Pastor's Message - May 2026

~To All Generations~

“For the Lord is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever,

and God’s faithfulness to all generations.”

~Psalm 100:5

Dear Members and Friends,

Surely, the church’s task in every age is to interpret God’s goodness and love for a new generation. The message doesn’t change, but how we understand and communicate it does. What is the message? I’m glad you asked. Our message is that we see and know God in the person of Jesus; that God is all mercy, and justice, and peace, and joy, and generosity, and love; and that God calls us to make sacrifices for the sake of all these things, especially love. The message of Jesus’s life is that if we live as we are called to live, the world will sometimes beat us down, but there is new life on the other side of suffering and pain. It’s a simple message, but people often have difficulty hearing it

over the noise of the world…and the unloving character of so many “Christians.”

As we celebrate our 75th anniversary as a congregation, part of our job is to examine the ways we’re sharing this life-changing message with our generation. The churchly stuff that worked in 1951 (Sunday school picnics, knocking on doors, attendance pins, bring-a-friend-to-church Sundays, etc.)...these don’t necessarily work today.

People’s attention spans are shorter; people’s time commitments are more limited; people have a plethora of other ways to find community and meaning. Most of all, religions have behaved so badly that many people are just done with them altogether.

How can the church meet people “where they are” with our message of hope and new life? If our goal is just to survive as an institution, then we’ve got the cart ahead of the horse. Our goal must be to sow our kind of faith into the world around us, a faith that is gentle, accepting, and loving. If we’re actually doing that, then we surely won’t need to

worry about the survival of the church because people do want what we’re offering.

Our speaker series, “Faith Forward: The Future of Congregational Life,” is helping us think about all of that. The series was launched as a forward-looking element of our anniversary celebrations. Thus far, we’ve brought in two very well-known experts on religious trends in 21st century America: Ryan Burge and Andrew Root. While Burge dwelled on helpful (if discouraging) statistics, Root offered a few thoughts for the road ahead. Essentially this: “Stop flailing,” as Jean Miewald put it. Come up with a watchword to rally around. Love each other deeply. Be a place where people can think about, and talk about, and live into their spirituality. (Strange that churches are declining because they’re not spiritual enough!) There’s one more event left in our speaker series. On May 13, we will be hearing from a panel of faith leaders who have pioneered some ways forward. This event is at Cefalo’s in Carnegie. For a mere $35, you get dinner and a presentation about new ways of being the church today. Please sign up!

Also, be sure to reserve your spot at our 75th anniversary banquet on Saturday, May 16 at Nevillewood Country Club! All ages are welcome. There, we will be hearing from some former pastors of our church, including Bob Heppenstall, Jack Hodges, Dan Rift, and Laurie and Leonard Sponaugle. They will be leading worship the following day and attending the Strawberry Festival on Sunday afternoon. God has been good to us, and “God’s faithfulness is to all generations.” Our task is to get the message out.

Christ’s Peace,

~Brian