Thursday Thoughts
Make a Wish!
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 01/16/25
This past week in our worship service I asked
the children to make a wish for our church’s birthday before blowing out
birthday candles (not 125 candles - that can wait until June!). I also invited
the adults to close their eyes and make a wish. Since it is tradition not to
share one’s birthday wish, I didn’t ask anyone to do so.
So, all week I’ve been curious what people’s wishes were! I’ve also been thinking about what the hopes and wishes were of our ancestors in the faith who founded this congregation 125+ years ago (our Sunday School started three years before the congregation was officially founded).
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul encourages the Romans to live together in unity and service, remembering that God, from God’s grace, has gifted each one of them for the purpose of service. Paul concludes this section on spiritual gifts with a wishlist of his own - a wish list for how the church might live together.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all (Romans 12:14-18).
In many ways, this wish list still applies
today. As people of faith who walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we still are called to
walk in harmony and empathy with one another and to live out love in a world
that so often deals out hate. These two callings can look so many different
ways - just like the spiritual gifts Paul writes about can manifest themselves
in a vibrant rainbow of ways. To live in love can mean advocating for housing
access or it can mean listening to a friend who is struggling.
As we head into 2025 and our 125th anniversary as a congregation, what are our wishes for this church, for our faith, and for this world? Perhaps they are wishes for freedom. Perhaps they are wishes for joy. Whatever they are, light a candle and lift your wish like a prayer. We don’t know what this year will bring, but we can absolutely trust that God hears us.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
Our Future and Our Hope
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 01/09/25
The prophetic book of Jeremiah was written for
the survivors of multiple invasions of Israel by Babylon. It is a book written
for a people who had lived through decades of trauma including the destruction
of their sacred Temple, the loss of political independence, the loss of their
land, and the death or trafficking of thousands of friends, family, and
neighbors.
It is no surprise that Jeremiah has chapter upon chapter of laments as the people sing and speak their profound losses over and over. It is no surprise that in the Christian ordering of Hebrew Scriptures, Jeremiah is immediately followed by the book of Lamentations.
We don’t read Jeremiah all that often in our liturgy, but most of us are familiar with the words of Jeremiah 29:11: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope.”
This short statement of God’s active presence centers the laments of Jeremiah. The people can lament because God is present listening and after the laments God will act to bring about a new future. Even if they can’t see it now, God’s promise stands as a light on their horizon.
While this promise was made to ancient Israel, the God who made the promise is still a God who stands on the horizon of every dark night, bringing light where we believed there to have only been darkness.
And so, as the light returns in this near year, let us keep our eyes on the horizon - for God is still a God who wants for our welfare and the welfare of our communities. And as we begin our 125th year of congregational life together, we too can trust in the God who has not only walked with us through our past, but who is guaranteed to be present in our future as well.
That is a promise we can trust!
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
A New Year, a New Me?
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 01/03/25
Here we are, just a few days into the new year
- just enough time to make and break our first New Year’s resolutions! I’m sure
you are seeing the promotions for weight loss programs, dry January, apps to
track your running/reading/calories/life goals, and admonitions to tip-toe
gently into 2025 so as to not awaken it’s insanity.
The turn of the year really does reveal a common need to take stock and consider changes - just like February or March (when we are all ready for winter to JUST END ALREADY) awakens the shame of not having made sufficient progress on the goals we so boldly outlined at New Year.
It has struck me this year that the New Year, the time of year that is coldest here in New England, also coincides with the return of the sunshine. Today (Thursday) the sun will set 12 minutes later than it did a few weeks ago! Here in the Northern Hemisphere, even the earth is turning some things around (see what I did there?).
This year, as you think about your hopes and goals for 2025, remember this: we are loved by a God who promises to make all things new:
“I am about to do a new thing; Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19
“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5
Perhaps that new thing is a new you - or perhaps it is a new recognition that you are deeply and fully loved by the God who has been in the business of making things new from the very beginning. I’m convinced that if we can truly know we are loved by God in this way, that personal renewal will follow as we will allow ourselves to be loved into newness.
If we truly know we are loved by God, then we will be renewed into better loving our friends, neighbors, and enemies. If we truly know we are loved by God, we will love the creation better. If we truly know we are loved by God, we will create communities of justice and equality.
May the increasing light of this New Year help us to see more clearly all the newness that God wishes upon this beautiful, broken creation.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
Merry Christmas!
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/27/24
As each of us sit in the light of the
Christmas season, be it bright or dull, I offer you this blessing.
Merry Christmas - may the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ meet you, uphold you, and walk beside you in the new year.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
Where the Light Begins
By
Jan Richardson
Perhaps it does not begin.
Perhaps it is always.
Perhaps it takes
a lifetime
to open our eyes,
to learn to see
what has forever
shimmered in front of us –
the luminous line
of the map
in the dark,
the vigil flame
in the house
of the heart,
the love
so searing
we cannot keep
from singing,
from crying out
in testimony
and praise.
Perhaps this day
will be the mountain
over which
the dawn breaks.
Perhaps we
will turn oir face
toward it,
toward what has been
always.
Perhaps
our eyes
will finally open
in ancient recognition,
willingly dazzled,
illuminated at last.
Perhaps this day
the light begins
in us.
Holy Ground
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/19/24
Have you ever wondered about the second verse
of the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”? While our
current hymnal reads “Here I raise to thee an altar,” I do not doubt that many
of you have the original lyrics memorized: “here I raise an Ebenezer.” It is no
wonder the words were updated. I mean, who knows what an Ebenezer even is? (Hint:
it isn’t Scrooge.)
Ebenezer is a Hebrew name meaning “stone of help.” In the Hebrew Scripture book of 1 Samuel, we read about the Israelites being defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant taken. (The Ark was a sacred box holding divine relics and believed to be the seat of God’s presence on earth.) When the Ark was returned to the Israelites and the Israelites had reconsecrated themselves to God, the prophet Samuel set up a stone and “named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’” (1 Sam. 7:12).
You might wonder why I have had the Ebenezer stone on my mind this week - after all, it isn’t the most thought of story in Scripture! Let me explain. A rock carron (stack) has appeared outside the PMBC lobby door. It has been slowly getting taller over the past few weeks. At first I assumed that our Sexton had moved some rocks after our landscaping work. But, then our secretary watched a teen on their way to school add a rock to the pile!
Now, I have seen many rock carrons along hiking trails or at the beach (there are always carrons at Fisherman’s Memorial near Pt. Judith). But, I have never seen one in front of PMBC. My initial thought was to dismantle it. But, carrons are often built to indicate a sacred space or holy ground - much like the Ebenezer stone. So, instead of unstacking them I added a sign to the window behind the stack that reads:
Thank You
For
Stacking
these Stones!
Stacked
stones indicate that this is holy Ground!
Also -
We welcome and affirm all folx!
Join us
on Sunday Morning at 10 a.m.
What kind of Baptist would I be if I didn’t issue an invitation to Sunday Morning service?! Seriously.
I don’t know who started this stack or what meaning it has for them, but what a perfect place to put it. The church gathered is a sacred place - a place where we remember how God’s help has brought us thus far. As we wrap up 2024 and our 124th year of life together, we too can also sing of many communal and personal trials that God has brought this faith family through. And God willing, we will continue to sing of God’s faithfulness in this community and beyond.
So, this week, perhaps make a rock carron of your own. Large or small, it doesn’t matter. And as you build it remember what God has brought you through and spend a moment offering thanks for the sacred ground on which God’s grace has met you.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
