Help Holy Cross Help Our Community.

Dear Holy Cross family,

I pray that you are safe, well and are finding ways to be at peace with the situation we find ourselves in during these turbulent days. I also hope that you realize it is for times like these that God has given us the gift of faith.

I am writing to ask for your prayers and help. As we are not meeting we have no way of collecting our Sunday offering which is our largest source of revenue, I would ask you to prayerfully consider either donating via:

Our website at http://holycrossnj.com/donate/ (Please consider setting up a recurring donation by setting up a PayPal account if you don’t already have one)

Or, by mailing at check to Holy Cross 639 Mountain Ave. Springfield NJ 07081

Your support at this time will go a long way to helping us make a difference in the lives of those whom we serve by providing them with the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I realize that many are frightened for their economic future and others like us will have a dramatic loss of revenue. We are not asking you to consider sharing what you do not actually have but only out of that which you do.

The principle of tithing is that you share a percentage, if you have less then you give less. I do hope that whatever you give is given freely and lifts your spirit by being an act of hope that we will be the church we are called by God to be.

We at Holy Cross are here for you, we can listen, pray and find ways to help so together we may endure the challenge set before us. In these days of social distancing we are trying to keep our community engaged in the following ways:

1.  Our elders are reaching out to congregation members daily

2. I can be reached at his direct extension 973-379-4525 x204 and at pastork@holycrossnj.org at all times.

3. Worship Sunday 10 AM via Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/HolyCrossNJ/

4. Recorded YouTube Video and Audio File posted Sunday after worship at http://holycrossnj.com/blog/

5. Wednesday Noon Prayers and Meditation via Facebook Live at the above address.

6. Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:30 PM  https://us04web.zoom.us/j/453894977 or dial in +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) Meeting ID: 453 894 977

Finally, I thought these words from the Apostle Paul were helpful to me. 

Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:15-18 (NRSV) 

Stay safe, be blessed and keep the Faith,

Pastor Knecht

Worship: Are you Experienced?

I noticed that lots of churches today are calling their Sunday gatherings an “experience” rather than a “service”. Changing the names of doing things Christians have done for centuries is a peculiar characteristic of the American Protestant branch of Christianity.  It is one thing that unites both liberal and conservative Christians in this country. It probably has to do with the fact that the United States religious landscape is characterized by competition and we are all trying to get an edge to help our congregations grow.  I understand that changing the descriptor of worship from service to experience is usually done for evangelistic reasons.  The idea of having an experience may seem less threatening than performing a service to people who have demands on their time coming from all directions.

However, worship is the primary action of the Christian community, so we should really take a step back and ask ourselves, is this a good thing?  Does the word experience communicate what we are seeking have happen in our worship?  We should also ask the same question of service.  I would start by taking a looking at our sources and see what they say about what our worship should be. 

St. Paul gave a quick model for worship in his dialog with the Christians in Corinth: What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26 (NRSV)  So, is this experience, service or something different?

To the Christians in Rome Paul would describe worship in the following way: I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1 (NRSV) This one seems move us in the direction of service.   One doesn’t just attend worship but presents oneself as a sacrifice.  But still I think there is more than service going on.

In John 4, Jesus has a dialog about worship with a woman at well in Samaria: But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  John 4:23-24 (NRSV) Do the words experience or service capture what Jesus is trying to communicate to this woman who was need of acceptance and healing?

If you asked me which term is more biblical overall, it would be the word “service”.  Forms of the Greek verb λειτουργια are used about 15 times in the New Testament and it can be translated as “to serve” or “offer service” and used on several occasions to describe worship.  The English word “liturgy” which traditional churches use to describe worship, is the loan word derived from this New Testament term.

Words that can translated to the English word experience occur 10 times in the New Revised Standard Version.  The King James only uses them 4 times.  No Bible translation uses the word to describe worship.  So, calling worship “an experience” is obviously a modern innovation.  That need not be deal breaker if we keep to the core of what our worship should be but does it?

My gut reaction to using the word experience to describe worship is a negative one.  The word is too passive.   It has connotations of entertainment and its goal seems selfish and unfulfilling.  It is too much like going to a concert or watching a movie and worship should be more.  Yet, I must admit that as a pastor one of the blessings in my current ministry is “experiencing” the ministry of our worship leader and team he has assembled to lead our congregation in song.  On countless Sundays over the years I have had to drag myself out of bed wondering how I could face the congregation I serve, only to have the worship inspire and encourage me to give. So yeah, part of great worship is the experience.

Even though the word service has a Biblical basis, I think it also is lacking.   Worship is not just about what I can bring to God, it is what God can do with, for, and to me.  If it is only about what we do, then worship can become drudgery.   Unfortunately, I have witnessed this happen when we in the church make too many demands of those who attend.   In summary, I suppose we should be careful about limiting the phenomenon of worship to the words we use to describe it or qualify it.

My choice for the congregation I currently serve is to let the word “worship” stand alone. I no longer use words like traditional or contemporary to qualify it.   Keeping it simple helps preserve the idea of majesty and even mystery.  For worship in Spirit and Truth that Christ describes will always be more majestic than our words.   Worship should be “an experience”, but remember we are saved for a purpose which means it should be a “service” to live out our call.   In all its unfathomable majesty worship should encourage, challenge, stimulate, comfort, heal, and all kinds of other things.   For indeed our best worship is when we meet and come face to face with the unfathomable God.

As we come into the church’s great season of worship, I pray that worship in your congregation may be so wonderful as to be indescribable.

Be blessed,
Pastor Knecht




 

Have You Suffered Yet?

Perhaps if I told you of the things that cause me to suffer you would dismiss me, saying by what right do you have to bother us with this?  Perhaps you would point out my race, my class, my gender, my education level, my citizenship and marital status and label me as someone just trying to justify a sense of entitlement.  Indeed, you could point out that I have a variety of privileges, and you would be right.  I am privileged in many ways.  I am able to live with things and do things that others are not able to do.  However, just because I am privileged doesn't mean that I do not suffer, I do.   You can minimize my suffering all you want and I can minimize yours, but it will not change the fact the suffering exists in all of our lives to one degree or another.  For to suffer is to be human.

One of the signposts to Jesus being fully human in traditional Christian thought is the simple fact that Jesus suffered.  One hundred and one years ago the world suffered the Spanish Flu pandemic, it respected no boundaries of gender, race, class, or ethnic affiliation.  If you were infected you suffered or maybe even died.  The existence of suffering in our lives is evidence of our belonging to a single common humanity. The spiritual question of suffering is not so much about whether one suffers or not, but rather what does someone do when they suffer.  In our church we read the following verses from Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians at funerals:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.

There are two things going on in this short passage, which will cause problems for those with simplistic world views.  The first is that suffering represents a spiritual opportunity.   The God of all consolation named by St. Paul consoles us in our suffering.   Suffering is an opportunity to rely on  God.  Many people will stop me here and complain, so what?  The answer to this is that until one suffers, the person doesn't really know who his or her friends are.  Those who stick by you in suffering show their love for you.   If they walk away, they don't love you.   Paul tells the community in Corinth that because of the cross and resurrection we have proof that God sticks with us.  We know that we are loved by God, and that can change things.

The second point that Paul makes is particularly relevant for today.  Paul sees the purpose of one's suffering as opening the heart to the other.  The spiritually mature person is called to use their suffering to direct her or himself toward empathy, compassion and acts of consolation.   Our suffering should be directed to find common ground with others who suffer.  It is a call to transform the bad that happens in our lives to good by connecting with someone who has something bad going on in their life.

This Christ-like attitude of using one's suffering to connect to another person has been used by countless of the faithful to promote the healing and well-being of others.  For example, during his imprisonment by the Gestapo, Dietrich Bonhoeffer befriended, prayed for, and offered spiritual care to his guards.   Additionally, one of the most meaningful books written by acclaimed author Henri Nouwen, The Inner Voice of Love was gleaned from his journals while he was hospitalized for depression.   The book had a profound impact on me, and helped me find some healing while going through a difficult time in my own life.  This is exactly the type of thing that Paul was alluding to when he wrote the Corinthians so long ago.

As you are probably aware, this is not always how people respond to suffering.  Some of those suffering may act out of their pain and condemn others because they are envious of people they perceive as having an easier life.  Others may fall into despair and give up life all together.   Some may lash out at those whom they blame rightly or wrongly for their afflictions.   These negative responses to suffering are indeed understandable in some cases, but are never very healthy in the end.   Those who respond with envy end up in prison of bitterness.  Those who respond in despair end up in a prison of meaninglessness.  Those who respond with revenge end up in a prison of violence.

The only way out of these traps is to choose life over death. This is done through the twin spiritual gifts of compassion and forgiveness.   This is the core message contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Forgiveness given in love transforms the suffering afflicted upon God's son into love for our world.  God's response to Christ's suffering was resurrection and reconciliation. To forgive frees the sufferer from control of the perpetrator of the suffering.   Compassion transforms what was once a detriment into an asset bring hope and healing to others.

Please understand I am not wishing suffering upon anyone.   Any person who has suffered and has compassion for others could never do that.   What I am saying,
is that if suffering comes your way, we have a God who is more powerful than anything that causes us to suffer.   This God is able to take the evil of our suffering and transform it for good.  This essay is to written to give you strength and encouragement today and in the future.   It is a call to rely on the one who has suffered for us, Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Be blessed
Pastor Knecht

Holy Cross to participate in the Homeless Sabbath Weekend December 17th

Community Access Unlimited, Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Family Promise of Union County, Gateway Family YMCA, HomeFirst, Iris House, Monarch Housing and the Union County Interfaith Coordinating Council are asking us to please join them for this year for a “call to action” on the second annual Homeless Sabbath Weekend December 15-17, 2017, on behalf of all people who are homeless in Union County. We at Holy Cross are pleased to be a part of this ministry! So we will remember the homeless in worship and show how our church is working to house those in need in our area.

What Can I Do for My Homeless Neighbors?

• Donate – Union County has a full continuum of services for the homeless provided by non-profits. Even a small contribution can help their clients find a place to call home;

• Volunteer – all the non-profits need volunteers to help in their work to end homelessness. Every age,skill and talent are needed;

• Attend -- the Homeless Persons Memorial Day Vigil December 21 st 7PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Cranford to help remember our neighbors who died due to lack of housing and supportive
services;

• Engage – talk to your family, your neighbors, your co-workers and elected officials about homelessness in Union County and how we need to work together to end homelessness. To achieve

that goal, we need to change the conversation and focus on the needs of our neighbors;

• Form a homeless ministry - Begin discussions that focus on what more your congregation can do to end homelessness.

Please share this with your neighbors and encourage them to join you in worship with us on the 17 th orthe vigil on the 21 st.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Tis the season to remember the homeless in our area.

What child is this? 

The old Christmas carol goes. The standard answer is given as the song continues is “this is Christ the King”, but if one takes the Christian Scriptures seriously there are other answers. In Luke chapter 2, we learn that Jesus was born in shelter for animals and placed in a feeding trough. This was because in an unimportant town far away from the rich, powerful, and entitled, there was no room for them in the local i
nn. So Luke gives another answer to the question of what child is this? It is a homeless one.

In Matthew chapter 2 we learn another answer to the question of what child is this? Joseph is warned in a dream to take up his young family and flee Bethlehem just in time to escape a political massacre with lots of collateral damage. This is known in church circles as the martyrdom of the innocents. So Matthew answers the question of what child is this? It is a refugee from violence.

Tis the season to remember the homeless in our area. Christmas celebrates the Christian doctrine of incarnation, which simply means that God comes “in the flesh”. What does it mean that God comes inthe flesh as a homeless refugee? It means that by meeting the homeless and the refugee you might just meet God. Centrist Christian teaching is clear; in Mathew chapter 25 we learn that besides worship, prayer and bible study we meet God in serving the homeless. This is because Jesus was homeless.

In our area the Elizabeth Coalition for the Homeless, Family Promise, Home First, and Monarch Housing Associates all work to end homelessness in our neighborhoods. By supporting and partnering with these organizations, you can not only help the homeless, but help your own soul as your work together with others to provide hope for our community.

With the high cost of housing in our area homelessness in Union county continues to be an issue for our families and communities. A minimum wage worker in New Jersey would need to work 108 hours a week to be able to afford a rental apartment in our region. We invite you to be part of the solution for your benefit as well as those we are called to serve.

The Union County Interfaith Coalition is sponsoring a Homeless Sabbath the weekend of December 16-18 where houses of worship of diverse faiths in Union County will offer prayers and raise awareness about the plight of our neighbors who need housing. The Coalition will also observe a homeless memorial vigil on the evening of Wednesday December 21 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Springfield.

Please encourage your faith community to participate in these events. For if we remember a homeless family every Christmas eve, we should be able to remember our neighbors who live and work among us every day.

How is it going at Holy Cross?

If you are wondering how things are going at Holy Cross these days, here is my annual report to the congregation

Pastor’s Report to the Congregation 2015-16

I would like to give thanks to God for another exciting year of faithful ministry at Holy Cross. We have ministered in new ways and old to make known the promises of God.  We have faced joys and met challenges.   Being the church today is always a bit of a scramble as the pace of change in society flies forward, but we take hope in the fact that we have the promises of God, which remain constant no matter what.

This past year we have been saying the following phrase at every worship:  No matter how you classify yourself or the world classifies you, we would like to welcome you to find God with us.   A couple of people have asked, what do we mean by this?   May answer is simple; it is just the restatement of what the bible actually says.  For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." (Acts 2:39 NRSV)  Our society is more fragmented than ever into interest groups, cliques, age groups, language groups, cultural groups etc.  God however, wants the promise to be for all his children no matter what the world thinks.   Holy Cross has worked to live out this reality of God in the past year so that we are able to change lives by introducing Christ to our neighbors.

We have had wonderful experiences of worship and outreach this year.   Some of the highlights have been outdoor worship at the Fall Festival in Springfield, which was a powerful witness to the community.  I have regularly heard about the impact of this when meeting with community leaders in town.  We then hosted the interfaith thanksgiving service in our sanctuary, which was a vibrant and well attended event which has helped to break down some barriers between us and the community.  Our live Nativity continued as an ongoing tradition.  We started leading worship monthly at the Market Street Mission in Morristown to support the good work they do.  

Our school is rebounding from lean attendance to reach some new families with compassionate care that introduces Jesus Christ.   Our food ministry continues to witness to our desire to bless our neighbors as best as possible.  We have partnered with other Lutheran congregations to try to reach the youth of our area.  Finally we had an amazing evening with Shane Claiborne where we worshiped, were inspired with a message to be the church God calls us to be, and fellowshipped with a diverse group of faithful people from many congregations and traditions.  

All of this is a faithful witness to what Scripture calls us to.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. (Ephesians 2:13-14 NRSV) Part of what we are called to do is break down walls constructed by society.  Most religions work to build walls between the pure and impure, faithful and unfaithful, chosen and rejected.  Jesus Christ came to do something different: to offer salvation to all.   I can in good conscience tell you that our congregation has tried to take this teaching in Christ to heart.

We have been blessed with relative financial stability this past year because of the fruitfulness of our Step by Step capital campaign which has greatly improved our financial outlook. We are by no means out of the woods, but has been a blessing not be in crisis mode for a while.  Although the coming year may be challenging, we will continue to be prudent in our finances and look for new sources of revenue that contribute to our mission without getting in its way.

Our effort to rebuild our congregation has done well in the areas of community outreach and financial stability.  Where we need to work on in the coming year is the building up of our life together.  We need to grow our congregation by any means possible that is in line with basic Christian teaching. We also need to have better methods to care for one another and build each other up in the faith. The vision is laid out in the book of Acts where the Holy Spirit called together the first church.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42, 46-47 NRSV)

We will need to be intentionally hospitable to anyone who visits us, we will need to put in place structures of mutual care and spiritual support, and we will need transition from a welcoming place into an inviting one. Our church is already quite welcoming; our growing edge will be to become more inviting, less passive, and one that invites others to a new life in Jesus Christ.   I am not as pastor able to do any of this without you. Just as we struggled with financial viability we are now struggling with spiritual viability and the only way forward is if we all work together.

I am confident we can do this, because this is the bread and butter of our congregation. We have committed people of prayer.  We have people who want to help and serve their community. We have leaders who care about what God’s word says.  We have people who hear the call of Jesus to love their neighbor.  We have people who yearn for the presence of God.  

So we are blessed as a church and I am hopeful that these blessing will continue.

Submitted Respectfully in Christ

Pastor Knecht

Fight Terrorism: Teach Generosity

Waking Up to the Same Nightmare

Terrorism is nothing new.  It has been around my whole life.   In my childhood, headlines reported acts by the IRA, FALN and the Weathermen. Europe had the Bade-Meinhoff gang and Red Army Faction.  Israel has suffered terrorist attacks its entire existence as a modern state.  In the 90's Timothy McVeigh attacked Oklahoma City, a cult poured sarin gas into the Tokyo Subway. Then we lived through the rise of  Al Qaeda with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, 9-11 and the London and Madrid attacks.  Now we have ISIS. While much press is always given how we can prevent future attacks, surprisingly little is given to how do prepare to respond when attacks occur.  Given the reality of human history this point should not be overlooked.

So I would like for us to think about how we can prepare spiritually for when attacks come. Terrorists like ISIS not only attack physical and human targets they intentionally target the spirit of the community in their cross hairs.   By examining what Jesus teaches us, we will have the tools to strengthen and protect our own spirits and the the spirit of the community we serve.

The Terrorist's' True Target: Goodwill

The primary goal of a terrorist attack is to disrupt the target society by instilling fear.  Part of achieving this plan is to disrupt those who work for a civil society, destroy goodwill, so people will feel they have nowhere to turn and are cowed into submission. For example, ISIS wants the flow of refugees to stop, just like the Communists did when they built the Iron Curtain   ISIS needs people to kick around, children to conscript into its army, people with skills to keep the water running, the lights on, and most of all to sell crude oil.   When people leave the conflict zones, ISIS loses human capital to continue its struggle for domination in the Middle East.  Our goodwill starves ISIS of resources. Their goal: instil fear to stop generosity.   Our fight: stand up for our identity as disciples of Jesus Christ and remain gracious.

The Jesus Way

People forget, but the scholarship is clear; Jesus lived in a time when terrorism was rife. On Epiphany we will read how Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled the state sponsored terror of Herod.  Two of Jesus' own disciples may have been identified with groups that may have engaged in acts of terror, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. Jesus was killed using a Roman method to intentionally inspire terror.  So when you read the words of Jesus below, remember that he was no pie in the sky dreamer, but a person who lived and served in a very violent society.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:38-48 NRSV)

Refuse to Submit

For ordinary folks like us, the Way of Jesus Christ may seem hard,  but I will ask you to pray and think deeply, and hopefully see the grace in it.    When we succumb to fear and take revenge for ourselves in contradiction to biblical teaching, we play by the terrorists' rules.   The core of radical fundamentalist Islamic teaching is that Allah needs the terrorists to take revenge on the infidel  (btw doesn't that really say their god is weak?).  When we seek out revenge, we will only give them new motivation for further acts of their revenge. We will also be submitting to the scenario they wanted all along.

Countless Christian Martyrs and the the great peace leaders of the 20th century such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. realized the gift of Jesus' teaching.  They understood it for what it precisely is, a courageous, comprehensive, and effective strategy to stop evil. They would not submit to an unjust system.  When we stand with them, we are refusing to submit, and standing up to evil.  As Paul wrote when we are gracious, it is as if we are pouring hot coals over their heads.  This is because by being gracious and generous we are disrupting their agenda of violence.

This struggle we have is not just with groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda, the KKK, Neo Nazi's or Anarchists.  It is is spiritual struggle against powers at work within our very communities and homes. These powers are calling us to become hard hearted and fearful. If we submit to them we lose, not just to them, but indeed we lose our very selves.

When humanity killed God's only Son, God did not take revenge.  He refused to submit and raised Jesus to new life.  God refused to submit to death and stood for life. Countless Christians will continue to to do the same, by serving and helping those who the world says should be their enemies. When we aid the Syrian refugee, we are fighting evil, When we clothe and feed the homeless, we are fighting evil.  When we greet and welcome the neighbor from the county we can't find on the map, we are fighting evil.  When we affirm human dignity of every person, we refuse to submit to the world's agenda.  If the headlines have shocked you lately, maybe it is just the time to stand with Jesus and be generous.

Be blessed,

Pastor Knecht

A Time to Build for a New Day

We have had a really exciting time these past few months. Since last fall, we have brought on a new music minister, restructured our school, restarted our Kid’s Koinonia, and perhaps most importantly started action teams to rebuild and redevelop our community. All of these steps were spearheaded by the call of Jesus Christ to our congregation to be a more active presence in our area. They have been carried out by our committed disciples who are willing to put their hands to work to show God’s love so that lives can be changed for the better.

When we met in November of 2013 our congregation saw another financial crisis looming and decided that we no longer want live in fear of the future; we decided to embrace it. We committed to step up and break the cycle of financial instability. We began to rebuild by through the help of Pastor John Wimberly of the Alban institute who consulted us and led a process to form a strategic plan. He concluded that Holy Cross is a “ministry worth supporting.” Our mortgage lender the Mission Investment Fund called for a comprehensive ministry review, which came up with a list of affirmations (things we do well) and recommendations (steps to improve) and came up with the conclusion that “God is certainly not done with you yet”. Two groups outside of our community, who visit and know about lots of churches, told us how we are a special church that can be a blessing to our neighborhood and the wider church by living out our calling as God intends.

Can you help us?

We are ready to embrace the future that God has in store for us. We have a ministry plan in place and is it already beginning to be executed. Last week we greatly impressed the Mission Investment Fund with both this and our financial stability plan. Now all we need to do is carry our plans out, and we need your support to do God’s work. I am asking you to prayerfully consider pledging to the work of rebuilding our congregation for a new day. I am encouraging you to do this by signing up for the “Simply Giving” program that allows for automatic withdrawals from a bank account. If you have not done so already I would also encourage you to step up your giving in some way. You may have noticed how hard your friends at church are all working these days to build a congregation that changes lives. You will receive the form in the coming weeks. Please pray about it and respond however the Spirit leads you. On June 15th at our annual meeting we will present the plans to you. You will see all the work your leaders have done so far at our meeting and how they are committed to redeveloping Holy Cross.

Do not Fear

Since we started on this ride last fall, our president Heidi Klebaur has been calling our attention to the book of Ezra, which shows how God helped Israel rebuild their temple for a new day. It was not the old temple that they built, but one that met the needs of the people rebuilding it. The exact same thing is true for us today as we seek to rebuild the Body of Christ in Springfield New Jersey. Ezra’s contemporary the prophet Haggai encouraged their rebuilding with these works from the Lord.

“Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage....all you people of the land... work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. Haggai 2:3-5 (NRSV)”

That Christ is present at Holy Cross is abundantly clear to me, I pray you may see him clearly at work too.

Keep the Faith

Pastor Knecht

Following God’s Call

In the time between now and Lent at Holy Cross we will begin to think about how we are each able to commit to participate in our mission together to provide people with the hope of the Gospel through worship and communion, pass on the faith through our children's ministry and school, and reach out to the community through our food basket ministry.   Please start your process of discernment by reading and praying about the following:  

It's really free? 

The true church has nothing to sell. We give away our greatest treasure for free. We freely give people the story of God’s love in Jesus Christ that can change and even save lives. We pray for all God’s children willingly without demand. We invite all to worship no matter how they are classified by the world or how they classify themselves. We generously provide without requirement for those in our community under stress through our food ministry. We do this because our Savior Jesus led the way and gave all of himself freely on behalf of a world in bondage to decay and death. In return, Jesus only asks that we answer the call of His invitation to life. This call is given in the closing verses of the Bible. “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.” (Revelation 22:17 NRSV)

The Cycle of Giving

We at Holy Cross are only able to give away the Gospel Message of Life free of charge because the committed disciples of our community have freely given of their own resources to make this happen. If you have heard the Word of God, experienced Jesus’ presence in Communion, felt the joy of community, been inspired by our dynamic and Spirit filled worship, found a sense of purpose by volunteering to help those in our community, it is all because other Christians have shared of their blessings to give you the blessing of Jesus. God partners with the generous of our community to bring healing, hope and renewal through the gift of the Gospel.


God Makes the Giver

The beloved Gospel story of Zacchaeus shows how a person once healed by God can come to use her or his gifts to help others. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." (Luke 19:5 NRSV) Zacchaeus answers Jesus’ call and comes down. Jesus willingness to dine with him showed that God indeed loved him despite way of life that had hurt others and left him all alone. Once he understands that he is accepted as he is by God, Zacchaeus could take stock of his life and decide to change. He makes a complete 180. He turns from extracting from others into one who gives for others. He not only tries to make amends, he decides to make a difference. Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." (Luke 19:8 NRSV) The sequence is important for the story, Zacchaeus hears the voice of God, learns he is included in the plan, and then follows God’s call to use his gifts to help include others. In the upcoming weeks I will be challenging us all (including myself) to open our hearts to follow God’s call for our lives today.

Follow the Call  

My prayer is that the threefold pattern in the Zacchaeus story can be a reality in your life. I hope that you hear the voice of Christ calling you to come into God’s presence. Once the truth that you are loved by God is plain to you, I then hope you can take stock of your life now. Maybe the Spirit will lead you to see what you have and what you do not have, what you can do, or what you might you have thought you could never do. Then you can decide how you can make a difference through your giving. The proceeds of which will be used to help others receive the gift of salvation spoken about in God’s Word.

Holy Cross continues to make it through tough times because our people have the courage to be generous. The reality is that in the church today financial resources will be tight. This is  not always a bad thing. God wants us to use that which we are blessed with to most effect. If you choose to be generous towards our common ministry, please know that every gift you make will have a profound difference for us in our work together as a congregation. Indeed that is how it should be. As Jesus noticed and affirmed Zacchaeus, we as a congregation should notice and value the contributions of all who make up our church. I look forward to sharing more with you about how we together will follow God’s call.

 Keep the Faith,
 Pastor Knecht