Dear Emanuel Members and Friends –
“‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for
the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about
nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to
them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So
they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did
the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around;
and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to
him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the
vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager,
“Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then
going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them
received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would
receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when
they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last
worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the
burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them,
“Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily
wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same
as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?
Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the
first will be last.’” Matthew 20:1-16
The passage above is the lectionary’s
Gospel reading for September 24, which is also the day on which we will
celebrate 156 years of ministry in Bridesburg.
We hope for a joyous day, with a catered luncheon (provided by the
generous donation of a lifelong member) and a showing of the beautiful video
that was prepared for our 150th anniversary, back in 2011, showing
photos from Emanuel Church over the decades – confirmation classes, church
socials, special worship services - all accompanied by recorded organ music
from our longtime organist, the late Florence Werner. This
lovely video truly reveals the heart and soul of Emanuel Church as experienced through
the eyes and ears of our longtime members.
It was a revelation to me when I saw it for the first time at our 150th
anniversary, and I’m sure that on seeing it a second time, I’ll appreciate much
that I missed on my first viewing. I
strongly urge as many as can to be with us on this special milestone in our
congregation’s history.
It’s striking that a number of our
members and regular visitors may be seeing this video for the first time. That is to say, some of us weren’t at Emanuel
Church as recently as 2011, just six years ago.
And as small as we are, a
significant portion of our members and friends weren’t with us as recently as
ten years ago – and neither was I, since my first sermon at Emanuel Church (as
a guest preacher) was on November 11, 2007 – as I write this, I’m two months
short of ten years at Emanuel. While for
many of us, our anniversary will bring back fond memories, for many others who
will be with us, the images and music will be unfamiliar. For the newer members and friends among us, as
they experience the video, the words of British novelist L. P. Hartley may
resonate: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” It is equally true that, for our longtime
members, the present with its changing technology and changing values may likewise
feel a bit like a foreign country. And
yet we are still the same Emanuel Church.
We each have opportunities to act as translators for one another,
interpreting the events of our generation for those of past or future
generations.
Our congregation is a bit like the
workers in Jesus’ parable. We have our
longtime, lifelong members, who have truly “borne the heat and burden of the
day”. Over many decades, our longtime
members have worked so hard, invested so many hours, tithed and prayed and
planned and labored to preserve Emanuel Church on as a legacy for the future. Every member of Emanuel Church owes these
longtime members a profound debt of gratitude.
And we have our newer members, who haven’t been here for quite so many
decades, but who are starting to take on some of the responsibilities of
leadership, to move beyond weekly attendance to involvement in events of the
present and plans for the future. All of
us likewise owe these newer members a profound debt of gratitude for their
willingness to help carry on the legacy of Emanuel Church. I pray that, years from now, they will in
turn be the wise elders sharing the benefit of their experience with a new
generation of Emanuel Church members. We
are indeed profoundly grateful and indebted to both longtime and newer members
and friends.
In Jesus’ parable, those who had
worked for the entire day and those who had worked for an hour each received a
full days’ wage. Similarly, at Emanuel
Church, the uplift of worship and the joy of community are available to
longtimers and newcomer alike. It has been heartening and refreshing to see
longtime and newer members enjoying conversation and working together, and,
unlike Jesus’ parable, without jealousy and grumbling. It has
been a joy watching our longtime members share the benefit of their experience
with newer members, and to see our newer members share their energy and
enthusiasm, all for the benefit of Emanuel Church, for the glory of God, and
for the benefit of our neighbors here in
Bridesburg, where Emanuel Church has ministered for 156 years. Thanks be to God!
See you in church –
Pastor Dave
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