Pastor's Letter | Goodie Bell

By Goodie Bell

Friday is Valentine's Day.  If you have been to the grocery store and seen the displays of candy or pulled up Amazon.com and gotten advertisements for Valentine's Day deals, you are probably aware of this already. However, you may not recall that Valentine's Day has its origin in the Christian feast day for St. Valentine. 

Who was St. Valentine? Well, that's a good question. There are records of at least two Christian martyrs named Valentine during the 3rd century. There are legends about a priest in Rome who comforted persecuted Christians, witnessed to an emperor, performed clandestine marriages and restored sight to the blind. But perhaps the best answer we can give is, "Valentine was a follower of Jesus who died for the faith."

By the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer associated the celebration of Saint Valentine with the courtly love tradition. The association of St. Valentine with romance persisted, as Shakespeare, and John Donne, and our own Hallmark attest. But the Valentine's Day celebration of romance derives from the celebration of a very different kind passion and a different kind of love: the Love of God.

This month, we have preached three sermons on 1 Corinthians chapter 7. You may have noticed that Paul says a lot about sex, singleness, and marriage, but he does not mention romance. You can look elsewhere in the Bible to get a more complete picture of marriage and romance (like the book Song of Songs!). But it is clear that romance does not dominate Paul's thinking about sex, marriage, or even love. Paul's ode to love in 1 Corinthians 13 (Love is patient, love is kind...) calls on the members of the body of Christ−not just husbands and wives− to love one another.

 So let me suggest two alternative ways to celebrate St. Valentine this year:

First, consider how you might show your appreciation not only to a spouse or significant other (if you have one), but consider how you might demonstrate your appreciation and love for fellow members of the body of Christ.

Second, attend to the voices of those followers of Jesus who have forsaken romance but known love. To that end, I leave you with some words from Julian of Norwich.

Julian of Norwich (1342-1416?) spent the last forty years of her life as an anchorite (hermit), writing down her Revelations of Divine Love:

"God, of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me,
and I can ask for nothing which is less which can pay you full worship.
And if I ask for anything which is less, always I am in want;
but only in you do I have everything....

For he is everlastingness, and he made us only for himself,
and restored us by his precious Passion and always preserves us in his           
blessed love..."
(Chapter Five, Long Text).

How's that for passion?

Happy Valentine's Day,

Goodie

P.S. Interested in hearing more from Julian of Norwich? Email me about a Lenten Reading Group on Revelations of Divine Love.

---

Read more from the February Newsletter . . .

Blacknall to Host the Fellowship Community Annual Gathering by Allan Poole

God at Work by Ashley Weinard

Chefs for Change by Anne Paulson

Iglesia Emanuel Ministry Celebration by Margot Hausmann

Blacknall to Host the Fellowship Community Annual Gathering

By Allan Poole

Since the 1960s Blacknall has intentionally identified itself as part of the “evangelical stream within the Reformed Protestant tradition.” Although that word “evangelical” has become contested in its meaning since it became compromised by its association with particular political positions, we have used it in its older sense, expressing a four-fold commitment emphasizing the primary and unique authority of the Scriptures, the lordship of Christ in his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the invitation to know Christ personally in repentance and faith through the work of the Holy Spirit, and the command to make Christ known as Lord throughout the world. 

We have also been planted in the Reformed Protestant tradition, in this case within the Presbyterian family, a tradition that looks back to the Protestant Reformation and in particular the Swiss Reformation and its central figure John Calvin. Our particular denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), is theologically diverse; Blacknall has been grateful to be able to maintain an irenic and yet, we trust, faithful witness within that theological diversity.  

To that end, we have supported various renewal efforts within the denomination throughout the years. Blacknall was a member of the Covenant Fellowship in the days before reunion in 1983 with the northern branch of the PCUSA; following that reunion we have participated in other organizations with names like Presbyterians for Renewal and the Presbyterian Coalition. In recent years some of those organizations have coalesced into one group of like-minded churches called The Fellowship Community, designed to encourage and support congregations by promoting local fellowship and accountability and theological reflection and faithfulness.

Each year the Community sponsors a national gathering, and some months ago Blacknall was asked if we would be willing to host. Blacknall’s elders agreed, and the gathering will be here, Tuesday April 28-Thursday April 30, 2020. We expect to welcome more than 200 hundred participants from around the country. Anne Paulson has volunteered to head a team of Blacknall folk who will work closely with the national planning team to address the many details that make for a successful conference. We are excited that our own Jeremy Begbie will be leading off the opening worship on Tuesday evening.

Go to their website for more information, and look for regular updates.  Would you like to help? Please contact Anne. I know she would love to hear from you.

Hospitably yours in Christ,

 Allan

---

Read more from the February Newsletter . . .

Pastor’s Letter by Goodie Bell

God at Work by Ashley Weinard

Chefs for Change by Anne Paulson

Iglesia Emanuel Ministry Celebration by Margot Hausmann

God at Work: Ashley's Story

The Elders were recently asked to write about three pivotal moments in their Christian formation and many have generously offered to share them in the newsletter. If you would like to share about God at work in your life, contact Mary Grimm.

By Ashley Weinard

Vision is my most precious sense. I work in the arts, so observing and analyzing visual information is part of my every day. Wisely, God uses vision to get my attention. I have to make an effort to hear Him, but it is easy to see Him at work around me. So, it is not surprising that the pivotal moments of my Christian formation begin with an observation.

The first moment is when I began to see Christians as unique individuals shaped by their faith. I was not raised as a Christian. Stereotypes were reinforced by my parents, my non-Christian friends, and popular media. I had Christian friends, but I never looked closely enough to see how their faith formed them. That changed when I was 24, living as a graduate student in New York. Perhaps it was because the city is a sea of people and I needed an anchor or, more likely, it was because I fell in love. Whatever the reason, I met two people who looked different. One was a close friend, the other a boyfriend. Holly and Chad were intriguing because they humbly shared their faith in Christ and helped me see that what I loved most about each was actually Christ in them. That was the start of a disequilibrium that left me wondering what truths were forming me from the inside out.

The second moment was on a mission trip to Rwanda. My husband and I went there to visit an orphanage for children of the genocide. We took open hearts and lots of art supplies. The children and I drew pictures of the volcanos out their back window and I cried as they joyfully sang “This is the Day that the Lord has Made.” What I saw there was a faith deeper than terror, torture, and loss. The Christians we met wore their own stigmatas and were alive to tell the tale of how Jesus brought them through crisis and the ensuing work of reconciliation. Every time I remember that mission trip, I see the thorns of the acacia tree. This symbol of resurrection was planted next to a genocide site we visited. My husband picked a thorny piece off the tree and held it out to me in his unscathed hand. That memory reminds me to trust that God will hold me gently, in spite of the sins and sadness of this world.

Finally, my last moment is a really a series of years spent in community at Blacknall. Chad and I have been privileged to be in a collection of small groups over the last sixteen years. In each iteration, it always surprises me how graciously our friends share their hospitality, time, and honesty with me and my family. In these communities, I am invited into other people’s messy, extraordinary lives. It is a gift to observe how others rely on Christ. The view always intrigues, humbles, and transforms me.

What have you seen and how does it form you? Trust your eyes, friends. God is at work.

“Heart of my own heart, whate'er befall

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all”

---

Read more from the February Newsletter . . .

Pastor’s Letter by Goodie Bell

Blacknall to Host the Fellowship Community Annual Gathering by Allan Poole

Chefs for Change by Anne Paulson

Iglesia Emanuel Ministry Celebration by Margot Hausmann

Chefs for Change

By Anne Paulson

Heading into our fourth year, Chefs for Change is a fundraising dinner series that pairs the burgeoning Durham food scene with the needs of families experiencing homelessness. This is more than a dinner – this is a fine dining experience with a purpose.

A distinguished chef will serve three or more courses at a ticketed dinner with the proceeds benefiting Families Moving Forward. Tickets are sold online in advance to 175 attendees and is held at the Rickhouse (609 Foster St, Durham, NC 27701). Doors open at 6:00 pm for the cocktail hour and dinner starts at 7:00.

Go to fmfnc.org to reserve your tickets now for the March 9th dinner, staring Andrea Reusing, chef at The Durham, Lantern.  Two thirds of the ticket price will be tax-deductible.

Join a fun group of Blacknall folks for a great evening of fellowship and dining, while helping raise funds for FMF.   Bob and Ann Talton-Lee are organizing a group to sit together, so let them know you want to come!

---

Read more from the February Newsletter . . .

Pastor’s Letter by Goodie Bell

Blacknall to Host the Fellowship Community Annual Gathering by Allan Poole

God at Work by Ashley Weinard

Iglesia Emanuel Ministry Celebration by Margot Hausmann