FAMILY
March 15, 2020- the day that Lenape Valley closed her doors. That day, the sound of doors closing could be heard throughout our community and across our nation. How fascinating that the ‘shut down’ began on the Ides of March- immortalized by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Ceasar as the day that Ceasar was assassinated. Shakespeare coined the idiom- Beware the Ides of March- a warning of impending danger. March 15, 2020 began a season fraught with dangers we did not fully understand- a virus that stole away over a million American lives, financial decisions that still challenge the US economy, and political divisions that continue to tear at the fabric of our nation. But perhaps the most insidious danger was the quiet struggle of isolation. We were told that the ‘shut down’ would be just for a moment… but that moment stretched on for weeks and months. We gathered for worship on Facebook. We dropped groceries at the door to help people we never saw. We donated through a click on the website. Lenape Valley continued to exist, but it didn’t feel like church because we were not together. Our people were isolated, lonely. So, the Elders of Lenape Valley made the bold decision to open the doors of our church in June, just 3 months into the pandemic, to allow our people to gather. We needed to see each other, to be together, because we are family.
Recently, the Elders engaged the Center Consulting Group to do a church health assessment. We wanted to get perspective on who we are as a church and who our neighbors are in this postpandemic world. We need that perspective to be able to make good decisions about the way forward for our church witness in this community. The results of that assessment have just come in… they will be shared with the congregation in July. But today, I want to share with you just one tidbit of the Center’s report. Lenape Valley is a church family. That part of the report comes as no surprise. Lenape Valley is more than an institution that keeps the status quo, more than a social club where friends gather, more than a charitable organization that collects funds and rallies people to do good. Lenape Valley is a familybrothers and sisters gathered in faith to love one another, to share life’s journey with one another, to be a safe-haven for one another.
The New Testament is replete with images of the faith community as family. When Mary and the brothers of Jesus arrive at a home where Jesus is teaching, they insist on special treatment as the family of the rabbi. But Jesus identifies his disciples as his family, saying “Those who do the will of my Father are my mother and my brothers.” (Matthew 12) St. Paul writes to the Ephesians: “We are no longer foreigners and strangers, but members of His household.” (Ephesians 2) In one letter after another, Paul greets the believers as ‘brothers (and sisters)’. In his letter to the embattled church in Corinth, he uses the word brother 32 times, calling the church to be family for one another. John writes in his letter:
Recently, the Elders engaged the Center Consulting Group to do a church health assessment. We wanted to get perspective on who we are as a church and who our neighbors are in this postpandemic world. We need that perspective to be able to make good decisions about the way forward for our church witness in this community. The results of that assessment have just come in… they will be shared with the congregation in July. But today, I want to share with you just one tidbit of the Center’s report. Lenape Valley is a church family. That part of the report comes as no surprise. Lenape Valley is more than an institution that keeps the status quo, more than a social club where friends gather, more than a charitable organization that collects funds and rallies people to do good. Lenape Valley is a familybrothers and sisters gathered in faith to love one another, to share life’s journey with one another, to be a safe-haven for one another.
The New Testament is replete with images of the faith community as family. When Mary and the brothers of Jesus arrive at a home where Jesus is teaching, they insist on special treatment as the family of the rabbi. But Jesus identifies his disciples as his family, saying “Those who do the will of my Father are my mother and my brothers.” (Matthew 12) St. Paul writes to the Ephesians: “We are no longer foreigners and strangers, but members of His household.” (Ephesians 2) In one letter after another, Paul greets the believers as ‘brothers (and sisters)’. In his letter to the embattled church in Corinth, he uses the word brother 32 times, calling the church to be family for one another. John writes in his letter:
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (I John 3)
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!...
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (I John 3)
The faith community of Lenape Valley resonates with the call to be a family. We hang around after worship to talk. We pray for each other. We encourage each other. We hurt for each other. And we love to eat with each other. Our passion for Coffee Hour extends beyond a good cup of ‘joe’. And those pancake breakfasts and pasta dinners are more than just fund raisers to send our youth out on mission. Times in Fellowship Hall are the moments when we go from facing forward for an hour to facing each other over a good meal. We love to be family for each other.
True family is more than a bloodline or shared name. Family is those who show up, who love even when they do not like you. Family stays when it gets messy. Family chooses to work out disagreement. Real family is hard to find in this world, but those connections are desperately needed. The pressing realities of our world today are tearing families apart. We feel that tug and strain even within our close-knit community. But we have chosen to press on, because we are family for each other. I was visiting a woman in the hospital the other day who said: “I don’t know what I would do without my church family.” I feel the same way. I remember when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, your concern for our family gave us strength for the journey. Many of you have noticed that Bianca is not at the organ these days. Bianca asked for the summer off to care for a family concern. Our answer was an easy ‘yes’, because we are her faith family. We look forward to her return. I am so glad she left her shoes at the organ as a reminder that that day will come.
Yet, the challenge of seeing ourselves as family comes when someone leaves. We wonder how anyone could leave the family. It can feel like a betrayal. We grieve and wonder what went wrong. Sometimes the leaving is a literal moving of location- like Karen and Ray Greer moving to be near their daughter in Boston. We grieve the loss, but we understand. But the news that came just days ago, that Brandon Best has resigned his position as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Lenape Valley, will leave some of us wondering what went wrong. Brandon wrote to the Elders: “We are thankful for your support and the opportunity to serve here. We no longer think that Lenape Valley is a good fit for us and the goals we have for ministry.” The Elders worked for months to find a way forward, but the day still came when parting was the wise decision. So, what does the family do, what does Christian family do, when someone chooses to leave? We love them and pray for them on the way out, the way we loved them and prayed for them on the way in. Ultimately, we are part of a family that is larger than the one that sits on the corner of Ute and Butler. In that sense, Brandon and Faith, Flossy and Asa are not lost to the family, they are just in a different room of the house of the Lord.
Some of you may be wondering how this impacts the Belize Mission Trip that leaves on Sunday. Know that our leaders have rallied and are ready to provide for all that our mission team will need. Please hold us in prayer as we serve in Belize. Please join the Elders in prayer as we bless the Best family on their way. Join me in a prayer of gratitude for a family that continues to stand strong together.
Your sister in Christ,
Anita
True family is more than a bloodline or shared name. Family is those who show up, who love even when they do not like you. Family stays when it gets messy. Family chooses to work out disagreement. Real family is hard to find in this world, but those connections are desperately needed. The pressing realities of our world today are tearing families apart. We feel that tug and strain even within our close-knit community. But we have chosen to press on, because we are family for each other. I was visiting a woman in the hospital the other day who said: “I don’t know what I would do without my church family.” I feel the same way. I remember when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, your concern for our family gave us strength for the journey. Many of you have noticed that Bianca is not at the organ these days. Bianca asked for the summer off to care for a family concern. Our answer was an easy ‘yes’, because we are her faith family. We look forward to her return. I am so glad she left her shoes at the organ as a reminder that that day will come.
Yet, the challenge of seeing ourselves as family comes when someone leaves. We wonder how anyone could leave the family. It can feel like a betrayal. We grieve and wonder what went wrong. Sometimes the leaving is a literal moving of location- like Karen and Ray Greer moving to be near their daughter in Boston. We grieve the loss, but we understand. But the news that came just days ago, that Brandon Best has resigned his position as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Lenape Valley, will leave some of us wondering what went wrong. Brandon wrote to the Elders: “We are thankful for your support and the opportunity to serve here. We no longer think that Lenape Valley is a good fit for us and the goals we have for ministry.” The Elders worked for months to find a way forward, but the day still came when parting was the wise decision. So, what does the family do, what does Christian family do, when someone chooses to leave? We love them and pray for them on the way out, the way we loved them and prayed for them on the way in. Ultimately, we are part of a family that is larger than the one that sits on the corner of Ute and Butler. In that sense, Brandon and Faith, Flossy and Asa are not lost to the family, they are just in a different room of the house of the Lord.
Some of you may be wondering how this impacts the Belize Mission Trip that leaves on Sunday. Know that our leaders have rallied and are ready to provide for all that our mission team will need. Please hold us in prayer as we serve in Belize. Please join the Elders in prayer as we bless the Best family on their way. Join me in a prayer of gratitude for a family that continues to stand strong together.
Your sister in Christ,
Anita
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