Message from the Pastor:

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In the Apostle Paul's second letter to Timothy he announces: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16) That's a very strong statement. Sometimes, we come across a few scripture passages which challenge our acceptance of Paul's statement. For instance, last month we were working our way through the Letter of James, and for those of you who have been following we know that the famous reformer, Martin Luther, has a problem with that letter. He called it "a mite strawy epistle" by which he meant it was made of straw instead of strong stuff like stone. Of course, when Paul wrote 2 Timothy 3:16 he was referring tot he Old Testament; the New Testament hadn't been compiled yet. Most of us have since decided that 2 Timothy 3:16 applies to Christian Scripture as well. We apply Paul's "all scripture to "all scripture."

In October, we're going to be wrestling with another problematic group of passages: The Book of Job. And the very first week we get right into it with God making a deal with the devil. Job deals with the issue of human suffering. Why is there suffering:? What are we to do when it doesn't seem like a good answer is forthcoming from the throne of heaven? Hopefully, by the end of the month we will be able to continue to confess with Paul that, 'yes, all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.' The battle is fierce, and the stakes are high. I hope to see you in the coming month.

For those of you who share your home with a feathered, or furry, or a friend who is simply not human you won't want to miss the Annual October 10th Blessing of the Animals in our church yard at 10 a.m. Two years ago when we started the blessing, we had very few animals. Frankly, I was seriously considering canceling the whole thing. But, last year the animals multiplied (I borrowed that word from Genesis). It's my hope that we will again see another multiplying - and that the yard will fill with even more animals.

There are two other upcoming dates I would ask you to save on your calendars. First, Frankford Group Ministry will be celebrating 30 years of ministry. There is a flier in this newsletter which offers more details. Deanna Darigo and I will be selling tickets. Bishop John Schol will be our keynote speaker. Tickets are going for $35, which is cheap for such an event. Tindley Temple is having a similar type of celebration and they are selling tickets for $75. The date is November 12th @ 7 p.m.

The second date I ask you to save is the afternoon of Sunday, January 31st. Choirs from various congregations in our neighborhood will be coming to our sanctuary for a choir festival. This will be followed by a potluck downstairs in fellowship hall. Hope to see you at both events.

God Bless,

Pastor Tom