The Message of Hope is why I am a Christian

I was away for work in the Hartford area and found along the way what seemed to be the oldest church in New Haven to attend this Sunday. The United Church of Christ service was somewhat similar to the Episcopal Church without Communion. The Church was rather large for an older church, maybe seating a thousand people on two floors. The size made the sparse crowd of fifty that may have included some of the Occupy Wall Street in New Haven from the two dozen tents nearby seem sparser. The congregation dates back to 1639, before Christ Church in Philadelphia that I enjoyed for so many reasons recently, with the second Church built in 1812. While the two story interior was similar in shape to Christ Church, the woodwork was much more intricate than the 315 year old United Church of Christ.

The sermon wasn’t long, but it was meaningful on the topic of hope. Reverend Dr. Sandra Olsen spoke of Churchill and her father first and his message of faith against all odds early in the war, and then of Isaiah and Mark. She spoke of leaving the Church to become a Unitarian, and then of being a young chaplain at a psychiatric hospital that still had many patients who had lobotomies before psychotropic drugs, and how she struggled to find hope as a chaplain. She spoke with a supervisor or contemporary who suggested she must have hope in today and in the future.

That message led her back to the Church and her path to be the Reverend that she had become and been for so many years. She concluded, “Simply put, the message of hope is why I am a Christian.” That resonated for me. That one sentence spoke of why I have always had faith, even during such substantial challenges, or tests as I have called them, over many years.

The parishioners were invited for coffee and homemade baked goods afterward and maybe 20 stayed. With such a small crowd it allowed me access to speak to Dr. Olsen. Our conversation began with how, for the first time, I heard a single sentence that summed up why I am a Christian. She asked where I was from and of my family, and when I said Freehold, NJ, her eyes widened, “Really, my brother lives there and raised three children there as well.”

“I have three children, but they were raised nearby,” I mentioned. She continued that she had other family that retired in Barnegat, and I countered, “My children’s grandparents live there.” The coincidences seemed beyond coincidences, perhaps prompting me to shift directions and mention how I have been attending a number of historical churches, including two in Philadelphia that built up their congregations with many attending who commute from the suburbs to the old city places of worship.

She mentioned there are many United Church of Christ congregations and that her church was fortunately very well endowed. She was at peace with the small audience, yet seemed interested in my potential suggestions to build her congregation to hear hopeful messages. I might not have understood how she could be at peace when she reached more in such a magnificent and moving setting just a few years ago. Nonetheless, I do now.

I pray and believe every day that the Lord will allow me to achieve for the sake of others in giving back as I did years ago because I was placed in the position by the Lord. I know the Lord has an awesome power of forgiveness, so of course I understand how we can have conflicting thoughts and actions that may both be the right answer.

The message of Hope is why I am a Christian, or at least became more of a Christian over time. I believe in the simple premise of good over evil and that those that believe and act with honor in the Lord’s name will prevail. I know the signs with societies are not encouraging in many ways, but I believe and have hope for myself, my family and mankind.

November 27, 2011