Montclair Presbyterian Church

This week in Youth Group we had a bunch of space aliens asking questions of us and trying to figure out what a “Christian” was. The youth playing the part of aliens worked hard on their questions, from “are you born a Christian?” to “if someone is really nice and does good things, does that automatically make them a Christian?”

The youth playing the part of humans divided up into two groups where they came up with different explanations for what a Christian might be. When the aliens asked about God – “how do you know if God is real?” – one group said that the question was beside the point. To them, believing in God was much less essential than following the way of Jesus and doing what he taught us to do. The other group felt believing in God was important, but they said there was no way to know if God is real – you have to feel it in your heart and believe it.

As we approach the mystery of Easter I think we would all do well to listen to the wisdom of these youth. Like believing in God, believing in the resurrection can be baffling sometimes. The resurrection stories cause many people to stumble over their raw unbelievability… a three-day-dead body coming back to life?? But as the youth grappled with questions about believing in God, they shared some solid perspectives that we can take and keep with us. Our hearts can lead in this matter, and we can let our brains follow the heart’s lead. There are more important questions than “how?” and “what proof?”… We can ask “what difference does it make?” and “how does it affect your life?” instead. If people can see us practicing resurrection in our own lives, bringing back to life what has died, and standing against the injustice that kills innocent people, the question will be answered even before it is asked. As we walk into the darkness and mystery of Holy Week, let’s carry that strength with us, and be the ones to practice resurrection.

Every Blessing,
Talitha

Are you proud to be a Presbyterian? Some of you on one hand probably don’t know or care what Presbyterian means, and on the other hand some of you probably are such loyal life-long Presbyterians that you’ve never had to ask that question. Well, I’m proud to be Presbyterian, especially in a time such as this, when our national policy has just moved forward to specifically and clearly include marriages between two people. This has been a long time coming, and we are glad. We Presbyterians have a very slow-moving process, with General Assembly, our largest committee, meeting only every two years, and with amendments to our constitution (such as the one that just passed) requiring all local presbyteries to consider and vote on the amendments.

When Ben and I met with the Faith Exploration Program for our high schoolers we explained to them that they can become members at the end (after either being baptized or confirming their faith from infant baptism). Ben explained that members get to vote in congregational meetings and we got some blank stares. “THAT’S NOT ALL!” I jumped in. If you are a member you can be ordained as a ruling elder (Session member) and go to Presbytery! That’s another, bigger meeting, where you can vote too! And General Assembly! Well, I know a lot of you, whether youth or adults, are less excited than I am about big meetings and important votes, but I think this is terrifically exciting. I look at it like this: becoming a member or a ruling elder are ways to unlock new levels of participation in the Presbyterian game.

One of my favorite ways to play the Presbyterian game is at the General Assembly, the nation-wide gathering every 2 years. I went in 2008 as a student observer in San Jose, and again in 2010 as a student assistant in Minneapolis. I was quickly infected with an enormous enthusiasm for the workings of committees, the process of attempting consensus, the speak-outs, the passionate testimonies for social justice causes, and the huge worship services… not to mention the many friends I made there and the fun we had! As an observer I quickly started a new blog and named it “Madame Future Moderator.” As an assistant I geeked out on tech support and was thrilled when I got to sit up on the main stage, timing speeches. I will even confess that in 2012, when I was unable to attend in person, I live-streamed the whole assembly online, tweeting along and praying hard when a few important justice issues failed to pass or just squeaked by.

Next year (2016) MPC may have the opportunity to send some Ruling Elder delegates to the General Assembly. I hope that some of you will be interested, and perhaps even nominate yourselves for this role. Anyone who has been ordained and served on Session has leveled-up to qualify. I also hope that we might send some Youth Adult Advisory Delegates between the ages of 17-23. Your voice and vote will be heard and counted on major issues facing our world today, from our mission work to environmental and peace-making issues. I anticipate that divestment from fossil fuels will be one of the biggest items on the docket for 2016. If you are interested, talk to me or Ben!

Every Blessing,
Talitha