First Congregational Church UCC Harwich

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February Newsletter

February 7, 2017 by FCCH Staff

Acts 2:43-47 reads: “Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common…Day by day 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.”

This is an account of the early church. What is striking is its excitement and sense of community. It depicts more a movement than the frozen inner workings of a settled institution. Its members betray a life-changing, compelling sense of mission and ministry, one that judges all other interests as necessarily of lesser account.

Consider now our current by-laws regarding membership: “Members are classified as active if they have supported the Church in the prior 24 months through one or more of the following: identifiable financial support, attendance at worship services and/or by showing devotion and loyalty to the Church by participating in other Church support activities…”

Pretty weak tea, I’d say. Its language reflects not a movement born of passion for ministry, but a settled, sclerotic institutionalism that demands little in the way of faith or community.

In studied contrast, I recently conducted a Google-search of U.C.C. by-laws. The first five “hits” came up with startlingly similar results. My favorite was this, from the First Parish Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Yarmouth, ME:

“Upon reception, a candidate shall become a member of the Church, having pledged to attend the regular worship of the Church and the service of Holy Communion and, as he/she is able, to give systematically to its support for current expenses and benevolences, to share in its organized work, and to seek diligently the spiritual welfare of the membership and community.

“In like manner,” it continues, “the existing Church membership shall provide a receptive atmosphere in which each new member may effectively contribute his or her own talents to the enrichment of the Church community. It is the responsibility of each Church member to stimulate and encourage each other in the ways of active Church life, and to celebrate the unique talents each brings to the life of the Church.”

Now which description of church membership strikes you as closest to the early church in Acts 2? Not only does the latter exhort its members to live out an active worship and communal life, but it charges the congregation to welcome and encourage the participation of even its newest members. The idea, in short, is that all members are called to truly active ministry.

I recently contacted the Rev. Don Remick, our Massachusetts Conference Southeast Regional Minister, to get this thoughts on the matter. His response reads as follows:

“I like the language in the Yarmouth Bylaws that you quote. But the language you share from your bylaws is, in my experience, more common among churches. However, you are among many churches who are raising these questions around how folks are selected for leadership positions.

“The direction you are moving towards is the recommended direction of having greater checks and balances on the finances, complete clarity and transparency with the congregation and an expectation that people in leadership positions (particularly those that involve policy making and financial decisions) should be people who actively participate in the life of the church, particularly in worship and spiritual formation. These are no brainers and should be agreed upon expectations.”

As we move forward, and in anticipation of the as yet unscheduled series of congregational meetings/conversations regarding our by-law re-write, it might be helpful to consider carefully Don’s words.

Moving from the old stultified “board culture” of bureaucratic, top-down “management” and toward a new “ministry culture” that seeks to involve all members in genuine active ministry is the wave of the future, though also, ironically, a return to our roots, to the spiritual and communal integrity found within the early church, and as described in Acts 2.

Grace and peace,

Thomas C. Leinbach, Pastor

 

Filed Under: Letter

Sunday Worship

We are an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ.

During the health pandemic, we invite worshippers to join us on Sundays at 10:30 am. We meet in safety for a 45-minute service on our (encrypted) video-conference platform.

How to Find Us

Past Sermons

Sermon: Plan? What Plan?

December 27, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Worry, Be Happy

December 18, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Thoughts for 3 a.m.

December 11, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: The Moods of Christian Life

December 5, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Who Are We to Judge?

November 27, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Keeping One’s Marbles amid the Whistling Tree Frogs

November 20, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Interpreting the Bible

November 7, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Luther, Schmuther!

October 30, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: A Mechanistic God

October 16, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Knowing Who We Are

October 12, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: The Freedom of Constraint

October 2, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Daytime TV and Bonbons

September 25, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Mind Your Own Knitting

September 18, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Stasis, Novelty or Reform

September 11, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Decisions, Decisions

September 5, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Everyone’s Got One

August 28, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Self-Righteousness, Othering, and Violence

August 21, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Oh, This!

August 14, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: From Heel to Healer

August 8, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Unexpectedly

July 31, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Surviving Hope

July 25, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Prevenient Grace

July 17, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: The Strange Persistence of Guilt

July 11, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Freedom

July 3, 2017 By FCCH Staff

Sermon: Looking for the Lord

June 26, 2017 By FCCH Staff

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