November, 2007

Dear Friends,

The newly formed Brewster/Carmel Clergy Association was having breakfast this morning at George’s, and we got to talking about regional dialects, since we had around the table representatives from Korea, Germany, Texas, Tennessee & Arkansas (I claim both), a hodge-podge of spots in the Midwestern U.S., and last but not least, Queens. We were gathered to find ways of supporting one another’s vastly differing Christian ministries, and it occurred to me that just as all of us were speaking English with diverse dialects, as individual churches and denominations we might speak with unique accents, but we all speak the same language: the Word of God which is Jesus Christ.

Remember that Jesus Christ is the living Word, and what makes him live is putting action to the printed Words of the Bible. If we who are the Body of Christ, His legs to journey outward and His arms to give and embrace, if we don’t move our own bodies into His mission, Scripture is merely ink on a faded page. A friend just sent me an actual photograph of a bizarre new trend in the funeral industry, putting the deceased on view in their “natural” settings. The photo was of a funeral home chapel, folding chairs in neat rows, but in the front, instead of a coffin, there was an old man in a robe & fuzzy slippers, lying dead in his recliner with the game on a nearby TV (they put the remote, a beer and his cigarettes on a side table for good measure). I know he was supposed to look more natural, but I’m here to tell you, I never saw anybody who looked more UNnatural. Or more dead.

It’s fall Stewardship time again, when we decide how much we’re going to give to the church in the next fiscal year. What most people don’t realize is that when we talk about what we give, be it of our time, talent, or treasure, we are talking about whether we are alive as Christians. We need to give. We need it more than those to whom we give need what they’re receiving. That’s why it seems like the church always asks for money. We don’t always; it just seems that way because money makes us uncomfortable. But it shouldn’t! How much money we give is a sign of our spiritual health. Whether we’re out helping our neighbor is a sign of whether we’re spiritually alive. If you spend so much time in your recliner that you need to be buried that way, they might as well go ahead and start shoveling dirt over you now.

Christ came that we might have Life, and have it abundantly, so I’m going to keep harping about giving money and getting involved, because that is the Way to Life. As you step up your stewardship pledge this fall, I hope to see you at our concerts, our work days, our Christmas Bazaar, and of course Sunday services. We need your particular dialect to add to the chorus of Life we’re singing.

As Kwang Il Kim, the new pastor of Brewster UMC, signs off in his benediction every Sunday, may the blessings of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with us in our own church, our town, our nation, and the global community of Christ.

Love,

Martin

Add To read Martin's letters from past months, please click here.