Is God Green?

e other day I watched a special on PBS dealing with the church's reaction to the environmental cause. Being a pastor in the mainline Church, we have been dealing with these issues for many years. I have heard many pastors of evangelical and conservative churches preach that the cause to protect the earth is not important. It is more important to save souls, because this earth will pass away, so why care? Well the earth has not passed away yet, and here we are having to deal with such issues as global warming, recycling, overflowing landfills, and many more things similar to these. So I must stop to ask: As a person of faith, what is my responsibility to mother earth?
I must admit, I drive an oversized car, waste a fair amount of paper, use styrofoam cups at times, and many more things. On the other hand, I strive to recycle, I encourage my church to use reusable cups and plates for coffee hour each week, buy recycled paper, and the list could go on. But as a Christian, I know that God is calling us to be good stewards of our earth. We must plant trees, fight pollution, make our homes and churches more energy efficient. We must take a stand! All people of faith from the most liberal, to the most conservative, we must unite and say "No More". We need to ask our pastors to preach on environmental causes, join rallies to fight for change, and live a better example ourselves. Saving souls and spreading faith is a good cause, but it is very hard to spread the gospel amid piles of trash. Try to be a good steward of what God gave you!

Ever listen to a boring sermon!

A couple of weeks ago, I realized I was preaching perhaps the most boring sermon ever! Even I wished I could get up and leave, except I was in the pulpit! Anyway, I guess I get to have one snoozer once in a while. I found the following suggestions somewhere about what to do when your pastor is boring. Take a look

Things to do during a boring sermon
* Pass a note to to the organist asking whether he/she plays requests.
* See if a yawn really is contagious.
* Slap your neighbor. See if they turn the other cheek. If not, raise your hand and tell the preacher.
* Devise ways of climbing into the balcony without using the stairs.
* Listen for your preacher to use a word beginning with 'A' then 'B' and so on through the alphabet.
* Sit in the back row and roll a handful of marbles under the pews ahead of you. After the service, credit yourself with 10 points for every marble that made it to the front.
* Using church bulletins or visitor cards for raw materials, design, test and modify a collection of paper airplanes.
* Start from the back of the church and try to crawl all the way to the front, under the pews, without being noticed.
* Raise your hand and ask for permission to go to the rest room.
* Whip out a hankie and blow your nose. Vary the pressure exerted on your nostrils and trumpet out a rendition of your favorite hymn.
* Chew gum; if the sermon goes on for more than 15 minutes, start blowing bubbles.
* Try to indicate to the minister that his fly is undone.
* Unobtrusively draw your arms up into your sleeves, turn your shirt around backwards.
* Try to raise one eyebrow.
* Crack your knuckles.
* Twiddle your thumbs.
* Twiddle your neighbor's thumbs.
* Wiggle your ears so that the people behind you will notice

Pastor's Corner Feb/Mar

Greetings in the Name of Christ!

I have recently been thinking about the word legacy. Usually when we think of someone's legacy, it is after they have pass away. Recently at the passing of one of our members, I spoke about the fact that this gentleman was a very dedicated person. He went beyond the normal perhaps "required" jobs that we all do, but really put his heart and soul into many activities that benefitted a variety of people. He certainly left a grand legacy for us to think about.
So I ask myself, what will my legacy be? What will people remember about my life? I may never have grand halls or buildings built in my name, but I can make sure that the legacy I leave will be a positive one. Each day I can strive to be a better person, I can reach out and help those around me, and I can be a constant symbol of God's mercy on earth. If I can only do these simple things, I know my legacy will be rich.

What will your legacy be? What impression would like to leave on those around you? Are you willing to work at it? Let's remember that God grants us a new day to begin fresh, with a clean slate...lets make the most of it!

Love Pastor Dave

We are back (this blogging thing is HARD!)

Hello everyone,

We are back. I found this blogging thing does take time (and effort!), but now we are committed to working harder to keep this site updated. Soon we will have a link to our new annoucement Blog which will feature updated news about the happenings at First UCC in Newark Valley.

Come back often, it is great to be on the journey with you!

Peace

Pastor Dave

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome at the United Church of Christ. Sadly, NBC & CBS choose not to air our ad of inclusiveness. View The Ad Take Action Blog

July Pastor's Corner

Pastor’s Corner July 2005


Greetings in the name of Christ! For many of us the festivities of summer are well underway, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather and activities while you can. This issue of the Pastor’s Corner is coming to you from the patio of a dear friend of mine, as I sit and bask in the sun and enjoy the fragrant aroma of the flowers. This is what life is supposed to be like. Nice weather, nice surroundings, and nice people. If ever there were a perfect world, this is what I hope it is like.

We are reminded daily though, that the world is not perfect. People make mistakes, they hurt each other, and they do not always act, as society would want them to. We are not perfect, we hold prejudices, grudges, and yes, we even exclude people. We do not always understand why these things happen, but they do. There are certainly many hard questions out there to answer. I am usually a little Leary of churches that proclaim that they have “the answers” to all of life’s hard questions. Within our human existence, I do not believe any of us have the ability to fully answer all the questions. I do not believe that God expects us to either; instead I think God calls us to do our best. To live as faithfully as possible. To take time and reflect on life, and admit when we where wrong, and celebrate when we are right. That’s a good first step. I encourage you look at life through the eyes of Christ. Christ’s eyes have no prejudice, hate, or exclusion. Instead you will see the world through the eyes of compassion, love, and mercy.

May God richly bless you this summer, and we will see you church on Sunday!
No Matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you will always be welcome at First Congregational United Church of Christ!!

Love, Pastor Dave

WE ARE HERE!

Yes, even in Newark Valley we are moving into the 21st century and we have a BLOG!!! Check back as we dive into the world of radical faith that can change your life!