2012.09.24 Monday Morning Message

 Thinking Allowed....or is it?

"Let's get one thing straight right from the beginning. I'm right and you're wrong. It's just that simple."

It seems to me that as a culture we are moving more and more in the direction of distilling everything down to simple formulas that eventuate in the "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality. We see it in abundance in the social media. People choosing sides and stating with great vigor their opinion, chastising anyone who disagrees. We hear it 24/7 from the talking heads on the television. To many of them it's all black or white, right or wrong, plain and simple.

I struggle with this approach for many reasons. I'll list a couple of them.

• First this "I'm right and you're wrong" approach seems dishonest to me. I don't believe many of the issues we discuss are that simple. I think there are more than 50 shades of grey and I believe we are called to find our faith in the midst of the tension that is created by these grey areas. Life is just not that clear cut. I wish it was. I want it to be. But neither my experience nor my understanding of the Scriptures leads me to believe it is.

• Second, this approach fosters division rather than community. After determining which "camp" we're in, it's not that much of a stretch to decide that those in the other camp are now enemies. This seems so contrary to the message of the gospel.

So, today I am going to try to take the advice of the Bible and listen more, speak less and try to foster community in midst of all the ambiguities of life. I think it was the Reverend Grady Nutt who said 

"the best thing about community is I can put my spots next to your stripes and we can celebrate being on the same quilt." 

 May it be so.

"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, only in expressing his opinion." Proverbs 18:2

"Know this beloved, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger." James 1:19

Blessings,

Ken Bailey

2012.09.17 Monday Morning Message

Greetings from Vinita, Oklahoma:

It was 130 years ago that someone had the insight to name this church the Pilgrim Presbyterian Church.  I love the name.  I love the fact that it implies that we are still searching, moving, traveling, learning, changing, growing.  We really are pilgrims, people on a journey.  And this is not just a sightseeing trip.  No, we’re headed somewhere.   And we’re going together.  But as we all know, pilgrims have to carry baggage and sometimes it gets heavy.  And sometimes we get confused about where we are going, or we have differences of opinion about the best way to reach our destination.  And sometimes it just gets so dark that it seems the path has disappeared.  These things slow us down.  But Pilgrims keep moving.

We are moving in the direction of being the people God has called us to be.  We are moving in the direction of being transformed by the grace of God, revealed to us so beautifully through Jesus Christ.  We are moving in the direction of finding the best way to share the Gospel, to live the gospel, to be the Gospel.  So, if you are tired, that’s okay.  Rest up.  If you have lost touch with fellow pilgrims, give someone a call, reconnect.  If you need help with your burdens, let us know.  We’re all in this together.  And our leader promises us the strength and the light we need to make the journey.

Blessings,

Ken Bailey

Announcements: 

Session Meeting, Wed. Sept 19 - 7:00

"Daniel Bailey Concert"
Vinnie Ream Cultural Center
to help benefit the Vinnie Ream Center
Thursday, Sept. 20
7:00 p.m.

Vinita area churches are coming together to promote
"A Team of One, Unity in our Community"

Vinita High School Football Stadium
Feeding the football team, coaches, trainers, band, cheerleaders, pom and dance team from both Vinita and Oologah schools.
4:00 p.m. Friday, September 21, 2012
If you would like to donate cookies, ice, etc.,  help serve or need more information call Robert Sanders at 918-244-2304

2012.09.10 Monday Morning Message

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

Greetings from Vinita Oklahoma. Around here we woke up this morning to an absolutely beautiful day. As I looked out the window and surveyed the landscape I was reminded of the fact that we need to be good stewards of this creation which God has placed us in charge of. I also thought about how difficult it is to just sit still and be present in the moment. I tried to do that as I enjoyed the view from the bedroom window. In Gardening by Heart May Sarton says,

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of the need for us to slow down enough to be present in the moment. nature is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. The garden door is always open to the holy.”

I like the phrase “slow circles of nature.” It is so easy for us to get distracted and become emotionally detached from the earth. In doing so we run the risk of moving further away from our connection with the divine. We override the slow circles of nature by creating our own pace and our own path. This makes it easy for us to forget who and whose we are. Makes it easy for us to lose our way or get worn out, or both.

Here’s my hope. My hope is that all of us will slow down a bit and focus on the beauty of God’s creation. I hope we will work to recognize the natural rhythm of life and allow that rhythm to become our rhythm. Oh what a beautiful morning.

This is my first Monday Morning Message. As the new pastor of Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, I am thankful to be here. It’s nice to feel like you are doing what you should be doing in the place you should be doing it. This is a wonderful gathering of people and I am happy to be part of this church family.

Blessings,

Ken Bailey

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BINGO AT BURROUGHS MANOR SATURDAY - SEPT. 15- 2:00 - 3:00

COME JOIN THE FUN

SESSION MEETS SEPT 19 - WEDNESDAY AT 7:00

2012.06.25 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and warm regards from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

If you could, would you turn the clock back?  A columnist, writing in the Tulsa World, wrote "Maybe while praying for the America we want, we can remember the America we had."  Those words awakened my memory, and I realized that we must not live in the past. We can use the past for guidance and inspiration, but we can't go back.  We must go forward or we perish.  To live is to change.  The one thing that does not change is a fossil, and a fossil has been dead for a long time.  We should not fear change.

• I remember the scourge of tuberculosis and polio epidemics, and I wouldn't want to go back to them.

• I remember when Presbyterians would not ordain women ministers and when anyone who sold alcoholic drinks was barred from membership, and when the Revised Standard Version of the Bible was assailed as heresy, and I wouldn't want to put the clock back for any of that.

To live is to change, and we ought not fear that.

With blessings and in friendship.
Richard

Announcements:

We were blessed to have Brian Dishman and his family  in church yesterday.  He and his wife Motoko and daughter Rina live in Japan.  Rina played a special piano piece for our church service.  Also, Brad, his wife Edith and daughter Madison were in attendance.  We had a pew full of Dishmans.

SUNDAY, July 1
4TH OF JULY POTLUCK
Drinks and meat will be provided.
Bring a side dish and join us for a delicious meal.
Following morning worship at 10:00.

The Reverend Nancy Covington will be here.
All are invited to Communion.
Liz Logan will prepare the communion elements and invite 2 Elders or Deacons to help serve.
Sue Ratcliff is Worship Asst. for July.

2012.06.18 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

"Prayer doesn't work for me," said a friend last week, "and, I've given up praying."  Sound familiar?  A great many people stop praying because they think it doesn't work.  Perhaps they have the wrong idea about praying.

Prayer is not God doing things for us, it is God helping us to do things for ourselves.  Prayer does not change circumstances which face us, but prayer does enable us to confront those circumstances with new strength and courage.  Prayer helps us to meet our difficulties in a new way.

God listens to our prayers at any time of day or night.  Prayer should not be practiced only in times of crisis and emergency, but in our everyday life.  "Help me to help others" is a good prayer to remember.

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard




Kitty sent in this quote from Theodore Roosevelt

"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care."

2012.06.11 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma

I've got a question for you.  Have you ever heard the word "NONES"?  It is a new word for me describing people who say 'None' when asked their religious identity.  This group, (now 15% of Americans, up from 8% in 1990) opts out of traditional religious groups, according to a new American Religious Identification Survey.  (ARIS)

Are there any 'Nones' in your family?  There are in mine.

What is the reason for the rapid growth of the 'Nones'?  There are many reasons, I'm sure, but let me suggest a few.

First, most of us, and our families, have heard the Bible stories so often that there is a deadening influence of familiarity in them.  The cutting edge is gone.  Can this be changed?

Yes, it can be changed by new methods of presentation and communication. Too often churches are dying of dignity and some noble but ancient human crafted creeds and doctrines.

Second, new methods of presentation and communication are not ends in themselves.  They are means toward an awakened consciousness of what the Gospel means in the real, ever changing world.

For me, the test of the Gospel is the kind of life it produces.  I was asked by a "Nones' which were my favorite Bible texts and I replied 'that is too difficult to give a complete answer'  but these two are basic to my life and faith:

Micah 6:6-8 

Luke 10:25-28 and continuing through verse 37

Good reading.

With Blessings and in Friendship,

Richard

Announcements:

BINGO AT BURROUGHS MANOR - Saturday, June 1 - 2:00 - 3:00 - Volunteers are needed

Session and Deacons meet this Sunday, June 17

Jeff Francis will preach and moderate Session

FATHER'S DAY - JUNE 17

Craig Kilgour will be here the following Sunday, June 24

Regarding Richard:

Please keep Richard in your prayers as he has more tests to see if he can qualify for the new valve replacement procedure, then makes a decision to proceed with the surgery.  He says he is taking a step at a time and knows that God will lead him in the right decision.

2012.06.04 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, Vinita Oklahoma.

The death of Charles (Chuck) Colson, at the age of 80 is a reminder that while we may see the worst in a person, God sees the best.  Colson was deeply involved in the Watergate scandal, which forced President Nixon to resign.  Mr. Colson went to prison and there the Holy Spirit transformed, changed his life.

After serving a prison term, Mr Colson created the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976, to minister to prisoners and their families.

God believed in Charles Colson, incredible as that first appeared when he was a hatchet man for President Nixon.  God saw "the possible Colson" though most of the country saw only Colson's outward appearance of a crook.

The Bible is full of people whose lives were transformed, changed - Moses, Jacob, David, 'The Prodigal Son', Paul.  God  believes in us and God will affect transformation in our lives if we but let him.

God sees in each of us a capacity for creative vision if we will to receive it as a gift from the Lord of all life.  Our choices are so important.

With blessings, and with faith that you will put your faith in the One who sees your possibilities.

Richard

If you were not able to attend our worship service yesterday, we missed you and you missed a wonderful Sunday.  We had 60 in attendance, compared to 22 last Sunday.

The Reverend Ken Bailey conducted the service

 and vocal trio (Makin Memories)  sang for us and

 Madison Dishman played her recorder while Joyce Dishman

 accompanied her on the organ.

Then we  had a delicious family meal with lots of fellowship.