to California to be closer to family, Don came to the church for a farewell hug and handed me a letter which said in part...
“Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave—that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm. And therefore, this courage allows us, as the old men said, to make ourselves useful. It allows us to be generous, which is another way of saying exactly the same thing.” ―Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
This week marks the end of our pastoral relationship. As you know, I have heard and accepted a call to serve as interim pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, VA. Sunday we celebrate our shared time, say our goodbyes, and Ruthie and I will depart for Virginia. I begin my new call on Tuesday. I will preach my first sermon next Sunday, October 19. I conduct my first memorial service next Saturday, October 18.
