Last night, June 26, 2012, at about 9:10 pm, the Presbytery of Elizabeth dismissed First Presbyterian Church of Dunellen to the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO). Without debate, the presbytery approved the Covenant of Gracious Dismissal that had been negotiated between our session and the Presbytery Resolution Team.

At the same time, the presbytery dismissed Pastor Silvio DelCampo and myself to ECO.
This momentous decision was the product of months of hard work and prayer by the session, our Denominational Relations Team, and the Presbytery Resolution Team. We are grateful to God for such a gracious and Christ-honoring process.

The prevailing feelings at last night's presbytery meeting were love, grief, and hope. In addressing the presbytery, I shared that this experience is very similar to when a pastor decides to leave a beloved congregation to pursue God's call in another field of ministry. The joy and anticipation of a new call are tempered with regret at leaving behind a group of people that we love.

"Over the years we've worked together, laughed together, served Christ together, worshiped together, and sometimes fought together. But it has always been in the context of love, because we are brothers and sisters in Christ. I don't see any enemies in this room tonight. I see a great many friends. I hope that none of you see an enemy standing here. And although after tonight we won't be sharing ministry hand-in-hand, we look forward to continuing side by side."

After the vote, I was privileged to lead the presbytery in singing "God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again."

This Sunday during worship we will be celebrating this new beginning for First Presbyterian Church. We are now members of the Presbytery of the East in ECO, and our new faith-family is rejoicing with us as we move forward together in Christ. A new day has begun!

-Jeff Wildrick, Pastor

Connecting...

This message continues a series of thoughts about our Vision Statement:
“A multicultural family, growing in faith, connecting people with Christ.”

“Connecting.” It always amazes me that I can be in a room full of people, and still feel alone. You would think that living in New Jersey, the most densely populated state, everyone would be overwhelmed with friends. But the truth is, we live in one of the most lonely cultures on earth. People, people, everywhere, and not a friend to be found.

The Bible says that one of the reasons we so often feel disconnected from people is because we’re also disconnected from God. Our disobedience, selfishness, and inward focus creates a barrier between us and God. It’s a problem we call “sin.” And, since God made you specifically in order to be in a relationship with you, that sin-separation leaves us feeling lost and alone.

The good news is that God is always eager and ready to bridge that gap with the love and forgiveness that comes through Jesus. There’s nothing God wants more than to get connected with you, share the joys and hurts of your life, love you with perfect love. What’s more, when we get our lives plugged into a personal relationship with God, we are also invited into a community of Christ-followers (called the Church) where we can experience and share God’s love with other folks like us – in other words, imperfect people, loving God, and trying to live that out with one another.   More next week…!

IMPACT!

On Sunday, September 18, I'll be starting a new teaching series called IMPACT!
Check out this short video for a sneak preview.

(Please forgive the unfortunate screen shot they used to start the video. 

It looks like I'm showing off my clear braces!)

Multicultural

For the next few weeks I'll be writing some thoughts about our church's vision statement in our Sunday bulletin. I'll also share them here!

A Few Words about our Vision Statement:

It is our vision to be “A multicultural family, growing in faith, connecting people with Christ.”

“Multicultural.” On the surface, you might think this is about the fact that our church worships in two languages, Spanish and English. But culture is about much more than language.

Among our English speaking members, some hail from England, Italy, the Caribbean, and countries around the world. Our Spanish speaking members come from Guatemala, Colombia, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and more, and these individual countries differ as much as the many countries of Europe. Not only that, we have cultural differences based on our age, race, economics, and upbringing. Each of us brings unique gifts (and challenges) to the body.

It’s significant that God waited until a day when people from all over the world, with a cornucopia of languages, were in Jerusalem before he gave birth to the church with the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:5-11).

Being intentionally multicultural requires much shared sacrifice. It would certainly be easier to be in a church where everyone is “like us.” But, in God’s opinion, it’s our differences, woven together into one tapestry, that make His church beautiful.