It's been five months since I've written on this blog. I wrote during Synod and totally enjoyed it, whether people read it or not! (Reason: it was a great way to make my thoughts concise and lucid) Well, through the prompting of Terry DeYoung, I'm back at it.
Synod seems light years away. Life goes on and so does the task of ministry within a church. I serve Bethany Reformed Church of Redlands, CA. With the exception of the few who read the Church Herald and one who stands adamantly opposed to the Belhar Confession, there was little impact of our General Synod at Bethany way out here in California. Instead, people are living their lives day to day and trying to get by. It is a blessing to serve a church like Bethany. With two exceptions, life goes on as usual here. One lost his job due to the economic slow down; another is furloughed by the state every other Friday. Beside that, the economic crunch that we are told we are experiencing, is not experienced here. Life goes on....
Yet, life is not going on without steps toward Christlikeness at Bethany. Our identity as followers of Christ gels each week in a blended service gathering that honors the best of many aspects of traditional and modern worship. Through prayer, singing, preaching, sharing, and reading the word, we grow closer to God and each other. The exciting part is how we are reaching out beyond ourselves to be Christlike in our city. We have fed the homeless at a local park each Friday evening since last January. I lead a worship service in the park for them on Sunday noon, and have for 3 months now. We will deliver meals to the Meals-on-wheels recipients on Thanksgiving Day, as we have for over 20 years (when the local organization is closed). And for the second year, our Christmas giving centers on the families of parolees through our local Step by Step program.
We have seen members of Bethany travel to Nepal, Vietnam, and Kenya to work in orphanges and schools and bring Bibles to churches who operate without even one copy among them - including the pastor! Others have traveled to New Orleans to work in Katrina relief. I love this church and I love my denomination. We have a real place in our community and in our world. Because as life goes on, we go on with it!