Pastor’s Column
May 16, 2024
My dear church family,
Our “Sing the Faith” hymnal has a song that we frequently sang with deep conviction when I was in college: “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.” The lyrics are:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.
Chorus: And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand;
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land.
We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
We will work with each other, we will work side by side;
And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride.
All praise to the Father, from whom all things come;
And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son.
And all praise to the Spirit who makes us one.[1]
As college students, I think I was most affected by the sense of belonging that I felt when singing this. Today, as I read it again, I am struck by the prominent place that the Holy Spirit plays in the theology presented in the song. This would be a good song to sing this Sunday on Pentecost!
When a congregation is functioning at its best, it experiences the unity and love given by the Holy Spirit that is proclaimed in this song. Two recent comments by observers of our congregation have highlighted for me the work of the Spirit in the lives of our people.
Three Sundays ago, on the day we remembered Mr. Rogers, a middle-aged couple visited FPCA. I welcomed them from the pulpit and the Membership Committee gave them a gift bag. Unfortunately they were gone before I had the chance to greet them personally and learn more about them. I asked around, but no one seemed to have gotten their names or story.
About a week ago, I found an envelope in my mail cubby addressed in very neat handwriting with a return address in Renton, WA. Inside was a letter and a generous donation. It was from “Greg and Jenny Swanson.” This is what they wrote:
May 1, 2024
Dear Pastor Cindy,
We just got home from our visit to Alameda, where among other things, we attended the Fred Rogers service.
We loved our short time in your beautiful church and felt Jesus’ love in every aspect of the service. Here is a small contribution; perhaps it will help to fill a few more gift packs for visitors. We have our refrigerator magnet up already, and we ate all our candy on the walk back to Webster Street.
Best wishes,
Greg & Jenny Swanson
It has meant so much to me that the Swansons experienced “Jesus’ love in every aspect of the service” and were moved to take the time to write to us. This says so much about each of you and about us as a particular body of Christ. They experienced the Holy Spirit in our midst.
The second recent comment came from a friend of the congregation. She told me that when her son was a schoolboy and she was a single parent, the two couples in Alameda who reached out to her with acceptance and support were members of First Presbyterian Church: Lorene and Andy Eggett and Mark and Louise Cronenwett. The love that these couples demonstrated was not retained within the congregation but was poured out into the community. Even though her son is now a grown man, that mom remembers the love shown to her.
It gives me joy to be the pastor of a body of Christ about whom these comments are made. On this Pentecost Sunday let us be very mindful of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and congregation. May the Spirit’s work causes observers to say, “We know they are Christians by their love.”
With you in the Spirit,
Pastor Cindy