PASTOR’S WEEKLY BLOG

The annual MBPPC Spiritual Giving Campaign officially kicks off on Sunday, October 6th in worship. This is our annual time of committing our resources of money, time, and abilities to the ministry and mission at MBPPC. We hope to undergird all we do in 2025 with strong support from everyone.

To be more specific, our Spiritual Giving Campaign is the time when we prepare resources for these things:

It’s time for the annual MBPPC Spiritual Giving Campaign. This is the two-week stretch of time when we seek commitments from everyone in the MBBPC worshipping community so that we can continue our vibrant ministry and mission throughout 2025.

The commitments we seek honor the Biblical tradition of setting aside a portion of one’s resources with gratitude to God for all the gifts and abilities with which God has blessed us. This includes the gift of time. Each person (or family) is called to give:

On my mind this morning is an article I read about so-called Gen Z young people (generally born after 2000), electronics, and social media. What really caught my attention was a statistic measuring screen usage. Most of the thousand-odd young people surveyed indicated that their screen usage is more than five hours a day, on average, and for a good many it is more like eight-plus hours a day.

Many of you have probably heard about the phenomenon called Christian Nationalism. Or you may be aware of ways in which some politicians and other leaders are seeking to erode or eradicate that slippery notion called “the separation of church and state”.

 And September is a month of anniversaries at MBPPC. First, the building has a 100th anniversary coming on Saturday, September 21st. On that day in 1924, the cornerstone of the sanctuary was put in place. MBPPC was chartered on another September day — September 24th 1906 (meaning that our 118th anniversary is also coming this month).

As we begin September and enter the fall season, we also move toward the conclusion of another contentious presidential election cycle. I have been struck by how pervasive the feeling of concern, and even peril, accompanies people’s daily lives…no matter which presidential candidate they plan to vote for.

Now is the time to make your plans for re-connecting to MBPPC’s programs after summer!

Why not try singing in the choir? Our chancel choir is a dedicated group who know how to enhance worship, have fun, and build great friendships. Best of all, you do NOT have to have any prior singing experience to be part of the fun.

I hope everyone enjoyed our annual Old-Time Gospel Sunday, with the hymns and choral music and great food on the patio. My thanks to Tim Beggs and the choir members, The Grace Quartet, Ellen McLain and John Lowry, and Ben Saboonchian — our musicians. And thanks to Mary Lou Adams for the pulled pork, Linda and Wellington Westbrook for the pulled chicken, Ellen McLain for the coleslaw, and Charlie Logan for the lemonade.