-Philippians 2:2

One of many reasons I am humbled by my calling to ordained ministry is that it is, or can be, a greater community of faith leaders from many faith traditions. After the shooting last year at the synagogue in Pittsburgh, a group of us pastors, rabbis, and imams began gathering to become connected, celebrate our common ground, and work for peace in our part of this world. It wasn't long after this that the shooting at the mosque in New Zealand happened. We grieved. Together.

This past weekend, my first awareness of the shooting in 

El Paso was a text by the rabbi to our group text suggesting we draft a statement from our group to speak against this violence. In the midst of our texting, we received word of a second shooting in Dayton. We could not even speak out with one voice, only hours after one act of violence before another atrocity. That is the deeper tragedy. The frequency of this devastating violence does not even give us time to respond.

I was deeply humbled when we gathered Tuesday morning to gather with other committed faith leaders who think deeply and pray fervently each day because thoughts and prayers always produce action, and our thoughtfulness and prayer shared with one another on common ground yielded a beautiful statement and a fruitful conversation about actions we hope we and our leaders will take. Just as our writing process from different faith traditions necessitated compromise of wording and vocabulary, structure, and thought, so too will our solutions to ending violence in our nation and world. There will be many approaches and many ideas. And together, through thoughtfulness, prayer, and righteous action, we will find peace together in God's world.

-Ecclesiastes 3:1

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a photograph of me from my childhood. We were beginning our new sermon series, "A Time for Everything" about how to maintain balance in life. I was sharing about learning to balance and ride a bicycle. I asked Pam where the best place would be to look for that old photograph. She directed me to our basement where she keeps the photo albums of family pictures.

I went downstairs and looked for that picture. The bad news is that I never found that photograph. The good news was that I spent at least an hour looking over all of the pictures Pam has saved of our family. It was kind of like seeing my whole life pass before my eyes - and I didn't even have to have a near-death-experience to do it!

Not only did it bring back many wonderful memories I have not thought about in a very long time, it gave me a brief overview of my life. I realized that often I am so consumed by the present moment - what is happening right now or next on my planning list - that the present seems to dominate my outlook. It is kind of like riding behind a big truck on the highway -- you mostly see the back of the truck and you miss a lot. But, seeing those photos gave me a sense of the overall flow of my life. I think it is healthy and helpful to look back over the seasons of our lives from time to time as we reflect on the chapters of life we have completed.

This Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in The Great Hall is our Annual Congregational meeting in which we do just that - we look back over how God has been at work in and through our church family this past year. We will also be hearing an exciting report from our Director of Music Search Committee about our newest staff member, as well as about great plans for our upcoming 25th Anniversary Celebration. I look forward to seeing you there!

These daffodil bulbs are a reminder to me that growth does not happen overnight in our lives either. As adults in our community of faith, we serve in roles as teachers, leaders, parents and friends to the children and youth in our midst. God calls us to help plant the seeds and continue to nurture them. The nurturing process takes time and sometimes we are not the ones who get to see them bloom.

As we begin a new school year, I am reminded of what a privilege it is to be called to water and nurture these children and young people. We walk with them at a very important part of their journey. There are lots of ways that our church family participates in the nurture of our children and youth. If you are sensing a call to work with them at JCPC in a more specific way this year, please contact me to talk about it.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

-Ephesians 3:16-18

"I would like to request a few moments of silence," he said. "I would like to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his own individual way."

A Presbyterian elder, Aldrin brought communion elements blessed by his pastor to the moon. What came next, his holy remembrance was observed by two men alone on the moon.

"In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the Scripture, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." I had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at the last minute [they] had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O'Hare [sic], the celebrated opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly. I ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility. It was interesting for me to think: the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements. And of course, it's interesting to think that some of the first words spoken on the moon were the words of Jesus Christ, who made the Earth and the moon - and Who, in the immortal words of Dante, is Himself the "Love that moves the Sun and other stars."

Local kids crowd into the house during weekend "library hours." Prowling through every room, each packed with books, the children recognize the humble home as more than Señor Jose's house-it's a priceless treasury.

The same is true for every follower of Christ. We're made of humble clay-marred by cracks and easily broken. But we're entrusted by God as a home for His empowering Spirit, who enables us to carry the good news of Christ into a hurting, broken world. It's a big job for ordinary, fragile people.

"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7), the apostle Paul told his congregation in the ancient city of Corinth. They were a cross section of people from across this region, so many might have been tempted to "go around preaching about [them]selves," Paul said (v. 5 nlt).

Instead, Paul said, tell others about the priceless One living inside of us. It's Him and His all-surpassing power that turns our ordinary lives into a priceless treasury.