2012.05.14 Monday Morning Message

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

Bible wisdom asserts that people have powerful hungers that will not be satisfied by bread alone.  (Deuteronomy 8:3).  We, human beings have other hungers.  Be be aware of them, and to act upon them, makes life rich and splendid.

What are those hungers, you might ask?

Well, don't you have a hunger for love and affection?  Without them you"ll shrivel and die in spirit.

And, there are other hungers which make us fully human.  We hunger to be needed, to be useful and vital in some life other than our own  That hunger tells us that we need to perform some tasks that enrich our church, our community, our circle of friends.

I wish more people experienced a hunger for contributing a little kindness and goodness.  That would renew faith and go a long way toward increasing tolerance and civility.

While it is important to be aware of the millions of people who don't get enough to eat, it is important to nourish our souls with that which has imperishable meaning, and which gives us dignity and self-respect.

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard

Announcements:

Bingo at Burroughs Manor Sat. May 19 - 2:00 - 3:00

Helpers are needed.

Next Sunday is Birthday Sunday.  We celebrate Lawrence Noggle, Jan Clark, Mark Curnutte and Jim Ratcliff.

Session and Deacons meet after worship and birthday cake.

Fran Callaway, our Moderator will conduct the Morning Worship and Session meeting.

I will be out of the office Tues-Thurs and will return on Fri.

Jewell

2012.02.06 Monday Morning Message

　
Greetings and best wishes from all of us at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, Vinita, Oklahoma.  

It may be a sign of old age, but I know that life's arithmetic means that for every new year we celebrate, we can subtract a year from our life.


That sounds pessimistic, but what I mean to say is don't wait too long to do what you want to do.


In too many simple things we wait too long to do them.

• Don't wait too long to show kindness.
• Don't wait too long to speak or write a word of encouragement.
• Don't wait too long to express your love and thanks to elderly relatives.
• Don't wait too long to love and enjoy your children and grandchildren.
• Don't wait too long to read the books and listen to the music that enlarges your mind.
• And of course, don't wait too long to practice a daily quiet time when you strengthen your inner spirits.

Life goes by quickly.   Don't wait too long to do the things you want to do!


With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

"The PAST is where you

learned the lesson

The FUTURE is where you

apply the lesson.

Don't give up the Middle!"

2012.01.30 Monday Morning Message

Greetings and best wishes from all of us at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, Vinita, Oklahoma.  


We are a congregation with a big heart overflowing with loving care and concern. I know this to be true from personal experience. Because of poor health, I have had to resign as part-time pastor. Friends in the congregation have overwhelmed me with their kindness.

So...this is "Thanksgiving time for me"...KUDOS to Jewell Morgan, church secretary at Pilgrim Church, and Brian Dishman, editor of the Pilgrim Church Blog. They have kept our "on site, on line" ministry on track.

     ...Thanks to each of you who have sent cards and notes.  Each one has buoyed my spirit.

     ...Thanks for the food, for the thoughts and prayers, which have helped me regain strength.

     ...The attractive, unique album you have given me is filled with beautiful words from cover to cover. Sentiments in the album are humbling, especially those I know to be a little exaggeration.

And, I am thankful to friends in Grace Presbyterian Church, Grove, where I served for six years as a part-time minister, and to members of John Knox Church, Tulsa, where I was pastor for more than ten years, for comfort and concern.

I shall always cherish the friendship of each of you.

With blessings and affectionate regard,

Richard

2011.12.05 Monday Morning

Pilgrim Presbyterians in Vinita, Oklahoma send greetings and best wishes as you make your Advent journey to the Cradle of the Christ child.

 

Announcing the birth of Jesus, an angel said "I bring you good tidings of great joy"  (Luke 2:10).  Today, the good tidings are communicated by you, and people like you, who are aglow in faith, strong in hope, love and kindness.

 

Often the good tidings are communicated by people who see themselves as co-workers with God in our secular world.  Do you remember Pogo, or Peanuts, or Mr. Rogers?  They were full of good tidings.

 

I remember once when Charlie Brown and Lucy were leaning against a tree, and Lucy asked, "What do you think security is, Chuck?"

 

He replied, "Security is sleeping in the back seat of the car when you're a little kid and you've been somewhere with your Mom and Dad, and it's night.  You're riding and you can sleep without worrying about anything.  Your Mom and Dad are in the front seat, and they've done all the worrying.  They take care of everything."

 

Lucy smiled and said, "That's really neat!"  But a serious look came over Charlie's face and he said:  "But it doesn't always last.  Suddenly you've grown up, and it can never be that way again.  Suddenly it's over and you'll never go to sleep in the back seat.  Never!"

 

Lucy got a scared look and said, "Never?"  And Charlie who got scared himself with a terrible truth said "Never!"

 

In the last picture Lucy, aware of the real world, reaches over to Charlie and said, "Hold my hand, Chuck.  Hold my hand."

 

The good tidings - the gospel of Jesus Christ - tells us that we can hold one another's hand in the midst of discomfort - with love and support, for Christ has come to dwell in us and we are his co-workers in life's adventure.

 

With blessings and in friendship,

 

Richard

2011.10.03 Monday Morning!

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

We have a choice. We can choose to build up one another, or we can choose to tear down one another. Let me share two encounters to illustrate what I mean.

I stopped at a gas station in Vian, a small town in Oklahoma, near Dwight Mission, our Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center. A gas attendant came out in the rain to pump gas. He smiled, and said hello, and seemed to be genuinely happy to serve his customers. After filling my tank, he did an extraordinary thing: he shook my hand, said "Thank you" and wished me well. He made my day.

Later, in Tulsa, I bought gas at a self-service station. The attendant was in a glassed-in-booth. Her eyes never met mine. Sullen lines marked her face. I felt like an intruder as she cracked her gum, took my money, all the while looking down. She seemed completely disinterested in her job. That young woman made me sad.

Every time we meet another person, each of us is given an opportunity to create or destroy by the way we dignify or deny that person.

Jesus was on target when he taught us to do to others as we want others to do to us.

With blessings and all good wishes,

Richard

www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com/

2011.9.26 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

Today, I want to share a story about God's embracing grace and my young college friend, Bill.

Bill and two good friends from his dorm pooled their resources so they could tour Europe "on the cheap." They traveled light, slept in youth hostels, and enjoyed the unique characteristics of every country and village they passed through.

The amazing part of Bill's story didn't happen during a visit to the cathedral; it happened in a pub in Ireland. The thee young travelers were enjoying a meal in a quaint Irish pub when they heard a loud groan. At a nearby table a man struggled to heave himself out of his chair. They saw immediately he had only one leg. He reached for his crutch, but lost his balance and began to fall. Instantly his companion at the table jumped up and caught him.

The man with one leg muttered, "Thanks! I'm as crippled as a blind man."

His friend steadied him while replying, "Well now...come to think of it, who of us here isn't crippled?" A hush fell over the pub as the friend continued, "to lend each other a hand when we're falling is maybe the one kind of work that really matters in the end."


With love, peace and affectionate regards,

Richard

2011.9.12 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

After Jesus, perhaps the best known New Testament character is Peter.  We think of him as a gregarious, outgoing man of action.  He was out in front of the other disciples who accepted him as a leader. Yet, like all of us, Peter had his weaknesses.

The low point in his life came the night of Jesus' arrest when he denied knowing his Master.  We might have done the same thing in similar circumstances.  The instinct to survive is strong.   There is no telling how a person will react in a critical situation.

Peter was only one among many Bible heroes to default.  Moses became a fugitive on the run after he murdered an Egyptian and then fled the country.  David was an adulterer and also an accessory to murder.  The Apostle Paul, before his conversion, presided over a lynch mob.

We live in an imperfect world and no one is an angel.  We live battered lives and we are often sorry for things we do and say, and, like Peter, Moses, David and Paul, we are given a second chance - all by the grace of God.

With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

2011.8.8 Monday Morning!

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

Today, I want to put in a good word for the gift of receiving.  It is commonly said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, but I've learned there is virtue in receiving as well as in giving.

We praise people for doing good things for others, but who refuse to take any credit, any gift, any reward, for doing so.  People like that should give others a chance to say thank you and show their gratitude.  It is a fine thing to give, but it can be a mark of pride to refuse to receive thanks for acts of kindness.

Jesus received a boy's picnic lunch, and with it worked a miracle.  (John 6:1-14).  And He received the offer of the use of a room by some anonymous friend in Jerusalem, and used that room to institute "The Last Supper".

There is a courtesy in receiving as well as in giving.  When the two meet, who knows what 'miracle' will follow?

With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

"A PEARL OF VALUE"
We're taught that it is more blessed
to give than to receive, but receiving
is also important in the development
of our soul.

2011.6.20 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

In ancient times, when God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses, every person in a family or tribal unit was needed to work so all might survive.

 

When a person was unable to work, there was a threat to the survival of the family or tribe.  The old, the weak and frail were frequently abused and discarded.

 

In this setting God spoke with a new commandment to Israel, saying:  "You are not to treat the elderly, the weak, in in the same manner other tribes do.  You are not to discard them.  By keeping in connection with them you honor your father and mother.

 

Today, most people welcome Father's Day with unreserved feelings of gratitude and affection.  Yet, we know there are others who dread Father's Day as a harsh reminder of abuse and unhappiness.

 

So do your best to keep in contact with your parents.  If that is not possible, don't feel guilty; you've done what you could.

 

For those of us whose parents are no longer living, this is a time to remember pleasant times shared.  That's a good way to honor parents.

 

With all good wishes,

Richard

2010.12.20 Monday Morning!

Greetings and Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas from all of us at Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

Do your best to be consistent.  Let your outward life, visible to all, reflect your inner life.  That may be the best Christmas gift you can give yourself.

 

Will Durant, who wrote an eleven volume story of history said, on his 94th birthday, "Loving kindness is the most successful method of behavior."  Loving kindness...warm fuzzies...will equip you to live as God intends life to be lived.

 

The good news of Christmas is reconciliation, beginning with oneself.  Go for it and enjoy a Merry Christmas.

 

Richard

2010.11.22 Monday Morning!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.  I suggest that at your Thanksgiving gathering someone read aloud Psalm 100.   To give thanks for specific reasons is reasonable.  In good conscience all of us can be thankful for the good things of life which we have received.   If, however, one of those specific reasons for thanksgiving is lost, can we still be thankful?  Yes we can if we cultivate an attitude of thanks toward all life.  An attitude of thankfulness sustains us and enhances purpose and meaning in all the situations we meet.   Shakespeare captured that truth in Henry VI:        "O Lord that lends us life,          Lend me a heart full of thankfulness."   A heart full of thankfulness is an attitude toward life itself. That is the absolute character of genuine thanksgiving.   Consider thankfulness not for a day, but as a life long attitude.   Cheers and best wishes, Richard

2010.06.07 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.
 
One of the best known teachings of Jesus is the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  In the preface to the story (verse 27) we read these familiar words "You shall love the Lord your God...and your neighbor as yourself."
 
How much in you is loveable?  Take a good look into your soul.  What do you find loveable about yourself?  What do you find that's not so loveable?
 
Now, take this little quiz:
1.Do you love being treated justly, fairly?
2.Do you love being treated with kindness?
3.Do you walk humbly with God, or do you have a "know it all" attitude?
 
No one can like everyone.  But if we love justice, if we strive to be kind, and if we walk in humility before God, we will learn to love others, and not throw obstacles in the way of even those people we don't like.
 
Let's try to act on those three requirements - justice, kindness and humility - and not react to the annoying words which come from people we don't like.
 
 
Richard
 
 
PS:  To those participating in To Know My Bible - 101"study:
1.We've entered in our notebooks our favorite verses and passages.  I've shared mine with you.  Please send me your list!
2.Our second exercise is to list Bible stories and characters.  I've suggested readings from Genesis.  Soon we'll begin to list stories from Exodus, the era of Moses.  Go for it!

2010.04.05 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

"The Lord takes pleasure in his people" - Psalm 149:4. That God delights in us is a neglected Bible insight. Whatever our gifts, great or small, when we exercise them to the full, God delights in us.

Sometimes we think our gifts are too little to be responsible for great things. Not true! in our personal lives little things play a greater role than we realize.

I have known single mothers who cared for their children, year after year, with inexhaustible love. I knew a delightful lady in my parish near Albany, NY who was stricken with polio. For years she had the 24/7 care and love of her husband and two teenage sons.

You know busy people with the capacity to bring cheer to the lonely and, who without being asked, reach out to help those in need.

Our little gifts give us an opportunity to do great things.

Cheers to you who are doing little things well. God delights in you!

Richard

2009.11.02 Monday Morning!

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

This morning my thoughts go back in time when I was in a Contemporary Literature Class at the University of Wisconsin. We were discussing the life and work of the great Russian author, Tolstoy.

Tolstoy was exalted by his peers and biographers, but for some reason or other I remember more distinctly than anything words of his wife. Though I can't quote her, this is the gist of what she said:

His many good works are prompted by his principles, not by the warmth of his heart. Never has he given me five minutes help carrying water, nor sitting for five minutes alongside the bedside of our sick son.

A lot of us are at our best in society and at our worst at home.

A pearl of value: An act of loving kindness is a humane response to human need, and it should begin at home, with a warm heart.


Richard

2009.02.16 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes to you, wherever you are, from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

It was almost ten years ago that a stray dog appeared on the doorstep of our son, Owen, and his wife, Lori.  They had a small dog who wasn't very gracious about an intruder in her backyard.  So my wife, Helen and our daughter convinced me that we should welcome this black part Chow, part Retriever into our household.  We named him Bendigo, a derivative of a Welsh word for blessing. Pets are wonderful!

Sadly, there are people who seem to get their kicks being cruel to "dumb animals".  Recent news stories in a Tulsa newspaper tell of a soldier, home on leave who is charged for dragging a dog, tied behind his vehicle, until he was half dead.

I hope no one reading these Monday Morning messages will ever do a cruel thing to an animal.  Cruelty is always ugly and cruelty to helpless animals is an exceptionally cruel thing.  Kindness is a universal language, understood even by our pets!


Cheers,
Richard

2009.02.09 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes to you from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

It may be a sign of old age, but I know that life's arithmetic means that for every new year we celebrate, we can subtract a year from our life.

That sounds pessimistic, but what I mean to say is don't wait too long to do what you want to do.

In too many simple things we wait too long to do them.

Don't wait too long to show kindness.

Don't wait too long to speak or write a word of encouragement.

Don't wait too long to express your love and thanks to elderly relatives.

Don't wait too long to love and enjoy your children and grandchildren.

Don't wait too long to read the books and listen to the music that enlarges your mind.

And, of course, don't wait too long to practice a daily quiet time when you strengthen your inner spirit.

Life goes by quickly.  Don't wait too long to do the things you want to do!

With blessings and in friendship,
Richard

2008.11.24 Monday Morning!

Thanksgiving greetings from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. We worship as a family each Sunday morning at ten o'clock. Whenever possible, come and share in our service. If you can't be with us, say a little prayer for us in the "friendly Church of the faith."

At times, all of us have specific reasons to be thankful. At other times, lacking specific reasons, we may become cynical and say "I've got nothing to be thankful for."

A worthwhile Thanksgiving Day exercise might consist of sitting down with two sheets of paper. On one we might list all the things we crave and are yearning to acquire. On the other sheet we would enumerate all those things we have and could lose. I rather think that we would find the first list quickly exhausted, while the second would appear endless. We might then understand better the meaning of the prayer:

"You have given so much to me, O God.

Give me one thing more - a grateful heart."

Happy Thanksgiving,
Richard

2008.11.10 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. If you have relatives or friends who may like to get our Monday Morning email, please send addresses to Donna in the Church Office.

Moving from one residence to another is a test of patience, strength and endurance. Last week my wife and I moved from an apartment to a house. Humdrum as moving may appear, I assure you it is a test. But isn't all life a series of tests? I found a scribbled note among papers I've been sorting, and it's worth sharing with you today.

"When a neighbor has been bruised, our kindness is tested. When he or she has been blessed, our generosity is tested. When we have been hurt, our forgiveness is tested. Trouble tests our courage. Temptation tests our strength. Friendship tests our loyalty. Failure tests our perseverance."

We are all tested. How do you fare in life's constant quizzes?

Cheers,
Richard

2008.10.27 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. We want to "keep in touch" with the Pilgrims past and present, living far and near. We are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Church on Sunday, November 9. You'll get a letter about planned events, and be sure to attend, if at all possible. If you cannot attend, please send an email greeting.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), we meet a Priest who ignored a badly injured man lying on the roadside. His view of life: "What's mine, I'll keep it." The Priest had no time or concern to share.

This attitude reminds me of a classic story which Dostoevsky wrote about a woman who died and went to hell. In her agony, she cried for help. At length, an angel answered: "I can help if you remember one altogether unselfish thing you did on earth." Finally, the woman remembered a withered carrot she had once given to a beggar. Checking the record, the angel confirmed that this was an unselfish act.

So down the limitless space which separated heaven from hell was lowered a withered carrot on a slender string. It did not seem that it could bear her weight and lift her out of torment. She grasped the carrot and slowly began to rise. Then she felt a weight dragging her. She looked down and saw others clinging to her, hoping to escape torment. "Let go", she cried, "the carrot won't hold us all." But they held on and again she cried, "Let go, this is my carrot." And at that point the string broke, and she fell back into the pains of hell.

That sums up the fate of anyone who lives with the view "What's mine, I'll keep it."


Peace,
Richard

2008.08.25 Monday Morning!

We're always sending greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church. And, we mean what we say! Whether you are reading this in Vinita, Oklahoma or at a distance, may your week be joyful!

The life story of Glenn Cunningham, who set a record for running the fastest mile, which he held for years, is a fascinating one.

When a boy of 8, Glenn was a victim of a kerosene explosion. His legs were so badly burned that doctors proposed amputation, but his Mother would not hear of it.

After six months in a hospital, a series of skin grafts and endless hours of massaging by his Mother, Glenn began to walk and then to run to strengthen his crippled legs. At 21, he set a world record for the fastest mile, providing truth to Ernest Hemingway's words. "The world breaks everyone, and afterward many are strong in broken places."

In the soil of suffering some of the noblest traits flourish, such as empathy, kindness, patience, understanding and courage.

We can grow in spirit when we choose to grow strong "in our broken places!"

With blessings and in friendship,
Richard