Rev. Susan M. Craig
July 16, 2006
Psalm 121
John 14:12-17
That We Be Wise and Good Ancestors

Today is the day when we give thanks for the history of this church and our community and our shared journey of now 341 years. Over the centuries our path forward has broadened as we have welcomed a growing number of residents who represent a diversity of religions, ethnicities, and nationalities. Together, through the years as a community and as a church within our state, our country, and the world, we have experienced both challenge and blessing and worked together to be a community of care and support. We celebrate that work and those learnings today.

This morning also brings us the opportunity to pause, at what can be considered an annual “marker moment.” Not a major marker, as was the case in our 325th anniversary as a church, nor as it will be when we mark 350 years as a congregation. Rather this is a moment in time that affords us the opportunity to take stock, to look back at our history so that we know the context from which our present was born, and to look ahead, thinking about what we want to pass on to the future church.

In preparation for today I did a little research. This week I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak with a number of our members who represent different lengths of membership and different generations. I asked them three questions: What brought you to First Church? What is important or meaningful to you now about our life as a congregation gathered? And, looking toward the future, as an ancestor of the future church, (try to get your head around that), what would you like to pass on to the future church?

There was no coaching as we sat together. The responses you will hear are what came first and foremost to people’s minds. As you will hear, they are not only food for thought as we consider the future, but actually a feast for thought.

Member for 52 years, Barbara Van Buren had this to say.
“ We came to first church when we were looking for an apartment after the war. Staying with friends, they told us about the choir at First Church and Hank loved to sing. I hear music well. We were interested in the new construction being proposed for the Meetinghouse, which suggested that the church be turned around. The pastor, Vincent Daniels, also was very welcoming and came to visit us at home. We saw First Church as a good place to raise our children. It seemed like home, somehow. And I liked the less structured liturgy than we had in Canada. I also was glad we were a church that asked questions rather than memorized answers. That let us think about what we believed.

Today I am glad that we are really an open church to all who would come. I served on the Open and Affirming Committee. In the future, I hope we continue as a house of faith who are not so confrontational to people of other faiths, rather a church who lives their faith, not needing to be in the “right,” and therefore, have someone else be in the “wrong.” I hope we continue to be known for seeing the good and kindness in all people. Growing up in French Quebec, there were real barriers between faiths. I hope our openness and acceptance continues. I also like the jumble of ages we are in Hats Off. I’m really quite a fan of First Church.

Member for 27 years – Bob Ferry
We moved here in 1978 and looked at several churches. It was our son’s interest in being part of the SPF, the Senior Pilgrim Fellowship, that got us to join. Tom Stiers had just been called as Senior Pastor, and we were impressed by the intergenerational nature of this church. People of every generation were willing to work together and play together. We valued each other and were willing to do what ever was needed for the church. I remember one point at being paired in a program with Jona Ziac. He was about six at the time, and now he’s about to become a father. The church also brought us together with people of other backgrounds, and was a place where we could all feel comfortable.

Open and Affirming – now that was a big step. I still maybe have some problems with that choice – but then I look around and see new people feeling comfortable and welcome here, and I like that. Coffee Hour is also a great place to get to know each other better.

For the future, I think it is most important to maintain a sense of being a church family. We need to keep working together, be part of close-knit groups, and value all generations.

Chuck McConnell – member for 23 years.
We came to First Church drawn by our daughter Melanie and her interest in the Confirmation Program. First Church seemed to be a gathering place for many who were and became our friends. Growing up in the Methodist and Presbyterian churches, at first UCC with their congregational polity was very new. The church seemed too large and impersonal, that was until we became involved with the choir and other activities.

Today I value the openness of the church, and the fact that we are able to accept people in all different places in their search for God. I value the fact that this is such a welcoming place.

What do I hope for the future? That we can get to the point where our financial issues are not as prominent, so they are not in the way of all we would do and be as a church. I guess I’d like to see a greater sense of financial stability. That is important not only to us, but to the community for we would participate there through financial support and through volunteerism. Most people see First Church as part of the founding of this town. They need to know we still seek to provide the original function of being a community center.

Pat Myer - 20 year member
I was drawn to First Church after visiting several other churches by its music and its liberal thinking. It has also been a very meaningful place, enabling me the opportunity for meditation, encountering my faith in prayer.

I think we have changed the most around the subject of Open and Affirming. We’ve come a long way. Upon my retirement, this place became a great source of peace for me. The beauty of this place surrounds us inside and out. It is a place where I have given of myself, and during the “detours” of my life, been sustained.

Looking toward the future, with David here, I see the church moving ahead with vitality and enthusiasm in very exciting directions. He is bringing us along, and we are all on board. In the future we need to continue a strong youth program. That’s very important. The church needs to stay active in our community. We need to do more for the seniors at the church, with daytime programs. There is a lot that is good going on, we need more publicity so we can welcome more of the community. As a church I hope we continue to grow, and to be willing to try new and different things.

Paul Pacent – member for 16 years.
Honestly, I joined First Church for my family, not really thinking about what I would get out of it. I was looking for a church home for my kids, and I found many other families doing the same. Once here, I had my eyes opened to the values of a multigenerational experience. It helped a lot to hear others’ stories about how to live our lives and what God meant to all of us.

My hope for the future – that we continue to provide a strong foundation for young people. As the world gets smaller and more complex, we need to be a touchstone, a strong spiritual base for all people, but especially for our kids. They are our future – and our present. However, most importantly, we need to continue to be a church family who are there for one another. We do a good job of this, but need to continue. Our ministers go out of their way to promote this. We need them to continue.

April Condon – member for 4 years
I came to First Church just as we were anticipating Tom Stiers retirement. I came at the encouragement of my neighbor. It was a total shock. The service was very different with a feeling more like a town meeting, than a heavy laden Mass. I felt both lost and excited beyond belief at how informal and different a religious experience could be. It really felt like a group of people collecting to be on a religious journey together.

I took part in the process for Open and Affirming that winter and the consideration of the choice of language we wanted for that decision. There were amazing meetings and I was struck by how we operated as a democracy. It was up to us to vote on how we would go forward - and the pastors were there to guide instead of tell. First Church has made church an experience that is so much more than just Sundays.

For the future, I say hang on to our traditions. They are a rare gift coming to us from across the centuries. And maintain the importance of the education of children. That is huge.

The SPF at their summer dinner this week.
As a child, First Church was my introduction to the community. It is a place where I can come for direction. We do a lot of important work in the area of outreach. Anna is an important part of what First Church is for me.
It is a place where people are easy to talk to, and a place to meet people you wouldn’t otherwise. There is no requirement for acceptance here. I value the diversity of who we are. Here, ideas and concepts about God and the church are broken down and made easy to understand. I was comfortable the first time I came, and have been so ever since.

The future: Keep doing what we have been doing. Do more with Honduras and with H.O.M.E. I’d like to see this place become more like a camp – but first and foremost be a gathering place. It’s going to need to be less formally religious for me in the future. We need to keep on teaching and learning about the Bible, and applying it to our lives.

Anna Paskausky, member for 1 year
When I first came, I saw First Church as incredibly vibrant and active with a lot of resources. I was shocked to find out we had a stage, and was so impressed that we had a community who cared about youth and would invest so much in them. I had the impression that we were fancy, which I still think is true. At first I was intimidated by First Church, but now as I have come to know people and vice versa, I am much more comfortable.

I think First Church does a good job and a tough job – between walking the line of tradition and walking forward in fresh ways. First Church is very open and the people here feel a great sense of and need to be servants in the world through different aspects of outreach. We try to do, not just talk about our faith. I think we are well positioned to become the kind of church we desperately need in the post-modern era by the combination of our openness, our grounding in Scripture, and our consideration of the Spirit at work.
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I cannot thank our friends enough. And I would be willing to guess that there are as many additional good thoughts here in the Meetinghouse as there are people. So, how do we become wise and good ancestors? To me, one of our blessings and one of our strengths as a church is that we embody a faithful diversity, of many generations who speak their minds - not necessarily agreeing with each other, but who have learned to listen to and respect one another, that we may grow. Listening and working together to be the church is not an easy task, it calls for honesty and hard work. We know that speaking the truth in love is one of life’s biggest challenges. However, working together as a congregation is not enough. As people of faith we also need to remember whose we are. We need to listen to Scripture, to pray together, and to listen for God’s call in our time, remembering that there is always more grace and light yet to be revealed.

How do we become wise and good ancestors of the future church? Our scriptures speak to this.

Psalm 121 is considered one of the most beautiful of the pilgrim collection. Pilgrim in that it’s writing supposes a pilgrim, on his way to Jerusalem, reflecting on his journey before entering his tent for the night. While he sleeps he trusts the Lord to be his keeper, but not only for the night, in the day as well. The Psalm declares the Lord will keep him – and all of us from all evil, in our going out and our coming in – from this time forth and forevermore.

As we journey into the future, we need to remember that the Lord will be there as our keeper, and will keep us safe.

And from the gospel according to John, Chapter 14 what do we find?
These words from Jesus toward the end of his life, “Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father… If you love me keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides in you, and he will be with you.”

As Jesus looked ahead to the future church and spoke to his disciples, he believed that they would do even greater works than those he had been able to perform in his short lifetime. He invited the future church to turn to him in prayer, and to keep his commandments, and to trust in the guiding and supportive presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had great hope and confidence in the future church.

The church has done things right, and the church has been very human and made mistakes. But God has been with us in ages past, and will continue with us into the future. Let us give thanks to God and to our forebears, for bringing us to this day and now let us close in prayer.

God, we came here today to worship- to listen and talk, to learn and pray. We came here to meet our friends – young and old. We came here to hear more about Jesus and to share with others what we already know. That is why we came and came gladly. When we go home, help us still to be the church, your people living not only within these walls, but in the world. Amen.