Category: Pastors’ Column

This coming Sunday, we will begin our walk through Holy Week with Jesus toward the cross, and like the long-ago crowds in Jerusalem, our joyful procession will quickly turn toward his passion. The cheerful refrains of “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” will move into the more mournful tunes of “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” As Old Testament scholar Kathleen O’Connor has written of Holy Week services, they “somehow perform in word and deed, in song and in silence, in ways beyond mere thought, the most confounding mystery to which we Christians cling – that in the midst of death, God bestows life.”

Holy Week invites us to journey deeply into that mystery to which we cling: the truth of God’s incarnation. God is revealed to us in the person of Jesus, who joins us in everything that makes us human, including pain, loss, suffering, and death. To acknowledge the depth of God’s love, revealed on the cross, can raise our spirits to new heights at Easter’s dawn.

In these volatile days of change, uncertainty, instability, and fear, the liturgical movement through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday is a poignant reminder of God’s presence in the valley of the shadow of death. It is an invitation to remember that God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ is never just about us and our individual lives but about how we live together in community and in the world.

English theologian and writer Janet Morley captures the invitation of moving through Holy Week to the joy of Easter’s dawn in this prayer:

When we are all despairing. When the world is full of grief.

When we see no way ahead and hope has gone away:

roll back the stone.

Although we fear change, although we are not ready,

although we’d rather weep and run away:

roll back the stone.

Because we are coming with the women.

Because we hope where hope is vain.

Because you call us from the grave and show the way:

roll back the stone.

I hope that you will heed the invitation of BMPC’s Holy Week services to worship before the depths of God’s suffering love for the world as you prepare to stand in awe before the joyful hope of resurrection.

Last April, a group of us from BMPC marked Earth Day standing on a beach in the Callao district of Lima, Peru. We stood hand in hand with residents and activists, who showed us the pollution still apparent—both by sight and touch—from the 2022 Repsol oil spill, which dumped over 10,000 barrels of crude oil into the ocean. Despite the government’s claims that the water and the beach are clean, these men and women continue to advocate for their own health and safety and the health of the earth.

We traveled there as a part of our relationship with Joining Hands Peru, an international faith-based organization created by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to equip and support activists in Peru and congregations in the U.S. to advocate and care for God’s creation. We work closely with JHP because, as a congregation, we have committed to working towards environmental justice for all people, especially vulnerable and marginal communities.

Because Earth Day falls so close to Easter this year, we are marking our commitment to these values and this work earlier in the month.

This Sunday morning, April 6, I hope that you will join us for a presentation by writer and naturalist Mike Weilbacher as he shares a presentation following worship, specifically on the growing issue of microplastics found everywhere, from the bottom of the ocean to our bloodstream.

Of course, on Monday evening, April 7, we are very excited to welcome Dr. Michael Mann, a renowned climate scientist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. As always, the event will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary and will be available to livestream from our website.

Mann writes in his book Our Fragile Moment, “The greatest threat to meaningful climate action today is no longer denial, but despair and doomism, premised on the flawed notion that it is too late to do anything.” There was an element in our trip to Peru last year that could have easily led us to despair and especially to have led the local activists we spent our week with to despair.

If our Lenten work and the Easter promise teach us anything, even in the face of such opposition, neglect, and misinformation, it is that hope outlasts our despair, that community combats isolation, and that life has a boundless potential to restore even in the face of death and doom.

It reminds me of the first verse of my favorite Easter hymn – Now the green blade rises from the buried grave, wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain; love lives again, that with the dead has been; love has come again like wheat arising green.

As we walk these last days of Lent toward the promise of resurrection, may we also celebrate our calling and responsibility to care for God’s creation.

Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. Psalm 65:8, NRSV

I recently came across a lovely contemporary translation of this verse from Eugene Peterson’s The Message, which reads, “Far and wide they’ll come to a stop, they’ll stare in awe, in wonder. Dawn and dusk take turns calling, ‘Come and worship.'”

I love that! These early spring mornings, I am often outside with the dog at dawn and overwhelmed by the chorus of birds in the trees overhead making such a sound that now I have words to describe it, “Come and worship.” What a glorious way to begin the day in awe and wonder at their joyful praise.

From beginning to end, we cannot separate the revelation of God in holy scripture from the natural world around us. The drama of salvation has a special focus on God’s covenant relationship with humankind, but the scripture adorns that drama with flowers, buds and fruits; with birds and nests and shade trees; with rivers, streams and flowing fountains. Our human spirituality cannot be separated from the natural world around us.

As people of faith, we are called to be faithful stewards of God’s good earth, and we are privileged to have a leading environmental scientist to help us think about that calling in new ways. I am very excited that on Monday, April 7, at 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary, we will welcome Michael Mann as our Community Forum speaker. Dr. Mann is Professor and Director of the Center for Science, Sustainability, and Media at the University of Pennsylvania. Not only is he a local expert on the challenges of environmental science and climate change, but he is also a leading international voice whose work offers practical wisdom on how to care for the natural world around us.

Dr. Mann’s message carries a proactive urgency that I hope will draw many of us to this timely Community Forum. Join with your church family and friends from the wider community to welcome his scientific expertise on this critical topic. Our environmental stewardship resonates deeply with our biblical understanding of God’s good purposes for all creation. Our care of the good earth, after all, begins in awe and wonder.

We are all likely aware that beloved Children’s television pioneer Fred Rogers was actually a Presbyterian pastor. Ordained to his television “ministry” in 1963, he was not just a national television personality but also a local celebrity in Presbyterian circles in Pittsburgh, where I grew up. What you may not be aware of is that today, March 20, is Mr. Rogers Day—or technically, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” Day.

Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was such a significant soundtrack in the background of my growing up in Pittsburgh that a childhood friend of mine (who himself also became a Presbyterian pastor) used to joke around with me long into our late teens by singing one of Fred’s many songs of affirmation when I was feeling low:

It’s you I like,

It’s not the things you wear,

It’s not the way you do your hair,

But it’s you I like.

The way you are right now,

The way down deep inside you.

Not the things that hide you,

Not your toys,

They’re just beside you.

But it’s you I like.

Every part of you.

Your skin, your eyes, your feelings

Whether old or new.

I hope that you’ll remember,

Even when you’re feeling blue.

That it’s you I like,

It’s you yourself

It’s you.

It’s you I like.

While it strikes all the right cords of nostalgic sentimentality in me to remember Fred Rogers each year in March, it is more important to recognize a day deeply rooted in his incredibly faithful ministry of welcoming and being a neighbor.

This Sunday, as we continue in our Lenten series in the parables, we will reflect on one of the most iconic in all of scripture – The Good Samaritan. It is essential when we read this ancient story of a man left alone and vulnerable, rescued and restored by an outsider, that Jesus told this story in response to a question that we are called to ask every day – Who is my neighbor?

In this particular moment in our community and nation, we need to be asking this question even more intentionally—asking it of ourselves and our local community, our national leaders, our faith leaders, and even the people with whom we disagree.

The most essential element of how we are called to live our Christian faith is not how we care for ourselves or our family but how we care for the most vulnerable in the world—our neighbor.

May we be compelled by Fred Roger’s consistent message of love, compassion, and generosity as we navigate these days.

Of the vast musical repertoire choirs are blessed to sing, sacred British choral works stand as among the most beloved. A quick glance at BMPC’s music library reveals dozens of titles by the likes of Parry, Bainton, Stanford, Britten, Howells, Bairstow, and others. It is worth noting that some of the most positive feedback I receive from the congregation is about this repertoire! For example, Herbert Howells’ “Like as the Hart,” Charles H.H. Parry’s “I Was Glad,” and Edgar Bainton’s “And I Saw a New Heaven” are works that are always praised and appreciated.

We are delighted to present these works, along with some of the most powerful works of the British choral canon, in a concert titled “20th Century British Choral Masterpieces this Sunday, March 16, at 4 p.m. We will join forces with the choir of Church of the Redeemer. An offering will be received to support both choir’s concert tours this summer.

I want to highlight the largest work at Sunday’s concert, Herbert Howells’ astonishing “An English Mass.” Scored for choir, soloists, orchestra, and organ, this work was composed in 1955 for one of the leading musicians of that era, Harold Darke. Howells and Darke shared a particular love for seventeenth-century music. While Howells’ musical language is decidedly neo-Romantic in flavor, his rapport with earlier music is particularly evident in this work. What also comes through is the cathartic nature of much of the writing. You see, in 1938, Howells’ son Michael died of polio at the age of nine. From that moment on, every work he composed was influenced by the profound grief of a parent losing a child.

One moment, in particular, stands out in “An English Mass.” In the movement setting the Creed, Howells takes the text “And I look for the resurrection of the dead” and sets it for a solo soprano. In the sacred British choral tradition, the soprano part was nearly always sung by boy sopranos. At this moment in the Creed, Howells’ grief is temporarily assuaged by the sound of a single treble voice, clearly representing his son, Michael.

This is powerful music and among the most challenging works ever presented by the choir. Sunday’s concert, sung by over 100 singers and 21 orchestral musicians, will surely lift your spirits! I do hope you will attend, along with your friends and family members. Following the concert, enjoy a reception in the court, honoring the choirs and Barbara Berry, the artist of the current gallery show “Rhythm and Light.”

My first act as the Interim Pastor for Youth & Their Families at BMPC was riding the bus down to Montreat Camp & Conference Center for the 2024 summer youth conference. I knew that 15 of the 40 or so young people on the bus were from Bryn Mawr, but I didn’t know which ones. By the end of the week, I had a strong sense not just of which kids on the bus were in my care but of their idiosyncrasies, hopes, and visions for themselves and their world.

These relationships opened up over a week of worship, reflection, recreation, and, most of all, open space for nothing in particular. Our lives – and the lives of the young people in our church – are full, and there is no space for the things of secondary importance, let alone things like “open space for nothing in particular.”

But we have a call–a law, actually–in the Ten Commandments to set aside one day a week for rest and for God. That’s hard to imagine on a weekly basis, but maybe, if we zoom out a little bit, we can picture it annually. Part of our Lenten disciplines is about giving a portion of the year to our relationship with God, but summer can be good for this, too.

This summer, there are great opportunities for the young people in this church to have some space to dedicate more directly to their relationship with God and their relationships with each other. Rising 6th graders through graduated seniors are invited to a mission trip with our partners at CROSS Missions in Charlotte, NC, from July 6-11. They will have the opportunity to learn more about the various facets of urban poverty and begin to address those issues with their work. Rising 7th graders through graduated seniors are invited to camp at Montreat Camp and Conference Center in Montreat, NC, from July 26-August 2.

In both cases, the week will be filled with worship, reflection, recreation, and, best of all, open space for nothing in particular. This is where the relationships grow and develop, with God, with peers, and with caring adults.

I’m looking forward to this time with the youth of this church, and I hope you have an opportunity for open space as well–this Lent and beyond.

God created us without the ability to foresee what will happen in terms of our health in the future. If we did have that kind of foreknowledge, I don’t know whether it would produce more or less anxiety for us. Part of the process for making these kinds of plans involves separating helpful and unhelpful information (there is a lot more of the latter than the former).

BMPC’s Caring Ministries team, including our parish nurse, Carol Cherry, our social worker, Kathryn West, and the director of the Middleton Counseling Center, Kiki McKendrick, and myself, have been putting together a symposium that will have plenty of helpful information to guide members and friends in knowing how to be well-prepared for whatever lies ahead. Many of us do have the capacity to think, to explore, and to plan. Some of us have delayed putting together a plan because it is uncomfortable to consider physical and/or mental decline. Whether we have procrastinated or not, part of the difficulty in making such plans lies in the ever-changing nature and costs of healthcare systems.

The next two major events in our annual series of concerts will celebrate the gifts of British performers and composers. This Sunday, renowned British organist James O’Donnell will make his area debut, playing our magnificent Rieger organ, supported by the men of our Gregorian Chant ensemble.

James, now Professor of Organ at Yale University, has a long and distinguished career, first serving at Westminster Cathedral in London and then twenty-three years as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey. At Westminster Abbey, James led the Abbey’s music department and oversaw all musical aspects of the Abbey’s work, including directing the celebrated Choir of Westminster Abbey. He was also responsible for the music at royal, state, and national occasions, including the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on 29th April 2011 and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 9th April 2002. Most recently, he led the music for the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, his last event at the Abbey before coming to Yale.

I smile when I recall going to James’s home outside of New Haven, CT, for dinner and seeing photos of him with the Queen, Prince Charles and Camila, and other members of the Royal Family! I first heard James perform nearly 20 years ago at Yale and recall being flabbergasted by his virtuosity and musicality. This Sunday, his concert will celebrate this pipe organ’s strengths, with works by J.S. Bach, Nicholas DeGrigny, Dietrich Buxtehude, J.S. Bach, César Franck, and Maurice Duruflé. This will be a concert to remember! This Sunday, 2 p.m. The concert will last approximately 70 minutes. A free will offering will be received.

This taste of Britain will continue on Sunday, March 17, at 4 p.m., when the choirs of BMPC and The Church of the Redeemer will join forces with an orchestra to present masterpieces of British music composed for choir and organ. Stay tuned for more information!

Here is a to attend Sunday’s concert.

Today, on the eve of Valentine’s Day, I am thinking about love. One of the hazards of professional ministry, I suppose, is that we pastors and preachers spend a lot of time pondering the origins of stories— Biblical, historical, and personal stories. Where did this account come from, and why do we commemorate it quite like we do? Tomorrow, many of us will exchange cards, chocolate, and flowers with those we love, and there’s nothing wrong with that! However, we’ve come a long way from the reason for the original Feast Day of Saint Valentine.

Valentine was a third-century Roman clergyman, likely a priest or bishop, who ministered among Christians persecuted by the Roman empire. For his good work and charity, he was executed on February 14 in the year 269 and buried in Umbria in what is now central Italy. The association of Valentine with romantic love is largely due to the 14th-century work of English writer Geoffrey Chaucer. Over time, he became the patron saint of love, people with epilepsy, and beekeepers. His name, Valentine, was popular in late antiquity and is derived from the Latin word, valens, which means worthy, strong, and powerful.

There are countless reasons to celebrate romantic love, no doubt, but as people of faith at this moment in time, I hope we will also remember the sacrificial, charitable love of the original Saint Valentine and his association with worthy, strong, and powerful love. In a time of trouble, he sought to share the love of Christ among those who were suffering.

Kate Bowler, professor at Duke Divinity School and author, has written a blessing that resonates with the call to faith, which expands our notion of love beyond feelings of deep affection to faithful action:

Lord, the shadowed world is full of troubles.

So give me the good, inconvenient work of love.

Link my life to others so that their worries become my own.

Give me errands I don’t want which ease the burdens of others.

Divert me from the plans I’ve made

to zip from A to B when you have better ideas.

Put my hands to work with a less-grumbling heart

and let their dreams drift into my own.

You’ve given me tools to use and ideas to fashion

that will bring me neither recognition, nor money, nor praise.

You’ve made love such a sneaky thing.

The more we love as you do,

the less we are keeping track of it at all.

While we celebrate the lovely exchanges that have become our Valentine’s Day traditions, let’s also be mindful of the ways Christ calls us to worthy, strong, and powerful love evident in the inconvenient works of love that ease the burdens of others.

Planning for Youth Sunday, occurring this Sunday, February 9, in the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services, has been underway for the better part of two months. Our preachers – Nina Bertrand, Maeve Daley-Gibson, and Kylie Liggett – have been writing, re-writing, encouraging one another, and getting used to preaching from a pulpit. They’ve met with Pastor Agnes to better understand the process of preaching and what makes a great sermon. Our high school Sunday school and Wednesday night Student Serve programs have been devoted to understanding all the parts of the worship service and writing liturgy that honors the tradition while interpreting it from their particular perspective. It has been a profoundly enriching experience.

In my former life in theological education, we spent a lot of time talking about formation. How do we form our students in the classroom, in worship, in informal interactions, and in our work as staff and administrators? And more importantly, what does all that formation yield when seminarians graduate and go on to become pastors themselves?

When I came to this call last summer, I knew to expect a high degree of excellence instilled in the young people of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church. After all, their formation includes coaches who are former pros, access to unbelievable resources, attendance at the best schools, and an ambient culture of high performance. They are excellent and your experience on Youth Sunday will reflect that.

But more than that, and more importantly, what you will find on Youth Sunday is great faithfulness. You will hear from young people who have been formed in the church to wrestle with Biblical texts, find meaning for their own lives, exegete the culture that has formed them, and imagine another world.

Come to worship on Sunday and marvel at the excellence of the young people of this church. But more than that, allow yourself to be challenged and formed for greater faithfulness, as they desire to be.

Oh, and go birds!!