Four Things on Friday
February 28, 2020
An Interesting
Article
I don’t remember where I found this article. The page has
been open on my phone for a long time, holding this space as something I wanted
to read later. I often hear, even at Gloria Dei, the opinion that we need to
draw more young people. The church, at least in my lifetime, has seemed to
gravitate toward the youth. (I’ve had youth-led worship services, but I’ve
never even heard of elder-led worship services.) There is a fascination with
youth, and there may even be a sort of idolatry of youthfulness. Some of the
efforts of Silicon Valley toward reversing aging and even uploading our minds
into a cyber-world are modern day efforts to cheat death and remain, as Rod
Stewart sang, “Forever Young.”
Ministry to the elderly has been a point of conversation
for a while. We have a couple ministries that stand out in this area: Esther’s
worship service at the Elms, and Bob’s Bible study at Laurel Lake. There are
other opportunities. I hope that, with the new building, we will be able to
create more intergenerational opportunities. The article speaks of the benefit
of wisdom given from the elderly to the young, but I have often noticed that
the young offer joy and vitality to the elderly.
Quote I’m
Pondering
“Do you want to be uploaded to a PC or a Mac?” – Jeff Mallinson
to Dr. Joel Oesch, and expert on transhumanism – the name given to the movement
to reverse aging and use technology to live longer, if not forever.
One Good Thing
This Week
This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and it was very
full. We held a memorial service for Dolores Kliever and had two services with
the Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion. It was a full day, but there was a
lot of good in it. Before Dolores’s memorial I was reflecting on the members
who had remained connected to her (and her husband Ed) and supported her after
she became a “shut-in.” I was moved by the love and care that our congregation
displayed to her. Later in the day, at the evening worship service, we had a
medical emergency. Once again I saw love and care displayed for a member in need
as people moved quickly to help. (God be praised, that, after a visit to the
emergency room, she was alright!)
Sometimes good things are bright spots in the midst of sadder,
darker, scarier things. When we love one another as we age, as our bodies break
down, and when we find ourselves in need of help that is, indeed, a good thing.
Our Scripture
readings for the First Sunday in Lent are:
Over the years I have learned that those who read the
Scripture lessons and spend a little time thinking about them before church on
Sunday get more out of the service.
The sermon is: “It Is Written”
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