Mission

Scripture
Mathew 25: 35, 36 and 40 “For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison and you visited me”. “And I, the king, will tell them, When you did it to these my brothers, you were doing it to me!” 

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Reflection
The reason we do mission work is simply because God is a Missional GOD and He has called us to His work. In fact, He has been on mission since the beginning of time. He is at work now and we have the privilege of joining Him in His work. ( from https://www.25prject.org) 

Songs to help reflect on missions
To The work- Favorite Hymns of praise #363
Called as Partners in Christ’s Service- The Presbyterian Hymnal 
Mathew 25- By Seventh day Slumber (lyric Video) - YouTube
We give you but your own
When I needed a Neighbor 

These songs can be found on YouTube but you can also look for your own Mathew 25 songs to help you find your calling to a mission.

Action
After reflecting on these songs or some that you find, think about your community and what or who might need your help. Could it be a school with low-income students that could use snacks for school or home, a retirement community, your local health care workers, or a homeless shelter.… Your efforts don’t have to be big or, if you have a group, they can be bigger. 

Find your talents and what you would be good at or make the most impact with the talents you have. Think about things that are comfortable to you and things that might not be as comfortable, and you might be surprised what might fit you and or your church community

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for making our lives full of love and compassion. As your servants we have a choice to sit back or to do Gods work. Give us the strength to come together to help those that need an extra hand in any way we can. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

As the Mission Elder for our Session at the Byers Community Church, Bart Mosbarger identified many projects in which the church has been engaged in our community.  Also, as director of the local school district preschool program he has been a liaison who has connected our church with needs of individual kids, families, and others in our community to which our church has been able to respond.

Welcoming

SCRIPTURE
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,  but you are citizens with  the saints  and also members  of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the  apostles and prophets,  with  Christ  Jesus himself  as the  cornerstone.  In  him  the whole structure is joined together and  grows  into  a holy temple in the  Lord;  in  whom  you also are built together spiritually into  a dwelling place for God.  Ephesians  2: 19 – 22

Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

REFLECTION
This scripture evokes the idea that we, every one of us, are holy.  We are part of the  household of God –wow!  This feels assuring and also intimidating. It is assuring in the affirmation that we all coexist in an intended and organic manner.  It  is intimidating in that it requires great responsibility to dwell in the household of God.  Vacillating between these two feeling of assurance  and intimidation brings me back to a late night conversation I had with my cousin, Caroline.  We were in the midst of sharing our beliefs about God and Christianity and the afterlife.  We both admitted  our skepticism at times, but we both harkened  back to that feeling of  assurance…that this is all intended and for that glorious intention to perpetuate itself, we must hold the intention in our hearts, share it with others, and continuously lift up our humanity and togetherness in an imperfect and, often, heartbreaking world.  I am an only child.  The closest semblance to sibling  relationships that I have is through my cousins.  I have amazing cousins.  We  have lived much joy and much pain together.  I return to this conversation with Caroline often as my rationale, empirical way of thinking takes hold of me.  I far prefer to live in the household of God working to perpetuate this vision.

Welcoming is one way to live in the household of God.  In my current role as Director of Mission and Faith Formation at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Denver, the past year has been unusual.  The pandemic, of course, but also the extensive construction and renovation occurring here.  One of the key phrases I often  hear is that our church will be more welcoming aesthetically after construction…and it will!  We will have a new entrance and doors, additional windows on the front of the building allowing ample sunlight in, an updated elevator, more accessible restrooms, and Purple Door Coffee Shop that employs unhoused teens and young adults.  This coffee shop will feature a patio on Sherman Street for the beloved community of all to gather for beverages, conversation, music.  As I parked my car and fed the meter this morning, another encampment of unhoused people had sprung up overnight.  I quietly fed the meter hoping not to disturb the campers, but part of me wanted a head to pop out of a tent so we could exchange greetings.  I then took this thought a step further…I wonder how unhoused people will interact once the presence of Purple Door right on Sherman St is established.  Is this a welcoming opportunity for them to see a church that intentionally incorporated a coffee house to employ the unhoused?  Does this help break down the barriers of supposed strangers and aliens?  If so, how?  Is it a meaningful conversation and educational opportunity for all beloved community?  Every one of us is part of God’s household.  Every one of us has a unique story that belongs in that household.  Thanks be to God and the gloriously messy household that envelops all of us.

PRAYER
Welcoming God, living in community is hard. We come from different backgrounds with a variety of perspectives. We confess that we often think that ours is the only “right” way and fail to realize that our perspective is just a small part of your larger picture. We are thankful that your household welcomes all of us and that there is always space for more. Give us the strength and courage to confess our shortcomings and the guidance to work more faithfully towards living into the beloved community. May we bear witness to your welcoming Spirit in everything we say and do. Amen.

_______________________________

Molly Brown serves as Director for Mission and Faith Formation at Central Presbyterian Church. As director, Molly believes faith is built via serving others in need in one’s community.

Visiting

SCRIPTURE
Matthew 25: 34-36, 39-40

Then the King will say:  “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For…I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord,…when did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Photo by Grant Durr on Unsplash

REFLECTION
I’m not gonna lie, visiting someone in prison is hard.  It sounds easy enough on paper, but then you have the reality.  First of all, it’s a time commitment.  You have to set aside half your day to drive to the jail, go through screening, wait who knows how long before you’re called, then be escorted to the visiting area, all for a 10-15 minute visit.  Even with current online visiting replacing in-person visits, you have to plan ahead to reserve a time, make sure you allow time to login on your computer and make sure everything’s working, then sit and wait out the time, hoping they noticed their scheduled visit on the monitor at the jail and actually show up (it’s not the guard’s responsibility to go get them, after all), and finally get very frustrated when they don’t show up – what a waste of time!

It's very easy to let mean, selfish thoughts take over.  Like, “Geez they don’t even appreciate how much time I spent just to come see them.”  Or “They just want to know what I brought them or what I can do for them.”  Or maybe “Man, why even bother, it’s their own fault they’re in jail anyway, right?”  

But then you remember the real reason you came.  To let them know someone cares.  To let them know YOU care.  To let them know GOD cares.  The prisoner certainly doesn’t want to be in jail, removed from family, from society, from freedom.  Locked away, feeling lonely and isolated, maybe remorseful for what landed them there.  Maybe angry if they feel they’ve been wrongly incarcerated.

And what about those suffering in other types of prisons.  Maybe a prison of their past, or a prison of their current situation.  Maybe the prison of a failing body, or even the prison of their own thoughts.  The Bible tells us that God hears the groans of the prisoners and will release those condemned to death.  They are children of God just as we are, and it’s not our job to be the judge or the jury, but to show love.  If we can ease the burden of any one of these “brothers and sisters” then we are showing love.  GOD’s love.  As a Matthew 25 believer, we must see Jesus’ face on every stranger, every beggar, every prisoner.  A kind word, a listening ear, your TIME, can be a gift that really helps someone who feels imprisoned.

PRAYER
Dear God, you came to set the captives free.  Help us give hope to the prisoner who needs to know your grace, by showing them your love.  Help us remember that we were all prisoners to sin, all condemned to death, but you sent your Son to redeem us and set us free.  Help us to share that good news with the other condemned sinners around me in order to show them the reality of your love.  Amen.

Jeanne Harris is a Ruling Elder and the Treasurer at Byers Community Church. Together with her husband Brian, Jeanne provides the technical skills to manage the Zoom church services and Advent and Lenten study videos as well as providing many other services for our church.