religion

"As I call your clan, please stand up,” said Bruce Barclay.

So began “Scot’s Sunday, Kirkin’ O’ the Tartan” at the First Presbyterian Church in Batavia. Scot’s Sunday was a special morning service celebrating the Presbyterian Church’s Scottish heritage.

Barclay, a member of the Rochester Scottish Heritage Society, read the last names of First Presbyterian’s Scottish families (or “clans”) before closing with: “And finally, Clan Dia — the family of God — which is everybody else.”

At this, the rest (and the majority) of the congregation joyfully rose.

This was the first year Scot’s Sunday was celebrated at First Presbyterian, but the tradition goes back to 1941. The Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall, pastor of Washington’s New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, designed the service “to give solace for British military personnel stationed in Washington, D.C. during World War II” (quoted from event pamphlet).

The service opened and closed with bagpipe music from members of the Rochester Scottish Pipes and Drums Band and included a Scots-Gaelic hymn, a question-and-answer session between the children and one of the bagpipers, and a special prayer for the “mother church” in Scotland.

While the ethnic roots of the church are important, Scot’s Sunday illustrated the Presbyterian heritage in yet another way. The service coincided with the first Sunday in Advent, which for Christians is a season of hope in God’s promises.

“I think the heart of Presbyterianism is seeing that the Holy Spirit is always working with us and calling us to change,” said Rev. Roula Alkhouri, pastor of First Presbyterian. “We look forward to the New Year and we celebrate what God is doing in the world.”

Rev. Alkhouri sees the highlights of Scottish culture as an example of God’s work in the world, but she also stresses the need to be open to people who are different — or, in her own words, “not in our camp.”

In her sermon, she expressed two important beliefs: that the Scottish Presbyterian heritage is to be celebrated as a gift from God, and that openness to fellowship with the entire human family — including what can be learned of God’s work from other heritages — is essential.

Rev. Alkhouri also took advantage of the opportunity Scot’s Sunday offered to exhort her congregation to be more attentive to God’s work during Advent. With gentle words she encouraged people to take moments out of their busy, hectic schedules to look for signs of God’s love and presence in their lives.

The service was followed by a reception with Scottish shortbread and other refreshments. Alkhouri hopes to celebrate Scot’s Sunday again in the years to come.

The turkey juices sizzle in the oven. The mashed potatoes are being stirred in the pot. Gooey, delicious sweet potato casseroles melt in the oven, while pumpkin pies baked and cooled, sit, tempting us toward an early desert.

Like any other holiday, Thanksgiving has a large store of such images attached to it. And, like other holidays, it is generally considered a time for us to reflect on the important things in life. As such, it is a time when families gather together in fellowship and in celebration of their blessings.

The social and emotional benefits of Thanksgiving -- or at least the possibility of these benefits -- are pretty clear. Its benefits to the palate (if not always the digestive system) are also well known. But what about spiritual benefits? What are the religious leaders in our area telling their congregations about the Thanksgiving holiday, and what it means to their lives? Moreover, how do they deliver a message that can be repeated each year and yet continue to be relevant?

The following comments come from four Batavia pastors, each reflecting on what they perceive to be the relevance of Thanksgiving to the Christian life:

Pastor Allen Werk, St. Paul Lutheran Church and School:

"Thanksgiving is far more than just a day for a family banquet. It is not about how much food we can prepare and eat.

"Thanksgiving is about expressing our gratitude to the source of all the things in life that we enjoy. It is a reminder to say thank you to the giver of all the wonderful gifts we so often take for granted.

"The Giver of all those good gifts in our lives, the Source of our blessings, is God our heavenly Father. Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to thank our God for everything He does for us.

"'Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.'   James 1:17 (NIV)

"While it is good to take time to thank God for food and jobs and family and health, we also need to remember that God’s greatest gift was sending His Son Jesus to pay for our sins. Without Jesus’ death on the cross, we would be entirely cut off from this mighty and holy God. That salvation that Jesus has won for us is a gift that we would never be able to manufacture for ourselves. That is at the top of our list of blessings for which to say 'thank you' to God.

"God’s blessings to us span 365 days a year. We shouldn’t limit our thanks to one day a year. Remember to thank God often, daily, for all His love and blessings He abundantly pours into our lives."

Pastor Donald A. Shirk, Grace Baptist Church:

"What we as a congregation do at Thanksgiving is on the Tuesday evening (last night) before it, we have a special "Count Your Blessings" service. This evening is dedicated to folks sharing personal testimonies on how God has been good to them throughout the year.

"For the believer in Christ, Thanksgiving is not simply an annual event but a way of life. Paul put it this way in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, 'In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.' To help prompt, I use a PowerPoint slide with ideas that might help our church members in their sharing. Last night was an exceptional service with our people sharing for over an hour on the goodness of God in their lives."

Pastor Roula Alkhouri, First Presbyterian Church:

"Thanksgiving is a great opportunity for us to take the time to remember the bounty of God's Earth. Often times, we take it for granted that our climate is going to be okay and that we will have good conditions to grow food. So, this time is a time of reconnecting with and paying attention to God's creation. We are often negligent of other creatures in the world. We tend to focus on our individual needs for consumption. Thanksgiving is a great time to be mindful of our responsibility to care for the Earth. The gift of life is so precious, yet it is often taken for granted."

Pastor John Hatch, United Pentecostal Church:

"Usually we focus on what we all are thankful for in a special Thanksgiving Eve service through volunteer testimonies (under 5 minutes) by anyone in the congregation who desires to share and give thanks to God for various personal things they feel the Lord has done for them. This year we will also be focusing on Thanksgiving by celebrating communion to thank Jesus for all He has done for us by the price He paid on the cross for our sins; healing by the stripes on His back and the wonderful way He has forgiven us, saved us and worked in our lives."

It's been a good year for the Anglican Community Church in Batavia. Several months ago, the congregation was accepted as a member of the Convocation of Anglicans of North America (CANA), and to top it off, this month the church is hosting a VIP.

That would be Bishop David Bena.

The local Anglican church was established in 2004 and since then, its goal has been to become a member of CANA. And so sanctioned, it now has oversight by bishops, much to the Anglicans' delight.

"After being in sort of limbo, to become members of CANA, it is a great joy to have Bishop Bena come so far to meet us," said parishioner Onolee Grower. "It is a strong visible sign of our inclusion into a wonderful church. Knowing there is a real person --  not just a name at some distant place -- to turn to for guidance and help is a real comfort."

Parishioner Terrey Lee agrees that Bena's visit marks a milestone.

"It is a great pleasure as well as a great honor to have his presence known in our church," Lee said. "This visit marks, for us, an inclusion into a large family of Anglicans across North America.

"We all believe in one Lord, his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We are now part of a great Communion of believers. This single accomplishment has been of the utmost importance to our church and each of its members."

Even as the parishioners look forward to Bishop Bena’s visit on Sunday, Oct. 25, they cannot forget their struggle to become a part of CANA. It took a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance to realize their dream. They credit church leaders and also "the grace, love and blessings of our Lord" with the success.

Reverend George Quibell, an Anglican priest from Canada, has led the church.

Canon Simon Howson is also scheduled to attend the special service and luncheon for Bishop Bena. Before the inception of Batavia's Community Anglican Church, its parishioners attended St. James Episcopal Church on Main Street, which was led by Howson.

(Parishioners say he was removed by a Bishop on false charges and exonerated last year. Canon Howson remains a priest in good standing in another diocese, having settled his lawsuit against the Bishop and the Diocese of Western New York for an undisclosed sum and a full letter of apology and exoneration, a copy of which is on file at the Anglican Church.)

About Bishop Bena:

The Rt. Rev'd David J. Bena, Suffragan Bishop of Albany, was consecrated as a bishop for Albany in 2000. For seven years, he served under Albany's senior bishop, the Rt. Rev'd Daniel Herzog, to help make Albany one of the largest and most active dioceses in the nation.

Bena retired from his post in Albany and in March 2007 joined CANA, which is an orthodox Anglican church body offering Americans an authentic connection to Anglican Communion.

Since the Albany diocese is a staunch supporter of the Anglican Communion and traditional theology, Bishop Bena's move to CANA came naturally. He now serves as CANA's Suffragan Bishop, assisting CANA's Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns with leading the growing number of CANA congregations and clergy. 

"I have sensed God's call to minister to disenfranchised Anglicans around America who are in need of episcopal oversight." says Bena. "I feel extremely privileged to have been asked to take on this ministry."

Bishop Minns is also glad to have Bishop Bena on the CANA team.

"The growing CANA family will be tremendously blessed by the presence of Bishop Bena," says Minns. "He brings years of experience and lots of high-energy leadership to CANA. I count David as a personal friend, and am very happy that he's here."

Bena served as a Marine officer in the Vietnam War. He did his undergraduate work at Stetson University, and completed his training at Virginia Theological Seminary (in Alexandria). He served as both an Air Force chaplain and a parish priest for over two decades. 

Bena has earned a doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation, which is an interreligious institution based in South Bend, Ind.. He also holds an honorary doctorate from The Episcopal Church's Virginia Theological Seminary.

Bena and his wife, Mary Ellen, have been married 40 years. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.

About the Anglican Community Church:

Parishioner Lee said: "The Anglican Community Church is made up of members who are not only part of a congregation that worships together; we are a church family with a true commitment to our church and to each other.

"Since planting the church, we have experienced deaths, weddings, births, baptisms, and confirmations. All of these were dealt with as a church family, with care and great love for one another being shown to all members. Such life changes as these have brought us closer to one another as well as closer to God."

When Ethan Thompson, resident of Oakfield, speaks to you, he moves you because he sees you. He looks right at you, and his words are strong like his eyes. After speaking with him you can tell his spirit is on fire for God.

How can I make my mark for God? Was a question that pushed forth his Web site youthinactionmag.com.

“Encouraging this generation to get in action,” is his drive and tagline for the site.

Thompson said the site is to encourage and give positive ideas for Christian teenagers.

Thompson went to the library once a week for a year, reading about how to build and manage your own Web site. He brings in his own income from selling things here and there on EBay.

“If I don’t make any money, then whatever,” said Thomas who continued by saying its more about the positive message he wants to send.

“I wanted to make a bigger difference in the world,” said Thompson, “I wanted to have an outlet to express my feelings and things.”

A year ago the site was basic HTML and Thompson decided to hire someone to design something new.

Thompson who enjoys web developing more than design said in a year from now the site will have more content, and more podcasting. He hopes to have a writer other than himself.

His parents are very supportive and help proofread and review the content of his articles. He gets their viewpoint and said it is always great to have different perspectives on an idea. Right now he is seeing about 50 visits a day and said when he has a new article posted the site gets much more attention.

“It’s an ever-changing process,” said Thompson, “You can never have a perfect Web site because technology is always changing.”

Thomas attended St. Paul’s and is now home-schooled. Thompson has the discipline to set aside time for his school work, and completely focus on it until it’s done

“I don’t have to worry about walking to the next class, or lunch, or study halls,” said Thompson, “Mine is all a study hall.” 

Thompson chooses to take a stand against the question he says society demands, “How can I be satisfied or entertained?”

He talked about the negative aspect to social networking like Facebook and Myspace saying the sites allow you to be someone who is viewed as cool. It doesn’t matter whether or not you as a person agree with who you are choosing to be online, because online you can be anyone.

He is very active in his youth group at Genesee Country Church. He also has his black belt and loves mountain bike riding.

He spends about 4-5 hours a day on the computer working on his site.

“Your mind thinks your working, but your not really working, your not doing anything physical,” said Thompson. So after 4 or 5 hours he will enjoy his quiet time reading the bible, or thinking about his favorite verse, Romans 3:23. The verse sets up everything he does. 

What makes Ethan so true to the meaning of Christianity is his spirit to encourage others, and he is doing this in a big way, with his own Web site.

Although he loves this experience, he said he doesn’t want to get into Web design in college.

“I would want to major in Marketing or Broadcasting,” said Thompson. He likes to do tech related things and commented that he isn’t even sure if college is for him because of the costs. But the almost 15-year-old already sees the truth of the world and is doing something to encourage others is something a college degree could never teach anyways.

As I left the office this afternoon in search of some news, I found Pastor Marty MacDonald operating a fork lift, hoisting a large container of adult diapers into a small pick up truck.

A whole crew of people were outside The City Church warehouse loading up cars, vans and trucks with food, household cleaners, shampoo and other necessities.  MacDonald said his church was distributing about 50,000 lbs of items today.

Representatives from churches from throughout WNY were retrieving the good to distribute in their communities.  They came to Batavia from Niagara, Penn Yan, Arcadia, Akron, Rochester, Churchville and North Tonawanda, and other towns.

"They will take these items back to their communities to help people in these tough economic times," MacDonald said.

He said distributions of this scale happen about every six to eight weeks.

Here's an open invitation to area pastors and preachers: Post your Easter Sermons on The Batavian.  On Easter Sunday, we'll post sermons submitted by 10 a.m. ish on the home page.

Before the year is out, Batavian Rindy Walton will quit her job as a physical therapist, get rid of almost everything she owns and move with her three young sons to a suburb of Cincinnati with no financial prospects to found an itinerant church and minister to the disenfranchised.

"We're leaving the only place we know," she says, seeming to measure the gravity of the statement. "There's not a doubt."

It was the right decision, she says. She was called to it. It had to happen. Not everyone in her life, however, was able to match her conviction. Her family rejected her. Others have said she is stupid or crazy. They ask her how she could give up everything for... for what?

"It is a leap of faith, absolutely," she says. "I've had a lot of people support this. But I've also had a lot of people criticize."

Rindy talks unflinchingly of her past. She has been through "a lot of brokenness and abuse," she says. "And a lot of other people have been through that. I can use what I've been through to help other people."

Rindy lives in Batavia where she has worked as a physical therapist for BOCES for 21 years and raised three sons, doing it mostly on her own for the past ten years. For a long time, she hid her hurt out of shame, she says. She was like so many others who felt that private pain ought to be kept private.

No longer.

"There are people who say family secrets should remain secret," she says. "But there are too many families struggling. People are suffering and it's not OK to keep things secret. People dont deserve that."

Ministry is Rindy's way of changing that. Paul Peterson, the former pastor of her church, Northgate Free Methodist, is right now in Georgia attending a "church planning registry," explains Rindy.

"He felt the call to start a new church," she says. "We want to reach people who don't attend church, people who just don't feel that they'd fit the mold."

Peterson will pastor the church that the two of them will found in Maineville, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. Walls Down Church, as it will be known, will be exactly that: they will build up and tear down the church every week in a new venue out in the community, at schools, theaters, generally anywhere with an auditorium, bringing the church to the people, explains Rindy, rather than insisting that the people come to the church.

"That way we can go to the people," she says. "We can go where the need is. Especially for the people who are not attending church, to walk into a strange building is foreign to them. It's going to be a place where you feel comfortable, familiar."

Officially, Rindy will oversee family ministries for the church, which really means that she will work to make the church best suit the needs of its parishioners and do the most for them. She also plans to use her training as a physical therapist to accomodate families and children with special needs.

"From where I was to where I am now — there was someone who was hiding a lot of stuff, a lot of abuse, a lot embarrassment, shame," she says. "Now it's open. What's really cool is that I get to spend the rest of my life helping people who are where I was to get to where I am. That's just so cool."

If you want to donate to the Walls Down Church, send a check to Mountain Lake Church, 3105 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, GA 30040. Indicate Rindy Walton or Walls Down Church in the Memo line. All donations are tax deductible, and Walls Down will receive 100 percent of the money.