And the old world will pass away...

Let there be no doubt that we are in a time of deep change... and it is not just the church that is experiencing dislocation and displacement.  The first page of a Harvard Business Review book begins with these observations:

"Virtually everything we have taken for granted for hundreds, if not thousands, of years is in the midst of profound transformation.  Our planet's climate is changing, and we are experiencing extreme, unpredictable weather and temperature changes that affect indigenous plants, farming, animals, and sea life.  There is a rise in the number and severity of natural disasters-hurricanes, floods, and droughts.  New diseases are on the rise, and HIV and AIDS continue to decimate populations of entire countries and all the sub-Saharan Africa." 

Boyatzis & McKee, Resonant Leadership

I'll stop there, lest I immobilize us by the immensity of what we are experiencing.  But I share these words to set in context God's call to us in this season of Advent. 

The early church understood this reality, which is why the first and sometime even the second Sunday of Advent focus on images of end times.  This is not to be morbid.  Rather, it is to invite us into the new that God is seeking to create in and through us.

Tom Wright, former Archbishop of Canterbury, challenges Christians to take seriously our responsibility to attend to triple bottom line of environment, economics, and equity.   Building on the Jewish idea of tikkun loam (or "repairing the world"), Wright believes our work is to extend the reign of God through actions, which restore the environment, nurture the health of a global economy, and ensure equity for all people:

"Heaven, in the Bible, is not a future destiny but the other, hidden, dimension of our ordinary life--God's dimension, if you like.  God made heaven and earth; at the last he will remake both and join them together forever.  And when we come to the picture of the actual end in Revelation 21-22, we find not ransomed souls making their way to a disembodied heaven but rather the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, uniting the two in a lasting embrace." 

Wright, Surprised by Hope

Wright challenges a non-Biblical understanding of heaven as disconnected from life on earth, calling people of faith to take responsibility for how we live our lives here on earth.  Our actions matter!  How we live affects not only people across the globe, but future generations.  This planet on which we live is not intended to be disposable, later to be replaced by something better called heaven.  We therefore have a responsibility to attend to matters of environment, economy, and equity as a means of bringing heaven and earth together.  As Wright contends, the resurrection is not a spiritual concept intended to offer sentimental comfort in times of death, but rather models how we are to live our lives in the here and now.  When Jesus instructs believers to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done" in the Lord's Prayer, he is not speaking metaphorically.  As Revelation 21-22 reflects, heaven and earth will come together in God's time.  For this reason, Wright believes Jesus' petition "remains one of the most revolutionary sentences we can ever say" (Wright, 2008, p. 29).

There is a tendency in times of deep change to want to "go back" to simpler times. Deep down, we know that there is no going back.  The implications for embracing such a theology of the resurrection affect both the church's understanding of discipleship and its mission.  It shifts the church from a focus on "original sin" to "original blessing," calling believers to remember God's original intent in creation.  It also calls both the individual and body social to participate in the "hidden dimension of ordinary life," taking seriously God's call to become ambassadors of reconciliation in all sectors of life (II Corinthians 5:16-20).

Advent blessings to you all who are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation!

 

Advent blessings,

 

Debbie Rundlett

General Presbyter 

Holy Habit: Radical Prayer

This week, take time to read through Revelation 21-22.  How do these two chapters inform your understanding of the season of Advent?  How do they (re)shape your understanding of God's call to usher in the kingdom of God?  Use the collect below to close your time in prayer:

God our deliverer,

Whose approaching birth

Still shakes the foundations of our world:

May we so wait for your coming

With eagerness and hope

That we may embrace without terror

The labor pangs of the new age,

Through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

     I Thessalonians 5:1-11

     Mark 13:8-end

     Romans 8:18-25

All Desires Known

Where are the 2014 Updated forms?

Click on the appropriate links below to be taken to PDFs of the necessary forms:

• 2014 Minimum Compensation Guidelines 
• 2014 Annual Terms of Call
• 2014 CLP/CRE Terms of Call
• 2014 Interim Pastor Terms of Call
• 2014 Temporary Supply Pastor Terms of Call
• 2014 Initial Terms of Call (for first call pastors)

The 2014 Per Capita information has been updated, both on the website and in the sidebar here in the MVP Mission Update.  For your convenience, here it is as well:

If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact Candice at the Mission Center by calling 330-339-5515 or emailing at Candice@MVPJourney.org.

From Lynn Thompson Bryant 

Orwell North Presbyterian Church Seeking a Pastor

The Orwell North Presbyterian Church, a spirit filled, "country" church, is looking for a full-time covenant pastor.  Our church is located in the Village of Orwell in southern Ashtabula County Ohio.  The church was established in 1831.  It has a membership of 110 members.  

We are looking for a pastor who reflects God's abiding love and the peace and joy that following Him brings.  If you feel that our church would be a good fit for you please contact us with your information and we will provide our pastoral information form in its entirety.  We look forward with great anticipation and joy to meeting the new pastor God has chosen for our church.  

Orwell North Presbyterian Church

135 N. Maple Ave.

Orwell, OH  44076

(440) 437-6677

From Mary Ann Borland, FPC Minerva

Craft Supplies Available

For anyone that accepts greeting cards to be

From Jerry Norton, Christ Church

1990 Hymnals available

Due to a recent upgrade, the 1990 version of the hymnals previous used at Christ Church are available for churches in need. 

• Regular Hymnals (with music):         470
• Large Print Hymnals (words only):    120

All the hymnals are in good condition, as Christ Church got them in 1999, so they have only been used for 14 years.  They are boxed and available to ship immediately on a first come- first served basis.

From Rev. Ester Wakeman, Ph.D.

A Letter from Thailand 

Dear friends,

Save the Date: May 1, 2014

Re/Entry: Rebuilding Productive Lives, Post-Incarceration

A Policy Coordination and Training Symposium for Professionals

From Alice Phillips, Creston Presbyterian