From the Clerk of Session |
Note: At the May 2008 meeting of Session, Rev. Ken Good announced his resignation as pastor of the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green. effective Sunday June 22nd. A search is underway for an interim pastor while Session begins the process of forming a Pastor Nominating Committee. During this time of transition our Clerk of Session, Ethelyn Fulton, will provide a monthly message.
February, 2009
February - A Time to Love
“Love,” according to Joan Walsh Anglund’s book, “Is a Special Way of Feeling.” February provides time to think about love and the very special ways of feeling it creates within us.
February 14, Valentine’s Day, is a day to celebrate romantic love with flowers and chocolates, cards and songs, candlelit dinners and hugs. Romantic love is the love of friendship and companionship, and of walking through life together. Romantic love celebrates the joys, sorrows, pride, anger, pain and happiness that come to us every day as partners, as members of a family, as members of a church, as members of a community. Poets, authors and script writers extol its virtues. Gossip columnists tell us all we ever, or perhaps never, wanted to know about the loves of the rich and the famous. It is a topic for discussion when we are at work or at play. Romantic love is the love we dream of as a child and hold fast to when we find it. It comes at unexpected times, in unexpected places. When we know the love of another person, we feel safe and comfortable, wanted and appreciated – and we reach out to others to share our happiness.
Greater than the love we have for each other is the love that God has for each and every one of us. We welcome His love in the gift of a baby whose birth we celebrated just a few weeks ago. We ponder His love during the days of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25. We experience the depth of His love at the foot of the cross on Good Friday. We know the timelessness of His love in the garden on Easter morning. God’s love reminds us that we are never alone. God’s love demands that we reach out to those around us – to love as we have been loved. “We love because God first loved us.” (I John 4:19)
In this month which celebrates love, we would do well to remember that love is a gift – a gift meant to be shared. As we journey through Lent together, let us take time to love as God loves – with open arms and a forgiving heart. Our journey began when we knelt with shepherds and wise men at the manger. It will wander through the desert of loneliness and temptation. It will bring us to our knees once again at the foot of the cross. Then, on Easter, we will have an opportunity to dance and sing with joy as we “…give thanks to the lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)
I look forward to sharing the journey and the love with you. See you in church!
-Ethelyn L. Fulton, Clerk of Session
Past messages from the Clerk of Session:
January 2009: Greetings for the New Year
December 2008: Christmas
November 2008: A Prayer of Thanksgiving
October 2008: Patient Trust in Ourselves and in the Slow Work of God
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