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Dear Friends/Colleagues of the Presbytery of San José,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Liberator, Jesus Christ, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit!
This year, like any year, or any moment of our human existence, is unpredictable. It has its own share of peril, danger, tumult. The difference between the world today and the world of 50, 100, or a 1000 years ago is that with digital communication, the sheer volume and velocity of information about the world are overwhelming. Things are magnified exponentially, so our minds and hearts receive all this, we try to process it, make sense of everything, try to figure out what can we do to make the world a bit better, or not try at all.
At this writing, Trump and Putin are meeting in a U.S. military base in Alaska while a war rages in Ukraine/Russia, in Gaza/Israel, in South Sudan. There are mass casualties, starvation, and power politics. Speaking of Alaska, in the capital of Juneau, there are evacuation orders because of floodwaters due to melting glaciers. Whether in the first century C.E. or in the 21st century C.E., there is human pain, wars, famine, and so many areas in our shared humanity and planet Earth that cause us to wonder and wait, to act and react, to protest and pray. Add to this the federal takeover of the D.C. police in our nation’s capital, the increased presence and shadow of ICE agents in neighborhoods across the country and in our state, and the gerrymandering effort in Texas in advance of the midterm elections.
Parallel to these happenings is that season of life when folks return from summer break, families are dropping off kids back to school, congregations gear up for another church program year (with budgets, strategic planning retreats, nomination/election of officers), as with those of us in mid-council leadership, and we all find ways to live, breathe, pray, and love for another day.
I hold in my heart the words of Psalm 113:3, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” When I do my daily three mile jog near sunset, I think of this Psalm because the beaming sun that is about to set is the same sun which human beings in ages past, human beings halfway around the world…we are seeing the same thing, we are feeling the same heat. The constancy of that sun overhead and the moon that is about to appear, are the same wherever you are on the planet, and in whatever year you are living (or dying). And more profoundly, the same Creator and Savior God who made heaven and earth and everything/everyone in it, is the constant and consistent Presence, whose love is steadfast, whose commitment to a broken humanity remains.
In our community as a Presbytery, we strive to encourage one another in life, faith, and service. Be sure to register for our next NEAR Gathering (Nurture, Equip, Advocate, Resource), which will be on Saturday, September 6 from 8:30am-1:30pm at First Presbyterian Church, Mountain View. Register at: https://shorturl.at/ET9bN And for those of you who are teaching elders, register for our Fall retreat to be held at the St. Francis Center in San Juan Bautista on September 9-11. We still have a few more overnight rooms available, so register soon. Register at: https://shorturl.at/Y7lEO If you need scholarship assistance, let me know.
This Sunday, we as a Presbytery are praying for and thanking God for our siblings at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Aptos and their pastor and dear colleague, The Rev. Anne McAnelly, as they host the Presbytery Unity Candle.
One of my favorite prayers in the Book of Common Worship is the following. It’s popularly called “The Holden Prayer for Courage (or Guidance).” It was composed by liturgical composer, Marty Haugen, when he went on a retreat to the famed Holden Village conference center near north Seattle, Washington. Holden Village is rooted in the Lutheran theological tradition.
Eternal God,
you call us to ventures
of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pray this prayer at some point in the coming days as you glimpse a sunrise, a sunset, the moon overhead, a walk at the beach, as you sit for a cup of coffee, at your next family or community gathering.
In Joy and Justice,
Neal D. Presa
Executive Presbyter
408.763.5004 | Neal@sanjosepby.org
#CalledToCommunity
#CommittedToJustice
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