Pastor’s Weekly Email

November 21, 2008

Send comments to: mailto:scotpeg1@earthlink.net

 MY MOTHER AND THE WOMEN OF THE WSCS

I was thinking about my mother today – I have thought about her often since her death in 2004.  It is, however, the Thanksgiving Season that really focuses my mind and heart on her special gifts to me that helped to formulated my life into what it is today.  Let me share this brief example of the important seeds she planted in my fertile soul.

I gave my life to Christ one hot summer evening at a Billy Graham Youth Crusade when I was fourteen years old. That is a whole story in and of itself that I will share on another occasion. I walked away from that Crusade an inspired young man.  I was inspired to be more Christ-like in my dealings with family and friends, and to begin the serious processing of the feelings that were gnawing at my soul about fulltime Christian service.  By the time I was fourteen I was sensing a divine pull toward something greater than self and larger than life.  God was calling, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted to answer.

My mother was a tremendous influence on me in shaping my faith and instilling a passion for social justice.  She was an activist for civil rights and Christian social action through our church’s WSCS -- Women’s Society for Christian Service – the predecessor of our present day United Methodist Women. My mother served as president of the WSCS for our Methodist Church in Sanford, and provided the catalyst that inspired the women of our church to take proactive stances for the cause of racial and social justice and equality during a time in the South when such stances were not popular and most times unwelcomed. While some churches were splitting over the issue of race and biblical doctrine on the equality of all people in the sight of God, my mother and the members of her WSCS group became a power coalition for the underdog and the underprivileged.  Many were the times when I would accompany my mother to some of the most impoverished neighborhoods of our community where basic sanitation services were few and far between, and where malnutrition was a common malady that afflicted innocent children like a plague.  The backseat and trunk of our car would be crammed full with groceries and personal hygiene items my mother had collected at the church with the aid and assistance of her WSCS group.   These were women who knew they couldn’t save the world, yet they knew they could make an impact on the part of the world in which they lived.  These women were witnessing by their example to the basic Christian principle that faith in Jesus means living each day like Jesus, and never backing away from the crosses that might loom before you. Taking the name of Jesus means standing up for what is right, even when standing up for what is right may bring ridicule, judgment, and ostracization. Christianity is not just believing it is also doing. 

One of the valuable lessons that I learned from my mother and the courageous ladies of the WSCS of Sanford was that our value as human beings is not wrapped up in what other people may think of you or being liked by the crowd.  If you are going to be a faithful disciple of Jesus you must be willing to move away from the crowd mentality and move instead toward a Christ-mentality. And the Christ mentality calls us to see everyone as created by God, loved by God unconditionally, and worthy of our love.  I remember thinking to myself at that time in my young life how much better off the world would be if the church was unafraid to proclaim the radical gospel of God’s unconditional love and grace to all people no matter what their race or economic status, and challenge its members to live it out each and everyday. From the perspective of my idealistic teenage eyes I did not see it taking place, especially as I saw the actions of some “good” church people on Sunday who simply could not refrain from spewing hate and antagonism on Monday.  My mother and the women of the WSCS restored my faith that the transformational power of Jesus Christ is real and can make a difference in hearts that are willing to accept it.

That witness would have a powerful impact on me when my mother and the ladies of the WSCS asked me to attend a week long School of Missions gathering in Lakeland in the summer of my junior year in high school.  Little did they know that before the week was out I would turn the whole School upside down and have my name plastered in newspapers throughout the Southeast.  Ah, I will save that story for some other time…….

See you in church,

Scott

COMMENTS:           scotpeg1@earthlink.net

WEBSITE:                 www.vscottharris.com

Sermon for Christ the King Sunday, November 23

Finishing What We Start

II Corinthians 4:16 - 5:11

Christ the King Sunday

Christ the King Sunday will be celebrated this week at the 8:15 and 11am services with great music and pageantry.  Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday on the Christian calendar and symbolizes the Lordship of Jesus and His reign as King in heaven and earth. It is a powerful statement of our belief that Jesus is Lord of all life, both on heaven and earth -- a day to celebrate and remember Christ's kingship over all creation, as well as remind us that all humankind must submit to Christ's rule. Next week we begin the Christian calendar afresh with the First Sunday of Advent.