Words of Welcome

Psalm 133 The 133rd Psalm is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, because it speaks to one of my passions in life. That passion is the pursuit of Christian unity. It’s a blessing to hear the words: “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” This is especially true when the course of history seems to be pulling nation and world further and further apart. The Psalmist reminds us that there is a better way, a way of unity. Perhaps this is why I was moved so powerfully the other evening, as  the Madrigal Chorale brought their concert to a close by singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Yes:  I see trees of green........ Red roses too   I see em bloom..... For me and for you   And I think to myself.... What a wonderful world. Yes, what a wonderful world we live in, a world of God’s creation. Our Disciple identity statement offers a vision of wholeness taking hold in a fragmented world. This is a ...

Psalm 133 It seems providential that on the Sunday when I’m preaching on the call to Christian Unity as a founding vision that we begin a  Week of Compassion  emphasis that has its theme “We Are One.” We began worship this morning singing “ Somos Uno en Christo ” – “We are One in Christ.”  We sang it in both Spanish and in English as a reminder that the body of Christ embraces many languages and people. No matter our differences in appearance and culture, in Christ we are one.   Barton Stone, one of our founders, declared that  “unity is our polar star.”   It is the guiding principle for the Disciples as a movement.  Thomas Campbell, another founder, declared that the  “Church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one; consisting of all those in every place that profess their faith in Christ and obedience to him in all things according to the Scriptures.”   Campbell and Stone were commi...

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Those of you who’ve been part of the God is Green study know that we’ve been talking about the ways our lives impact the environment. Although God may have given us a beautiful world to live in and the job of being good stewards of this gift, too often we’ve muddied the waters and trampled down the pastures (Ezk: 34:18). As we’ve been talking about our impact on the environment, a troubling question has emerged: “How much is enough?” That is, if our pursuit of bigger and better has a negative impact on the environment, what am I willing to live without? What would I be willing to sacrifice? That’s one way to ask the question of priorities, but we could ask it in other ways. For instance, since we seem to be in an ongoing economic crisis, one that grips our nation, our state, and our local communities, including the city of Troy, we might ask the question: what services do we consider important and essential? 1. Back to Basics I’m not sure that Pa...