Dear Friends,
This past Sunday, Bethany’s pianist Natalya began playing a few songs as she normally would when we were "gathering together" for worship. She managed to play several of my favorite hymns, including My Life Flows On. Happily, it has been in my mind ever since and it warms my heart.
My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth's lamentation,
I hear the sweet, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creationThrough all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing
It finds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?What though my joys and comforts die?
I know my Savior liveth
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he givethThe peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing
All things are mine, since I am his!
How can I keep from singing?No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?
Robert Lowry, a Baptist pastor born in Philadelphia in 1826, wrote this song in 1869—shortly after the end of the Civil War. One can only imagine the state of our nation after such a bloody and traumatic conflict. One can hear lament in this song—grief and pain over so much strife—and yet it is also profoundly positive. "Since Christ is Lord of heaven and Earth, how can I keep from singing?" Americans needed to pick up the pieces after the war, and work on rebuilding what would become a new creation.
All generations face uncertain times—wars, plagues, economic collapses, natural disasters—and yet we are still here. The present moment, of course, always seems the most intense … and sometimes hopeless. Few have ever experienced a global pandemic, so our anxiety is very palpable. But we must also remember that seismic shifts do happen now and again in our nation and in the world; all we can do is hang on, manage those parts of our life we can control and let go of those things that are out of our control, keep Christ as our center and cling to him, and trust that Christ is Lord of heaven and Earth.
We will make our way through the crisis!
May the Peace of Christ make your hearts fresh!
Jesse
UPDATES:
As we face these strange days, I urge us to keep trying to do so together. It might be through a device or phone, but it beats the alternative. Give a ring to an old friend or a new one. Call a random church member and introduce yourself. You might even host a Zoom meeting for your own family and friends—it's quite easy and free.
We are having another Zoom check in tomorrow - Wednesday, Apr 29 at 7 p.m. You can join the meeting by clicking here. Meeting ID: 733 8402 8421
We will continue to worship on Sunday mornings together via Facebook Live at our usual time of 10:30 a.m. If you tune in a bit early, you can also enjoy more songs from Natalya! Our Worship and Arts Commission members met yesterday and were able to iron out some more of our technological issues. Furthermore, stay tuned for new worship experiences that we'll be rolling out soon!
