Pastor’s Page

~Lent is Approaching! ~

On February 18th we will celebrate “Ash Wednesday.” It will be the first in our series of “Community Lenten Services.”  Each Wednesday we will worship together with six other congregations at one of their Churches

Please plan on being part of this yearly series, as we worship together and prepare our hearts for the coming celebration of Holy Week and Easter!

– Pastor Skip

~ Snow-maggedon ~

Once again I have to thank our newly established “Weather Decision Team!”  It’s always tough to make decisions about cancelling services or events when the weather is “iffy.”  I’m glad to share that responsibility!

However, it was a no-brainer this time with the massive “snow event” of this past weekend!  I hope none  of you had any problems – power outages, burst pipes, slips or falls, or frozen anything!  Please be careful and warm this coming week especially!  Remember, we live in the “Northeast” and the first part of that word is “North.”

Hopefully we will be able to gather in worship this week!

Take care!  Stay warm!  And stay safe!

– Pastor Skip

~ A Benediction ~

Many of you commented on the Benediction I gave on Sunday.  It was the Benediction that was offered at the Memorial Service of Marianne Morgan, our dear colleague from Bensalem and Northminster Presbyterian Churches, who passed away unexpectedly.  She left us way too soon!

~ Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ~

~ The Season of Advent ~

We are now into the wonderful season of Advent!  It is that time of anticipation, as we await the  celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ into the world so long ago.  I hope you will plan on being a part of our various programs and worship services this time of year.

For me, it is also the time I am recovering from ankle surgery.  My past injuries and my present arthritis have caught up with me, and it was time to do this!  I know it’s not good timing for the Advent season, but that’s when it had to happen.

~ Parish Assistant ~

Eddington Church has a new member of the church staff!  The Session voted to name The Reverend Doctor Kari McClellan to be Parish Assistant Pastor.  This is an unofficial position, according to our denomination, but it is meaningful to us, and it gives us a second pastor on our staff.

~ The “Unofficial” End of the Summer ~

I’m reminding you all that Labor Day is the “unofficial” last day of Summer!  And I’m so glad people are starting to clarify that statement!  For too long I heard people leave out the “unofficial” part!  As you know, Summer ends with the Autumnal Equinox – which is the 21st of September.  That’s the day that the daylight and the night are equal in length.  (After that, the days keep getting shorter, until the Winter Solstice, on December 21st!)

So, that means that there are still three weeks left of the Summer – and wh0 knows how many more hot days!  So, there’s still more sunlight to enjoy!

– Pastor Skip.

~ An Historic Day ~

I write this on July 20th, which is the 56th anniversary of the moon landing of Apollo 11.   I hope you will take time to reflect on what a great accomplishment that was, and how much we have benefited from the technology that was advanced in those days!

– Pastor Skip

~ The Season of Pentecost ~

We are now in the season of Pentecost.  That began with the celebration of the day the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and empowered them to change the world!  The age of the Church has begun!  And nothing else in the history of our planet has changed the course of history as has the Church of Jesus Christ!  And we are part of that!  The faith has been handed down from Jesus, through his apostles, through all the centuries, to us.

May we all remember that God has made us part of his kingdom!  And he has promised to be with us always.  To the close of the age!

Blessings!

– Pastor Skip

~ The Season of Easter ~

We are now in the Season of Easter, which is that time from Easter Sunday through Pentecost, the day on which we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.

It is also the season of Spring.  And I think it’s no coincidence that those two Seasons happen at the same time!  Because Spring is a time of renewal!  The days get longer, the trees bud, the bulbs come up, the flowers bloom, and the Summer birds return.  All of those things remind us of the renewal Easter brings to our lives!

As I write this, I am in the mountains of Idaho, and there are Aspen trees all around.  Funny thing about Aspen trees.  They produce seeds, but they are sterile.  They don’t grow.  Aspens spread by the shoots that come up from their roots.  Because of that, all the aspen trees in a grove are interconnected!  They are all one plant!  And so Aspen groves are then among the biggest of all living things on our planet!

So it is with God’s people.  We are all interconnected!  We are “one body,” as our faith teaches us!  And as the trees bud in the springtime, in reaction to the coming of Spring, so we blossom and grow in one another in the renewal of our faith together!  And just as aspen groves are among the biggest living things, we, too, are a mighty army of God’s people here on earth.

May we rejoice in our faith together.

– Pastor Skip

~ Happy Easter! ~

~ Holy Week/Passover ~

I write this on Palm Sunday, which is the beginning of Holy Week.  It’s interesting to note that this is one of those years that Holy Week and Passover coincide!  So, as we celebrate the events leading up to Easter, our Jewish friends are celebrating their most sacred time of year!

~ Lent ~

We are now almost through the season of Lent, which is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter – Not counting the Sundays.  (That’s why we call them the “Sundays IN Lent,” not “OF Lent!”

We enjoyed our Lenten Services, which we brought back since before Covid!  This week there will not be a service on Wednesday.  But the following week we will have our mAgape celebration, which is the commemoration of Jesus and his disciples in the Upper Room, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  All the Lenten Churches are invited, and we hope to see you there.

Blessings!

~ Winter’s Wonders ~

Yes, this weekend we were reminded that it is indeed winter.  And our old pal Punxatawny Phil told us there will be six more weeks of winter!  We had to decide about worship – in person, or streaming.  As you know we made the hard decision to cancel the in person worship.  We trust we made the right call.

We may have more of these in the time the groundhog told us we will have before Spring comes.  So I would remind you to keep in touch with your church, as we try to keep in touch with you!  Watch your email and this website, and we’ll keep you informed as much as possible.

Take care and be safe!

– Pastor Skip