St. John's Pastor

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Our Pastor

“If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth.” Jeremiah 15:19

Pastor Shirley Guider has led the ministry at St. John's since May, 2001. This page will feature the Pastor's Monthly Newsletter article.
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GUIDING THOUGHTS - A PASTOR'S PONDERINGS

December 2006

It seems unbelievable to me that winter will soon be upon us. It seems like just a few days ago it was warm with temperatures in the 70’s. Yet we have been reminded recently, with a vengeance, that winter is indeed on its way. I went out in the other morning to find that Jack Frost had sprinkled white fairy dust on my car.

This time of year is always busy, for me and for most people I would venture to guess. The church too seems to rev into high gear with extra programs, caroling, decorating and of course our Christmas Eve services. And then there are the presents to buy for family and friends, cookies to be made and the need to decide with which family one will spend Christmas Eve or Christmas.

I think that my chaotic schedule is probably typical of most of yours at this time of the year. And so I search and search for a little bit of time to gather my breath, to pause and think in the midst of all the doing, buying and running. Which is why, though I always moan and complain when we change the clocks and it becomes dark so early in the evening, I also welcome it.

You see, maybe it is just in my imagination, but to me the stars always seem to twinkle brighter at this time of year. And in the darkness of the early nights, I find a refuge from the bustle of the season. I love driving home on Allentown Road in the dark this time of year. There are almost no lights, so the stars shine bright in the velvet night.

Too there are few cars on the road. Because it is dark, I can’t see into the other cars on the road either so it can sometimes feel to me as if I am all alone in the world. There is an island of time where I can turn off the radio and shut out the world. There is an island of time where I can take a deep breath, think about the wonder of the season without interruption. There is an island of time where I can appreciate the crispness of the day and anticipate with wonder the coming of the Christ child.

Driving home today, the words of a carol kept running through my mind, the third verse of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”.

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is giv’n!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of his heav’n.

No ear may hear his coming;

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him still

The dear Christ enters in.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given. I thought about that, God didn’t come with a bang, but silently, quietly entered the world through a poor teenage mother in an out of the way city. In a manger, the Savior of the world was born and only the angels and the shepherds paid any attention to his birth. God has imparted, given to us a blessing that is so amazing so divine it is hard to comprehend. Our ears may not hear God’s coming, but our souls, open to God’s grace are ready to receive the Christ child. We are reminded that God still comes to us softly, enters silently, quietly into our lives and into hearts to bless us with an amazing gift of grace.

It is only then that we, with the shepherds, hear the Christmas angels tell their great glad tidings. And we pray, Oh, come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel. Emmanuel, God with us we are reminded in this season, comes into our hearts. God brings us the gift of love and peace and joy. So in the season, in the silence of the dark nights, amidst the bright twinkling stars, listen and you will hear the angels sing.

In the quiet peace of our Savior’s birth may you hear the angels sing,

Pastor Shirley

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NOVEMBER 2006

A few years ago someone handed me a little cut out saying that said the average Christian invites someone to worship once every 28 years. The hand written comment was “surely we can do better than this?” I sure hope so.

Last fall, Jim Moss, the presenter of the “People Spots” training events that was sponsored by the Pennridge Area Lutherans said that in a normal healthy congregation we can expect to lose 10% of our membership each and every year. People die. Some move away. People go through family ordeals and in their brokenness feel that they can no longer attend the church. Someone becomes unhappy with a decision, member or even the pastor of the church. Grown children move away. These are just a few of the reasons that a healthy church will lose members.

What this means is that the church will naturally shrink if it does nothing. The good news is that we can continue to grow but the challenge is that we not only have to replace that 10% loss we will normally experience but we must grow past that 10%. In our bulletin each week we state that the people of St. John’s are the ministers. So what can we as ministers of the gospel do?

First, and most important, is to tell others about Jesus, invite them to join with you in celebrating all that God has done for us. We need to “tell the old, old story” as the song says, for all are hungering and thirsting to hear of the love of God. It is as simple and as difficult as opening our mouths and sharing our experiences of God and the love God has for us in Jesus Christ. If you are too shy, all you need do is retell the Bible stories. They speak of God’s unique love for each of us.

I read an article a number of years ago that stuck in my brain. The writer noted the results of a Gallup poll. This poll was taken in the early 80s of people who did not belong to a church. When they were asked, “Would you join a church?” more than half said they would. When asked why the hadn’t joined a church, they said, “No one asked.”

No one asked!!! How very sad. I wonder sometimes if we are afraid to go to our brother or sister who is struggling in life, who feels lost and alone, reach out our hand and say, “Come with me, let me introduce to love, unconditional love in the form of Jesus Christ”. Why are we so reluctant to share the joy we find with others? Have we been so conditioned by society that we don’t talk about “religion” outside the church that we can’t even invite friends and family to share what we know? Are we afraid that others will make fun of us? Are we afraid that God doesn’t have enough love to share?

When was the last time you invited someone to join you Sunday morning? Let me share another statistic with you. There have been many studies that have tried to determine what brings people into a meaningful relationship with the church. The results are:

Came on their own initiative 3-8%

Came because of the programs 4-10%

Came because of the pastor 10-20%

Response to evangelism (visits) 10-25%

Brought by friend or relative 60-90%

As you can see, by far, the most effective way of bringing someone else to church, to know the love of God in Christ Jesus, is for you to ask them to come.

In this month where we remember and give thanks to God, why don’t each of us reach out and invite not one, not two but 5 or 10 or 15 of the people we know to come with us and give thanks with us to the God of our salvation? Let us give thanks to God by inviting others to give thanks as well.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Shirley