Pine Island Pastor Musings

Children's Message about gardens The Pine Island Church worshiped at our Q Ave. property in Texas Township last Sunday.  This was the first of three outdoor services the church will host this summer.  These services are on fourth Sundays, July 28 and August 25.  The theme of these services is "Earth Prayers," and will utilize material from a book of that title edited by  Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon.   The book is a collection of prayers, poems and writings by people from all over the world, w hich celebrate our oneness with the earth, and calls for our participation in its healing.   The Psalmist wrote: “Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs” (65:8).  People around the world, virtually every religion celebrates the glory of the natural world and call on our faithful stewardship of it.  This is especially so in the spirituality of native peoples.  Their songs and prayers expres...

Charlie and Lucy Hammond, members of the Pine Island Presbyterian Church, were married on June 18, 1949.  Everytime I visit them in their apartment at Story Point in Portage, I find them sitting next to each other on their love seat sofa with Jet (I think I have the name right) their dog between them.  Last week when I visited and mentioned their upcoming anniversary, Charlie thought it was 69 years.  I said, "Do the math.  This is your 70th!"  Time flies when you're in love. I visited again on the 18th to mark this special occasion with them, but found their apartment door propped open, a cleaning cart in the hallway, and a housekeeper cleaning their apartment.  I said hello.  She said "They are out."  I said, "Wonderful!  It's their wedding anniversary.  I bet they are celebrating with their daughters, who are often here when I visit.  Did you know this is their 70th?"  Her face lit up with wonder and joy.  "No, I'm so...

Saturday:  Celebrated with the Finjap family.  Extended family and friends gathered from all over on Saturday to celebrate and bless Cerica upon her High School graduation!  Congratulations, Cerica! Sunday:  Celebrated Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit and birthday of the Christian Church.  This is one holy day that the culture has not absorbed.  Prepared liturgy for next Sunday. Friday, Saturday, Monday ( Days Off ):  This Spring on my free time, I've been volunteering at AACORN Community Farm scraping, sanding, and painting.  I prepped a small out building and this corn crib.  AACORN Community provides programing in a farm setting for adults living with autism.  They raise goats, chickens and vegetables.  My daughter, Leana, has worked on staff for the past three years.  They just bought 40 acres from Tillers International.  They moved their January 1st and have been settling in to this new home.  Th...

The Pine Island Church has been accepted to host  International Peacemaker  Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo from Cameroon September 13-18, 2019 through the Peacemaking Program of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Jaff Napoleon Bamenjo serves as the Coordinator of RELUFA, the Network for the Fight Against Hunger, a Joining Hands partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program in Cameroon. Jaff coordinates the advocacy campaigns on land and food justice and transparency in the extractive industries. Jaff started working with RELUFA in 2009 as program assistant and in 2011 was promoted as the Coordinator of the network. He will be speaking about the work of RELUFA to address the root causes of poverty and hunger, the recruitment of young people by the Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Cameroon and the ongoing conflict in the Anglophone part of Cameroon, a conflict that has also affected neighboring countries like Nigeria. These conflicts have caused internal displacement and pose a grea...