Category: Pastors’ Column

Our annual Theologian in Residence program, created in honor of David and Ruth Watermulder, is always a highlight of BMPC’s Adult Education programs. Over the past ten years, we have welcomed a wide range of remarkable scholars, and when one looks at the full list of every scholar who has been a part of this endowed lecture series since its inception, it is packed with some of the most influential thinkers, writers, and preachers of this generation. But, I think I can say with confidence and joy that our upcoming weekend with the Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence, Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary, is going to be the most fun.

Anna brings a quality of imagination and creativity to her teaching and preaching that is both deeply faithful to the spirit of the Bible, while also breaking open new and innovative ways for us to step into and experience the story of scripture.

In her book Rehearsing Scripture: Discovering God’s Word in Community, she describes the wildness of reading the Bible together:

The biblical text is a wild thing, and it takes us to where the wild things are. When we read scripture and community, we have no idea what will happen or where it will take us, except that wherever it is won’t look like anything we know – it is the wild and free vision of God’s reign, breaking its way in. It is the mother of all waves, carrying us over the known horizon. Maurice Sendak may not have realized he was writing the perfect description of our biblical interpretive task when he wrote his classic children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, but he was. Maybe, every time we open our Bibles, we should open our mouths too with a collective roar: “Let the wild rumpus start!”

I hope that you will join us for what might not be a wild weekend of exploring scripture together in community, but what will surely be a weekend of thoughtful and creative interpretations of scripture, joy found in community with one another, and surely a hopeful message of the ways that God’s word still speaks to us today.

Here is the full schedule for the weekend – we hope you see you there!

LIGHT BRUNCH
Saturday, November 8, 9:30 a.m.
Congregational Hall, Ministries Center

LECTURE ONE: ANOTHER LOOK AT SOME (NOTORIOUS) WOMEN:
VASHTI, TAMAR, AND LOT’S WIFE
Saturday, November 8, 10:00 a.m.
Congregational Hall, Ministries Center

PREACHING
Sunday, November 9, 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.
Chapel and Sanctuary

LECTURE TWO: ANOTHER LOOK AT JESUS:GROWING UP, TELLING STORIES, AND WALKING ON WATER
Sunday, November 9, 11:15 a.m.
Congregational Hall, Ministries Center

 

 

 

What is your ideal image of Heaven? A place of beauty, grandeur, or calm? A space free of suffering, pain, strife, and division? An opportunity to see those we love who have entered the Church Triumphant before us? Can we even imagine what a glimpse of Heaven looks like here on Earth? Not knowing can be incredibly challenging, but equally beautiful. 

Though we might all imagine the place and space differently, I am convinced we all embrace the opportunity to see those we have loved and lost. Whether seven days, weeks, months, years, or decades have passed, those who have gone before us occupy a very special place in our hearts and minds. 

This Sunday, we remember and honor all those who have left this mortal plane, reading aloud the necrology of those members of BMPC who have passed away since the last All Saints’ Sunday. A number of profound anthems will be offered by the Sanctuary Choir, helping to frame this special service. Music has the transformative power to take us to another place – another reality. How? I’m honestly not quite sure. Whether it’s a particular marriage of text and music, or a piece you’re hearing for the first time, or even perhaps the 100th time, there’s a timeless quality to being in this space, hearing voices soaring from above the pews. Perhaps the somewhat intangible nature of music adds to its transformative quality. Where are we transported to? Who do we see when we close our eyes?  

 In a war-torn and grief-filled world, hearing beautiful choral music and reading aloud the names of those who have dearly departed, maybe, amid a world in strife, we’re witnessing a glimpse and a snapshot of Heaven. 

 If you could see the journey whole,
you might never undertake it,
might never dare the first step
that propels you from
the place you have known
toward the place you know not.
                                 ~Jan Richardson

Through my own experience with the churches I have been privileged to serve, and in the process of calling pastoral colleagues to join the staff of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, I have learned a couple of things about what becomes, as we say in church lingo, a sense of call.

First, search committees that get elected by a congregation are made up of a diverse group of people who undergo a process of discernment to articulate a vision, draft a position description, and search for and converse with candidates. Together, they pray, dream in abstractions, argue, laugh, debate, and, over time, they become more than the sum of their parts. It’s a Holy Spirit thing.

Likewise, pastoral candidates begin with companion emotions of reluctance and readiness to leave one place of ministry and journey into a new venture. This too is a Holy Spirit thing – hard to pin down, complicated to explain, a mixture of risk, fear of the unknown, excitement for the journey. As Jan Richardson’s poem suggests, we can never see the journey whole when we take that first step.

What a joy it is for me now to look back and recognize that our mutual sense of call, between BMPC and me, feels whole. Thirteen years ago, I could not see the contours of the journey, but today I can say with confidence that the work to which I was called feels complete. The church is healthy, well-staffed, and poised for a bold new chapter with fresh leadership. Last Sunday’s reception of 30 new members, bringing with them 12 new children, is a clear sign of continuing growth and vitality for this congregation!

I am so grateful for the journey here and for your partnership along the way, and now feel ready to step forward into a new season. In Presbyterian polity, a departing pastor, the Clerk of Session, and the presbytery sign a Covenant of Closure, in which I have promised that I will refrain from any pastoral involvement with BMPC going forward. This, too, is a sign of trust that our mutual relationship is complete. Thank you for all your expressions of love and appreciation, and know that while I step forward into the new season of retirement, I do so with much love and affection for you and the corporate ministry of this great church. From a distance, I will continue to give thanks for our journey together.

“Film music is like a small flame put under the screen to help warm it.” — Aaron Copland

Silent Film is one of the greatest cultural legacies of the United States. Sadly, more than 80% of the more than 11,000 silent films produced have been lost. With the introduction of “Talkies” in 1928 (The Lights of New York), the era of silent film quickly ended. During a short, furious period of silent movie palace architecture, America saw a campaign of theatre construction that made gold leaf, ponderous chandeliers, and the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ the rule and not the exception. Thousands of movie houses depended on live musical accompaniment for their silent movies, and while some smaller houses merely had pianos, the vast majority had theatre pipe organs. While these wonderful instruments were not inexpensive, even back then, it was far more affordable to have a “Mighty Wurlitzer” with a few house organists on staff than to pay for a full orchestra or even a modest band to perform in the orchestra pit every day.

These organs became wildly popular, and several manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon to join the Wurlitzer company to have an organ in every movie house in the land. In Philadelphia alone, there were more than 157 theater organs (now only a handful remain in the Delaware Valley).

When the “talkies” became mainstream movie entertainment right around 1930, the production of theatre pipe organs came to a screeching halt. While some organs were used on special occasions for a few short years, many took over the namesake of their chief reason for being – they became “silent.” Some were destroyed when old theaters were torn down decades later, some were ruined and/or vandalized, and a modest number of them found their way into churches and private home installations starting around the 1950s.

While there were originally several thousand theatre pipe organs around the U.S. and U.K., today only a few hundred remain.

One of the greatest films of that era was “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Filmed in 1923 and starring Lon Chaney as the Hunchback, it was Universal Studios’ greatest silent film success. Based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel (which led to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral), it is a masterpiece of stagecraft, makeup, and special effects. It premiered in New York City at the Astor Theater, which installed a large Morton theater organ for the occasion.

It is our pleasure to offer this film on October 31 at 8:00 p.m. in the chapel. The film will be accompanied by our organ scholar, Daniel Carroll, who will improvise the entire 1-hour, 40-minute soundtrack. The chapel organ has a kaleidoscope of colorful sounds that work perfectly in the genre of silent film accompaniment. Daniel is one of my most talented improvisation students. The Hunchback, accompanied by Daniel Carroll, will provide an incredibly enjoyable evening for all ages!

The film is free; concessions will be available! You are welcome to make a contribution toward the expenses of the evening at the door.

This coming Sunday, our new Associate Pastor for Congregational Care, the Reverend Melanie Hardison will be introduced to the congregation! She will be in attendance at the 8:00 a.m. worship service, leading worship at 10:00 a.m., and on hand for the Blessing of the Animals on the front lawn at 4:00 p.m. I hope that you will extend a warm BMPC welcome to her this coming Sunday.

Much of Melanie’s roles and responsibilities are identical to those of previous pastors who have overseen the pastoral care of the congregation, Senior Adult Council, Deacons, Middleton Counseling Center and coordination of the Care Team. In addition, as the church was transitioning from 6 to 5 on the pastoral staff, a realignment of roles brought the Connections Group ministry under her leadership as well, a programmatic and fellowship dimension that Melanie has said further attracted her to Bryn Mawr.

When you meet Melanie, you will soon discover what attracted the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee to her and her candidacy as we engaged a nation-wide search for an individual to fill this role. In addition to her experience and training in pastoral care, she brings a warm and joyful presence, a creative engagement with life and ministry, a love of working on a team with colleagues as well as laity, and a kind and winsome openness.

On a personal note, as I shared with Melanie my retirement plans knowing our overlap on the church staff would be brief, she shared that she is drawn to seasons of transition. She is happy to enter that liminal space that invites discernment, vision and growth which will surely be a blessing as Bryn Mawr enters an interim season between senior pastors.

Grateful for the many ways that this congregation cares for one another and reaches out in Christian love and compassion, I am confident that you will enjoy partnering with Melanie Hardison as she oversees the congregational care of the whole church family.

In the Spring of 2023, the BMPC Session approved a new Statement on Belonging and Inclusion as an outgrowth of the good work of our Anti-Racism Committee over the past several years. If you have not read that statement yet, I encourage you to do so.

One of my favorite sections from that statement addresses the importance of this kind of work being a part of everything we do as a church, not just an isolated priority of one or two committees.

As an outgrowth of our willingness to learn, change, and grow, we commit to ensuring that this work embeds every aspect of our church life from welcome and hospitality to programming and fellowship; from financial, stewardship, and mission decisions to pastoral care and worship life. In all that we do and in all the ways we represent ourselves, the work of diversity and inclusion will be obvious.

To that end, this Sunday afternoon, BMPC church officers, ushers, committee leaders, teachers, staff and volunteers will gather for a training with the Rev. Dr. Cody Sanders of Luther Seminary in Minnesota to be trained on a particular aspect of our work of Belonging and Inclusion – microaggressions.

Microaggressions are brief, everyday exchanges that deliver demeaning messages to people based on their group identity. These exchanges may be verbal, behavioral, or environmental, and they communicate subtle hostility, degradation, or insult directed at someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, class, ability, ethnicity, national origin, or religion. Their power to cause harm comes largely from the fact that perpetrators are usually unaware of them; microaggressions are often expressed unintentionally and without conscious recognition.

Throughout all of our ministries as a church we are constantly welcoming new people, caring for one another, and interacting in ways that have the potential to either convey a deep sense of belonging or to communicate in subtle ways that someone is not welcome here.

I am so grateful that in this moment, this congregation and its leadership are taking seriously the work that must be done to help us live more fully into our values of Belonging and Inclusion.

The great news is, that Dr. Sanders will also be speaking on the topic of Microaggressions this Sunday morning at 11:15 in Congregational Hall. If this aspect of anti-racism work is new to you, or if you are especially interested in learning directly from someone who is a leader in helping churches do this work with integrity, please join us for that conversation this Sunday following worship.

One of my joys this past year was accompanying the Associate Pastor Nominating Committees in their search for new pastors to call to Bryn Mawr. A pastoral search is a long, and sometimes arduous process, but the overriding sentiment of that good work remains joy. When a group of seven diverse members gets elected to an APNC, they begin as a gathering of acquaintances, church friends with a big task at hand, but also with strong and sometimes divergent opinions about the direction a ministry area should take. Initial debate and even argument ultimately pave the way for consensus to build toward a strong sense of call to an individual.

This Sunday, September 21, at 4:00 p.m. in the Chapel, we will celebrate the joyful culmination of the search that led the APNC for Youth and their Families to the Reverend Andy Greenhow. After a year of diligent work: to get input from the congregation, especially our youth; to establish values and priorities; hammer out a position description; networking, identifying potential candidates and hosting multiple interviews from across the country, we came to unanimous consensus and a strong sense that Andy was called by God to serve BMPC as a pastor and with special responsibility for youth ministry. To paraphrase Greek philosopher Aristotle, these committees become greater than the sum of their parts, and the joy in completion is but one gift of the Holy Spirit.

Join us for Andy’s Installation on Sunday afternoon and for the reception following in Congregational Hall. We are delighted to host the Commission of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, to welcome Andy’s good friend, the Reverend Vincent Kolb, as guest preacher, special musicians, and enjoy worshipping God together for this special occasion in the life of our church.

This Sunday, September 14, at 10:00 a.m. in the Gym, is Youth Kickoff. It’s a chance for 6^th to 12^th graders and their families to hear about events in the year ahead, play games together, meet the caring adults who will be looking out for the youth this year, and for adults to sign all the necessary paperwork. I won’t want to pontificate more than necessary at Youth Kickoff, so I think I’ll use this venue to share a bit about my hopes for the BMPC youth program – and for us.

Many of us will remember exactly where we were 24 years ago today. It is hard to believe that there can be people with their own ideas, dreams, ambitions, and opinions who weren’t even born yet on that day, but that’s our youth. They have only ever known the world after 9/11, with all the fear and uncertainty that we as adults feel and unwittingly impart to them.

Likewise, you may remember where you were when the early adopter in your friend group showed you their smartphone. I remember my friend Mark showing me an app – what is an app? – that could listen to music and tell you what song was playing. They changed everything, and our youth have only ever known a world where adults are buried in their phones.

Finally, our youth have spent at least half of their life in the political and social realignment that began in 2016. For those of us with longer time horizons, the normalization of violent rhetoric, which we saw again this week, will inevitably lead to acts of political violence, feels brand new. But for our youth, it is a fact of life – it has always been this way.

So, what does that mean for the youth program at BMPC? My prayer is that youth at BMPC spend time with caring adults who try hard to set aside their own fears and uncertainties and instead center the ideas, dreams, ambitions, and opinions of the youth. I pray that the BMPC youth ministry models something like an analog community, where people are present with each other and hang in there with each other, even when it would be much easier to escape into our phones. And I pray that the BMPC youth ministry is a place of peace, where the ambient violence of our culture is kept at bay.

I’m looking forward to kicking off another year on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Join us!