“Praise the Infinite”

When we decided to use the Presbyterian Outlook’s Lenten devotional series, Grieving Change and Loss, I wondered if it would be too much to spend forty-six days focused on grief. Some of you might be thinking, “yes, it is too much!” For me, however, it has been a timely exploration of grief and how we deal with it. I have also been reminded that all of us are grieving in some way.

To live is to gain and to lose. The teacher from Ecclesiastes reminds us of this: “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose.”

We humans are born with a deep capacity and desire for love. When we share love with one another, we gain so much. Indeed, it is our love that gives our lives their meaning. But, as we all know well, the more deeply we love, the more profound the pain when we lose the object of our affection. To love, then, is always to assume the risk of grief. Love and grief are inseparable.

The poet Rumi writes poignantly about the truth that there is a time for every matter under heaven and these times are not unrelated but are, rather, a part of a whole.

Your grief for what you’ve lost lifts a mirror

up to where you’re bravely working.

Expecting the worst, you look, and instead,

here’s the joyful face you’ve been wanting to see.

Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes.

If it were always a fist or always stretched open

you would be paralyzed.

Your deepest presence is in every small

contracting and expanding.

The two as beautifully balanced and coordinated

as birdwings.

Love is gain; love is loss. Like birdwings they are a part of the same magnificent, mysterious being. The only way to avoid grief is to shut yourself off from love. But who can survive without love? We Christians, like Rumi, view this dynamic of time through the lens of hope in the eternal. He writes:

This night extends into eternity,

like a fire burning inside the friend.

Truly knowing this is what joy is.

Forgetting it is grief, and a lack of courage.

Life is ending? God gives another.

Admit the finite. Praise the Infinite!

Love is a spring — submerged!

Every separate drop, a whole new life.

During Lent, we focus on the finite, on how we can be faithful in our troubled and difficult world. But this ritual practice of penitence and reflection, like everything we do as Christians, is rooted in the infinite, the eternal. Death and life, mourning and laughing, the cross and the empty tomb, are inseparable. The finite tells us they are separate and that death, mourning, and the cross are the end. And, in the depths of our grief, they certainly feel like it. But as Lent gives way to Easter we are reminded that “love is a spring—submerged!” After the cross, during those long, painful Good Friday hours, those who loved Jesus thought love itself was lost. But love was only submerged. On that third day, it would spring forth again from the grave. “Life is ending? God gives us another. Admit the finite. Praise the Infinite!” Amen!

Grace and peace,

Will

Ongoing and Upcoming Events

Session Report

to the Congregation

January – March 2025

To keep the congregation informed about the work of the Session, here are some highlights from the first quarter of 2025. We are grateful for your faithful support of and participation in the many ministries of this congregation that share God’s love with our community and the world.

❖The Elders and Deacons of the Class of 2027 were ordained and/or installed during 11:00 am worship on January 12. Youth Elder Fitz Keller was also ordained and installed for a one-year term. 

❖Members of the Session are reading When Church Stops Working by Andrew Root and Blair D. Betrand. Opening devotions for monthly Session meetings are based on consecutive chapters of this book. 

❖ Committees of the Session include Budget and Finance, Evangelism, Faith Formation, Missions and Outreach, Operations, Personnel, Property, Stewardship, and Worship. 

❖The 2025 church budget was approved by the Session at the January meeting and Elder Brent Garrett was elected as church treasurer. The Budget and Finance Committee reports the status of church finances remains positive, thanks to the faithful commitment and generosity of our church family. 

❖The Property Committee has been focused on good stewardship of our church facilities, including researching and gathering quotes related to replacement of the roof of our entire building. Updates will be shared as this important project moves forward.  

❖ Two Elders, Becky McKay and Betsy Porter, represented FPCG at the latest meeting of Foothills Presbytery on February 18. 

❖With joy and thanks to God, the Session has approved and our congregation has celebrated the baptisms of four children.

With gratitude,

Val Hendrickson, Clerk



 The Session of FPC Greer

 Reverend Will Shelburne, Moderator

Class of 2025: Ed Driggers, Tricia Greene, Fitz Keller, Ann Lelo, Travis Olmert, Rudy Painter, and Betsy Porter

Class of 2026: Jessica Bruce, Jim Caldwell, Rick Danner, Val Hendrickson, Sallie Smith, and Bob Wiesner

Class of 2027: Ameka Cruz, Carrie Edmonds, Brent Garrett, Bill Harrill, Becky McKay, and Stacia Smith 

Join In These Holy Week Opportunities for Worship & Fellowship

A Word from Ally

This past Sunday, I mentioned that suffering is one of the things that makes us all human. Try as hard as we might, suffering comes for us all at some point or another. No matter our backgrounds, experiences, or circumstances, suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition. We can never truly escape, and we can certainly not explain it, but we can choose how we respond to it.

While this is a heavy reality to bear, this reality also calls us to what Dutch Catholic priest Henri Nouwen calls “the most human of all human gestures:” caregiving. In our culture that values independence, many of us find the thought of being on the receiving end of care uncomfortable. However, Nouwen suggests that caregiving, whether receiving care or giving care, isn’t about one person’s weakness and another person's strength. It is about recognizing the interconnectedness of all people and acknowledging that no one is ever truly independent. After all, we are created in the image of a Triune God who is relational in nature.

Nouwen writes that “because we who offer care and we who receive care are both strong and vulnerable, in different ways, our coming together in a caregiving relationship is an occasion to open ourselves to receive an unexpected gift.” This is where the spiritual depth of caregiving lies: in its power to unite us to one another, to God, and to the true essence of our shared humanity. It is an act that goes beyond simply tending to the physical or emotional needs of another. It is an invitation for us all to experience the mystery of grace that is so beautifully manifested in human relationships. 

In other words, when we come together in acts of both giving and receiving care, we have the opportunity to be drawn more deeply into the love of God. This love is not abstract or distant; it is tangible, expressed in our shared moments of vulnerability, compassion, and tenderness. What an honor it is to be human together, to share in both the painful and beautiful experiences that make us who we are. In mutual care, may we discover the depth of our interdependence and the incredible gift of God’s love that binds us all together.

In Christ,

Ally

The Mission and Outreach Committee is collecting supplies for individuals experiencing homelessness in Spartanburg County. If you would like to support this effort, please place the following items in the marked box at Door A by April 11: travel-size shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap, toilet paper, and paper towels.

Contact Pastor Ally with questions.

The coffee cabinet has been restocked! Pick up your favorites today for $10.00 per bag and help support our mission partners at Café Justo.

Upcoming Fellowship Opportunities

Louise Ables

Barry Groce

John McClimon

Dave Macer

Grayson Marpes

Cindy Moore

Stacia Smith

Joan White

FPC Greer Financial Summary

Year to Date Actual Income

as of 02/28/2025 = $205,055.00

Year to Date Budgeted Income

as of 02/28/2025 = $147,255.00

Variance = +$57,800.00

Thank you for your generous support of the mission and ministry of FPC Greer!

The next issue of First News is April 29. If you have content for the newsletter, please email it to Lisa Johnson at lisaj@fpcgreer.org by Monday, April 28.