Mid-Week Meet-Up: The Date of Christ' Birth

Hi First Presbyterian,

Even though the liturgical season of Christmas doesn’t begin until December 25th, the Christmas music has been playing in my house. At bedtime, my kids like to hear Laura and I sing “In the Bleak Midwinter” to them, and so I’ve been reflecting on that song. My kids love the part of the song that goes: “Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago.” I like that part of the song, too, because it causes me to reflect on the reality that it almost definitely didn’t snow on the night Jesus was born. There are two reasons for that. One, it rarely snows in Bethlehem at any time of the year. Two, while it’s possible for it to snow in Bethlehem in December, Jesus was almost certainly not born in December. So… why do we celebrate his birth in December?

To answer that question, we have to look back in history. First of all, December 25th isn’t the date that all Christians recognize as Christmas Day. For centuries, the Armenian Church has recognized the day of Jesus’ birth on January 6th. Second, Western Christians (where the Presbyterian tradition emerges from) haven’t always recognized December 25th as Christmas Day. The earliest historical reference to the observance of Jesus’ birth on a particular day comes from around 200 AD, when an African theologian named Clement of Alexandria mentions that some Christians were observing Christmas on May 20th. It wasn’t until the fourth century AD that historical records show Western Christians officially recognizing Christmas Day on December 25th. Why did they choose that date?

To answer that question, we have to look to Easter. Early Christians recognized March 25th as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion and death. This is a historical plausible date for his death, given what we know about the timing of Passover that year. Around the fourth century AD, the African theologian Augustine of Hippo tells us that Christians were also recognizing March 25th as the date of Jesus’ conception by Mary. It’s unlikely that Christians knew the actual date of Jesus’ conception, so why would they say that he was conceived on March 25th? Christians found great meaning in seeing March 25th as both the date Jesus was conceived and as the date he died. Here’s what Augustine wrote: “For [Jesus] is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried.” In other words, early Christians liked to imagine that Jesus entered the enclosure of Mary’s womb and the enclosure of his tomb on the same day of the year. Jesus entered this life (through his conception) and left this life (through his death) on the same day of the year. For early Christians, there was a sense of completion and fulfillment in thinking of things this way. It showed God’s perfect planning and timing. Jesus was right on schedule. He didn’t finish his work too soon or need any extra days. He was right on time.

What does that have to do with the date of Christmas? Well, count 9 months (a gestational period) from the supposed date of Jesus' conception on March 25th, and where do you end up? You end up on December 25th. Celebrating Christmas on December 25th is less about historical accuracy and more about theological significance. Jesus was likely born sometime in the Spring, but we celebrate Christmas in December, in part, to continue the ancient tradition of recognizing God’s perfect timing. God always shows up right on time.

Friends, whatever you’re experience today, remember that nothing slips past God. God sees you and knows what you’re going through. God’s timing is perfect and is motivated by love. Trust that you are in God’s hands and that God will act right when you need God. That’s the message of Christ’s birth, which we await during Advent.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Happy Thanksgiving (from November 24)

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I’m spending some time with my family while my kids are off from school because of the holiday, so, earlier this week, I prearranged this email to go out to you. Today, I wanted to share with you a little-known hymn that speaks very appropriately to the theme of gratitude we are all reflecting on this week. Alice Flowerdew, an English religious poet and hymnist from the late 18th-early 19th century, wrote the following words from the hymn “Fountain of Mercy, God of Love.”

Fountain of mercy, God of love,
Whose gifts all creatures share,
The rolling seasons as they move
Proclaim thy constant care.

When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness marked its secret birth,
And sent the early rain.

The spring’s sweet influence, Lord, was thine,
The seasons knew thy call;
Thou mad’st the summer sun to shine,
The summer dews to fall.

The gifts of mercy from above
Matured the swelling grain;
And now the harvest crowns thy love,
And plenty fills this plain.

O ne’er may our forgetful hearts
O’erlook thy bounteous care,
But what our Father’s hand imparts
Still own in praise and prayer.

We own and bless thy gracious sway;
Thy hand all nature hails;
Seed-time nor harvest, night nor day,
Summer nor winter, fails.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom we adore,
Be glory, as it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Spiritual but not Religious

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I’ve coincidentally heard from multiple people in the past week that the pandemic has made them more open to spirituality. On the other hand, I’ve read a lot of articles in the past year predicting that the changes brought on by the pandemic are going to have lasting negative impacts on church attendance. That got me thinking. Which one is it: are people becoming more spiritual during COVID or less spiritual?

Well, it certainly is true that Americans are feeling more spiritually connected recently. A Pew Research Center survey conducted last year shows that 28% of Americans report their faith is stronger because of the pandemic. This makes sense, because experience and research demonstrate that people turn to spirituality during times of crisis. However, it’s important to remember that, even before the pandemic, the crisis facing the American church was not about spirituality; it was about religiosity. In other words, pre-COVID, there was a large and growing number of people reporting to be “spiritual but not religious.” Many people believed in God. They probably prayed. They just didn’t attend a religious service or affiliate with a religious institution. For me, I wonder about the identity of the 28% of Americans reporting stronger faith during COVID. Are they people who already attended a religious service regularly before COVID?  It’s not clear from the data. Is their faith growing stronger as a result of their affiliation with a community of faith, or are they practicing their (strengthened) faith on their own at home? It’s not clear from the data.

If I were to take a guess, I would suppose that the 28% of Americans reporting stronger faith is a mix of people, some of whom are “spiritual but not religious” and others who are “spiritual and religious.” One way of interpreting what that means is to assume that there are probably more people in our community than there were pre-COVID who identify as “spiritual but not religious.” Those of you connected to First Presbyterian Church who are “religious” in this sense (i.e., you attend worship services and participate in our community of faith) know the benefits of being “religious.” You know that being “religious” is not about traditionalism; it’s not about institutionalism. Being “religious” is about having a community of people to join alongside where everyone agrees for at least an hour each week that there is an answer to the world’s brokenness. Being “religious” is about having a community of people where everyone has agreed to selflessly care and pray for each other. Being “religious” is about learning something new about God through another person’s experience and perspective that you couldn’t have known otherwise. Being “religious” is about having a community of people who are committed to working together to love and serve those in need.

People may not be coming to church because of COVID, but they’re turning to God, which means they’re paying attention to God-talk. Let’s set a good example for a growing and captive audience about why being “spiritual and religious” matters.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Reconciliation

Hi First Presbyterian!

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I love what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19: “God reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.”

What is reconciliation? It is the restoring or repairing of broken relationships. What causes relationships to break? Some relationships may become only “cracked” or “chipped” and not fully broken by an inconsiderate action, a poor choice of words, or a miscommunication. Some relationships may become fully broken through betrayal, deception, an abuse of power, self-centeredness, or violence. All our relationships become broken at some point through death, which is the ultimate loss.

Given the nature and extent of the brokenness of our relationships, what could it possibly mean that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation? I think it’s important to see that Paul grounds the responsibility for reconciliation that we have in the act of reconciliation God carried out in Christ, saying, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.”

What does Christ show us about reconciliation? In a practical sense, Jesus taught and demonstrated in his life the importance of offering forgiveness and loving even our enemies. In a theological sense, Jesus shows us through the cross that reconciliation is indeed possible. Think about it. Death is the ultimate breaking of a relationship; yet through his death and resurrection, Jesus shows us that even death – even our own death – is not the end. The resurrection of Jesus promises that those who are in Christ have the hope of resurrection for themselves, which means we also have the hope that our relationships broken by death will be restored. The same power that makes the resurrection of Jesus possible – which is the power of the Holy Spirit – is also at work in our lives on this side of our resurrection. If the Holy Spirit can restore relationships broken by death, then surely the Holy Spirit can help us restore relationships broken by miscommunication, inconsiderate actions, betrayal, deception, or self-centeredness!

Researchers tell us that the pandemic is creating an environment where relationships are breaking at an alarming rate. You probably don’t need researchers to convince you of that. You may be seeing it play out in your own life recently. Let me encourage you to believe in the power of reconciliation – it is the power of resurrection! Broken relationships result in a dead end. There is nothing on the other side of it except hurt and pain. However, just like resurrection, the power of reconciliation results in life and newness!

Just like we see in the cross, there is an element of sacrifice that must go into achieving reconciliation.  To me, that means being willing to take the first step yourself. When a relationship is broken, it is very easy to see what the “other person” did to break things. We may even be justified in thinking, “They ought to take the first step in repairing this!” However, through the cross Jesus shows us that sometimes taking the first step, whether or not the “fault” lies with us, is the only way to achieve reconciliation. Likewise, if we are waiting around for someone else to take the first step, we may be doing ourselves and others a disservice. Taking the first step can be very hard. But life, hope, and peace may be waiting for you on the other side.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Enoch

Hi First Presbyterian,

Tonight in my Bible Study class we’ll be discussing the biblical character Enoch. He shows up in Genesis 5 and is mentioned as the seventh generation after Adam. All it really says about him is this: he had some children, he lived a long time, and that, because he “walked with God,” God “took him.” That last part – that God “took him” – is a bit cryptic and has perplexed interpreters for millennia. That’s the last we hear about Enoch until he suddenly shows up in the New Testament. In Jude 1:14-15, we’re told that Enoch prophesied, “See, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Where in the world is Jude getting his information about something Enoch supposedly prophesied? It’s certainly nowhere in our Bible! That’s because Jude is quoting from a book called 1 Enoch, which was a Jewish apocalyptic text written in the centuries before the time of Jesus. The book is an imaginative and creative Jewish story about things that might have happened to Enoch while he was “taken” by God. Think of it as Jewish fan-fiction about Enoch.

As I think about all of this, two thoughts come to my mind. First, there is always more that lies under the surface, especially when it comes to the people in our lives. Sometimes reading the Bible is like listening to only one side of a phone conversation. Jude was quoting from a Jewish text that many Christian readers today probably have never even heard of, let alone read. Christians reading the book of Jude might become confused and have no idea what Jude is talking about, until they realize that he’s quoting something with which many of his original readers would likely have been very familiar. Doesn’t this kind of thing happen to us all the time? We hear something out of context and make snap judgments. We only catch one side of a story and mistakenly think we know what happened. When we come across a challenging or confusing idea or situation, maybe we should ask ourselves: What might I be missing that would help me understand what’s happening here? It might just help us be more careful readers of scripture and more charitable friends and neighbors to the people around us.

Second, I think it’s really significant that the passage from 1 Enoch that Jude quotes is a clear reference to God. In other words, when 1 Enoch says, “The Lord is coming…,” it is speaking of God. That makes it all the more noteworthy that when Jude quotes, “The Lord is coming…,” he’s clearly referring specifically to Jesus. Why? Because in Jude’s mind, God and Jesus are one and the same.

Take some time today to acknowledge that you might not be seeing the whole picture or have all the information concerning those with whom you disagree or dislike. It might be hard to do that, so take comfort and strength from knowing that Christ is indeed Lord and God and will help you.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: In Times of Despair

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Tonight in my Bible Study, I’ll be talking about the apostle Paul. So much of the theology in the New Testament is influenced by his thinking. The fact that we have his theological thoughts is indirectly the result of his extraordinarily impactful missionary work. He wrote letters to churches he founded or had otherwise had relationships to; we still have many of the letters he wrote; and, as a result, his theology has been preserved for posterity.

Paul is an important person in the New Testament and for the history of Christianity, and, that may cause us to want to elevate him in status in our minds. However, it’s important to realize that he was a human just like you and me. In fact, there seems to be a very "human" moment in his life when he wanted out of his work as a missionary. By piecing together some things that we read about in the book of Acts, in First Corinthians, and in Second Corinthians, we can see a little bit of that moment playing out. Things were unraveling for him. He felt like a failure. His life was in danger. And in 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul wrote about it and said, “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself.” Did you read that last phrase? He said that he “despaired of life itself.” Paul was in a dark place, and he just wanted out of it. I assume that some of you have felt that way. Maybe you feel that way right now. What can we do if we find ourselves there? What did Paul do?

I’m sure if Paul had lived today, he would advise us to go see a doctor, to take our physician-prescribed medications, to talk to a therapist, to talk to a pastor, to talk to anyone. When it comes to religious faith and what it offers us during moments of despair, this is what Paul said about his own experience: “We have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10). In other words, when Paul was suffering, he drew strength from the thought that Jesus also suffered and knew what Paul was enduring. Paul was strengthened to know that he never faced difficulty alone. He was strengthened to know that God offered him presence and empathy.

If you feel despair today, please know that God offers you presence and empathy, too. You are never alone. If you aren’t feeling despair today, offer presence and empathy to someone who is. It’s a holy thing to do.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Somewhere to Belong

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up. When I was in high school, I played the cello and the guitar and sang in the school chorus. For one of my school’s Spring concerts, my name was listed among the singers in the chorus.  After the concert, someone I had never met before approached me and said, “You’re Aaron Neff, aren’t you?” I said, “Yes. Do I know you?” He said, “No. We’ve never met before, but my last name is Neff. I can tell you’re a Neff, too, because you have ‘the Neff nose.’” Naturally, I fixed my attention on his nose, and, sure enough, there it was – a nose that looked like mine! We chatted for a little while about where our families lived and discovered that we were probably not-too-distantly related. What a surprise! It’s true, though, too. The Neffs in my family have a distinctive nose. I never met my grandfather Robert, who died before I was born. But I have often looked at photos of him and felt a sense of connection, because his nose looked like mine. His brothers Elmer, Donnie, and Jim each had the same nose. My father has the same nose, too. As strange as it may sound to be picked out of a crowd because of the way my nose looks, that experience actually gave me a warm sense of belonging.

I think this personal story came to my mind, because I’m thinking about the topic for my Bible Study tonight, which is: Who is the “beloved disciples?” In the Gospel of John, a follower of Jesus who is never named but only referred to as “the one whom Jesus loved” repeatedly shows up, like in John 13:23: “One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him.” It’s a bit of a mystery as to the identity of this person, but scholars have offered many theories over time. It dawned on me as I have been thinking about the possibility of that disciple’s identity: we may never know with certainty who that person was, but Jesus does. Think about it. That disciple was loved by Jesus, so Jesus obviously knew who he was.

There are times in life when we feel alone and like no one even sees or notices us. We may even be surrounded by lots of people – at home, at work, or at school – and still feel alone. Perhaps, like my experience in high school singing in the chorus, we feel like we just blend in to the other faces and voices. Yet, there is someone who sees and says, “I know who you are! You’re part of my family!” Friends, you are a beloved disciple of the Lord! Even when it seems like no one knows who you are, Jesus knows exactly who you are and loves you. “I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14).

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: US Congregational Vitality Survey

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! This Sunday is going to be pretty exciting. Not only will there be multiple baptisms during worship, but I will be starting a sermon series focused on the content of the Fall small groups, which started this week. The small groups are reading the book Neighborhood Church: Transforming Your Congregation into a Powerhouse for Mission. Our Director of Christian Education Craig Kunkle, the Christian Education Committee, and the Vital Congregations Initiative have been working together to choose this topic and this study for small groups.

Part of the work of transformation (which is a focus of the book) is understanding who we are as a congregation. To do the work of transforming into something new, we have to understand what we’re transforming from. The Dutch priest and theologian Henri Nouwen once wrote about taking the Lord’s Supper, and he described drinking the cup of the Sacrament as happening in three stages: holding, lifting, and drinking. Before we can lift up and drink the cup of salvation, we must first hold it. He wrote: “Holding the cup of life means looking critically at what we are living. This requires great courage, because when we start looking, we might be terrified by what we see… Still, we intuitively know that without looking at life critically we lose our vision and our direction. When we drink the cup without holding it first, we may simply get drunk and wander around aimlessly.” There’s a reason we begin worship with a confession of sin: if we don’t acknowledge the ways we need to change, we cannot become something different.

To help us do that as a congregation, we’re going to be taking the U.S. Congregational Vitality Survey during worship this Sunday. Surveys will be handed out to be completed during both services. For those of you who won’t be in worship in-person, an online version of the survey will be sent to you early Sunday morning with a link to complete the survey. [If you worship from home and need a paper survey, please let us know ASAP by emailing connect@pittsfordpres.org.] The survey will be collected and sent into the PC(USA) national office to be analyzed, interpreted, and sent back to us. When we get the results of the survey back, they will be incorporated into the small group study. For those of you not participating in a Fall small group, the results of the survey will be available on a subsequent Sunday.

This survey will help us do the work of self-reflection, which is spiritual work. This is the reason it will be happening during worship. Our self-reflection should also focus on the truth of Jesus Christ. I hope you will worship with us on Sunday – online or in-person. And I look forward to discussing the results of the survey together.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Grow an Apple Tree! (from September 29)

Hi First Presbyterian,

I have to admit that Fall is my favorite season of the year. I enjoy getting out my long pants and my flannel shirts. We planted a sunset maple tree in our front yard in the Spring, and I can’t wait until its leaves turn bright red. I’m looking forward to raking our fallen leaves and watching my kids jump into them. However, one of my favorite things to do during this time of year is pick apples. For many years now, my family has been going to Lynoaken Farms in Medina. They have lots of our favorite kinds of apples as well as some heritage varieties that date back hundreds of years. Our house smelled like apples and cinnamon this week as Laura boiled down a couple bushels of apples into applesauce.

As I’ve been eating those apples recently, I’ve thought about a well-known saying about apples: “You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed.” In other words, there may only be nine seeds inside an apple, but one seed may grow an apple tree, which, over the course of its lifetime, may produce thousands of apples.

Jesus said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade” (Mark 4:30-32).

I think the point Jesus is making about the kingdom of God in that parable is that its nature is to grow. The kingdom of God is meant to grow. Some people may hear this parable and jump to the conclusion: Jesus says that the kingdom of God is mean to grow numerically. In other words, Jesus cares about making more disciples and growing the number of people in our churches. I’m not sure that’s what Jesus actually means here. Think about the number of times Jesus said to people who were considering becoming his followers things like: Are you sure you want to follow me? Are you sure you understand the cost of following me? Are you ready to put your commitment to me before everything else in your life? When Jesus talks about the growth of the kingdom of God, I think he’s talking about the growth of the kingdom internally. It is the nature of the kingdom of God to grow inside of us! In other words, being a follower of Christ is a journey that entails learning, trying, failing, discovering self, discovering God, and growing.

We are like an apple seed – the potential to grow and produce fruit is essentially limitless. Jesus wants to help us trust God more, love God more, love each other more, and use the gifts God has given us more. 2 Timothy 1:6 reminds that sometimes we need to “stir up the gift of God that is within us.” God’s gift is already in us, we just need to bring it to life. You may not feel like there is a gift within you (i.e., evidence of God’s kingdom in you), but it may be like an apple seed. It may be small but with limitless potential. Ask God to help you nurture that seed. Ask God to help you stir up your gift. Frederick Buechner said that when it comes to discerning where God is calling us, it is often where “our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” What passion has God given you – no matter who you are! – that the world really needs? Pay attention to what you learn in answering that question, and go out to grow an apple tree!

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Using our Freedom in Christ

Hi First Presbyterian,

I’d like to start our Mid-Week Meet-Up with a joke. Have you heard about the man who was rescued after being stranded on a desert island for a year all by himself? He had built three huts for himself on the island. When his rescuers noticed this, they asked the man, “Why did you build three huts when you’ve been living here all by yourself?” The man replied, “This first hut was my house, and this second hut was the church I worshiped in.” The rescuers replied, “But what about the third hut?” The man replied “Oh… that’s the church I used to go to.” *rimshot*

Before anyone assumes that I have a specific referent in mind, I simply found this joke this week, thought it was funny, and wanted to share it with you!

I don’t mean to make light of the important and well thought out reasons people find new communities of faith. However, the man in the joke illustrates how petty our decision-making can be at times, which can be applied to examples that extend well beyond our affiliation with a community of faith. When we’re unhappy we can sometimes feel the urge to want to “take our ball and go home.” There are many things in life over which we have no control. It can feel empowering to exert some control in an area of our lives that may already be stable and under control, even if it means creating a little chaos ourselves so we have something to fix. We might do this with our religious affiliations or our affiliations with other organizations. We might also do this with our relationships. People sometimes feel overwhelmed with life and, in order to feel in control of something, overanalyze a relationship with a spouse or invent a conflict with a friend just to have something to fix.

The apostle Paul tells us, “For freedom you have been set free… for you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become servants to one another” (Galatians 5:1, 13). It is true that we have limited control over our lives. It is true that it can feel good to exert control whenever we possess it. What Paul is telling us is that we shouldn’t use our freedom to cause division, to tear others down, or to do anything else that is in service to ourselves. Instead, we should use our freedom to better the lives of those around us. To put it another way: Paul is telling us we shouldn’t “take our ball and go home;” instead, we should “take our ball and give it to someone else” or “take our ball and make sure everyone can play with it.”

When we feel powerless and out of control, there is one thing that always remains in our control: the choice to do the right thing. So, let’s use the power and control we have to serve one another. That’s what Jesus did. Thank the Lord.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: COVID Update and New Members Class

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

I want to share an important update with you about a recent action taken by the Session regarding our church’s COVID-safety protocols.

Recently, as concerns regarding the Delta variant have increased, many people from our congregation have expressed worry about attending in-person worship services. Specifically, there are many members who have stopped worshiping with us in-person because they do not feel safe inside where people may not be wearing masks. There are some of you who are also frustrated by the idea of being required to wear a mask to worship. In an effort to achieve balance and maintain unity within the congregation, the Session has decided to require masking for one of our two worship services.

Beginning this Sunday, masks will be required for everyone at the 10:00 am worship service. Our previous protocols will remain in place for the 8:30 am service: masks are recommended for everyone and required for anyone unvaccinated who cannot maintain social distancing.

In choosing which service at which to require masking, the Session decided on the 10:00 am service, because that service has children in attendance who cannot be vaccinated, some of whose families were among those expressing worry.

The Session felt it was important to try to consider everyone’s risk tolerance, while also trying to maintain unity. I am grateful for the work that they put into making this decision (and the work the Re-Opening Task Force put into bringing the recommendation to the Session). I hope you are, too.

On an unrelated topic, I want to remind you that I will be leading a 3-week membership class starting this Sunday. The class is required for anyone who wants to become a member of the congregation. However, anyone who just wants to learn more about the current vision of the church is welcome to attend the class, too. We will meet at 11:30am in Room 201 (upstairs in our education wing). The class will also have a Zoom option. The topic this Sunday is “What does it mean to be a Presbyterian?” Please let me know if you’re interested in attending and haven't already done so!

I look forward to worshiping with you whether online, at 8:30, or at 10:00, and I hope to see some of you at 11:30 for the class!

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Just Be (from September 8)

Hi First Presbyterian,

School starts tomorrow, and I’m reflecting on some of the memories I’ve made this summer. While we were visiting Laura’s parents earlier this summer, we took our kids to a nearby creek. While Laura was with Esther and Clara, I sat with our two-year-old son Gabriel on the creek bed and threw rocks into the water with him. His main objectives were to see how big of a splash he could make with the rocks and to see how big of a rock he could pick up all by himself. I would help him un-wedge a rock from the sediment. He would take the rock and throw it was best as he could and then look for my reaction. I would encourage him, and then we’d laugh together. We were both totally content just being with each other.

I’m usually very achievement-oriented. I value progress and results. I think it’s one of my greatest strengths as a church leader. I also think it has a shadow-side that can undermine my leadership and my ministry to the church if I’m not careful. I can tie too much of my own identity into my pursuit of a goal, so that I feel like my personhood is reflected by my productivity.

Spending time with my kids during a moment of play reminds me that some of the most important moments in life have nothing to do with productivity or achievement. I wasn’t evaluating my son’s progress during our time at the creek. I wasn’t measuring the weight of his rocks or the distance of his throws. I was enjoying seeing his curiosity about the new things his body could do and his wonder about the creek. My love for him is based on nothing more than his existence. Isn’t this like the doctrine of grace? Our salvation and our relationship to God is based on nothing more than God’s unconditional love for us (Ephesians 2:8-9). Sharing moments of play are good for both my kids and for me. It helps them to feel a secure base in their most foundational relationship, which is not only good for their emotional, psychological, and social health, it also helps them to have a healthy God-concept. Not only does it help me grow my love for them, but it also helps me to connect with my inner child who (in many ways) is still trying to learn the lessons of childhood. Specifically, it reminds me that my value and worth as a person are not connected to my achievements or my productivity. My value and worth as a person are in my existence alone.

As the church program year begins and we look around our church and around our community, we will undoubtedly observe lots of work that needs to be done. Our actions as Christians communicate what we believe about God to each other and to the world. Let’s not neglect keeping our hands to the plow. Let’s not forget that God’s mercy and justice are communicated to the world through the church. But, let’s also not forget that God’s radical acceptance and love are also communicated through the church. Let’s not forget that we are made in the image of the God who is called “I Am,” not “I Do.” In as much as you remember to do God’s work, don’t forget to just be.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: You Will Bear Fruit (from September 1)

Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up. Some of you have been asking about my family’s tomato plants. You may recall back in February I sent out a Mid-Week Meet-Up about a tomato we bought from the store in November that had sprouting seeds inside and decided to do an experiment with them. We planted them. They sprouted more. We repotted five of them and, over the next few months, repotted them multiple times into bigger pots each time. By the time the weather was warm enough, we began trying to “harden” them by taking them outside for a few hours every day to get them used to the outdoor environment. You should have seen me hoisting 20-gallon pots with 4-foot tomato plants growing in them in and out of our house each day! It was a chore!

Well, the summer has flown by, and one of the plants died after we moved them permanently outdoors and two of them stopped growing because of blight. The remaining two have done pretty well, and we’ve been getting tasty tomatoes from them. The most interesting thing about one of the two plants that’s actually producing fruit is that, shortly after we moved it outdoors, it had severely languished. We cut that 4-foot tomato plant down to about 1-foot, and – wouldn’t you know it – it grew back as the healthiest of all the plants!

I’d like to reflect on that plant with you. It was healthy when it was first growing in our house. It had nice healthy leaves, strong branches and a stalk, and even a couple yellow flowers. However, the outside conditions were too harsh. It couldn’t tolerate the wind and the increased sunlight. So, we had to cut it back. Think about that plant as a metaphor for life. We experience seasons in life where things are going very well for us. We’re happy and healthy; we’re loved; we feel a sense of purpose and achievement. Then something drastically changes, and we’re thrust into a new environment. Maybe we move somewhere new. Maybe we receive a disheartening diagnosis. Maybe we lose our job. Maybe we are grieving the loss of a loved one. These circumstances create a challenging and harsh environment for us to live in. It may even feel like, because of our circumstances, we’re dying inside. Like that tomato plant, we feel like we’re languishing in our new environment. It’s natural to resist the change we feel inside. We try to stand tall but the wind is too strong and is breaking us.

When my family cut back that tomato plant, there was a while when it looked tiny and lifeless next to the other plants. But over time its branches and leaves grew back to the extent that it began dwarfing the other plants! Its new growth happened in the harsher environment; so, it was stronger than the other plants and could withstand more growth.

Friends, sometimes when we’re enduring hardship, it can feel like we are shrinking. If that’s you today, hang in there and know that God is with you. It is during those moments when we feel smaller, when hardship is around us, that we might be growing but don't know it yet. I’m not saying that God causes our suffering to make us grow. I’m saying that hardship happens to everyone for unknown reasons, and they present us with a choice: to give up or to try to grow. God can strengthen and empower us during our suffering so that we grow despite our circumstances. Lean on your brothers and sisters in the church. Lean on God. And don’t give up. You will bear fruit again.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: New Members Class

Hi First Presbyterian,

Some of my favorite things to celebrate in the church are baptisms and welcoming new members. Both are evidence and reminders that the Holy Spirit is at work. To some extent, the pandemic has interrupted our celebration of these ceremonies. Recently, however, we’ve celebrated some baptisms, and I’m excited to announce that I’ll be leading a new members class this Fall. This three-session class is required for anyone who wants to become a member of the congregation; however, anyone who wants to learn more about the current vision of the church is welcome to attend the class, too. The class will be offered at 11:30 am following the worship services on September 19, 26, and October 3. The class on September 19 will answer the question: “What does it mean to be a Presbyterian?” The classes on September 26 and October 3 will cover topics related to what our church is up to right now. In these final two classes, we’ll discuss the vision for ministry of our church leadership, the ways our various groups and programs help to live out that vision, and the opportunities for each us to get more involved. If you want to become a member or if you are interested in attending the classes, please let me know!

Whether we are welcoming people into our membership through publicly professing their faith for the first time or through reaffirming the faith they have already publicly professed, membership in the congregation is all about faith in Christ. To be a member of the church, a person professes to trust in God’s mercy, to turn from sin and renounce evil, to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to commit to live in obedience to Jesus, and to devote themselves to the life of the church. That is a reason to celebrate!

Friends, Jesus is worth loving and obeying. I pray you know that to be true today and every day.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: August Outdoor Worship

Hi First Presbyterian,

This Sunday, after our regular indoor service, we will have an outdoor worship service at 11:00 am on our church lawn. This will be our last outdoor worship service of the summer! The theme of the service will be: “being Christ’s hands and feet in Pittsford.”

In my sermon last Sunday, while referencing a passage from the book of James, I said that when we look into the mirror, it is the image of Jesus reflecting back to us. When I said that on Sunday, what I meant was that we should think of ourselves that way. I think it is equally true that others will think of us that way, too. As followers of Christ, we are Christ’s representatives in the world. The apostle Paul repeated used the metaphor of “the body of Christ” to refer to the Church.

Teresa of Ávila once said: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

When people outside the Church look at us and see Jesus, what does Jesus seem like to them? Is he humble, selfless, compassionate, and loving like when he was physically on the earth over 2,000 years ago? Or is he arrogant, self-serving, and indifferent to the needs of the world? Is he even visible enough that people know he’s here? These are important questions to ponder as we think about what it means to be the Church, and we’ll answer some of these questions at the outdoor service on Sunday.

I hope to see you at 11:00 on the church lawn (or at 9:30 inside or over livestream). Bring a blanket or chair. You might want to bring some comfortable shoes, too – but that’s a surprise I’m waiting to reveal at 11:00. I hope I’ve piqued your interest!

Peace,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: The Meaning of August

Hi First Presbyterian,

Last week I wrote about how quickly it feels that time is passing as we get older. Can you believe it’s already August?! Did you know that August used to be called “Sextillia” because it was the sixth month in the original Roman calendar? Its name was changed during the first century BC by the Roman Emperor Augustus, naming it after himself. Why did he name the month after himself? Consider the meaning behind some of the other names of the months. Many of them are named after Roman gods and goddesses: January (Janus), March (Mars), May (Maia), and June (Juno). Augustus (like his adoptive father Julius Caesar, who renamed the month of July after himself) wanted to put his name among the gods. Augustus, like his father, believed he was divine.

On the Roman tribute pennies during the time of Jesus, there was an image of the Emperor Tiberius (the adopted son of Augustus) along with the inscription: “Emperor Tiberius, Son of the Divine Augustus.” (By the way, this is the “denarius” Jesus told the Pharisees to get when they asked him whether or not Jews should pay taxes to Rome, cf. Mark 12:13-17.) During the time of Jesus, the phrase “Son of God” was highly politicized. Specifically, it was understood as a reference to the Roman Emperor. It is not an accident that the Gospel of Mark begins: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1). Not only is Mark using this highly politicized phrase “Son of God,” he’s also calling the news about Jesus the “gospel.” Did you know the Greek word for “gospel” (euaggelion) was a widely known word long before Christians used it to describe the story of Jesus. Originally, the word “gospel” was highly politicized and was used to describe the Roman Emperor in propaganda aimed at convincing people that having an Emperor was good for them. Combine this with the fact that people were told to believe that the Emperor was a son of the gods, and the message coming out of Rome was clear: "Be grateful that Caesar is your king! You can trust him. He is the son of the gods after all!"

From the perspective of first-century Judaism, the Roman Empire stood for lots of things: pursuit of power, violence, greed, and more. Jesus came to the earth in order to show us that God is diametrically opposed to all of that! Mark begins his Gospel the way he does in order to make a very clear point: “There is a new sheriff in town… and it isn’t Caesar!” Wow!

Here's a principle that is generally true: God's ways are not the ways of the world. Here's what I mean by that. The way that Jesus showed us how to live is often radically different to the way that comes naturally to us. Jesus teaches us to be generous in giving what we have to others; we naturally want to keep what we have for ourselves. Jesus teaches us to forgive our enemies and pray for our persecutors; we naturally want to react, retaliate, and protect our egos. Jesus teaches us to welcome and include the outsider; we naturally are afraid and suspicious of people who are different than us. Jesus teaches us to be last; we naturally want to be first. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we live in the radically selfless ways that Jesus taught us, we find peace, the kind of peace that only Jesus can give us (John 14:27). The kind of peace that we find when we realize that we only truly find our lives when we give them away (Mark 8:34-35). 

Friends, I pray you enjoy the month of August. More importantly, I pray you discover the peace that comes through following Jesus.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: TIme

Hi First Presbyterian,

I’ve never really resonated with the phrase “over the hill.” When people use that phrase, they mean that a person is “past their prime” or “not as young as they once were.” Maybe my opinion will change as I get older, but the passage of time doesn’t feel like a hill that we surmount at a certain point in life. To me, the passage of time feels like a hill we’ve been descending all along! From the time of our births, it’s as if our life is a ball that was nudged downhill and only picks up momentum the more it progresses. What I mean is: the older I get, the more quickly time seems to move. This is why we have idioms to describe the passage of time like “the sands of time” and “time flies.” Of course, this is all an illusion, but, if you think about it, it does makes some sense. One (24-hour) day is the same amount of time for a 2-year-old as it is for a 60-year-old. However, that same day makes up 0.04% of the total life of the 2-year-old but only 0.00005% of the total life of the 60-year-old. A single day is like nothing to a 60-year-old when compared to a 2-year-old, who has only lived about 730 days! The older we get, the faster time seems to go.

Allow me to encourage you. In Psalm 90:4, the psalmist describes God’s relationship to time like this: “For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past.” God has existed long before we ever did, long before any humans, long before any universe. We describe God as “eternal” to try to talk about what God is like in relation to time, but the reality is, God is outside of time altogether. In my most self-aware moments when I contemplate the eternality and timelessness of God, it changes my experience of the passage of time. As the “ball” of my life is rolling down the hill, God isn’t chasing after me, trying to catch up. God isn’t ahead of me, waiting for me. God is right with me, wherever I am, always. When I am able to go there in my mind, the “ball” of my life seems to stop rolling and I feel grateful. I feel grateful, because I know that God is totally aware of everything in my life. I feel grateful because I know that God, who is timeless, is also unconditionally loving.

Friends, God is always with you. God will always be with you. Time may feel like it is flying by quickly, but take a moment today to try to become aware of God’s presence with you. “The world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever” (1 John 2:17). Let us learn to live in this present moment where we are known by a loving and eternal God.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Evangelism

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! This Sunday will be our second outdoor worship service of the summer and will be at 11:00 am, following our regular worship service. I’ve been working with our Vital Congregations Initiative (VCI) team to put together a service centered on the theme of “telling our faith story.” Please come for coffee hour at 10:30 and bring your lawn chair or blanket for the service at 11:00.

What does it mean to “tell our faith story”? What do you think of when you hear the word “evangelism?” For a lot of people, they think of a person knocking on their front door or being approached by a stranger out in public who is trying to convert them into accepting a new religious worldview. If you’re like me, imagining yourself doing that kind of evangelism makes you incredibly uncomfortable. In 2019, when asked how many times they shared their faith in the past six months, 55% of Protestant churchgoers said they shared their faith 0 times. If our concept of evangelism involves approaching strangers and asking them invasive questions about religion, it’s no wonder over half of Protestants aren’t evangelizing!

On the other hand, Jesus commissioned his disciples at the end of his earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations, to baptize them, and to teach them to obey Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20). Additionally, 1 Peter 3:15 tells us: “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” We are expected to “always be ready” to tell others about our faith. VCI believes that “Intentional, Authentic Evangelism” is one of the marks of a healthy congregation. So, how do we reconcile the importance of evangelizing with our aversion to doing it?

What if evangelism didn’t have to involve accosting strangers but could involve having meaningful conversations with our neighbors - people we already know? What if evangelism didn’t have to involve a forced topic of conversation but was something that naturally came up as we talked about things that matter deeply to us? What if a starting point for evangelism was simply inviting people to worship with us at church?

In the book The Unchurched Next Door, author and researcher Thom Rainer explains the results of a study on evangelism that he and his team conducted. The study sought to understand the receptiveness of “unchurched” people (i.e., people who don’t attend any church and don’t identify as Christian) to the church and to Christian beliefs. The research identified five groups of unchurched people. Group 1 made up 11% of the unchurched and was highly receptive to being invited to church and hearing about its beliefs. Group 2 made up 27% of the unchurched and was receptive to being invited to church and hearing about its beliefs. Group 3 made up 36% of the unchurched and was neutral to the topic, with no clear signs of being interested yet perhaps open to discussion. Group 4 made up 21% of the unchurched and was resistant but not antagonistic to the topic. Group 5 made up 5% of the unchurched and was highly antagonistic and even hostile to the topic.

Would you have assumed that 36% of our unchurched neighbors were open to discussing being invited to church and that 38% of them were receptive or highly receptive to being invited to church? That seems amazing to me! Some of those people may be our own neighbors.

I hope you will come to our outdoor worship service this Sunday to worship God, to celebrate God’s love, and (importantly) to contemplate how to invite others in to experience that same love.

Peace to you,
Pastor Neff

Mid-Week Meet-Up: Book of James (from June 30)

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

I want to remind you that this Sunday we will be going down to one worship service at 9:30 am. Whether you will worship with us in-person or online, please plan to adjust to the new start time. This Sunday we will also be observing Communion. At the in-person service, Communion will revert back to our pre-COVID practice, which means we will be passing the Communion elements on plates. Those of you worshiping from home should prepare to take the Sacrament as you have been doing.

My Wednesday Night Bible Study is beginning a study of the Book of James tonight. (All are welcome to attend!) The Book of James represents an interesting example of the struggle to find unity between the early Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. The book also helps us to answer the question: what does it mean to be Christian? A hallmark of Christian theology, especially Reformed Presbyterian theology, is the doctrine of grace. The doctrine of grace says that God gives us salvation as a free gift, because God is loving, not because we earned salvation. We encounter the doctrine of grace in the New Testament primarily through the writings of Paul. He says in Galatians 2:16-17, “A person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ… because no one will be justified by the works of the law.” In other words, we don’t earn salvation; we receive it (through faith) as a gift of God’s grace. We encounter a different idea in the Book of James. In James 2:17, it says, “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” You can see that both Paul and James are talking about “faith” and “works,” but they each talk about them differently. So… which is it? Is our faith in God’s grace enough? Or do our works also matter? I like to think of the interaction of faith and works kind of like my relationship to my kids. I can say I love my kids, but if I never do anything that demonstrates my love for them, I think it’s safe to call my “love” into question. That’s essentially what James is saying about the relationship between faith and works. But it’s also more nuanced than that, too. If you want to find out more, I encourage you to join us tonight for Bible Study online or in-person at the church!

Walk the walk today, my friends, and show the authenticity of your faith to the world.

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff

Worship Update (from June 24)

Hi First Presbyterian,

This has been a busy week of deliberation and decision-making for the leadership of the church. Many of you have undoubtedly been wondering about our plans for the summer as it relates to the worship services: will we have one or two worship services? There have been many changing factors that delayed the decision-making process, including the recent changes from NY State lifting its mandatory COVID-19 safety guidelines. Yesterday, the Session approved the following recommendation from the Worship and Music Committee:

• There will be one summer service at 9:30 am starting July 4 through September 5.

This means worship will occur this Sunday at 8:30 am and 10:00 am, but the following Sunday (July 4) will only have one worship service at 9:30 am. Importantly, the 9:30 am service will be livestreamed, so please take note of the earlier start time and adjust accordingly. Sunday School will continue to be offered during the 9:30 am worship service throughout the summer.

I look forward to worshiping (in-person and online) with you this weekend and over the summer!

Peace to you,

Pastor Neff