Pastors’ Column

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.

Twenty-Five Years of Alternative Giving

the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick November 16, 2017

In December 1992, the following article appeared in the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Messenger:

Send a Kid (Goat) to Indonesia

Buy an “Alternative Giving Christmas Card” card for $5 to honor a friend, teacher, or relative. For each card purchased, a goat kid will be given by World Relief, an international Christian Agency, to a family in the Purwomartani region of Indonesia. Female goats give one-half a gallon of milk daily, providing children with a rich source of protein and calcium. The villagers will not only benefit from the immediate gift of the small animal, but will also receive training to breed their livestock. This is another opportunity provided by the Hunger Task Force.

What Lives On?

the Rev. Mary Steege November 9, 2017

What is a legacy? A legacy is something handed down from one generation to the next — an inheritance or a precious heirloom. It might be an ethnic or cultural history, or beliefs about the world, or expectations of how you should be in the world. We experience some legacies as blessing and others as burden. What has been handed down to you? What have you received from those who went before? Even better, what is the legacy that you will leave behind? What are you passing down through the generations, for good or ill?

For All the Saints

the Rev. Dr. Agnes W. Norfleet November 2, 2017

We associate O When the Saints Go Marching In with joyful, jazz funeral processions in places like New Orleans, and I imagine most of us only know the opening verse… O Lord, I want to be in that number when the Saints go marching in. The hymn actually has 12 verses, and it reads like the Book of Revelation, filled with apocalyptic images of the end times when God will be fully revealed and the people of God will stream into worship with endless praise before the throne of heaven.

Reformed and Always Being Reformed

the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick October 26, 2017

All this month in worship we have been reflecting on what it means to claim the label of Protestant and even Reformed... to follow the watch words of the Reformation as we call them: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, and this week, Scripture Alone.

On Wondering and Wandering

the Rev. Franklyn C. Pottorff October 19, 2017

These days I do a lot of wondering… and wandering. I suspect that’s what people do who are in new places, and as of this writing, who are also desperately trying to both pass and treasure the time before a new baby’s imminent arrival.

And as I continue to wander through the physical spaces of our incredible campus, a tiny question keeps lingering over me. It normally sneaks up on me when I have walked up to the side balcony of our English-Gothic Sanctuary to listen to a practice run on the organ, or when I’m sitting in the darkness of our Chapel, where the strongest light shines through our stunning Tiffany windows. It comes on slowly, and then sits on my shoulder, where I can’t seem to shake it off: Why don’t we build cathedrals anymore?

Gather Us In

the Rev. Dr. Agnes W. Norfleet October 12, 2017

This year Stewardship Season has us looking back and looking forward.

Remembering the 500^th anniversary of Martin Luther’s momentous nailing of his 95 points of debate on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral on October 31, 1517, our worship this month is considering five bold theological affirmations that emerged from the Reformation about grace, faith, Christ, scripture, and the glory of God.

Continuing Conversion

David B. Smith October 5, 2017

Presbyterians don’t make a habit of talking about our “conversion” experiences. The idea that one’s faithfulness to the Gospel can be measured by a singular choice to follow Jesus often seems alien to our experience. When we manage to talk about conversion at all, we describe it as the beginning of a lifelong journey in which striving is more holy than achieving; asking more sacred than answering, and hearing more laudable than speaking.