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GA06103
Monday worship 'So great a cloud of witnesses'
by Shane Whisler
BIRMINGHAM, June 19 * She is not too keen on long-range planning, but the Rev. Linda Glenn, immediate past moderator of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and first woman minister to serve in that position, is a strong advocate for tuning in to the signs of the times in order to participate in God's plan right now, according to her sermon Monday night.
Glenn, pastor of the Humboldt (TN) Cumberland Presbyterian Church, preached during the second joint worship service of three Presbyterian denominations that are holding concurrent General Assemblies: Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America and Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
"You know how to see a change in the weather," Glenn said summarizing Jesus' words in Luke 12 according to The Message, a contemporary translation of the Bible. "So don't tell me you can't see the signs of times in the God-season we are in right now."
Glenn illustrated the concept by noting how people in western Tennessee have changed how they view the weather and thus behave differently. Before deadly tornados struck in January, people didn't know how to interpret the signs that precede those types of storms, she said.
"If you ignore the coming of a tornado, it doesn't protect you from the wind."
She said unwanted consequences might occur if people ignore the trouble in the church. And she suggested long-rang planning may not be as helpful as leaders hope.
"For those of you who like to plan your day," she said, "have you ever had one day that goes according to your plans?"
Since we cannot predict changes in the world, the market or our lives, Glenn said the good news is that the church still has an opportunity to seek God's plans.
"It is about God's mission, not even the church's mission," she said. "The question is, 'Will the church be a part of God's mission?' "
The 90-minute service included traditional elements of worship and music that repeatedly prompted a variety of expressions of praise, from applause to foot stomping. Music was performed by the Bethel (TN) College's Renaissance Singers and a mother-daughter duet, Christina Roland and Joanna Wilkinson, members of Birmingham's Rocky Ridge Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
With a broad smile, the Rev. Neal Presa, PC(USA), concluded the service with a charge he heard from a Methodist bishop from Korea, "You know what to do, now get out of here!"
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