Supporting the Kairos Prison MInistry

In about a month, a team of men will join together to reach out and minister to several men incarcerated in Huttonsville Correctional Center. The four-day program seeks to share God's love with several of these men, hoping that they will be willing to join a small group ministry within the prison.

There are several things you can do to support this very worthwhile effort that will change lives by sharing the love of Christ.

First, you can pray. Pray for the men who are in jail. Pray for their families. Pray for the prison staff. Pray for the Fairmont area men who will travel inside the prison walls to serve. And, if you are willing to commit an hour, you can join the official pray vigil which will occur during the 72 hours of the program. You can view the vigil and sign up here.

Second, you can bake or make cookies. The team will take over 2500 dozen cookies inside the prison as a sign of God's overflowing love. There are no strings attached to the cookies -- in fact, there is not even literature that accompanies them. They are given simply as a gesture of doing something nice without expecting anything in return.

Cookies must be homemade. They should be sorted into 1 quart zip-top plastic bags -- one dozen per bag. (Cookies should be cooled before bagging.) There can be no powder, coating, or icing on the cookies, and they cannot contain fruit or nuts (normal chocolate chips are okay). Cookies should be about 2" to 2 1/2" in size. Oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip, no-bake, and sugar cookies are all popular. If you bake in advance, you may freeze cookies, until you bring them to church to place in the bright pink tubs by September 19.

Third, you may offer financial gifts to offset the costs of offering this ministry. Checks may be made out to "Kairos of West Virginia," and are tax deductible. I will be happy to pass along your contribution.

The men in prison have made mistakes, sometimes terrible mistakes. But they still do not fall outside of God's love or care. Sometimes, though, they may feel like they are outside of everyone's love and care, given that they are separated and isolated from their families and friends. It is important for us (who have also made mistakes, who also have felt isolated and alone) to reach out to them with compassion and love -- to serve them as some of God's earthly hands and feet, offering a reminder of God's love.

Coming Up Sunday, August 29

This Sunday we will enjoy "Family and Friends Sunday," sharing worship with many of those who are close to us. We will have lots of music, courtesty of Brooks, the choir, and others, and we should enjoy (according to the forecast) a bright sunny morning together.

We will also conclude this summer's batch of movies from "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series 2: The Sequel." This week's movie is "Eat Pray Love," starring Julia Roberts in the film version of Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir. Here's the trailer:



The movie is about a unique -- maybe fantastic -- response to a mid-life crisis: running away from life for a year to find oneself. And what a year: four months in Italy, enjoying architecture and lots of great food; four months at an ashram in India, learning to meditate; and four months in Bali, evidently to learn the secrets of life. Not everyone is an established writer who can sell a publisher on such an endeavor (with the mandatory book to follow), but the escapism can point to deeper truths in our lives.

You might be surprised to learn that there are mid-life crises in the Bible (Jacob and Moses both immediately come to mind). I think that the book of Ecclesiastes is written by someone familiar with the burning questions of the mid-life crisis: why am I here? what's the point? what should I be doing with my life? and others.

Sunday, we'll briefly explore the questions, and why we have them, before exploring Ecclesiastes' fascinating answer.

Newsletter Naming Contest, Part 2

Time is running out to select the new name for the church newsletter in time for the September edition. From the over 20 submissions, we have four finalists: Central Chalice, The Chalice, The Chalice on the Hill, and Sharing the Good News.

There is a survey (with one question) to determine what the name will be. Responses must be submitted by Wednesday morning, 8:00 am. The winner will be proudly displayed on the September newsletter.

Click here to take survey

Coming Up Sunday, August 22

This Sunday, we continue our "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series 2: The Sequel" by looking at Christopher Nolan's recent movie Inception. The movie, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, tells the story of a crack team security specialists who invade peoples' dreams and try to steal their secrets.

Here's the trailer:

In the film, the team is charged with doing something even harder than stealing someone's subconscious ideas -- planting a new idea in someone else's head.

For any who have tried to influence the decisions and attitudes of others -- whether other family members, or people at church, or co-workers, or neighbors -- this is an intriguing and appealing question (although one hidden in a science/action/thriller): how do you plant a new/different idea in someone else's head?

The Bible, especially the Old Testament prophets, frequently bring up this issue, wondering what it takes for God to plant new ideas in our heads -- ideas that will affect our individual lives or the fate of the entire nation. The Bible promises that God does indeed do new things in our lives -- our challenge is to recognize them and then live them out.

In addition to the sermon, we will also enjoy lots of good music during our uplifting worship. Hope to see you there!

Central Christian in the News

Last Sunday, Central Christian met the challenge of the Greater Fairmont Council of Churches to become one of 99 churches in the area, each donating $99 to the United Way. On Thursday, I was happy to join several other local pastors in presenting the first checks to Rev. DD Meighen, who is leading the United Way effort among churches this year.

This morning, the Times West Virginian ran the story of the campaign, along with a photo of the check presentation. I am glad that we have participated in this effort as one of Marion County's "trend-setting" churches.

Coming Up Sunday, August 15

The "Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series 2: The Sequel" continues on Sunday, as we look at another of this summer's big movie hits and explore their religious and spiritual themes.

This Sunday's movie is "Toy Story 3" the sequel (threequel?) to "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2," both from Pixar. The animated movie continues the story of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the other toys. Their owner, Andy, is now a teenager who is preparing to move away to college.

Here's the trailer:

At the root of all three "Toy Story" films is the theme of love: a young boy's love for his toys and their love for him in return. Over the films, though, Andy grows from a young boy to a high school graduate, and his love develops and changes. In "Toy Story 3" the issue of love and loss, as the toys wonder what will happen to them when Andy moves away, is at the forefront.

The great Biblical text on love is 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul gives a lengthy description of love. So powerful and evocative is this text that it is often read at weddings, sometimes even at non-Christian weddings. Often overlooked in these verses is one in the middle, where Paul describes the setting aside of childish things. Some think that the verse is a distraction from the theme of love, but I think that suggests that Paul has a much deeper appreciation of love than he is credited. He recognizes that love goes through stages, and that we cannot develop into the type of people (in general, or in faith) that God hopes us to be if we are stagnant/unchanging in our love.

We will consider the nature of love, as explored in both 1 Corinthians and in "Toy Story 3," on Sunday.

Newsletter Naming Contest, Part 1

As announced this morning before worship, over the next three weeks we will determine the name for our esteemed church newsletter. We are asking for your input each step of the way.

This week, we are asking for your reactions on all of the serious submissions. Are there any you love, love, love? Are there any you hate, hate, hate?

Fill out this online survey to let us know. Your responses are due by this Wednesday morning (August 11), 8:00 am.

Suggested titles with a largely favorable rating will proceed to next week's voting. The rest will be left behind.

The 99/99 Challenge

The Greater Fairmont Council of Churches is working to raise money for the Marion County United Way, which kicked off their 2010-2011 drive on Tuesday of this week. Inspired by the parable of the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18, the Council is trying challenging 99 churches to each give $99 to the United Way.

It's important that Central Christian play a part in this. Please bring a $1 bill or two to place in a special offering during the service tomorrow so that we are a part of this special effort.

Coming Up Sunday, August 8

Just when you were afraid to go back to church... It's back, and bigger than ever!

The Summer Blockbuster Sermon Series 2: The Sequel begins on Sunday. Over the next few weeks we'll take a look at four of this summer's biggest movies and explore spiritual themes from the movies.

First up is a big name comedy, Grown Ups, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayak, Maria Bello, and Steve Buscemi. This film tells the story of five guys who starred on the same championship youth basketball team who meet again -- this time with their families -- at the funeral of their coach.

Here's a look:

In the film, the men become nostalgic as fathers, husbands, and men for the things that they learned and enjoyed when they were younger, including their close relationships with each other. They try to recapture these values and experiences and share them with their families -- especially their wives and children.

The most successful example of this type of nostalgia in the Biblical narratives is the reign of King Josiah in the land of Judah. (Yes, Roger, the Jewish kings are returning for one Sunday!) Josiah is famous as a reformer, who emptied the Temple of idols and returned the Jewish people to a pure worship of the one true God. Following the example of his great-grandfather, King Hezekiah, Josiah used his authority and tax revenues to restore the Temple to its original glory, and he worked with the priests to return Jewish religious practice to similar stature. (In fact, many historians believe that Deuteronomy -- "the second law" -- was enacted during Josiah's reign.)

On Sunday, we'll explore the nature of this type of nostalgia, its limitations and its opportunities, from the movie, from the Bible, and for our own lives.