A Poem for the New Year from Rev. Dr. David D. Young

What feeds us…

is not necessarily what has fed us in the past.

We have just participated (or indulged)

in a seasonal explosion
of gains and losses,
and tried to pull things together
as one year closes.

And oh…

how our world is a changin’
- but who knows how long and how fast?

There is fear and discouragement

in the air around us’
while the soul seeks to call 911
in the wake of inner imbalance
caused by the ambush and intrusion
or these past two years.

And we hunger…

and our longings change
- but we know not how or why.

And yet…

we are those who live within the promise
of a turning…
as the Word turns and as the world turns
hope is born anew!

And so…

We gathered New Year’s Sunday
for a meal that heals,
and spiritual food that fills.

God’s Word for our worlds

- both within and without.

And our becoming…

(as we’re fed and led)
Is cradled in a presence
bidding us to
love and live
and give and give!

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

by Rev. Dr. David D Young

This post originally appeared in The Wave on December 15, 2021

At times our lives seem so ordinary.  But every birth is extraordinary and a miracle when you stop to think about it.  This season of Advent gives us so much to be thankful for. At the top of our list is the birth of Jesus.
 
Certainly, Christmas shopping, Santa Claus, and bright lights have their place in helping to prompt the Christmas spirit, but we need always to remember that the central light which glorifies Christmas is the birth of Jesus and his gift of love to all the world. 
 
The good news of Christmas is that God comes to all people. God came to “be with us” in an ordinary stable as a simple little child bringing us an extraordinary gift of love.  It is my hope that we will be ready to receive God’s extraordinary gift of love in the ordinary events of our lives.
 
May this also be a season to share God’s gift of love with others.  This too can be done through the little things of our ordinary lives: a touch, the words “I love you”, a smile, a caring word, a card, a simple act of service and simply “being with” another person.  Songwriters Avery and Marsh expressed this idea in a Christmas song with these words: 
 

Give a little something special, 
Give a little something more. 
Give a little love, give a little joy, 
Give a little credit to the baby boy, 
Who gave a little something special, 
Who gave a little something more.

 
May we each receive and give a little something special during this Christmas season. And may the spirit of the Prince of Peace continue to be unleashed in this troubled and hurting world of ours – as we live out the reality that “God is with us”!
 
In the Love, Light and Presence of Christ!

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This post originally appeared in The Wave on December 8, 2021

The seasons are slowly changing around us – and winter (slight as it might be in California) is just around the corner. The liturgical season has shifted as well. Stewardship and Thanksgiving transitioned to the beginning of the Christmas year this past week…with the advent of Advent! Now is the time we prepare for and celebrate God’s living presence on earth.

And what could be more timely than that – amidst our violent, war-torn and pandemic filled world – where hatred, suspicion, fear and death run rampant. If ever an incarnational theology was needed, it is certainly now. Autocracies are gaining strength and variants like omicron cast an ominous cloud over the globe. Once again, as people faith, we turn to the child of Bethlehem.

This past Sunday we began an Advent Sermon Series entitled, “The Hopes and Fears of All the Years” in which we are exploring the following themes:

Nov. 28 “When the Dream Doesn’t Come True”
Matt. 1:18-19 & Luke 19:41-46

Dec. 5 “Tears and Fears”
Genesis 18:9-15 & Luke 1:26-35

Dec. 12 "Piercing Pain”
John 16:20-21 & Matt. 27:38-50

Dec. 19 “Tears of a Clown”
I Cor. 1:18-25 & John 11: 28-37

Dec. 24 “Tears of Joy”
(Christmas Eve) Luke 2:1-20

Dec. 26 “Tears of Sadness”
Matthew 2:13-18

What can we hope for beyond our torn and tearful world? We know that spring follows winter, morning follows night, and birth follows pain. What can we hope for? More light than we can see, more love than we can know, more peace then we can measure. Why? Because one child is born!

With more Light, Love, and Peace,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This post originally appeared in The Wave on December 1, 2021

It’s that time of year when we transition toward Thanksgiving.  But before we get there we are finishing our Stewardship Theme and Sermon Series: “A Season of Growth.”  Harvest Sunday is in a few short days on November 21st, when everyone planning to attend the in person service is asked to bring their pledge card to worship.  It is a collective and symbolic time when we will dedicate our financial commitments to the work of God in and through our church.  For those not attending, please send your pledge card in to the church office by Thanksgiving Day, November 25th.  
 
Harvest Sunday hearkens back to both the Hebrew scriptures and the offering of first fruits of the harvest to God - and the early Pilgrims who after gathering in the fall harvest offered gratitude to God for the bounty of their crops.  God, the giver of all gifts, is worthy of our gift-giving and gratitude.
 
I can think of no better combination with Stewardship than Thanksgiving - gratitude for the gifts entrusted to us - and seeking God’s guidance for their responsible use through us.  When we focus our future growth with gratitude, we will sense the fullness and goodness of the life God gives us.  It is in joy and thanksgiving that we share in the quality of Christ’s life-giving spirit.
 
In closing, these beautiful song lyrics:

We thank you, then, Creator,
For all things bright and good:
The seed-time and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food;
Accept the gifts we offer
For all your love imparts,
And what you most desire, 
our humble, thankful hearts
All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, 
O thank the Lord, for all his love.

 
Gratefully,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This post originally appeared in The Wave on November 16, 2021

This fall we are embracing “A Season of Growth”.  Stewardship is at the heart of the gospel and our Christian faith.  So many stories in the Bible, along with the teachings of Jesus, recognize all the gifts God has given to us and our faithful living in response.  Stewardship has to do with all of life, not just our material resources. That’s why our work together as a community of faith is so important.

We celebrate our unique individuality and diversity of gifts - while at the same time affirming our common sense of purpose and vision as we seek to move together in God’s way.  That’s who we are as the Neighborhood Church. Paul tells us that we are all in the Christian enterprise together each having different roles to play and gifts to share, but all serving as fellow workers for God.  Friends, we need each other - for we are more together than we are individually. Indeed, we are more than the sum of our parts. That’s the beauty of working together when God gives the growth.  We each do our part and make our contributions and God mingles all of that together to create something beautiful, meaningful and fruitful.  Blessings beget blessings! When we offer ourselves in that way it’s amazing what God can do in and through us.

To each of you and all of you who share your talents, time and gifts with the church – thank you!  Your life offerings allow us to be the faithful church of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  In contemplating our life together, I am so excited about what the future holds and how God will help us grow.  I truly believe the coming chapter for our beloved Neighborhood Church will be vital, exciting and life giving - all because not only will God be with us, but God will be drawing us on in the way of growth.

                    With Enthusiasm, Joy and Gratitude,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on November 10, 2021.

We are in the midst of a month-long Stewardship sermon series called, “A Season of Growth”. The Biblical perspective is very clear to those of us with eyes of faith - we are stewards and recipients of gifts, not owners.

As we reflected this past Sunday, money is one of the gifts we receive. Stewardship is certainly more than how we deal with our money, but it is never less than that. Stewardship has to do with our total life response, which includes our care for all of the gifts entrusted to us. As you consider your pledge for the coming year of 2022, please put on a Christ-like lens to help you see how he might want you to respond.

Our needs for the coming year are significant as we seek to grow through and beyond the current pandemic. Your growth in giving will help the Neighborhood Church be fruitful and faithful in all the ministries God calls us to offer and share.

This coming Sunday’s theme is “The Circle of Life”. You see, we are all part of it and our contributions, combined with those of others, allows for something greater than any of us could do alone. This can be A Season of Growth for our beloved church. Together, we can plant seeds of faith and funds – allowing God to give the growth.

We are reaching and teaching with our life’s example when we share our gifts generously and joyfully. This year share in A Season of Growth! May the gifts of God given so abundantly amaze and bless you so that in turn you can be a blessing as you complete the circle of receiving and giving.

Faithfully, Fruitfully, Growth-fully and Gratefully,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on November 3, 2021.

Christian Education is a key underlying component of our teaching, preaching and outreach ministries.  Through these ministries we reach out to our family of faith, members of our community, and people throughout the world.  Reaching with teaching is the basis of our educational stewardship.  And “Reaching with Teaching” is the sermon title for this weekend’s worship.
 
The ways we teach and touch lives doesn’t happen like teaching mathematical facts.  Experience is at the heart of faith.  As teachers we can only offer an experience that hopefully leads others to seek and respond.  Over 25 years ago (in the church I was serving) we were lifting up our church school teachers and invited them to reflect on why they taught.  One response so touched me that I’ve kept it all these years.  Here’s what a long time church member said,
                        

“Being a Sunday School teacher for three year old children 
 is so rewarding to me. I see God through a child’s eyes. 
At this early age we teach how God made our world, 
and it is a world for us to protect and take care of, 
knowing that God will always take care of us. If, in some way, 
a child will remember the love that comes from us being together 
 on Sundays or some of the things we share with each other, 
this is my greatest desire. Having faith in God comes at an early age, 
and I hope that I am helping to give them that faith.”

 
Jesus in his ministry was always reaching with teaching by challenging, questioning and living by example with love, compassion and doing what was right in the eyes of God.  We have wonderful dedicated teachers in our church school – and many of you have taught in the past.  As I will submit in this week’s sermon, we are all teachers in one form or another.  The lives we live and the examples we set speak louder than words and have the potential to truly touch lives.  Such teaching provides gifts because we have been given gifts and are simply passing them on.  In considering those who have touched us in significant ways, we realize that as we have been blessed – so too, we can be a blessing.
 
In a few days you will receive a letter from Michael Moorhead and me about the 2022 stewardship needs.  We hope you will read it and seriously consider how you can be a blessing to our church.  Our giving is a vital part of our faith – and when we all pull together with increasing strength and commitment, we will be a blessing during “A Season of Growth”
 
In Gratitude for all our Gifts!

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on October 27, 2021.

This fall we have been pursuing fullness and wholeness as a family of faith and now we are shifting to a season of growth.  As one of our Pilgrim ancestors in the faith, John Robinson knew the need for ongoing growth and he also knew the tangible tie of growth in nature – as those early Pilgrims were so dependent on the earth and the food it supplied, thus laying the foundation for what is now our Thanksgiving tradition.

As followers of Christ, we know that growth is both an inner and outer process.  Just as the seed is initially nurtured within, eventually it expresses itself in outward growth – so too, do we have an intimate connection between our spiritual growth within and our faith commitments without.

For a moment…think of those people in your life who have cultivated your inner seed and in the process have helped you grow…as a human being…a part of your family… your community…and in your faith life…

At times it’s hard to realize what difference our lives really make as we touch one another – sometimes it takes years to appreciate true growth – but friends, it’s happening.  I believe our interactive seeds of faith promote growth in God - and serving God and God’s children.  Considering generational influence are these wise words of James Baldwin,

“Children have never been good
at listening to their elders, but 
they have never failed to imitate them.”

What I’m getting at is the recognition of those influences and influencers that have helped shape each of us into becoming the unique and beautiful people God created us to be.  I truly believe our Christian faith is caught more than it is taught.  Let’s continue to catch the growth God offers each and every day…as we share it and celebrate it together!

                  In Joy and Gratitude,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

P.S.   Please take a moment for a poetic pondering…

A Solemn Thing Within The Soul    
Poem 483 by Emily Dickinson

A Solemn thing within the Soul 
To feel itself get ripe 
And golden hang while farther up 
The Maker’s Ladders stop 
And in the Orchard far below 
You hear a Being drop 

A Wonderful to feel the Sun 
Still toiling at the Cheek 
You thought was finished 
Cool of eye, and critical of Work 
He shifts the stem a little 
To give your Core a look

But solemnest to know 
Your chance in Harvest moves 
A little nearer Every Sun 
The Single to some lives.

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on October 20, 2021.

These words of Isaiah carry both excitement and anticipation.  The word was out about something special worth knowing about.  Such is the case here at the Neighborhood Church as we find ourselves in the midst of the fall season.  I am sensing that even with everything going on during the pandemic, this is proving to be a good time for us as a family of faith.  We are taking incremental steps toward a more active participation in our communal life together.  We won’t regain normalcy in one fell swoop – but bit by bit and step by step we can find our way into the future God is calling us to share and celebrate.

In his book, The Mature Mind, Harry Overstreet writes, “For the things we may have lost, we need to go home again.” Whether we are traversing this fall for the first time at the church or the fiftieth, whether we have been away traveling or watching our services virtually or been at the church every Sunday – we can all share in the process of finding fullness and wholeness as part of the Neighborhood Church.  We often speak of this place we love as our church home, and so it is.  Going home figuratively, spiritually, or physically can be a good thing if it connects us with our roots, our faith, our God and one another.

These past weeks have provided that grounding for me personally - and I hope you have found ways in recent times to regain the things you may have lost as well as discover new things God is offering in the unfolding of your life.  Isaiah’s words again fit our situation:

“Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their
  strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk
and not faint.”

                                                                                                Isaiah 40:31

I believe the next chapter in the Neighborhood Church’s life will be very exciting indeed!  So, having received the word, come and add your enthusiasm to our life together in the seasons ahead.  And as you do, perhaps you will (re)discover a deep truth of our faith, that in the giving of self is also the gaining of self.

And May God Bless The Neighborhood Church in the Process…

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on October 13, 2021.

There is a tendency in human nature to be more comfortable around those with whom we are alike than those who are different. This tendency when played out in history has produced oppression and manipulation and worse… In reality, the possibility that the world will ever become homogenized is next to impossible.

Perhaps you recall the story about the little girl and her father. After a long day at the office the father wanted nothing more than to rest and relax as soon as he got home. He had just gotten comfortable when his daughter rushed in and said, “Come play with me daddy.” “How about later?” said her dad. “Mom says I’ve got to go to bed later. Come play with me now!” The father knew there would be no rest until he took time to play with his daughter. Suddenly an idea struck him. He had seen a complex picture of the earth in the newspaper earlier that day. “I’ll tell you what, we’ll make a puzzle out of the world and cut it into little pieces and when you put it back together, we’ll play.” “Hey, that’s great!” said the daughter, as she ran off to put the world together. Surely I’ll get some rest now, thought the father. But in practically no time at all, his daughter was back with the puzzle complete. “Sweetheart, how did you ever get the world put back together so quickly?” “Well, you didn’t see it dad, but on the backside of the picture of the world was a picture of a little girl. And I thought if I could put the girl together right…the world would work out as well.”

This past Sunday was world communion Sunday, the day when Christians the world round shared in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Communion, on the one hand, is very personal - as words cannot fully express what goes on in the life of a believer during special moments of healing and wholeness while partaking of the bread in the cup. On the other hand, communion is communal - as it is shared in community. As I commented on Sunday, it was so good to be back together in person sharing communion together for the first time in over a year and a half.

In our tradition we celebrate individual freedom and diversity-- there’s no homogeneity sought here. We also recognize that our personal lives are tied to the world and that our unity in Christ is a powerful bond. It did my heart good to know - that both through our online service and in person worship - we were able to share together with brothers and sisters as part of The Neighborhood Church and with God’s family everywhere…in communion!

And…in community,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on October 6, 2021.

“While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread,
and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them,
and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’  Then he took a cup,
and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of                                             
them drank from it.  He said to them, ‘This is my blood
of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.’”

                                                                                    Mark 14:22-24           

This coming Sunday, October 3rd, is World Communion Sunday – a symbolic day in the life of the world – as Christians around the globe affirm their connectedness to Christ and one another.  In our fall journey and sermon series: “Finding Fullness and Wholeness as a Family of Faith”, we will be exploring “Tasting Completeness” as part of our worship and communion celebration.  

Given the ongoing nature of the pandemic, you will have two possibilities for sharing in communion this weekend.  One is virtually as we did last year.  When you are about to share in worship through our online video, you are invited to prepare a small piece of bread and a small cup of juice, wine, or water and then be ready to partake when we come to that part of the service.  Even though we won’t be together physically, we can be united in spirit as we share in the Lord’s Supper each in our own respective places.  The second is by joining us for our in-person worship at 10:00 Sunday morning.  The worship ministry team decided it would be good to offer communion to those who gather Sunday and to do so in a very safe manner.  Whichever way you choose to worship this weekend, I hope you will participate in communion if you are comfortable doing so.

World Communion Sunday is a vivid reminder that the larger body of Christ is extremely diverse. There is diversity in thought, politics, economics, culture, language, and race.  And yet, we affirm our unity in Christ’s spirit which is larger than us all.  

A friend of mine told me that she and her mother had been having some difficulties of understanding.  And then, as they shared in communion together at church, just after partaking of the elements, her mother reached over and touched her.  No words were exchanged, they were not necessary.  And from then on, things were much better between them.  Some might call it magic while others might say such an experience is unreal, but I say that both were touched by the mysterious grace of God moving powerfully through the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Through the broken bread our brokenness is acknowledged and in the cup poured out our suffering is sensed.  And with it comes the transforming promise that out of it all - a presence which restores, heals and gives fullness of life will carry us forward.  In the words of the Apostle Paul,

  “For in him (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth
or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

                                                                                               Colossians 1:19-20

In the Wholeness only God can give,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This piece originally appeared in The Wave on September 29, 2021.

A Poem for the final hours of the Summer Season

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

Mary Oliver,The Summer Day

This poem appeared in the Wave on September 22, 2021

At the October meeting of the Church Council, the decision was made to cancel this year’s Christmas pageant due to the ongoing pandemic. Viewpoints from different perspectives were considered and while most agreed it would be nice to be able to do it, in the end the practical and precautionary reasons to hold off made the most sense. I realize that some of our community will be sad and disappointed. I am sad and disappointed. At the beginning of summer I was very hopeful we would be able to do the pageant this coming December. Unfortunately, the up-and-down nature of COVID-19 and its mutant variants leave us in a continued period of uncertainty. Keeping our church family and friends healthy and safe remains a high priority.

Some of the reasons for the decision include: the challenge of casting when many may choose not to participate or commit this far in advance, the close proximity of cast members receiving make up indoors, the physical assistance of costuming indoors, children under 12 years of age not being able to be vaccinated, providing a meal in the Fellowship Hall for approximately 150 people simultaneously, and having a sanctuary full of guests and visitors – or not knowing whether many would even come given the uncertainty of where things will be come early December.

Disappointing as this may be for some, we look forward to future years when we can resume the pageant safely and successfully. The Neighborhood Church Christmas pageant is a long and strong tradition. But our concern and care for our church family and wider community is even stronger. In the meantime, we will continue to find new and meaningful ways to keep us connected to our faith, to God, and to each other.

To that end, we will kick off the fall season on Sunday, September 26 with an all church picnic outdoors following worship. It will be held BYO-picnic style and all are welcome. There will be activities for children and a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends new and old. If you feel comfortable gathering for this event outdoors, I hope you will join us.

Also, beginning Sunday, September 26th, we will be adding some additional elements to the in-person worship service allowing the congregation to have greater participation. This will include things like the Lord’s Prayer, Affirmation of Faith and Closing Sentences. We are exploring ways to make choral singing possible (limited as it may be). The online service will continue in its current form.

Whenever faced with potential discouragement I always remember the words of the Psalmist, “The Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever.” And this sentence Anne Frank scribbled and posted on a piece of paper in her place of hiding from the Nazi’s, “In spite of everything, life is good.”

Looking forward to a good fall season – together physically and/or in spirit!

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This article appeared in the Wave on September 15, 2021

“Have you entered into the springs of the sea,  or walked in the recesses of the deep?” (Job 38: 16)

Just a week or so ago I was standing alone at our little beach and for whatever reason reached down and began skipping rocks. The water glistened as the rocks skimmed across its surface. What a beautiful day to enjoy a warm sunny, summer afternoon. I began having fond childhood memories and thought of times spent with my children when such occasions were fun, entertaining and even competitive.

How much like life such experiences can be. We are each like a rock skipping across the surface of life. We come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors and move at varying speeds – just touching the surface level of life. Theologian Paul Tillich spoke of the “horizontal dimension” of life as,

“never engaging in behavior of depth,
but rather seeking escape through
diversionary activity in the pursuit
or trivial goals and superficial values.”

How easy it is to skip across the routines of our daily living making contact with only surface realities of life. If we take the image one step further, we know that eventually the rocks drop to the bottom – so life’s tugs pull us to the depths. Some rocks skip more than others while some hardly skip at all and go right to the depths. Each moves to a different depth with some never making it out of the shallows. The difference between us and the rocks is that rocks cannot control their speed or direction nor can they pick themselves up and move to deeper depths – we can.

My hope is that during the summer we have all experienced some of the depths of life and that we continue to embrace life’s depths as we meet them, knowing that God is there with us.

And so we proclaim with the Apostle Paul:

“O the depth of the riches and wisdom
and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33)

Looking forward to discovering new depths in worship this fall.

Blessings,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This article appeared in the Wave on September 8, 2021

Earlier this month, our very own Ruberta Weaver celebrated her 105th birthday! Ruberta has long been an important member of our Church family— you likely have heard her voice as a lay reader, or perhaps when she read the Christmas story. She is an exceptional woman with many talents and we are honored to have her as a member of our Church family.

Ruberta celebrated in style with her very own segment on ABC 7! Several church members were present for the festivities.

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Below is an excerpt from an article written by Niva Oghigian in 2016 on Ruberta and her remarkable gift of storytelling—

Ruberta is an expert story teller.  She received her Master’s Degree in Oral Interpretation (now known as Communication Arts) from Berkley.   From 1940 – 1944 she was a story teller on staff with the New York Public Library.  During that time, she and her husband were members of the Harry Fosdick Church.  Among her many activities, she has been a story teller for the Washington DC Public Library, has told stories to children at playgrounds to encourage reading, and conducted weekly story telling session with the St. Paul Public Library (1946- 1955).      

She moved to Palos Verdes, CA and joined Neighborhood Church in 1978 when her husband, John Carrier Weaver, accepted a position as Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of Southern California after a distinguished career as president for several major American Universities.  She continues to share her story telling talents by presenting scripture many Sundays at Neighborhood Church.

Someone once asked, “How long does it take a 
runner in top condition to run from rim to rim
across the Grand Canyon?”  Reply: “A runner 
in top condition might do it in less than three
hours.  But you must remember, a runner in
top condition can run past all the paintings in
the Louvre in sixty seconds.”   

 
We’re in the heart of vacation season.  “Going somewhere this summer?” is a familiar question asked by friends and neighbors now that things are more open than they were last year.  Until recently with staycations, summertime had always offered opportunities get away, see new places or return to old ones and experience life with family and friends in ways different from the usual daily routine.  “Going somewhere” can be quite invigorating and exciting or it may be very relaxing and renewing.  
 
Going somewhere is important to everyone whether it is a road trip or life in general – but the opening thought reminds us that the pace at which we go can be quite significant.  Some people are greatly directed toward tomorrow.  Getting there is what’s important.  It doesn’t seem to matter how much might be passed by along the way - the destination is what counts.  Other travelers are more aware of the total journey, taking each day as it comes, enjoying the unexpected, discovering beauty in the ordinary.
 
Some of us may not physically travel anywhere this summer.  Yet, as Christians, we are all on a journey - a trip that has God as our companion and God as our destination.  As part of the Neighborhood Church family, we have chosen one another as traveling companions so that as we grow together in faith we know we are not alone.
 
Over the course of our summer worship services, we are being blessed by the sharing of faith journeys offered by six of our members.  We are glimpsing into the lives of each other and seeing joy, struggle, celebrations, hardships, disappointments, fulfillment, doubt and renewed faith.  A running theme, which I suspect is true for most of us, is that God has been there - journeying with each of us with sustaining love and grace.
 
Steve Van Matre says, “Our destination is not to get there, but to be there.”  So I encourage you to take some time this August and enjoy the journey, resting assured that from the depths of our scripture tradition we can meditate on the words of the Psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
 
And that will be enough…

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This article appeared in The wave on August 4, 2021

Vacation Bible Camp was great! Together Again, we had fun, a different theme each day, lots of creativity, we ended the camp with the water slide, 16 attended!

During the Vacation Bible Camp, I presented the Third Graders with their life time companion (the Bible, with their name engraved on it). Congratulations!

Summer Sunday School began on June 6th and will end on September 26th. Regular fall classes will begin on October 3rd.

Mommy/Daddy or Grandparent and Me began on Tuesday, July 13th (five sessions) ending on Tuesday, August 10th. We have 10 families enrolled so far. Allison Schmitz is doing a great job. Her next session will be 10 weeks on Tuesdays, September 7th – November 9th, 9:30am to 11:30am.

The children are so happy to be back. They learn, they do crafts and they play. We are still following all the CDC guidelines (staff and children). We are all looking forward to seeing ALL the children back. Come and join us, bring a friend. You are all welcome!

Myra Ghabrial
Director of Children’s Ministries

This article appeared in the Wave on July 28, 2021

It is really good to be back home here at the church with all of you these mid-summer weeks.  It has also been good to be with family and friends at our summer home in northern Minnesota.  The thrill of being in worship again and to experience the joy of music this past Sunday under the blue and changing evening sky for our first Summer Sunday Sounds in two years truly touched my heart.  Being home is not so much a location but being in relationship to what holds us and to what we hold dearly.  

Here’s how Henry Van Dyke put it in a poem.

A Home Song 

I read within a poet's book 
A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make, 
Nor iron bars a cage!" 

Yes, that is true; and something more
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home. 

But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest.

I don’t know where home is for you – it may be the street address where you live or it may be someplace else.  But wherever it is…I hope this summer you can rest and find renewal - and be home - with yourself, others, the creation and God.

Peace,

Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister

This article appeared in the Wave on July 21, 2021