Keep On Truckin' 

Dr. Marc A. Wessels, Associate Conference Minister

Try to be the best of what you are, even if what you are is no good.
- Ashleigh Brilliant

The truck hasn't moved in years. It sits there, a silly grin on its grill, allowing time to do its worst. When I first saw it recently, I slammed on my brakes, backed up and pulled over to the side of the road for a closer look. I was on my way to an appointment and wasn't dressed for climbing through high grass and weeds, but I was determined to photograph this rusting beauty out in rural Missouri, lest I miss out on the opportunity to record the graceful lines of what was at one time certainly somebody's pride and joy. One can only guess how many times this old truck hauled something or somebody from house to store, from field to factory, or from home to church.

When this truck rolled off the assembly line decades ago it had that new truck smell and the owner that drove it off the dealer's lot certainly had a smile on his or her face. One can only imagine how heads turned and lustful hearts leapt when the truck drove down Main Street with many a person wishing that they were behind the wheel. As time passed and the shine wore off, the truck did its chores - hauling items from place to place; carrying loads for the sake of commerce and community. It became a familiar figure on the farm, at the shops and, perhaps, parked outside of a local church.

Now it sits and rests, it has fulfilled the plans its Creator had in mind for it when it was first designed and molded into shape on the assembly line where it was born. The hands that assembled it are most likely gone too, as time moves on and we fall aside for the next generation which takes our place. As Isaac Watts noted in his hymn Our God, Our Help in Ages Past, composed in 1719: "Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day."

The rusting hulk reminded me of the transient nature of time as we experience it. Even as people who confess an Eternal God who is still at work in the vastness of a universe beyond our comprehension, we falter when we are confronted with the realities of aging and death. We are mortal; our bodies and minds fail us as we grow in years and what was once new and wonderful becomes old and no longer of use. And, as it is with individuals, so it is also with institutions.

In 1845, America was moving toward armed conflict with Mexico. The Mexican-American War, which is also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.-Mexican War, was protested by a small minority of Americans including famed writer, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau's refusal to pay taxes supporting the war prompted his famous essay, Civil Disobedience; a writing worth reintroducing in our congregations and to the current generation who willingly offer their tribute to Washington in support of the numerous conflicts, interventions and wars Americans allow themselves to be embroiled in. Another protester of that war was James R. Lowell, who added his two cents to the fray in the December 11, 1845 issues of the Boston Courier. His poem protesting America's movement towards war with Mexico became the popular hymn, Once to Every Man and Nation which is sung in churches around the world, and has been included in our denomination's hymnbooks over the years.

A particularly appropriate portion of that lyric reminds us of the ability to act in our time and not to become close-minded to the challenges of our day: "New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth, They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth."

For the church to be faithful to the call of Christ it must remain vigilant to the core values of its founder - Jesus Christ. Christ confronted the institutions of the day; especially the religious and political hierarchy. His teaching spoke more about his followers as being a community of the faithful rather than as an institution which seeks to preserve its own traditions and position of power and authority. Jesus certainly lived and taught a pacifist lifestyle. Jesus would have had no truck with (pun intended) supporting a pre-emptive strike or accepting the deaths of civilians as "collateral damage".

Jesus calls his disciples to be their best; to respond to the circumstances and culture around them, and to do good just as he did. Our Lord Jesus was perfect; yet we are imperfect. Christ shines throughout the universe, eternally. We at this time are corruptible, but as the author of the book of Hebrews indicates through Christ, we who are imperfect are in the process of being made whole for His service. As the Holy Word (Hebrews 10.14) proclaims, "For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."

To some, that old rusting truck may appear to be no good because it is no longer capable of doing what it once could. Yet, it may serve as a reminder and a wake-up call - rust never sleeps. Let us do what we can for as long as we can in faith and with trust in the Eternal God who affirms the value of old wisdom while revealing new truths each day.

December 8 & 9 in Saint Louis

December 15 & 16 in Kansas City

Rev. Rick Oberle's Mo-Val Report from
the 2012 Conference Annual Gathering 

My name is Rev. Rick Oberle, Pastor at St. Johnʹs, Bem United Church of Christ. I have not always been a pastor; but I have always been a member of the Missouri Conference of the United Church of Christ.

I grew up here in Missouri, and part of my development was attending church camp at Mo-Val. I did not go every year; but the years that I did go were formative to both my faith and my development. I was able, for one week each year, to step outside of the religious box that was my home church; and come to experience God in a whole new way; through nature, thorough new friends, through diversity, through justice initiatives. I was exposed to people unlike myself; people of color and ethnicity other than my own; youth from Evangelical Childrenʹs Home, whose stories differed from mine; youth from other churches with different worship styles, who sang different hymns and experienced God in wonderful and unique ways.

Through the Outdoor Ministries programming at Camp Mo-Val, I was able to realize that God is bigger than just my home church; and I was able to open myself up to God in ways that I never could have done without that formative exposure.

 Come Celebrate! Camp Mo-Val 50th Anniversary Event  

 

September 8 Boundary Training - Location Change 

Please note that the September 8 Boundary Training originally scheduled to be held at St. Johns EUCC will now be held at Parkway UCC, 2841 N. Ballas Rd, St. Louis, MO 6131   

Click here for a complete 2012 Boundary Training
schedule and registration information.  

On Monday, August 6 at 6pm, Christ United Church of Christ, Bruno at Bellevue St, in Maplewood, MO will host our global mission partner Dr. Anil Henry. Dr. Henry and his wife Therese are serving in India. He is home in the states to renew his contacts with Disciple and UCC congregations and to fulfill family obligations. A potluck dinner is planned. Come hear his update on the work being done there.  

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