Footprints

In loving am I loved

In forgiving do I find myself forgiven

In blessing are we blessed

In giving do we find ourselves full

I’ve been contemplating the future, of late.  The reason? Most likely the reality that I’m going to be a grandparent, contemplating a little one, the next generation, a continuation of our family. I wonder at the model of parent I’ve been: good? Good enough? Sufficient? Other? – However, whatever I’ve been able to provide, whether instruction, lessons, or material, my son will now take, remember, embrace, discard, as he sees fit – as he and his spouse feel lead to do so. The choices they now make as parents will be made upon the foundation we have been able to provide for them, we wish them well and are praying for them as they begin this new family. Exciting and fun to imagine where they’ll be in 5 years or 10-20 years.

Turning my sights to 1^st Phoenix: where will we, be in 5 years? God willing, another 10-20 years? There are some of us who are wondering where we’ll be in a year.

 Funny thing about anticipating and looking into the future, it seems to drawn me to wax nostalgically, well how did we get where we are now?  Upon what foundation “do we live and move and have our being”?(to quote the Apostle Paul.) Yes, in broad strokes, we stand upon the foundation God’s grace in Jesus Christ affords us. But more specifically, and more directly – we stand on the evidence of others’ (preceding generations) faithfulness with the gifts and talents God brought through them.

I’ve had opportunity of late to share about the church history:  chartered in August of 1875 [139 years this year if my math is correct]  and building built in 1927-28.  I’m not sure in which conversation; it might have been the group from the High School that volunteered to help clean out the basement; I’m not sure. But it sparked the question:  What if folk had hesitated and stalled and pushed off building the community space we now worship in? Had they put it off for a year? A couple of years? That would have put the construction into the beginning of the Great Depression, 1929. How would that have impacted folks’ faith and trust and sense of stewardship of the gifts and talents God had given them?  I’d like to think that even in that economically challenged time period, our forbearers would have stepped out in faith, trusting God to see them through even through financially difficult times. I wonder if any of them looked back in 1929, at the building they’d just had built and thought, “was spending this money a mistake?”  The reality is, the church building was built and has stood at the center of this Phoenix community since.

I’m reminded at this point of the ‘Footprints’ poem, the story of the person looking back over their life, noting those places where there were two sets of footprints and places where there were but one set. The message of the poem, is those times where the single set of prints was evident are the times when Christ was carrying the individual through the tough-times to a place of greater stability and strength.

Many of us can look back through our lives and see how the church (this particular congregation maybe) has been that source of strength and stability walking, nay, carrying us through tough times and are so very grateful for its presence in our lives and the life of this community.  In these times of reflective gratitude, we can be mindful that this presence of Christ’s Body, First Phoenix, is with gratitude to the ways men and women have sought to faithfully share the blessed resources God has given them throughout the se years, giving selflessly in life and generously in death.

I invite us to be prayerfully thankful for the footprint of God’s grace that is First Phoenix and for the ways that it is expanding, growing, and deepening. And as we do, might we imagine how it is that folks in 5 years or 10-20 years might look upon our stewardship with similar gratitude to the God, in whom we live and move, and have our being.

Peace,

Pastor Mike

Life's Interruptions

There was quite a happening in our little neck of the woods. Created bit of a traffic jam as passers-by and onlookers stopped to see what the hoopla was about. There were as many who happened by as had intentionally sojourned to the blessed event.  So much traffic and demand to partake lead to special signs being posted with directions on how to proceed.

No, I’m not talking about the Grand Opening of the relocated Phoenix Dutch Bros.® I’m talking the birth of a colt out on So. Stage Road.  I’d observed this pair of leopard spotted appaloosas in the field just down the road from our house since we moved in. Apparently I was none too observant, as I missed the fact that one of the pair was very much ‘great with child.’ Sunday driving home following worship service, I came up near the field and saw the cars and people gathered and wondered what was going on.  As I got closer, seeing the bed of straw with the newly birthed colt laid out with mother standing protectively proud over her, my wonder was replaced with awwww. (or awe.)

It seems people will and do make time to be attentive to life.  People will go out of their way, will create a traffic nuisance, will make a fuss to witness such acts as the birth of a colt, to bear witness to life happening.  This was/is indeed a blessed event.

Well, closer to our church home, we too are experiencing signs of life stirring; signs of possibility; signs of hope. I hope alls y’all are more observant than I (re: the colt) and aren’t missing it, because there are some beautiful expressions of Life happening in our midst.  The Phoenix Community Kitchen is one such growing expression; the Phoenix Food Pantry is another.  These two have been integral to how we, 1^st Phoenix, incarnate the presence of Christ in the midst of the Phoenix Community. 

Adding to these community focused services, we can add the Phoenix Clothing Bank (The Walk-in Closet). The grand opening is slated for May 17^th (coinciding with the Phoenix, City Wide Yard Sale).  Although the idea of a clothes bank had been thought of and even dreamed of in the past, it took the motivational nudge of one of our Phoenix High School Seniors to be that catalyzing energy that pushed this into motion. Serving as her Senior Project requirement for graduation and as the basis for her Girl Scouts Gold Award Project, Kayla is making a great investment in her community.

Closely tied with this clothing endeavor is that of helping folks prepare for the work place, to help provide professional attire, help develop better interview skills (and more) in ways to share assistance with those who truly are interested in finding their way back into the work force.

Another aspect that’s developing within our community centers in the agricultural: learning the skills, the techniques of farming. Its been observed that there exists in this valley (and particularly surrounding the Phoenix/Talent communities) lands that are laying fallow- unfarmed. Using these lands as the training facility, folks who are interested and willing will learn to raise crops, take the crops to market, and earn some money in process. The hope is that the landowner will begin seeing some financial benefit as well.

One final (but not last) I’ll share now, is the use for the church’s Manse: we are specifically finding inroads with the VA and/or other agencies that could help us locate a veteran family in need of a decent house to rent (or some other way of making the space available for use by folks who have/do serve our Country.)

One more – We’ve partnered with Phoenix Counseling Center to provide a summer youth program for some of our local youths.

The offering of these ‘Rays of Light’ into the Phoenix/Talent community is taking shape as a larger community entity, in which First Presbyterian Church is a major component. With significant representation from the congregation, a steering committee (with representation from each of these individual entities) is meeting and discerning our next steps. The name we’ve gone with:  1^st Phoenix Community Center.

When you see signs of Life beaming through 1stPCC, stop and take a look. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. 

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Mike