Reflections on an installation (and register for Montreat, please)

When this date for the pastor’s column first came up, I wanted to write about why youth should register for the Montreat Summer Youth Conference, the deadline for which is this Sunday. And they should do that! But I’m calling an audible. Melanie Hardison is being installed this Sunday at 4:00 p.m., and I want to tell you what it means to be installed as a pastor from my perspective as the last person to be installed as a pastor at BMPC.

From one perspective, the installation of a pastor is a bit of administrivia, the fulfilling of all righteousness with our partners in the Presbytery of Philadelphia. And sure, that’s true. There is nothing innate that changes as a result of a pastoral installation – my work with youth wasn’t different before and after my installation. It formalizes a thing that’s already true and, in that way, it’s easy to dismiss.

But I do think there is something special that happens at these services. At my installation in September, my dear friends Vincent Kolb and John Francis came to preach and to sing. They got to meet you all, and you all got to meet them. The installation commission was made up of diverse people from the Presbytery, from my own vocational life, and from this congregation. This mashup of places, spaces, and times led to a sense that we were really finally getting to know each other. The initial awkwardness of mixed company gave way to small-world moments, personality insights, and a-ha realizations about why we are the way we are and why we are such a good match for each other.

Don’t go to Melanie’s installation service this Sunday because you think something magical will happen or because you think you should. Go because it will help you see who she is and how she will be your Associate Pastor for Congregational Care. Go because you’ll see how connected we are and how small the world is. Go to see what makes this such a remarkable community.

Also, youth, please register for Montreat by Sunday. Pretty please!

Hope Amidst Grief

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). All of us carry heavy burdens from time to time. Even though we feel these burdens internally, we are not meant to carry them alone.

This year’s Caring Ministries Spring Symposium, this Saturday, March 7, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, explores how grief shapes our inner lives, our relationships, and our shared world. In addition to viewing the documentary Voices of Grief as a group, a panel of clinicians and faith leaders will explore various types of grief: personal, societal, ambiguous, and anticipatory. Panelists include:

Emilee Duckworth, MSW, LCSW, has a private therapy practice in West Chester specializing in grief and loss, chronic pain and illnesses, anxiety, and life transitions
Carla Levins, LCSW, FT, serves as a bereavement specialist and therapist with both children and adults at Peter’s Place in Radnor
Rev. Beth Toler, Th.D., M.Div., LMFT, an ordained Baptist minister, has a private practice and serves in our Middleton Counseling Center
Rev. Melanie Hardison, M.Div., MAMFT, serves as Associate Pastor for Congregational Care at BMPC

Following the panel, there will be a chance to gather in small groups, with the panelists rotating among the groups. We will conclude at 12:00 noon with a group blessing.

For those who need a break or a quiet place to process at any point in the morning, space will be set aside in the Converse House Parlor. Additionally, the BMPC Chapel will be available for prayer and reflection after the Symposium and throughout the season of Lent.

Our Caring Ministries team looks forward to shining a light of hope on the universal experience of loss and grief. Registration is encouraged, and walk-ins are always welcome.

Lent is an Adventure 

I remember early in my ministry sharing the story of Jesus in the Wilderness. We looked through famous paintings of Jesus in the wilderness, and several of the students seemed surprised by the doleful expression and crouching Jesus. “Shouldn’t he be exploring?”

In their mind, the idea of spending 40 days in the wilderness was an invitation to climb rocks, chase lizards, find hidden water sources, build forts, and more. They heard the 40 days as an adventure.  That response has stayed with me. What if, in between debates with the devil, Jesus was practicing his bouldering skills on some of the rocks or sketching out a giant pattern in the sand? What if Jesus spent just a few of those 960 hours imagining the Israelites crossing the same space on their way to the promised land or praying by stacking one stone on top of the other?

This year in children’s ministry, we are inviting our families to explore their faith during Lent: to run through the wilderness, to search for God in surprising places, to practice and build new skills. We invite you to join us on this adventure. All of our children have received Lenten Passports filled with ideas and activities for families to complete together. You can learn more about our passports by watching our How to Use Your Lenten Passport video. If you’re looking for a few Lenten Adventures of your own, consider one of the following:

  • Pack meals for neighbors on Saturday, March 14
  • Join a Sunday morning class
There are just 768 hours left!  Happy exploring!

Fruits of Silence

As an undergraduate in London, I was required to attend several performances each semester that I was not a part of. It could be the musical theatre ensemble on campus putting on a new production, or it could be the London Symphony Orchestra premiering a new symphonic work. In any case, I was always inspired by hearing and seeing the flourishing of music from peers to professionals. From unfamiliar repertoire, or a different interpretation, to new styles of singing and playing, there was always much to learn and much to admire. 

We here at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church are fortunate to welcome the Westminster Symphonic Choir to our Sanctuary on Sunday, February 22, at 4:00 p.m., as they present a program entitled “Fruits of Silence,” conducted by the Grammy award-winning conductor, Donald Nally. The program of “father and mother” pieces will include works by the famed French twentieth-century composer, Maurice Duruflé; music by Igor Stravinsky, one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century and a pivotal figure in modernist music; the prolific living Latvian composer, Pēteris Vasks; Johannes Brahms, whose Requiem the Sanctuary Choir sang just a couple of years back, alongside contemporary works.  

Come and be inspired by this elite group of students, as they take on incredible repertoire, both old and new, ringing out in the vastness of our Sanctuary. 

From Dust You Come, and to Dust You Shall Return.

Each year on Ash Wednesday, these familiar and grounding words land in my soul in the softest of places. A reminder of my mortality, these words can be at once discomforting as well as soothing: discomforting because we humans do not like to think of death, and soothing because they remind me that I have a place of belonging in the natural order of things: to God as God’s precious child, to the earth from which we all came, and to the human family. As we gather together as a body of faith, we proclaim and bring into our hearts once again the ancient words from Genesis 3:19: From dust you come, and to dust you shall return.  

This coming Wednesday, February 18, we will mark ourselves with ashes and these words during two worship services: a child-friendly service at 5:30 p.m. in the Chapel, and a traditional service at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary.

Of course, Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of Lent. Historically, the focus has been on confession and expressing our reliance on God’s grace. As The Rev. David Gambrell writes in the Book of Common Worship of the PC(USA), “Ashes are an ancient symbol of repentance, sorrow, and sacrifice. Traditionally, the ashes for this service are made from the palm branches of the previous year; thus, the ashes and psalm together frame the season of Lent.”

While many churches today simply order ashes online, our practice at BMPC is to engage the age-old practice of burning last year’s dried-up palms on the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday, and then to mark our foreheads (or hands for those who prefer) with the ashes.

As you receive the ashes on Wednesday, I invite you to remember last year’s Palm Sunday celebration and to reflect on God’s promise of love throughout the cycle of life. Similarly to the way that palm fronds were once vibrant forms of life, which then died and became something new in the form of ashes, we ourselves live vibrant lives, and then die, and then are resurrected to new life. On Ash Wednesday, there is a sense, too, that even as we are living, we “die to our old selves” and have the opportunity to be renewed in the presence of God and the community of faith.

Information about the 5:30 p.m. service can be found here. The 7:00 p.m. service will feature the artwork and poetry of Jan Richardson, an artist, writer, and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. I invite you to visit her website The Painted Prayerbook and search for “Ash Wednesday” in order to peruse her artwork and poetry as a way of preparing your heart and mind for worship on Wednesday. I also invite you to read and contemplate the scriptures for Wednesday in advance: the 5:30 p.m. service will focus on Micah 6:6-9 and John 1:35-50, and the 7:00 p.m. service will focus on John 3:16-17 and Psalm 51:1-15.

Friends, it is from dust that you come, and it will be to dust that you return. I look forward to worshiping with you on Wednesday.

Swelling With Pride

This Sunday, February 8, is Youth Sunday, and since December, the BMPC youth have been hard at work dreaming, praying, planning, learning, and writing. Youth Sunday at BMPC is a high holy day, and they can feel it. These are extraordinary young people, and I am so proud of them.

A month ago, I met with the preachers – Peter McConnell, Finley McGuirl, Andrew Quigley, and Elizabeth Rothman – to discuss their initial ideas and desired scripture passages from which to preach. They did their best work, and so did the Holy Ghost, by which I mean a theme emerged almost immediately: God is with us. God is with us in worship and music, in our various identities, in our suffering, and wherever we go from here.

From that theme, the middle and high school Sunday school classes got to work throughout January, writing the call to worship, an affirmation of faith, pastoral prayer, and prayers of dedication and illumination. Our Wednesday night Student Serve crew wrote the prayer of confession and met with James Kealey to select hymns and anthems that would support this central message.

Meanwhile, the preachers got together every Wednesday to run their sermons, offer each other supportive feedback, and find their voices in the pulpits of the chapel and sanctuary. They met with John Willingham to learn more about the task and craft of preaching every single Sunday. Last night was our dress rehearsal, and they are ready.

I’m going to repeat myself: the youth of this church are extraordinary young people, and I am so proud of them.

Come to worship this Sunday to support them, to learn from them, and to meditate on all the ways God is with you.

There is one more thing: The youth specifically asked to sing “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen, which has become one of their favorite songs over the last several years. And so, it will be our offertory anthem at the 10:00 a.m. service this Sunday. If you love this song (you should!) and want to sing it, join the one-time-only Youth Sunday Mass Choir. We are rehearsing in the sanctuary at 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, and we would love to have you.

Sacred Cows, Proud Peacocks, and an Eager Beaver: Learning the Heart of BMPC

One of my primary tasks as Interim Senior Pastor is to learn about you. Certainly, there is a formal history and a description of this congregation’s vision as articulated in the most recent mission statement. Both of those documents tell me some important things. There are bylaws and titles for each of the committees and task forces here as well. I suspect some of those groups have an articulated vision, too. All of those pieces help me understand something about the ethos here, but what are the underlying norms and values? I want to learn those pieces, too.  

On Sunday, February 1, there will be an opportunity for you to share such perceptions with me. Immediately after the Congregational Meeting, I will be hosting a gathering in Congregational Hall where, through the use of animal imagery, you will be invited to tell me more about BMPC. What are the sacred cows here, and what is the elephant in the room that needs to be discussed? What is it about this church that makes you proud as a peacock, and what are the kinds of things that you think cause this body of believers to be as stubborn as a donkey?  

At the gathering, you will be given a stack of 4x6 cards on which you can write your answers to such questions and a couple more that draw from old expressions about animals. There is no limit to what you can share about each of those clichés. Nor will there be a group discussion where other members can dispute your perceptions. Rather, the gathering is designed to be a time where each of you helps me learn more about the diverse views of BMPC among its members and friends. There will be a supply of push pins, too, where, after writing your perceptions on the cards, you will be invited to walk up to bulletin boards around the room and add your insights to those of others.  

Once the exercise is complete, a member of our staff will collect and compile your comments. Certainly, that event will not be the only time that you can offer those perspectives. If you cannot join us on that morning or think of other insightslater, email your perceptions to me, and I will add them to the list. Such insights will help me continue to learn about BMPC and be invaluable as I seek to prepare the landscape for your next installed Senior Pastor and Head of Staff. They will also give me fodder for future sermons and other tasks. Time will tell.  

I am excited to learn more about this congregation and can’t wait to hear what you think. One might even say that I am an Eager Beaver!   

A Busy Month for Code Blue

This January marks the third year that BMPC has participating in hosting the Lower Merion Code Blue shelter in our Atrium and Gym each night of the month when the real feel outside is 32 degrees or below.

In past years, I would often orient volunteers and then head home to my manse next door, hoping that at least one guest would show up that night to make all of the volunteers’ effort and hours worth it. This year, that has never been a concern.

Each night we have been open, we have had at least three guests, and on at least one night, we have filled every bed. Our connections with the Lower Merion Police have grown stronger, and multiple times a week, they bring guests to stay at the church who, in the past, would have had nowhere to go.

What has not changed this year is the way this project has fostered new relationships and deepened existing ones in our church and community.

Truth be told, volunteering at our Code Blue Shelter is likely one of the quietest and most boring tasks we do in “mission.” For the first shift, there is some activity at the start, and the second shift has a busy last hour of tasks to complete, but mostly it is sitting and keeping watch in the wee hours of the night.

While many of us who work bring computers and books, iPads and neglected work, there is also a part of every shift where volunteers just sit and talk and get to know each other in the quiet of the night. It brings joy to my heart each time I get to introduce members to each other as they start their shifts – often highlighting what I appreciate about each of them, knowing they will find places of connection in the time spent together. This is what it means to be a community.

This year, I have come to especially value the ways that guests and volunteers have connected. Often, a guest will ask about a volunteer they haven’t seen work this year, but who they remember from the past. In the days after a shift, a volunteer will often share with me a part of a guest’s story they learned for the first time.

As we approach our final week of hosting, I encourage anyone who has been considering volunteering at the shelter to grab one of the remaining slots. Not because we need more volunteers to help carry the burden of keeping the shelter open each night (even though that is the case), but because this is what it means to be church and community together.

Sign up for a Code Blue Shift.

Faith in Action: Responding to a Changing World

Jonathan Sacks was a renowned rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and public intellectual. A gifted teacher and writer, Sacks explored the moral foundations of society, the relationship between faith and modern life, and the power of religious traditions to foster human dignity, responsibility, and hope in a pluralistic world.

In his book the Dignity of Difference, he wrote this,
Men and women were made – so I believe – to serve one another, not just themselves.
We may not survive while others drown;
we may not feast while others starve;
we are not free when others are in servitude;
we are not well when billions languish in disease and premature death.

This is an easy sentiment to appreciate and to affirm as an orientation for how we as individuals and as a church live out our Christian calling to service and our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ.

People in our world are drowning in this moment – not so much literally but figuratively.

There is an overwhelming sense of dread among folks in our community and nation:

One of our mission partners here in Lower Merion reached out to me this week to ask for help in gathering supplies and resources for immigrant women whose husbands have been detained and are struggling to care for their children.

One of the Afghan families BMPC has supported for two years is in crisis as two of the men, and primary wage earners, have been detained despite their faithful compliance with the established legal process of being granted asylum in the United States. The members of our Refugee Support Committee have been working tirelessly to help them return home.

This week, news has been shared widely among Presbyterian circles that Rene Nicole Good, who was killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis last week, was a sister Presbyterian among us who served in her congregations and, as a young adult, was in mission service in Ireland in the early 2000s. Rene’s uncle is a Presbyterian pastor in Nebraska.

What is our calling in a world where things like these are happening, where so many are drowning?

That will be the topic of our conversations this coming Sunday morning at 11:15 in Congregational Hall – what is our community called to do to speak up and speak together in this moment? My hope for our time together is three fold – that it will be a space where we can articulate our grief at the brokenness of the world in this moment, an opportunity to reaffirm many of our historic values and practices as a congregation around justice and advocacy, and especially a chance for us to connect and move forward with new ways to engage and work towards good in the world today.

I hope you will join us.

Words of Gratitude

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I come to the close of my time among you, my heart is filled with gratitude—gratitude for the 43 years we have shared, for the faith we have practiced together, and for the countless moments of grace that have shaped my ministry and my life.

It has been one of the great privileges of my calling to walk with you through seasons of joy and sorrow, growth and challenge, celebration and quiet faithfulness. Together we have prayed, sung, mourned, rejoiced, learned, and served. In doing so, you have taught me more about God’s love, patience, humor, and hope than I could ever express.

I am deeply thankful for your trust, your kindness, and your generosity of spirit. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives, for allowing me to serve you, and for forgiving me when I fell short. I leave enriched by your stories, strengthened by your faith, and forever changed by our shared journey.

As I step into retirement, I do so with confidence in the future of this congregation. I am incredibly grateful to my amazing colleagues in the Music and Fine Arts Program — James Kealey, who will take over the reins; Tori Fisher, who is one of the most gifted people I have ever worked with; and Daniel Carroll, my brilliant student and organ scholar. I am grateful to the entire church staff — our amazing pastors, support staff, and facilities crew. With this remarkable team, God’s work at BMPC continues, and with their leadership, I know you will move forward with courage, compassion, and ever-deepening faith.

Please know that I carry you with me—in prayer, in memory, and in deep affection. Though my role is changing, my gratitude and love for you remain.

May God bless you and keep you, now and always.

Jeffrey Brillhart