Sometimes we can benefit from this kind of straightforward wisdom in our ever-more-complicated world. But we might have to spell it out a little more bluntly: Go outside! Look at trees. Look at bugs. Hike up some hills. Maybe even jump in a fjord! It’ll do you good.

We don’t have fjords to jump in out here in Wexford, but there are plenty of ways that we can get outside and explore, both literally and figuratively. I recently joined one of our newer church visitors for a hike in North Park on the nature access trail, which is a trail designed to be accessible to folks of different abilities. By the way, if you could use a pastoral “tune-up”, I’d be more than happy to join you on a trail and talk about what’s going on in your life and where you think Jesus might be calling you at this moment. Perry Highway has lots of places to jump in: volunteering to help with Sunday school, joining one of our small groups (trauma support, bible study, meditation, film), or maybe helping with our upcoming Oktoberfest celebration. Or perhaps you’re feeling called to volunteer or advocate outside the church, supporting MHY family services, helping with the upcoming blood drive, or joining our Friday prayer vigils for immigrants.

All of us need space to discern how the Holy Spirit is guiding us -- internally and externally. We need space externally to orient ourselves to what’s really important. Worship and Sabbath are a place and time of harmonizing our souls with our deepest values -- communing with Christ. Vacation and travel can be a holy thing, too, when we are able to step outside of our everyday lives and become interested once again in our environment and curious about what is possible. But even when we’re not on vacation, we need some internal space each day to reorient ourselves to God, who promises to be with us wherever we go. Even as summer is ending, I hope we can all feel, with the changing of the season, the stirring of new possibilities with the cooler breezes. 

In Christ’s Peace,

Pastor Ryan

A Message from Council President Fred Geiger

Belonging Is Not Toleration

In my distant past, I learned from a Marriage Encounter weekend that toleration is a symptom of spiritual divorce. Not conflict. Conflict is fine — conflict means two people are still in the room. Tolerations are what happens after. You stop raising it. You work around the person. You are perfectly civil, and you have quietly filed them, and something has ended without anyone announcing it. A marriage can run for years on tolerations. So can a congregation.

Fred Rogers said it as simply as anyone has: I love you just the way you are. Not I will put up with you. Not I will love you once you come around. Just the way you are — including, and this is the part we skip, when you are at odds with me. That is belonging. Acceptance, not toleration. And it is much harder than it sounds, because toleration is comfortable and it looks like virtue from the outside.

We are not Mr. Rogers. So we follow Paul, who did not tell us to be nicer. He told us to put on Christ. Not admire Him. Not agree with Him. Put Him on, the way you put on a coat, and go out into the day wearing Him — which means looking at the person in front of you the way He would, before you have decided anything about them.

And Bonhoeffer, from a prison cell, asked the only question that matters: who is Christ for us today? Not who was He. Who is He, now, here, in this building. I know my answer, and I don't like it much.

It is the person in this congregation who drives me up the wall. The one who questions the thing I have already decided. The one who is a hundred and eighty degrees from me on nearly everything and comes back every week anyway. The one who will not let a subject drop that I would very much like to drop. 

If I have put on Christ, I have to look at that person and find him there. Not tolerate them. Not manage them. Find him. Every time I have actually done it, the person turned out to be carrying something I needed and could not have gotten any other way. That is what belonging costs, and it is why this congregation is worth the trouble.

The longer version — including the specifics and the story of the annulment that never happened — is at phlc.org. Read it here.

A Note from Ted Griffin, Director of Family Ministries

Hi PHLC Family,

Here we go again!

A new school year is here, and with it comes another year of Family Ministries at PHLC. I always enjoy this time of year because there is something special about getting everyone back together after the slower pace of summer. 

At PHLC, we look forward to creating opportunities for our kids and families to have fun, build relationships, learn about their faith, and serve others.

“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

1 Timothy 4:12

I think this verse is a great reminder of what we want for our children and youth. They are not simply the future of the church. They are an important part of our church right now. We want them to know that their voices matter, their gifts matter, and they have an important place in our church family.

We’ll start the year with Rally Day on September 13. This will be the first Sunday of Sunday School, and we’ll have some extra games and activities for the kids. We’ll also present Bibles during worship to children who would like to receive one. If your child would like a Bible, please let me know.

We’ll also kick off 412Youth that same day. After worship, all of our youth are invited to stay for lunch, games, and some time to get to know one another. One of the things I love about 412Youth is that it isn’t just for one particular age group. Elementary, middle school, and high school students can all be part of it.

Throughout the year, we’ll spend time together doing more than just meeting. We’ll be working on service projects, preparing cards for people in our community, helping with our Thanksgiving Food Drive, and finding other ways for our kids and youth to put their faith into action.

Sunday School will continue throughout the school year for our PreK through 5th grade children. We are still looking for adults who are willing to help supervise Sunday School. You don’t need to be a teacher or have any special experience. I’ll provide the materials and help you get your required clearances. Most importantly, our council has asked that we have two unrelated adults present each Sunday.

But as I look at everything on the calendar, I keep coming back to one thing: none of this happens because of a calendar.

It happens because people show up.

It happens when someone volunteers to sit in Sunday School. It happens when a family brings snacks. It happens when a teenager gives up a Sunday afternoon to help with a service project. It happens when someone takes the time to learn a child’s name or asks a young person how their week is going.

Those little moments are what make a church feel like a family.

Thank you to everyone who has already offered your time, ideas, and energy. And if you haven’t found your place yet, I hope you’ll consider joining us this year.

There’s always room at the table.

I’m looking forward to another year together!

Ted