"When We Cast Our Bread upon the Waters"

This is a missional posting! Why? I continue to believe that the Church only exists for mission. Our mission is to worship God, to serve the world and all those for whom Christ died and rose again, to perform the ministry of reconciliation to which God has called us. By the way this ministry requires working for justice and peace: beating swords into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks, teaching nations to learn war no more. This ministry of reconciliation also seeks to make the world a smaller and friendlier place, where we can actually come to know each other, understand each other, love each other.

I know, I know...I'm preaching. But, I will declare how it excites me to hear about churches that are actually doing this work, that have developed a heart for mission, that seek ways to reach out to the community, to other churches, religions, other nations. And, I want to share my excitement with you.

So, please pray for the group of youth and adults from the Homer Congregational Church that are leaving on a mission trip to Mexico early tomorrow (Friday, July 20).

Please pray for the two delegates representing the UCCNY Commission on the Global Church (Nathan Wright and Rick Cowles) who will be traveling to Managua, Nicaragua (August 2-6) to renew the ecumenical partnership with Mision Cristiana.

Please pray for the next NY/Help group that leaves for San Pedro Sula, Honduras (August 13-24). 7-9 persons from local churches in the New York Conference will be working with the villagers from the communities of the Mt. Matederos in the Yoro District of Honduras.
We rejoice in the mission trip undertaken by the youth and young adults of the Presbyterian/New England Congregational Church of Saratoga Springs to Europe earlier this month. We hope that their visits to some of our covenantal partner congregations in the Protestant Church of Hesse and Nassau helped to build their understanding of the universal church.

We also rejoice to welcome Daniel Happel to ministry within the Upstate Region of the Conference. (Note the photo to the left of Homer Pastor Jim Ziobro with Daniel.) Daniel is currently preparing for ordination with the Protestant Church of Hesse and Nassau. As part of this preparation he is going to be serving two churches in the New York Conference. For the next six month he will be serving as the Associate Pastor at the Homer Congregational Church. Afterward he will be moving to Buffalo to serve in one of our churches there.

The wise one who compiled the sage advice and philosophy in the book we call Ecclesiastes observed, "Cast you bread upon the waters, for after many days it will return to you." (Eccl. 11:1) It is a message of good investment sense, to be sure. (e.g. You have to spend money to make money.) It also makes good theological sense. As Jesus said, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, runing over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back." (Luke 6:37b-38)

I pray that the give and take of faith, of generous and open spirits, of mutual understanding and of love will enrich all of our missional endeavors...with God's help it will be so.

Blessings, Rick Cowles