Welcome to the first edition of MPC Connected! With our church family separated, we will be communicating with you throughout the week in a more intentional way, including emails from Max and Jeff, opportunities to serve others, and more. Enjoy!
Dear Church Family,
Max here. I write this as I stare out my bedroom window, trying to shut out the noise emanating from the floor beneath me, wondering how long it will be before life in the United States returns to “normal.” It hasn’t been that long, but already I miss giving hugs, meeting people for lunch at restaurants, going to the gym, and seeing all of you on Sunday morning for worship. As we weather this uncertain time, I thought I would pass along a few ideas and resources that have been helpful to me.
The first is a quote from Martin Luther, which was passed along to me by Patti Koschmeder, and which many of you have probably already seen. Those of you who read the pre-service quotes on Sunday morning know that Luther is probably my favorite theologian to quote. He certainly had a unique way with words, but he also lived through much pain and suffering. The year 1527 was, for Luther, the year of his “severest spiritual and physical trials,” as he dealt with many horrible physical ailments, depression, and the return of the Black Plague to Wittenberg.
In a letter entitled Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague, Luther wrote, “I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.” I believe there is much wisdom in this quote, and commend it to you.
The second is also, in a sense, from Luther. In addition to inspiring a letter, that year of intense difficulty inspired Luther, by God’s grace, to write his most famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress, based on Psalm 46, Luther’s favorite. Finding himself struggling once again, Luther would turn to his colleague, Philip Melanchthon, and say, “Come, Philip, let us sing the forty-sixth psalm.” I encourage you to return, again, to the Psalms if you have not yet done so. Open up a hymnal (or find one online) and sing through these magnificent songs with your family, and be reminded, again, of what our Lord has done for his people throughout history. You may even want to revisit a sermon I preached on Psalm 46 on 8/4/19, which you can find on our website in the section entitled Summer Psalms.
Lastly, I want to pass along another resource that has been made available to the public free of charge. WTSBOOKS, the bookstore of Westminster Theological Seminary, has graciously put together a collection of readings from some excellent authors entitled 15 Readings for Anxious Days, and I have included it here as a PDF attachment. I trust you will find something in there to help you understand and cope with uncertain or difficult times, whenever they may arise.
We've been talking about how we can best be in touch with you in the days and weeks to come. You can expect to hear from Jeff and me once a week apiece in an informal email format like this. We've also got some other things planned that we're looking forward to rolling out. Even though we are apart for now, we are hoping to continue to care for one another and see God continue to build this family together.
The elders and I love you all very much, and we look forward to that day when we can all, once again, gather together as a family.
In Christ,
Max
Though we are separated during this unique season, we want you to know we are available. We will be doing our best to stay in touch in many ways, but if you need prayer or just need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can always send a prayer request to Donna (mpcadminteam@gmail.com). You can also email or call Max or Jeff or any of our elders. Max's email is mbenfer@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone # is 484-886-7726 and Jeff's email is jeff@meadowcroftchurch.org and his phone number is 540-818-6215.