Welcome
Each week one of our pastors or staff members writes a column observing what is going on in our congregation, the Church and the world, and offering reflections on the Christian life and faith. Through this series of columns, we hope to connect your and our story to the enduring story of Christ; to offer pastoral reflections on our ongoing congregational life and mission; to report on news of the Presbyterian Church and Church universal; and to invite further reflection and deeper discipleship. We welcome your comments and suggestions. In other words, our words here are an invitation to continue the conversation.
Over the past year, just as our Confirmation students have been learning what it means to be not just a follower of Jesus Christ, but a member of a Christian community, another group of BMPC members have been walking a parallel journey in our Thursday evening adult education class, Confirmation for Adults.
I have a confession to make: I never went through a Confirmation class.
Dear BMPC Friends,
With great joy I am happy to announce that the Session has called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday, May 5, following the 10:00 a.m. worship service for the purpose of acting upon the recommendations of our two Associate Pastor Nominating Committees: Leigh DeVries as Associate Pastor for Youth and their Families and Brian K. Ballard as Associate Pastor for Pastoral Care and Senior Adults.
What a privilege to serve a congregation that recognizes the heavy demands of pastoral ministry by offering a Sabbatical for extended time away every seventh year! As I prepare to leave for the Discovering our Presbyterian Heritage tour of Scotland with 41 church members on Friday, April 26, followed by my Sabbatical leave through August, I want to share the plans for coverage of my primary areas of responsibility.
“It’s just a building, but it is more than a building.” These are the first words that ran through my mind when my colleagues, Frank and Drew, and I gathered around a computer screen to watch and lament as flames engulfed Notre-Dame de Paris on Monday.
We invite you to observe Good Friday with us as we present J.S. Bach's St. Mark Passion on Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. The performance will feature the BMPC Sanctuary Choir, Bryn Mawr Chamber Singers, and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, with soloists Elizabeth Weigle, Misoon Ghim and Andrew Burgmayer. A free-will offering will be received.
On the bulletin board in my office I have a short poem by Wendell Berry, a farmer, environmental advocate and writer, entitled “Real Work.”
It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.
