Dear church,
Today is the National Day of Prayer, and we might as well join in prayers for our country and for our world, especially at this time. I looked up the history of this observance, which is a pretty interesting anomaly within the context of the separation of church and state. I know that people feel differently about it, but I personally don’t mind that this separation of church and state is every once in a while softened – showing us all that those demarcation lines are not set in concrete, making a wall out of a separation line. I didn’t mind it when Republican Senator Stuart Greenleaf Sr. asked me to pray on the PA Senate floor a few years ago to offer an Invocation Prayer at the beginning of the Senate session. And I didn’t mind it when, as a young city pastor with a German accent even thicker than it is now (believe it or not!!!), black Democratic city council member Marion Tasco asked me to do the same thing at the beginning of the Philadelphia city council session. A young council president named John Street gave me the instructions. Those are moments when the worlds of religion and politics touch, and I personally think it’s a good thing. Today, let us say prayers for the leaders and the people of our country. May we find ways to become less partisan and less rude and crude in expressing our differences. May we find ways to honor truth and seek the very best for our communities. May we find ways to listen to one another, to agree or disagree peacefully. In other words: may we become supporters of our democracy who are inspired by true Christian values! And may our leaders on all levels find ways to guide us safely through the health crisis that has impacted our lives so severely! Lord, have mercy!
“The National Day of Prayer is a day of religious observance in the United States of America in which people are called upon to pray for their country. The first official day of prayer in the U.S. was in 1775, when the Continental Congress called for the public to fast and pray for the leadership of the Colonies. After that time, Presidents periodically called the nation to pray during times of war or other hardships. In 1952, Conrad Hilton and Senator Frank Carlson of Kansas initiated a bill calling for the President to designate one day a year as a National Day of Prayer. In 1952, President Harry Truman signed a joint resolution into law; the original wording reads as follows: ‘Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.
Approved April 17, 1952.’”
In our congregation, we may still be in lock-down, but we are not locked down. For example, we are beginning a new Prayer Ministry in our church. I have been talking about such a ministry with our council members over the last few weeks. It had always been on my mind, but these times of crisis, as well as a more acute awareness of all the hardships people are experiencing (thanks to so many phone calls) brought it to the forefront. I think this is a great time to start a prayer ministry. And so we will begin with a starter group of eight people next week who will pray intensely and faithfully for the various people who have asked us to bring them before God. They will receive a brief narrative about the person they pray for, along with contact information; various people from the group will follow up from time to time to give us updates. We will share with the congregation when we feel that our prayers were answered so that everyone can participate in the joy. Our starter group consists of the following people. Tom and Kathy A., Anita B. (coordinator), Susan D., Stephanie D., Sally N., Pam P., and Linda S. I call this the starter group because, after a short period of establishing the workings of this ministry, we will open it up to anyone who is interested to join the Prayer Ministry. It is not meant to be an exclusive group at all. The more prayers, the better! Next Wednesday we will have our first gathering via Zoom. Attached is a description of the ministry of you are interested.
We had our council meeting last night, mainly talking about potential re-opening scenarios. I wanted to clarify one thing: the timing of the re-opening will certainly be in alignment with governor Wolf’s plan, which means it will happen no sooner than when we are “upgraded” to the yellow phase. Even during that phase church gatherings will be severely restricted. Our council has a pretty good idea what church under those conditions will look like, but as you know, the devil is in the details, and our document/plan will take another two weeks to fully develop. Lots of things need to be considered. It’s a pain in the…, no! I shouldn’t say that!
I am really looking forward to this Sunday’s service with a wonderful picture show of so many pictures of mothers brought forth by our people. As per Lisa, I have to set the deadline for sending pictures on Friday, 4:00 p.m. That allows her to work on it and have it ready on time. Also, I don’t want to confuse you, but tomorrow is the last day when we collect food for Manna on Main Street on a Friday, as always between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. This time it will be Lee Honeywell’s shiny red pick-up truck parked in our parking lot. Please place your bags and donations on his flatbed. By next week, we will move food donations to Wednesdays, same time, with Lisa’s pick-up truck back in action. Our community-wide food collection, supported by various local churches will take place on the last weekend in May. More about that next week!
I totally forgot that YESTERDAY was Nicky G.’s birthday. Happy birthday, Nicky!!!
Thank you all for your faithfulness and responses during these unusual times. We are being tested as a church and so far you are up for the challenge!
Thank God.
Be safe and be well! Pastor Andreas Wagner