Happy New Year!

The Christ Child is born. The Child is with us, growing in the world through the year.

I remember how time raced on after my daughter was born. No matter how hard we try to hold on to the present and savor every moment when our children are young, the growth and changes of young ones are tremendously rapid and inevitable. Within a week, an infant can change so dramatically. A child can smile, sit up, turn-over, crawl, climb up, walk, talk… all in a blink of an eye. I am always amazed at how a child grows and changes. In every step, every change a child goes through, there are so many infinite possibilities. It’s breathtaking just to think about the infinite possibilities there are within a life growing and changing.

So, as I stand at this threshold of a new year, having just recalled the birth of the Christ Child and my own child, I am reminded of what the future holds as we look forward to another year in our life. Like the infinite possibilities of a child growing, we too have infinite possibilities in the future. We do not always look at future in that way, because we often feel tied down, insecure and fearful. Anticipating infinite possibilities is both threatening and exciting. For young ones, those infinite possibilities are exciting; but for us seasoned life travelers, any change is unwelcome, because we have invested so much into our lives already, and have built a secured “home” base. Any change would only rock and shake the foundation of our life and our identity. Therefore, it is scary thinking and looking forward to another year of infinite possibilities.

And yet, life does not stay the same. Time does not stand still. We are constantly growing and changing. Just as we celebrate, support, and encourage our children’s growth, we ought to welcome the coming year. Welcome all that possibilities for growth and change. Living with faith, especially the Christmas faith, we ought to be able to journey forward unafraid. Embracing the Emmanuel, God with us, we say yes to life-changing possibilities.

In the coming year, UPC will be going through some changes, with an open-minded and discerning spirit. We have said good-bye to our organist, Avery Tunningley, of 20 years, and we will be seeking a new music staff. After May, we will abolish our Associate Pastor position, because of our financial and membership decline. The Session is looking to function and do our ministries without department structure. And most importantly, our Session is seeking to join other churches in Schenectady to begin an intentional shared ministry. After two successful alternative worship experiences, we will be exploring many more alternative worship styles. We will also continue to stress evangelism/faith-sharing in all our ministries and mission.

In all that I mentioned, it may look like we are actually cutting back and shrinking. But, I want to stress that “growth” does not measure in size and numbers. We all know that when we watch our children grow, we are not talking about size and ages, but we look for the skills they acquire. We look for their mental and emotional maturity. And we always hope that their heart would grow and learn to love stronger and deeper.

Therefore, I urge you to join me at this beginning of 2011 to anticipate with faith and excitement the infinite possibilities for UPC’s coming year.

Happy New Year!

Experiencing God in the summer

One interesting trip I took this summer was to Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur, Mexico. I had never been to Mexico and had had no desire of doing so. However, since a friend invited my family, we took up the offer, just to be by a beach. Cabo San Lucas is a high class resort town, catering to Americans and Canadians. Beautiful, clean, pristine beaches and family-friendly pools for every resort. Of course, it goes without saying, the Mexicans are dirt poor, earning an average of $4 - $5 a day. I witnessed a young family – a couple with a baby -- living in a small AV truck parked at the corner of a fancy 8-unit apartment complex. I assumed the man was the maintenance guy for that apartment complex.
On a couple of occasions my daughter and I were driven away from the resort region into the heart of Baja peninsula. Since summer is their dry season, the landscape is totally a desert. Brown dusty mountain ranges all around, but covered with cacti. They told me those half-alive cacti are 80 or 90 years old. They said that when the rainy season comes in Sept. the landscape is green, lush, and blooming with flowers.
As I journeyed briefly through the desert and deserted landscape, and swam in the surrounding waters, I couldn’t help but being amazed and adore that part of Mexico. I have also tasted wonderful and tasteful Mexican food, quite different from what we have here in USA. (I loved their shrimp and fish tacos.) And I watched the locals dressed in white clothes and hats, as they walked up and down the beaches on hot summer days, carrying and selling colorful trinkets on their shoulders and hands. One time a pregnant young woman approached us to sell her goods. We walked away feeling guilty. Local children were out in the evening selling trinkets, too.
All this drew me to the Mexicans, their land and culture. There’s beauty and a sense of connectedness in all that I saw. I saw God in all those people and landscapes. I saw the enduring life and strength underneath the heat, the desert, the ocean, and the people making living with so little. I saw colorful life in the goods they made and the food they cooked. I see the wonder of God’s creation all in that strip and southern tip of Mexican peninsula.
This summer in a conversation with an UPC member, both of us agreed that we see God surrounding us in our daily life. We do not have to experience extraordinary events or people in order to see God. We see God wherever we are, with whomever we encounter.
Have you seen God this summer? I invite you to bring and share your photographs, and tell your stories at our Homecoming Sunday, Sept. 12. We will gather at 9:30am for breakfast, fellowship, and worship to celebrate God in our lives.
This year’s Homecoming Sunday we are doing something new and different. We are incorporating fellowship, education, and worship all together on Sunday morning, and it is for the whole congregation to participate. We will use this similar format for another three Sundays throughout the 2010-2011 year. We want to encourage lively intergenerational interactions and worship. So please, come at 9:30am on Sunday, Sept. 12. Bring your beautiful summer experiences to share.

VBS Reflection

We offered a week of Vacation Bible School at the end of June and early July. This year's theme was on the "Rainforest Adventure." Under the treetops canopy, 42 Children and 30+ volunteers learned about God's love expressed through God's people sharing, giving, growing, loving, and praising. With all the gifts and talents of the volunteers, we set up a rainforest canopy and water fall in our church's Lang Lounge. (See photo)

Learning about Rainforest is such a beautiful way to learn about God's love for all God's children and creation. This is what we learned, through the words of our VBS Director, Laura Davis:

I've been learning about the rainforest the last few days. I wanted to share something with you that struck close to my heart yesterday.
There's layers to the rainforest: emergent layer (highest), then canopy, then under story, then shrub and lastly herb layer.
It's the canopy layer that seems to be an example of God's work in the world. So the canopy is made up of tree branches that touch each other and these huge vines called Lianas. The lianas connect the branches so that a continuous blanket of leaves, branches and vines are formed (separate but bound together). Here's the function of the canopy: It shields the area below from wind and the impact of heavy rains, it shades during the day to keep the layers below cool and it acts like a blanket at night to keep the heat in. . . always at work.

May you praise and thank our Lord each day. As you go on your way, may God keep on blessing you today. May you do your part to care for God's gifts with everyone you meet, to give generously and to grow in faith. Because as God's people, WE SHARE, WE GIVE, WE GROW, WE LOVE, AND WE PRAISE!

Seeing God in the Summer

This summer we have three young people who will be SICM interns serving in our Schenectady neighborhoods and communities. Seven youths will be traveling to Maine to work in the REACH work camp. We are also sponsoring five youths to attend Christian summer camps. And I believe most of you have already planned some vacation days.

I’d like to encourage you to do one thing this summer, namely, to capture at least one moment when and where you see God in the world.

Last fall I gave each child in our midst a disposable camera and asked them to take pictures of where they see God. What came out of their cameras were their family members, pets, pumpkins, sky, trees, Christmas decorations….

A few weeks back, on Mother’s Day Sunday, I shared with you during the worship images of God in women and mothers (see the following pages).

Too often we forget or overlook where God is in our daily lives, because we are too busy running from one thing to another, or too focused on our work, chores, and activities. Therefore, we become disconnected with God and our faith in our daily living. We tend to think of God on Sunday mornings only. Summer gives us a little bit more breathing and relaxed time to see God. In our family gatherings, social picnics, in our traveling, in our outdoor activities close to nature, in our summer readings… let’s look for God, let’s capture some moments if we could – with a camera, a journal entry, a sketch, a poster, a poetic sentence – where we see God in the world.

And when we all gather again in the fall, let us share with one another those moments we have captured over the summer.