RELIGION AND POLITICS

What is the role of religion when it comes to politics? While different religious traditions view this differently, Presbyterians have pretty much settled on the position that the Church should stay out of partisan politics, as in electoral politics between Democrats and Republicans and whatever other political party is involved in an election. By and large, Presbyterian churches do not endorse candidates for office, nor do we invite candidates for office to speak to us as a faith community.

             

What the Presbyterian Church will do is to take stands on moral issues. These stands can bring the Church into contact with elected officials when government policies impact these moral issues. Sometimes, on moral grounds, the Church can support policies being suggested by elected officials, and sometimes the Church can oppose the policies those officials support, but often the policy implications of a moral stance are difficult to determine.

           

 Such was the case when it came to apartheid—a policy of racial separation in South Africa. The Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly was clear that apartheid was immoral. And yet, we struggled over the policy implications of that moral stance. Some Presbyterians argued for boycotts, economic sanctions and divestment of investments to force change in South Africa, while others argued for ongoing engagement and dialogue. In the early 1990’s, South Africa ended apartheid.

            

 And yet, the debate over policy implications should not obscure the wide agreement on the moral issue. The Presbyterian Church is clear that separating people of the basis of race is immoral. And the reasons for that moral stance against racism make the study of the Belhar Confession, written in response to apartheid in South Africa, so important for us to consider today, living in the United States, as we confront our culture’s ongoing racism. Which is why I hope that you will join me on Sunday mornings at 11:15 am in the Board Room over the course of the next four weeks—January 29, February 5, 12, and 19—to read and reflect upon the Belhar Confession, not just as an historical study, but as an example of how the Church addresses the interface of religion and politics through the lens of morality and policy.

--Pastor Don Steele

           

From Failing to Thriving

Over the holiday weekend, I had a failure moment. It was going to be my boys’ first time skiing. We bundled up and drove to the Poconos only to discover my scheduling mistake. My husband and I had lessons that day, but my boys had lessons the next day – yikes! Because the programs were already booked beyond capacity, all we could do was drive home. They were devastated.

We often try very hard not to disappoint those around us and not to fail personally. In the realm of parenting, this has given rise the phenomenon of helicopter parenting for one. An upcoming guest on my parenting TV series, Chaos to Calm, wants to challenge this protective tendency. Jessica Lahey argues that experiencing failure can actually set our children up for future success. Her book, The Gift of Failure, has subsequently become a NYT’s best-seller.

Faith tells us that failure isn’t so bad either. For one, we know that no one is perfect; that’s why Jesus came to Earth in the first place. Second, it gives us the opportunity to practice redemption with one another through forgiveness. If you’ve ever sought and received honest to goodness forgiveness, you know how transformative it can be. Therefore, the best gift we can give our children isn’t perfection – it’s the ability to model real, messy, yet redemptive community through Jesus Christ.

On that note, I want to invite you to experience several upcoming opportunities in the realm of faith and failure. First, January’s episode of Chaos to Calm is entitled “The Calm of Building Faith Foundations.” I’m delighted to welcome popular children's book author Laura Sassi as my guest.  Laura’s touching personal story and faith-sharing tricks as an educator will inspire you to build faith foundations in your children. PLUS, her publisher Zonderkidz will be giving away over a dozen books that will make faith sharing meaningful and fun – whether your child is a youth or teen! Find out how to win these books by tuning into the show on Tuesday, January 24^th at 9 PM EST on HomeTowne TV (Channel 33/Verizon and 36/Comcast).

Second, NYT’s best-selling author Jessica Lahey will be my guest in February. “The Chaos of Childhood Failure!” will air on February 21^st at 9 PM EST on HomeTowne TV (Channel 33/Verizon and 36/Comcast). Before that, I’ll be preaching on Jessica’s material and how it intersects our faith at the February 12^th WAVE service at 5 pm in the auditorium.

Please note that both Chaos to Calm episodes will be available on demand after their initial airdate through my website by clicking here. That link is also a great way to catch up on old episodes. There is no shame (or failure) involved in binge watching these, friends!

--Pastor Noelle Kirchner, Parish Associate

           

UNITY SUNDAY: Service and Foretaste

It is, hands down, my favorite Sunday morning of the entire year—the Sunday during the Martin Luther King, Jr weekend when Central gathers with folks from Fountain Baptist Church and Wallace Chapel AME Zion Church to praise God together. This year, the service will be on Sunday, January 15 at 10 am in the Sanctuary at Central—our only worship service of the day—and the music alone most years lifts my spirit to a place so holy, so joyous.

And I’ve reflected on why that is, and why it is that a holy joy like I experience on that Sunday is not a regular thing in my life. And I suppose it has something to do with reality. Reality is that racism—what has been called our nation’s “original sin”—is still very much in force in our country today. There’s no way for me to escape the realization that my life as a white person has been very different from the lives of people of color even though we went to school together and live in the same neighborhood and share the same profession. I didn’t ask for things to be this way, and so this is not a call to a guilt trip. However, it is a call to wake up to the reality of racism in our country—a reality that brings us all down, no matter our race.

The Bible is clear that God has made us all, and commands us to love each other without exception. Our diversity in color and culture and creed—this richness that God has created—is not something merely to be tolerated, but is something to be celebrated. Despite the deep stain of the reality of racism, God intends for us to be one, respecting each other no matter our differences, embracing each other.

And on that Sunday morning each year during the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, when we gather to praise God together, it’s more than a mere worship service, it seems to me. It is a foretaste of the life to come under the Reign of God—a holy, joyous life. I hope that you will join us and taste it for yourself.

--Pastor Don Steele           

EPIPHANY

As we tell the story, Christmas is over—as of December 25, or January 1, or this year, January 2. Christmas is over. Put the tree by the curb and the other decorations back into the attic, all of which makes the ancient customs of the Church rather interesting. According to those ancient customs, December 25 is the beginning, not the end, of a season of Christmas lasting for twelve days and ending on January 6—the day of Epiphany, which is again not just a day, but the beginning of a season lasting for weeks, almost until the beginning of Lent.

Of course, we don’t make much of Epiphany, though in some cultures, it is quite a big deal, known as “Three Kings Day,” reflecting the Church’s ancient practice of relating the story of the coming of the three kings, not to Christmas, but to Epiphany, which has a lot to say for it from a Biblical standpoint. Read the Bible carefully, and you will find that it simply does not say that the wise men showed up Christmas night at the manger with the shepherds and the angels, but they came later. And the Bible doesn’t claim that they were kings. The word in the Bible is “magi,” from which we derive our word, “magic,” making them more Madame Zelda with your horoscope than Queen Elizabeth. And they were “from the East,” according to the Bible, meaning that they were foreigners. And they knew about Jesus’ birth, not through the study of Scripture, but by the appearance of a star—a star that God had put in the sky, meaning that God had specifically invited them to come to Jesus in a “language” that they would understand.

All of which makes Epiphany important, it seems to me. For as Christmas ends and as a new year begin, what the Church has wanted us to remember is that the whole reason for Christmas is that God wants to invite everyone to come, using whatever language it takes. “No matter who you are,” God is saying, “no matter where you’re from or what you’ve done in life, you are invited to come. You are welcome here.”

--Pastor Don Steele