Church guide

A recently published article in Presbyterian Outlook.

Amen

Sharing a recently published article.

Newsletter April 2019 Dear Church of the Mountain Family, It’s here. Well, almost. Spring, that time of renewal, of burgeoning life, when the silence of winter is pierced aloud by the songs of robins, sparrows, and songbirds. When the first shoots of daffodils, skunk cabbage, and pitcher plants emerge from the hard ground. When all that is brown sheds its winter coat and bursts forth in living color. A friend of mine, Kurt Oelschlager, wrote a poem called “Mud Time,” in which he says in one of the verses: mud dries, the earth heals, and, with the arrival of spring, rooted in the mud, the grass turns green, roadside weeds and shrubs come alive, trees leaf out, nature takes it course. He’s right—“spring is rooted in the mud.” It has been a difficult winter for the congregation with a number of our members suffering cancer and other health issues. We’ve had our share of mud—the kind that sticks to you, that makes you slip and fall sometimes, that makes you wonder if spring will ever come. But this is also the season of the renewal of our faith as we come to Holy Week and to the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We will rejoice in, celebrate, and dance over, that which arrives in mud, in dark-damp caves; we will sing over the stone that was rolled aside to release the body that defeated death. This is the eternal season that resides in us who have come to believe, who have experienced the resurrection, and who stand as witnesses to the risen Christ. We know He lives because He lives in us. Paul wrote: “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11 (NKJV) Now that we are born of the spirit, love and truth burns in our hearts and sets our lives aflame with the passion for knowing Christ and for making Christ known. So as we wait for the mud to give way to gardens, as we wait for the earth to heal itself from a long, deep winter, may the Son warm our days, set our lives ablaze with passion for the life given to us so that we would bring this message out into the world: “He is Risen…. He is Risen Indeed.” We glory in Christ alone, and we enjoy his presence forever. Amen. In His Service, Pastor Sherry

March 2019 Dear Church of the Mountain Family, During seminary, I had a professor who said that the role of the pastor is to “Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” If you are hearing that for the first time, you might find your spine stiffening. Yet there is some wisdom in that statement—certainly we are all tasked with the responsibility of being a soft place for the wounded, the grieving, the hurting, the lonely, and the struggling to land. But to afflict the comfortable is something else. I understand that to mean, to motivate, to encourage, each other not to be complacent or apathetic. I remember a pastor once humorously saying that he didn’t even have to pray about his health anymore because he had excellent health insurance. Some consider church attendance the equivalent of fire insurance. Where there is struggle, there is forced growth. Often when the church is under persecution, it flourishes the most. China is a good example. A well-known theologian author, Francis Schaeffer once said that we live in an age where people will sell out for personal peace and prosperity. He wrote in his book, How Shall We Then Live: “Personal peace means just to be let alone, not to be troubled by the troubles of other people, whether across the world or across the city – to live one’s life with minimal possibilities of being personally disturbed. Personal peace means wanting to have my personal life pattern undisturbed in my lifetime, regardless of what the result will be in the lifetimes of my children and grandchildren. Affluence means an overwhelming and increasing prosperity – a life made up of things, things, and more things – a success judged by an ever higher level of material abundance.” Lent is a good time to reflect on this—is it true? He wrote this in 1975. I hear it often, “I just want to be left alone.” To engage with others in or out of church is to take an emotional, financial and intellectual risk, as well as to confront prejudices and conflicts. During Tuesday evening Bible Study we wrestled with questions about how do we assess where we truly are in our spiritual lives? So we started a spiritual assessment tool/quiz; here is what we came up with. Perhaps we would be wise to attempt to use this tool to examine our lives during Lent and beyond honestly. Am I too comfortable? In other words, do I clutch my comforts too tightly? Am I willing to let go of some of my comforts for the sake of others? Am I sharing enough of what I have? How much is enough? Am I content with what I have, or do I always need more? What am I doing with my excess? Who do I not see in my everyday life, or who do I dismiss? Do I set aside a specific time in my daily routine for prayer? Am I where God wants me to be? Do I do what I do for the glory of God, or for personal satisfaction and recognition? What question or questions would you add to the list? I invite you to email them to me, and I will add them and continue to share them. I would add: Am I taking responsibility for my part in the stewardship of our planet? Do I care enough? Do I do enough? Let us together and individually consider these questions and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what is next? What are we being called to do? Ask that we can shake off the rags of complacency and apathy that we may be clinging to. May we go forth, and be lit on the inside with the fire of God in our bellies! In His Name, Pastor Sherry

Pastor’s Letter, February 2019 The Power and Gift of Loneliness Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hear it a lot. In fact, I heard it this morning: “I’ve got cabin fever.” On this morning as I compose this letter, it is snowing outside, and there’s an expected accumulation of five to eight inches of snow. I am sitting in my home office and glancing out the window as the white powder falls on trees, on tables, on railings. I’m attentive to the mysterious silence of snow, and the way it isolates me, at least for the day, and how it also forces me to confront my aloneness. I doubt there is anyone who might be reading this letter, who hasn’t experience loneliness at some point, in their life. I am not thinking so much about the deep ache of loneliness, the kind that ravages us when we lose someone we love, or that of a broken heart. I’m talking about the type of loneliness that insists we live and participate in the world. There is something essential, crucial and vital about loneliness. I’ve come to believe it is both God-given and God-driven for several reasons. For one, it is God-given so that we don’t live in isolation and so that we understand that no one is an island, that we absolutely need one another. Yes, we are a part of the Body of Christ, but we are also a part of the Body of Humanity. It’s God-driven so that we will not settle for less than walking through this life with Christ. We must always be aware of God’s presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and grasp with grace-filled hearts, that we are never alone. Loneliness and aloneness are two experiences that I’ve had to think about of late as I’ve had the privilege of officiating at several funerals this month. I am reminded that at the end of our lives, we will all face God. We will stand alone before God for a life review. No one will be there to accept blame for our choices. We are responsible for what we’ve done with our days, having been given the grace of eternal life, and knowing that Jesus Christ has taken our place at the judgment seat. It’s a sobering thought, and one worth taking the time to think about. Maybe cabin fever is not an illness, but a reminder of our longing to connect with God and with one another, for no life is complete without both. Maybe we could even go so far as to say that loneliness is a gift of the Spirit if we are willing to open it. So on this day, and throughout the wintery cold, snowy, days, may we pay attention to God-given and God-driven loneliness and aloneness, and live better for having paid rightful attention to it. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. Be glad, be wise, and listen to the snow. May we gain a heart of wisdom. In His Name that is Above All Names, Pastor Sherry

Due to PA being under a state of emergency, and the likelihood of ice, we are canceling 10AM Worship tomorrow. Tonight's Activity is also canceled. Enjoy the beauty, be safe and warm.

Pastor’s Letter January 2019 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Let me begin this letter with a high note of gratitude for once again blessing me with your generous gift this Christmas. I am deeply humbled, forever grateful, and most of all, I bless God’s holy name for calling me to the Church of the Mountain over four years ago. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being God’s people in a day and age when the world continues to walk away from church. May we all continue to run with all we have to the finish line where we will be embraced by Christ, and hear those words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” May we all enter this New Year with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all the things and people we’ve been blessed with, and have often taken for granted. Let us be grateful for each other, for health, warmth, silence, beauty, creativity, friendship, family, fellowship, and those who help us through so many difficult times—the list is endless. Let us add to whatever resolutions we have made for 2019 to make worship a part of our daily lives, to live with hearts overwhelmed by wonder and awe, to wake up every morning dazzled by grace. Here is the list of the 10 most common New Years’ Resolutions: Exercise more Lose weight Get organized Learn a new skill or hobby Live life to the fullest Save more money / spend less money Quit smoking Spend more time with family and friends Travel more Read more Most of these resolutions will be broken or abandoned within the first few weeks of the new year. But what if we add to our lists, getting into shape spiritually? What if we make our spiritual life a priority—exercise hospitality everyday, immerse ourselves in reading and studying scripture, be intentional about new ways of service personally and communally, blocking off time to pray for one another. In addition, purpose to say some uplifting word to someone everyday. Say thank you to those we share our lives with daily. Forgive those who you haven’t. Forgive yourself. We could all set up prayer goals for ourselves, and our families, for 2019. Setting goals, say the experts, helps us to change our behavior, guides our focus, helps us sustain momentum, and promotes a sense of self mastery—all of which comes down to surrendering more and more of our lives to the Holy Spirit, who leads us into the fullness of life. May 2019 be a year of growth and maturity for our faith and our congregation. Let us all be diligent to bring the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world in every way open to us, personally and communally. May we all follow the Son wherever He leads us, for we will never be disappointed if we remain faithful and true. In Christ, who is the Living Water, Pastor Sherry

December 2018 Pastor’s Letter CategoryPastor's LetterPosted onNovember 28, 2018AuthorSherry Blackman December 2018 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On Thanksgiving evening, as my son stared into a fire that was burning in the fireplace, he said something that I thought was pretty revealing: “We give thanks on Thanksgiving for all that we have, and then we rush out to go shopping on Black Friday because we have to have more.” I’ve been reflecting upon his comment over the last few days as we soon will enter into the season of Advent. The days are darkening, the weather itself makes us draw inward, and yet, there is a madness to this season for going into debt, for buying what we can’t afford, for “getting and spending,” as Wordsworth wrote in poem The World is Too Much with Us. The pressure is on to show our love for our loved ones through the gifts we give. Wordsworth wrote, “Getting and spending we lay waste our powers.” Of course this is the season for such consumerism. Sometimes I think, do my children or grandchildren even remember what I bought them last Christmas? What powers is Wordsworth talking about? I believe he’s talking about our power to create and be creative; our power to be more hospitable to nature and neighbor. Our power to live into the call that is on our lives to be God-with-skin-on to a world that is suffering a great emptiness within. “Getting and Spending” are great ways to distract ourselves from this season of anticipation for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. More than ever, we live in a world of distractions. I ran into someone recently who said to me that they are disengaging from so many things that vie for her time—Facebook being one of them. Too much time was being swallowed up, never to be redeemed again. Why do we tolerate such distractions, such time robbers? My guess is that we are afraid of the emptiness that might be within us, an emptiness that Christ wants to fill, that only Christ can fill. Blaise Pascal wrote: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” During Kathy Field’s recovery from recent eye surgery she said that for two weeks laying on her back, unable to read or watch television, she did a lot of talking and listening to God. She said, “I experienced the most profound sense of God’s presence with me.” Isn’t this what we all long for, deep down? I was reminded of the verse in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” Maybe that is what most people are afraid of—acknowledging the true, ever pervasive presence of God. During this season of Advent, of waiting, I want to encourage us all, and be encouraged, to sit quietly, to reflect, to examine our lives, to simplify them, to focus them on what is most important. To see within ourselves the birthing of God with us, God in us, and all that this means for our individual lives. To invite Christ into any emptiness we are carrying around, or denying even exists. May we attend to our deepest need for God during this season, and to others who yearn for the Christ child to be born in them. Pastor Sherry

Wilderness Retreat.... Spiritual Renewal, Physical Challenge...Die-Hards.

Children's Sermon.... we can do together what we can't do alone.

Larry and the Beckettes at the talent show.