Blog Archives - WELCOME TO FPC TODAY!

Declaration

6/29/2021

It bears repeating—from last Sunday’s sermon:

This Sunday is the day. This is the day we celebrate these words:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The Declaration of Independence.

Let me ask you, what if it were the “Declaration of Jesus”? From John 13:
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

So, we’re celebrating our freedom this week. If the 4th of July were a celebration of the Declaration of Jesus Christ—if we start at love, the most rudimentary thing about discipleship—if we start at love—there’s no need for a wall on the border, worry about affordable healthcare or housing, voting rights, bathroom rights, or who can bake a birthday cake for whom. There wouldn’t be a need for the Supreme Court at all. There wouldn’t be any debate about it.

I mean let’s not forget why the USA started. Our almost 275-year history as Fairmount Church began and flourished on the bloody backs of all those people buried in many of our New Jersey cemeteries who fought and died so that we could worship God. Some gave all. Just so we can be here.

We can live by God, by our definition of God—in our own way. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sihks, and so on. Every. One. All of us.

And if we start at love, love for one another, then all the other foundational ideals of the USA fall into line. If we start at love, we wind up with justice for all. Don’t we?

So, as we celebrate our independence this week, celebrate freedom.
Cooking our burgers, making our homemade ice cream, cutting up watermelon—don’t forget why it started.

Remember that America is here—we are here—because of the Gospel.
So, to follow this Jesus in these United States, today, in 2021…let’s feel the love.
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it when we say it?

One nation.
Under God.
Indivisible.
With liberty--
And justice for all!
Amen!

Grace and peace,
Scott

Juneteenth

6/22/2021

If you have Apple products and use the calendar, you know the holidays have included Juneteenth every June 19 for some time. I’m so proud of that! And I’m even prouder that the president and vice-president declared Juneteenth a national holiday last week. On Thursday, emails were flying all over the corporate world—company policy moved fast and furiously. Juneteenth—now everybody knows what it means.

Well, I have to admit that I thought I knew the meaning of Juneteenth until a few years ago I learned I had it wrong. Wikipedia is our friend.

I thought Juneteenth was the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery in the United States. No! Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, and it became effective on January 1, 1863, during the fighting of The Civil War.

The war continued after the proclamation until the truce was declared at Appomattox Courthouse as General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865. The news was suppressed or ignored in the Republic of Texas until very late April. Fighting continued through the surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi and until the Union Army captured Galveston Island on behalf of the United States on June 18, 1865.

The very next day, the General Granger of the Union Army issued “General Order #3” declaring the emancipation of all enslaved peoples throughout the Republic of Texas. Here’s the text of the order:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1980 and most other states followed suit at least with a day of remembrance if not an official holiday except for Hawaii, Montana, and the Dakotas. Now it’s national—it’s official.

Quite obviously, there’s so much work on racism still to do in the US—clearly the Civil Rights movement made progress, but it feels like only just. We haven’t come that far since. Juneteenth is a good reminder.

I think about this all the time. While we have some diversity in our church, what does our church look like going forward? As we begin the discernment process starting this summer, how can we be more inclusive, more diverse? How can we be better? What steps could we, should we, be taking?

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King is well-known for saying: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Let’s be thinking and praying on what kind of friends we are.
There’s so much we can do.
We cannot be silent!

Grace and peace,
Scott

15:05:17

6/15/2021

This Sunday is the first day of summer, June 20, and that’s how much sunlight we’re going to have. 15 hours, 5 minutes, 17 seconds. That’s the longest day of the year for us according to the website I checked. At least that’s true for Lebanon since you can’t get “Fairmount” anywhere, and it’s close enough.

Saturday is 15:05:16, and the summer Solstice actually happens around 11:30 on Saturday night, but who’s counting? The longest day is Sunday this year. Then the days start getting shorter by significantly growing numbers of seconds.

Between now and then, the days grow longer…like, we’ll have almost a minute longer of sunlight by Sunday than we have today.

Why do I care about this? Good question!

I’m not exactly sure but having been home in Oklahoma this last week—because of where it is in the globe—the days aren’t quite as long there. Like, first light here is around 4:30am this time of year. It’s almost an hour later back home.

I guess I think about it because every year around this time, I think “what are we gonna do with all this extra daylight?”

What are we gonna do with the extra minute between now and then?

I have a crutch phrase I use all the time, “oh it’ll only take two seconds to do that.” But it usually takes longer—just saying.

Like—your whole life can change in two seconds, right? A “New York Minute”. So, what’s a New Jersey Minute? Just asking. Just rambling, actually. Still stuck on what to do with that extra minute…

How about this?

Let’s pray.
Sure, what else?
I mean what else can you accomplish in under a minute?

How about a little prayer time? Seriously!
Why not? Even if you only take two seconds...
“Thank you, God. Amen.”

C’mon, you can do it. Say it with me…

“Thank you, God. Amen.”

Done!
And it only took two seconds.

Grace and peace,
Scott

Coming “Home”

6/1/2021

There’s not going to be a blog or a Fairmount Focus next week because I’m taking a few days off and going home to see my Mom & Dad. I haven’t seen them in a year and a half! I haven’t been in Oklahoma in five years. It will feel good to get “home” even for a few days.

COVID-19 obviously has kept us all close to home. And New Jersey is my home now. This is my home.

2020 was a really long and hard year for us all.

A couple of my siblings will be there, too. It will be great to see John and Bonnie. Only my brother Brian will be missing from this trip. The last time we all saw each other was Mom & Dad’s 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration in Denver—early November, 2019. That seems like a lifetime ago!

It was.
It was a lifetime ago…

I know many of you are going through some of the same things right now. Safely reconnecting with family and hugging each other again. Getting the vaccine. God bless us all!

COVID-19 has sucked for me. I’m a hugger! So hard to connect with people in a mask and from 6 feet away. Like you, I’m suffering through it.

I do feel like this is the beginning of the end. We’re starting to relax the COVID restrictions as we come to worship together. We’re not checking IDs at the door, but masks are optional in worship now if you’ve been vaccinated and you’re welcome to keep wearing your mask if you are more comfortable with it. No judgement ever, no problem!

I understand that our church has always been a “come as you are” place. Thank God! We’re never going to stop broadcasting our worship on Facebook Live or some other digital platform because this is what church looks like now.

Nevertheless, come to church this Sunday for Youth Sunday! Our students will be leading most of worship and I look forward to seeing them. I look forward to seeing you.

Let’s keep meeting each other wherever and however we can. Wherever and however we come home, Jesus meets us right where we are. Just as we are.

Fairmount’s not going anywhere. Come home any time.

Grace and peace,
Scott