Our deepest gratitude to Jim, to all who had a hand in the farewell brunch, and to God, for the indelible traces these days leave on our hearts.
Below is a copy of Jim's sermon. It was profound and intimate, and just the right combination of spiritual admonition and Presbyterian levity. (That's NOT an oxymoron!)
Perfect Ending
Philippians 1:3-11
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:3-11
11Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
12Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Throughout his ministry, the Apostle Paul wrote many letters to early churches. Literarily speaking Paul’s letters are known as epistles. That means they were “open letters,” written for special occasions and were read orally and publically in churches.
Paul constructed his epistles using the formal Greek and Roman conventions of letter writing, which had three main parts: greetings, body, and conclusion. But Paul’s letters were unique. His literary innovation was to add two new parts: a prayer of thanksgiving, and a prayer of blessing. Our scripture readings are examples of those innovations. And they seem to offer the perfect way to end our time together.
I thank my God every time I remember you. I thank God every time I remember being called by the APNC, the session, and this congregation to be your Associate Pastor nearly four years ago.
I thank God every time I remember the hard work of Lynn Lucas and Angie Kung and Abi Gray on behalf of our Christian Education program, and the dedication of all of our Sunday School teachers and choir leaders.
I thank God every time I remember our sharing and praying during the Advent and Lenten Bible studies, the Men’s Group Family Nights at the Renegades baseball games, distributing bottles of “living water” at the Mount Kisco Sidewalk Sales Days.
I thank God every time I remember that in a time of talk about burning the Koran and protests to building Mosques, we actually host an Islamic School in this building, and share Interfaith dinners, and invited them to participate in the Ladies Spring Tea.
I thank God every time I remember the faces of the homeless people sheltered here when we host the Emergency Shelter Partnership, and I thank God when I remember the benevolences given as a result of events such as our Rummage Sales and Christmas Fair.
I thank God every time I remember the joyous celebration of our Christmas pageant, and how cold and worried travelers on Route 133 were given sanctuary and an impromptu buffet lunch during an ice storm last December.
I thank God every time I remember the loving care given to our congregation by our deacons, and the faithful dedication of committee members, trustees and elders.
I thank God every time I remember the way this congregation came together in a time of crisis that faced this church; how people stepped up to take unfamiliar roles and pitched in to keep things going; and, how we maintained 89% of pledges despite the conflict and the Great Recession. To the members of the Stewardship Committee: yes, I have fulfilled my pledge before leaving.
I thank God every time I remember those who showed strength and patience and continually gave joyful thanks as the choir continued in a different form, and as we searched for an interim music director and an interim pastor. And of course I pray with joy that both Terry and Jack are here.
We have packed much into our time together. Though this list is not nearly complete, these are all signs that God’s presence is truly among us.
And I am confident of this: that God will bring to completion the good work among you. It is right for me to think this about all of you, because you hold me in your heart.
In my prayers, I thank God every time I remember how this congregation walked with my late wife Robin and me during her struggle with cancer. I thank God every time I remember the 65 or so people from this congregation who travelled to New Haven to participate in her funeral. I thank God every time I remember the way all of you have consoled, nurtured and cared for me in the year since; for all the meals provided, conversations shared, and encouragement given.
Shortly after Robin’s death, I received a note from a member of this church. In the letter the woman who wrote it told me how she planted Easter lilies; but for whatever reason, they had never bloomed. After years of frustration, she dug up the bulbs and moved them to a different place.
She wrote: “After receiving the email about Robin’s hospitalization, I went outside to think, and cry, and pray for you . . . I found myself in the garden. And there I discovered the big, gorgeous, white blooms that I had been waiting for: the classic, seasonal reminder of God’s love and promise of rebirth . . . I find it striking that they appeared just at the time when I was looking for a sign of God’s presence in a situation that defies explanation.”
Friends, I thank God every time I remember your faith in Christ Jesus, your love in the Spirit, and the love that you have for all the saints, which has been a blessing to me.
We have shared much together, especially in the past year. It has been a blessing and a privilege to walk alongside of you on faith’s journey, even in the times it seems difficult to believe that God is still watching over us. Whether it was at the funeral after the death of loved one; praying together in a hospital room; preparing for a baptism, and considering what that means for one’s faith; sharing lunch or coffee, just to talk about what role faith was playing in your life, I hope I provided the same consolation, nurture, and care all of you have given me.
For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. I thank God every time when I remember how you let me a part of your faith journey. And what continues to astound me is this congregation’s great capacity to love. Not just your love for me, but how you love one another by putting each other in your heart.
A while back, I had the chance to visit with a person from our congregation who had recently experienced a personal loss. He shared with me how the grief associated with his loss had caused him to withdraw. He began wondering why God seemed so absent.
Eventually, word of his situation began to trickle out to others. This prompted the people in this church to begin visiting. Some brought over a meal. Some called just to check in,
sharing a laugh and a conversation. Some stopped by and just wound up sitting and watching TV in silence.
With those visits and calls, the cloud of despair gradually began to lift, at least enough for this person to begin seeing things in a different light.
He told me: “I had really began to wonder if all this God and church stuff was really worth it, especially with all the craziness going on. Did it really mean anything? But through my experience, I realized I had found my best friends at this church. We may not be a perfect church, but knowing I could count on the love of all those people, some of whom I really don’t know all that well, helped me realize all of God’s blessings that surround me.”
He was not the first person to tell me that we are not a perfect church. Certainly, the events past year have caused hurt and anguish for some among us and for some who are no longer here. That some may feel abandoned or betrayed by their church, or feel that their pastor was not responsive enough to their hurt or anger, I am truly sorry.
I mean really, after all that we have gone through, how could we even claim that we are perfect? But the more I thought about that conversation, the more I wondered if we are closer to perfection than we give ourselves credit for.
Perhaps it depends on our definition of perfect. If by perfect we mean a life without tragedy, without suffering, without change, then striving for perfection seems futile and senseless. But if perfect means, as it does in many biblical passages, filling the goal for which something is intended, then there is a kind of perfection to what we do around here.
The Bible shows us that from God’s heart there flows a pattern of being and doing, a life of boundless generosity that finds its fullest embodiment in Christ. Being perfect is not about filling every pew or forming a flawless mission study; it is not about having the biggest organ, or who the pastor is; it is not about which program gets the lion share of the budget.
Being perfect is about your relationship to yourself, each other, the community, and God. Being perfect is about being able to look each other in the eye and speak the truth to one another. It is about doing everything in your power to carry one another. It is about putting each other in your hearts with love and joy. If you can put each other in your hearts forever, then you are perfect.
Of course, no church is ever absolutely perfect. No church perfectly fills the goal for which it is intended. But every time we open our doors to those who are in need of warmth, rest, and sanctuary; every time we care for the sick and the lonely; every time we share a prayer, or a meal, or our time and resources in Christ’s name, we are little closer to perfection. In the way we live and relate to others, we can come as close as any church ever does to filling the goals of grace and mercy and love that God intends.
Grace opens and closes each of Paul’s letters, just as grace encompasses every moment of the life of faith for all believers. And this is my prayer of blessing for you: that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best.
The life of faith is one of process. It does not always turn out the way that we expect or want. But it is often the case, that in the life of faith, we are surprised by the ways that we encounter God.
In Corinthians, Paul prays to God that they will become perfect. He reiterates this prayer with the plea “to put things in order” – a plea for perfection and wholeness.
Paul believed that God appears when we put each other in our hearts. If together, we strive to faithfully live out God’s call for perfection, to fulfill the goal for which something is intended, the God of grace, love, and fellowship will be present with us.
Well, the truth is, I have put each one of you in my heart. The truth is I have seen and experienced God at work in this place. And, the truth is God’s grace has encompassed every moment from beginning to end.
My heart is full. This is a perfect ending.
So, finally, sisters and brothers, farewell – rejoice. Put things in order – strive for perfection. Agree with one another. Live in peace, and the God of grace, love, and peace will be with you all. Amen.
~ ~ ~
GOODBYE TO PASTOR JIM . . .
As we say goodbye [from early English "God-be-with-ye"] to our Associate Pastor Jim Poinsett, we are not severing ties of friendship and gratitude. Although he must decline pastoral duties such as weddings, baptisms, funerals, hospital visitation or counseling (except on special invitation of the session), it's not out of order to drop him an e-mail, make a phone call, or even get together for lunch once in a while. And of course we'll hold him in our prayers.
--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
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