I grew up in a church-going, Bible-reading family. From a very young age, I was expected to read 10 verses a night before going to bed. I attended Sunday School as a child and taught Sunday School as an adult. I know my Bible stories pretty well. In fact, the only time I excel at Jeopardy is when “Bible” is one of the categories.
 
There was a time when everyone knew the basic Bible stories. That’s not as common anymore. Although many people own a Bible, few have actually read it. The Bible has shaped our language, our culture, and our faith, but it’s a largely misunderstood book.
 
At my church, we have embarked on a year-long “Journey through the Bible,” to introduce the key stories and people in this fascinating book. It’s a challenging undertaking. The Bible is a complex and very long book. Our goal is to help people open up their Bibles and explore these fascinating stories on their own. We offer suggested reading guides and links to videos and other resources, and we meet once a month to discuss what we’re discovering.
 
We started at the beginning, with the stories in Genesis and Exodus. From the very first pages, we realized that there is so much more to these stories than what we learned as children. The biblical stories are so complex that one can discover something new no matter how many times they are read.
 
In Genesis and Exodus, we met Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and his family, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Jacob’s twelve sons (especially Joseph), and Moses. In the very first pages, we discovered new things in these familiar stories. Did you know there are two very different accounts of creation, with completely different narratives? But in both, it is clear that it was God’s intention for humans to live in harmony with God and with all creation. By page 3, however, it all fell apart when Adam and Eve gave in to temptation. But God, although angry and disappointed, didn’t give up on them.
 
We read the Noah story, which is often depicted in picture books with cute animals on the ark, and found that it is actually a very dark, disturbing story of humans’ failures and of God’s attempt to start over. Noah, a good man whom God chose to save from the floods, followed God’s instructions up to a point, but then acted atrociously after the water receded. And yet God again gave humankind another chance.
 
We saw God choose Abraham and Sarah to be the forebears of a great nation, making a covenant with Abraham that his descendants would be God’s chosen people. God’s unusual choice of Abraham as “the father of nations” showed how God selected regular people to carry out his vision of a whole relationship with God and humankind.
 
We met Jacob and Esau, and questioned why God would approve of the second son’s deception of his older brother to steal his birthright. We pondered why Joseph, the youngest son of Jacob, would be raised up to power over his brothers. We explored the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, only for the people to grumble, complain, and defy God.
 
We moved into the history books and saw over and over how God’s people disappointed God and how over and over God forgave them and gave them more chances. We saw a theme develop as God never gave up on his people. Time and again, God showed them a way to restore the perfect relationship that was present at creation. Time and again, the people messed up. And time and again, God corrected them, forgave them, and gave them more chances.
 
The stories in the Bible turn the expected norms upside down, with God patiently loving obstinate, flawed, and imperfect individuals in the hopes of restoring the relationship between God and humankind. As we enter the season of Advent, we will see the story continue as God chooses a carpenter and an unwed pregnant teenager to give birth to the Messiah who will bring God’s kingdom to earth in a new way.
 
As we continue our journey through the Bible, we meet a God who loves imperfect people and who continues to hold out the vision of a better world. We meet a God who doesn’t give up on love. What makes the Bible so compelling is that the story continues to this day.

NOTE: 
Would you like to join the journey? You can find suggested readings and videos at www.westminsterauburn.org/journey-through-the-bible or follow Westminster’s Facebook page at facebook.com/westminsterauburn. The church can provide a Bible to anyone who’d like one.
 

by Jill Fandrich

​For Christians, love is an action verb. Being a Christian is not just about believing certain things. It is about putting God’s love into action by serving others, righting wrongs, and making the world a better place.
 
What does it mean to put your faith into action? It can be small acts of kindness every day. It can be working with others to make our community cleaner and beautiful. It can be sharing food with others. It can be helping build a home for someone without one. There are many opportunities in our community for putting your faith into action. Auburn is a caring community, and many organizations would love your help Saturday, May 22 in the 2021 Day of Service.  
 
On Saturday morning, May 22, you are invited to work alongside others (masked and/or at safe distances, of course) to make our community better. Afterwards, share in a free picnic lunch downtown with live music by Perform 4 Purpose, hosted by Westminster Church and Saints Peter and John.
 
Here are some of the options for community service:
 
BID Downtown “Flower Power” Spring Planting Day
9am until done, starting at Exchange Street for instructions
 
Downtown Auburn is brightened by colorful flowers throughout the summer growing in huge self-watering planters on city sidewalks. Help is needed to plant flowers. Bring gardening gloves and any gardening tools you like to work with. Contact Stephanie DeVito at Stephanie@auburndowntown.org or 315-252-7874 for more information.
 
Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity Work Day
8am-12pm at 144 Wall Street
 
Habitat for Humanity puts God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope. The Cayuga County chapter is rehabilitating a home at 144 Wall Street for a new family, and welcomes volunteers ages 18 and up. Wear work clothes and close-toed shoes. Numbers are limited due to COVID, and pre-registration is required; email kip.coerper@cayugahabitat.org.
 
Westminster Church Property Work Day
9am-12pm at 17 William Street
 
Our own church has a variety of tasks and chores for all ages and skills, both inside and outside the building. We welcome volunteers of all skill levels to keep our downtown church safe, clean, and in good repair. Wear work clothes and close-toed shoes; bring garden gloves for landscaping. We will also need volunteers to help prepare and serve the lunch which will be offered this day.
 
Auburn Beautification Park Pick Up at Veterans Memorial Park
9am-12pm at Veterans Memorial Park on Genesee St
 
Volunteers are needed to clean and detail the Veteran's Memorial Park/Pomeroy Park next to the Cayuga County Office Building on Genesee Street. They will be picking up trash, raking and planting flowers to get the park ready for Memorial Day. Volunteers are asked to check-in on the Genesee Street side of Veteran's Park. If you or your group would like to adopt another park to pick-up on this day, please email info@beautifulauburn.org and they will assist you in the effort.
 
CNY Tomatofest Canned Food Drive
10am to 2pm at BOCES
Donations of canned food are being collected at the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES campus to benefit local food pantries. This drive is co-sponsored by the Auburn Police Department, the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Department, and CIAO.
 
Free Lunch at Westminster Church
11:30am-12:30pm at 17 William Street
 
Westminster Church and the soup kitchen at Saints Peter and John invite everyone to take a break from their hard work to share a free picnic lunch of hot dogs, sides, drinks, and dessert (with some vegetarian options too) on the church’s front lawn. Meals will be bagged “to go,” but outdoor seating will also be provided. Perform 4 Purpose will be providing live music from 11:30am to 12pm.
 
There’s a popular hymn from the 1960s called “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” It includes the verse,
“We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride,
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
 
We hope to see many people out in full force next Saturday working side by side to make our community a better place.
 
See you at the 2021 Day of Service! 

by Jill Fandrich

Ashes. Dirt. Bread. Crumbs. Stones. Water. Oil. Coins. Wind.

We can find God in these ordinary things.

We often think our faith develops in mountaintop moments of great glory and revelation. Or we associate God with the beauty of magnificent cathedrals, sun drenched stained glass, and silver chalices. We think we have to be in a holy place to find God. But God is with us in the every day, and this Lent we are discovering how.

Every year, Westminster Church offers a Lenten Soup & Study series, gathering for a simple meal on Wednesday evenings and reflecting on how we find God in our lives. Past years have explored finding God in music, service, traditions, art, meditation, science, and prayer. Because we cannot gather in person, we are holding this year’s Soup & Study on Zoom, and our discussions are based on a beautiful book by Jill Duffield called Lent in Plain Sight.  It’s a perfect book for this Lenten season, as we have spent the past 12 months confined to our homes and isolated from friends and family, which has forced us to find God in new ways. There’s been a lot of “ordinary” in this extraordinary year, and we are finding God is there with us.

Take ashes and dust, for instance. The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, at which we hear the words “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” It is a stark reminder of our mortality, but also one of hope, as the pastor marks our foreheads with the sign of the cross in ashes. This year, we distributed “drive-through ashes” in the church parking lot. 

We’ve all had plenty of reminders of mortality in this pandemic year. Every day, we have watched the death tolls on the news, and we have experienced loss on more personal levels. Death has been all around us. Our small congregation of 175 members said painful goodbyes to 15 of our beloved members this past year. Yet we find God in the ashes of grief, remembering the joys and love that was shared, and finding faith in the promise of resurrection. We see God in ashes.

Bread is another ordinary object in which we can find God. Like many people, I have taken up bread baking this past year, both as a diversion and as a way to avoid going to the store. Watching the yeast foam is like watching something come alive. Kneading dough is comforting. Watching it rise feels triumphant. Baking bread takes patience and effort, but it produces a simple, delicious food that nourishes and fills us. Bread is nothing short of a miracle-- a simple, everyday miracle, like breathing and growing and living.

Bread is one of the elements of communion, one of the two sacraments in the Presbyterian Church.  In communion, we break bread and eat it, remembering Jesus’ words to his disciples at his last supper with them to “Do this and remember me.” Traditionally, when we shared communion in church, we would pass a silver tray with little cubes of bread and tiny cups of grape juice. This past year, in online worship, we gathered up bread (or crackers or cookies) and juice (or coffee or water) from our own kitchens, and shared communion together in front of our computer screens. Strangely, I found that communion took on a deeper meaning for me this way. We were sharing real food—simple items which nourish and comfort us-- to remember Jesus. It seemed closer to what Jesus did with his disciples, taking the bread from the table in front of him and saying “This is my body.” An ordinary thing becomes sacred. We see God in bread.  

How do we see God in ordinary things? We slow down and pay attention. We name the object and think about what it does and what it represents.  Jill Duffield suggests asking yourself the question “What do you take for granted?” and then taking a moment to see common objects as gifts from God and saying a prayer of thanks. Take water, for instance. Plain ordinary water is the substance that makes up 60% of our bodies (and the planet), that refreshes us, cleans us, makes plants grow, and keeps us alive. Thank God for water!
​
This Lent, look around you. God is in the simple, common, ordinary things which surround you. God is in plain sight every day.
 

by Rev. Patrick Heery

​Two weeks ago, Westminster Presbyterian Church celebrated Scout Sunday, in honor of the 12th point of the Scout Law, which declares that a Scout is reverent. It’s a day for thanking our Scouts, leaders, and families for their service to the community. While different this year because of COVID, this is always a fun and special service. We raise money to combat hunger and to support our Scouts, many of whom come from neighboring low-income families who work really hard and give in many ways and yet can’t afford the ever-increasing fees and cost of equipment. As an Eagle Scout myself, I especially love this service.

I remember, as a Scout, hiking in the woods, a compass in my hand, camping in the snow, s’mores on the fire. I remember service projects of mapping new trails, building footbridges, and cleaning up streets. I remember the sound of the bugle at dawn, swimming in the lake, leading my troop in prayer, making great pots of stew and chili and scrambled eggs. I remember learning to orient myself in the pitch dark of night and playing capture the flag beneath the stars. I remember all of this with love.

But this year, we felt compelled in our Scout Sunday service to be mindful that there are some whose memories of Scouting are not so loving. There were the Scouts and leaders who were excluded on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity. There were those who never internalized the moral responsibilities of Scouting, who thought it was all guns and arrows and power, the Scouts (and yes, I remember this too) who while at camp threw rocks at animals and laughed. Then, last year, the BSA filed for bankruptcy due to lawsuits, accusing leaders of the most heinous evil (many of those accusations of abuse tragically true). It makes you wonder: Is Scouting really worth saving?

I say, Yes. It is worth saving. But it is also worth changing. It is worth saving only if it is willing to be held accountable for past wrongs and become something better. Here are four reasons.

First, Scouting is one of the few opportunities new generations have to experience nature. There are in nature truths of God and of self that cannot be discerned elsewhere. There is a plethora of research revealing that free, unscripted play in nature is vital to the formation of imagination, critical thinking, compassion, and independence. Moreover, as humanity faces its greatest threat in climate change, Scouting is equipping our children with the love and the knowledge necessary to fight this threat.

Second, Scouting is about character. It’s there in the Scout Law: trustworthiness, kindness, bravery, reverence. So much emphasis is made these days on the accumulation of information, skills, power, and wealth, that we have forgotten the need to shape our children—and indeed ourselves—in morality. Here, in this age of relativism and hate, are children learning to serve principles higher than themselves, more important than their pleasure or their privilege.

Third, Scouting tells every child: you matter. When I became a Scout I was a shy, bullied kid with a speech impediment. And it’s not that Scouting suddenly made all that better. But Scouting gave me people who believed in me, challenged me. When we look at the ills of the world, how many of them come down to people who are hurting and use that to hurt others? If we really want to save the world, we should build up people’s internal sense of worth.

Fourth, Scouting is about teamwork. Scouting teaches collaboration, provides community, reveals that there are some things, often the best things, that can only be achieved together. Almost all of the points of the Scout Law are about how you treat others: with honesty, with loyalty, with kindness. In a world of me-me-me, we need more of the servant’s heart.

Look, I don’t care if the organizations survive—BSA, Girl Scouts, whatever—anymore than I care whether the Presbyterian Church survives. These are but fallible institutions, and they must be held accountable. Abuse and discrimination must never be tolerated. What I think we cannot afford to lose is Scouting itself.

We must save it, and we must change it. Already, Scouting is becoming more inclusive and implementing safeguards and protocols to ensure the accountability of our leaders and the safety of our children. Already, Scouting is changing. It looks different. Good! It should. Only then is it worth saving.

by Shavonn Lynch
​If ever there was a time when we needed each other to survive, the time is now. Isolation and social distancing have taken a toll on people’s psyche and mental health. As a global pandemic rages on, gathering as a community seems like a forbidden idea as we are unable to gather outside our homes, in churches, in restaurants and bars, or in sports arenas. There is a sense of longing unfulfilled to engage and interact with others in meaningful and purposeful ways.
People are social beings created to be in community with each other and yet many of us find ourselves alone.  However, if we are confined by what shape or form a community must take then we will find find ourselves feeling hopelessness and despair.  This past year, 2020 showed me that there are many ways to be community, to share love, and to care for one another without being confined by isolation or social distancing. My faith teaches me that the true measure of a community of faith is not found inside the four walls of the sanctuary. The true measure of a faith community is boundless, without walls, it stretches as far as God’s love.
During this time of isolation and social distancing what has kept me, a single woman, from hopelessness and despair is God’s love that is shown through the women of Refresh. Refresh is a woman’s group which I started at Westminster Church a few years ago to give women  in the community a safe and supportive space to be together, share questions and ideas, and grow in faith. It began as a small group which would meet one Saturday morning a month in the church social room. By the grace of God and the wonders of modern technology, the women of Refresh now gather as a virtual community, no matter the distance between us. As a virtual community, we continue to explore our spiritual faith formation. Our numbers have actually grown, and we now welcome many for whom in-person meetings were impractical or impossible.
 I have found that belonging to Refresh, has done just that; refreshed me. When I started Refresh pre-pandemic, I could not have imagined how important this community of women would be to my overall mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual health.  Through reading the Word of God, studying topics of faith, hope, love, and the church; and holding each other in prayer and love, we strengthen, encourage, and inspire one another to grow not only in our relationships with each other but with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Although we miss the days of gathering in the social room at Westminster Presbyterian Church praying, studying, fellowshipping, and drinking coffee together, we know that God is with every one of us whether we gather at our kitchen tables or sit comfortably in our favorite chairs.  
Currently we are completing a study on the letter to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. We will collectively discern our next topic of study. We have been meeting virtually approximately twice a month (still on Saturday mornings) during the pandemic to encourage, nurture, strengthen and care for one another as we talk, share our concerns, pray, study, and yes drink coffee. Despite our distance and physical separation, we can continue to hold each other in prayer and love. God’s grace and love sustains in our absence one from another. We carry that grace and love with us through the days and weeks we are apart.
If you are interested in learning more about Refresh, please contact me at Refreshwithin@yahoo.com.
Shavonn Lynch is an ordained deacon and elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Auburn. She is a graduate of Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College with a Masters of Divinity.  

by Jill Fandrich

November 29 is the first Sunday of the new church year, which begins with the season of Advent, the time leading up to Christ’s birth. How different Advent was last year compared to now.   

Last year at this time, we gathered for our traditional “Greening of the Church” festivities, hanging wreaths, putting up trees, and setting out nativities, banners, and candles, after which we went to a member’s home to celebrate with food and drink. During December worship, we carried the banners down the aisles, lit the candles on the Advent wreath, and sang carols. We held our annual Deacons Brunch, gathering in the Great Hall of the church to share food and fellowship. Our kids dressed in costume each Sunday, telling the Christmas story in a series of mini-pageants. We held special services for Longest Night and Christmas Eve. We sat closely together in the pews, shared food, sang hymns, shook hands, hugged, and laughed, blissfully unaware that these would soon be things of the past.

A year later, the sanctuary sits empty on Sunday mornings while we worship together in front of our computer screens in our homes, connected through Facebook Live (and the Holy Spirit). The huge trees and church decorations will stay in their storage boxes. Instead, the pastor will light the candles on the Advent wreath each Sunday on livestreamed worship. We will put together a “virtual Christmas pageant,” using pictures and photos contributed by members and friends. Our Longest Night Service, which is needed more than ever this year, will be livestreamed from the sanctuary on December 21, still proclaiming the “light which shines in the darkness,” but in a new way.  We are distributing candles, Christmas hymnals, devotionals, and small gifts to our members so they can worship from home. Rather than seeing hundreds of handheld candles flickering in a darkened sanctuary on Christmas Eve, we will light our candles at home, connected online as we celebrate Christ’s birth separately, and yet at the same time, together.

Part of me feels saddened by these differences, but a part of me rejoices too. Of course, I miss my church family and the traditions which have been a part of my life for so many years. But something good is growing out of these changes too. We are learning new ways to be the church of God. We are telling the “old, old story” in fresh new ways. We’re learning not only what we miss, but also what we don’t.

For instance, one of the amazing things we have found since being “forced” to worship online is that it has opened up a whole new community of people beyond our walls.  Our worshiping community includes not only our “regulars,” but also friends and family of members, shut-ins, former members who’ve moved or drifted away, people from out of state, and community folks who never worshiped with us inside our building but who do so regularly now. Online worship is intimate, lively, collegial, and participative. Many prefer it to the “old way.” Even after we return to the sanctuary, we will continue to worship online, incorporating in-person and online community at the same time, and adding some of the spontaneity and intimacy that we’ve come to enjoy.

Churches talk about change a lot. Actually making change happen is harder. Churches are notoriously slow to break out of old patterns. Although 2020 has been hard, it has also given us a gift. We have been forced to do things differently, to try new ways of connecting with others, to take chances, to move forward with hope, and to see that the church exists (in fact thrives) beyond our walls. For that, we are grateful.

​In this time of Advent, we hear again the story of Mary and Joseph receiving unexpected and alarming news that they would give birth to a son who would change the world. They were confused, afraid, and unprepared for what was being asked of them. They traveled the dark and dangerous road to Bethlehem, not knowing where they would lay their heads and not knowing what the future held. And yet they trusted that God was with them. As 2020 comes to a close, with all its unpredictability, pain, and hardship, we begin to live into the changed world before us, and we remember and rejoice that God will be with us too.

​by Rev. Patrick David Heery
 
Some have wondered why a church of God has a sign declaring, “Black Lives Matter.” Some have wondered what business a church has in hosting a vigil for racial justice, or a discussion on immigration, or an action on poverty, or a day in solidarity with domestic violence victims. Some have wondered why this sacred space should be so marred by the contention and discomfort of public issues. Why can’t this just be a nice place to be at peace?
 
It is not a bad question. And we are not the first to ask it.
 
Daniel arap Moi, former president of Kenya, once quipped, “How could subversive documents come from the house of God?” In 1980s postcolonial Kenya, it was a reasonable question. The Kenyan church had never been a source of social change before. With its eyes firmly fixed on heaven, it had ignored the violence, corruption, and white supremacy on earth. The church’s role was to worship and save souls. Social change was not in its jurisdiction.
 
So when Timothy Njoya, a Kenyan pastor of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, preached a sermon on the Gospel of Luke, calling for genuine democracy and the release of prisoners of conscience, he was labeled a “subversive,” banned from radio and television, and eventually detained without trial and tortured.
 
It was at that moment that many expected the church to falter. But something surprising happened. Thousands of Kenyans began going to church, and the church began to awaken. Njoya’s church was overwhelmed with requests for sermons. Njoya says that President Moi gave the gospel a special gift when the government arrested him, “propelling faith to become the forum for change.”
 
Blaine Harden of the Washington Post wrote at the time, “The church has emerged as one of the few institutions willing to challenge the policies of Kenya’s powerful president.” That was because, as one elder from Mombasa put it, “The Presbyterian church gets its theology and government from the Bible and the Holy Spirit, not from the state”—or, as Njoya likes to say, echoing Paul, “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9).
 
To President Moi’s quip, Njoya and Presbyterians all over the world answer: when it comes to the powers and principalities of this world, the house of God is always subversive.
 
As a church, we are never partisan, never Democrat or Republican, but we always, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “seek the welfare of the city” (29:7). We, like our Savior before us, carry our crosses into the streets, and ask what our faith means for the suffering we encounter there. Our Book of Order is clear: “The Church bears witness in word and work that in Christ the new creation has begun, and that God who creates life also frees those in bondage, forgives sin, reconciles brokenness, makes all things new, and is still at work in the world.”
 
The word Protestant comes from the Latin “to witness” and from German Reformers who were dissenters. The word isn’t simply negative, as often used today, but originally meant to protest or testify FOR something or someone.
 
We are called to protest for the new creation that Jesus announced in his ministry and embodied on the cross and in the empty tomb. We are called to challenge any system, be it religious, cultural, or political, that denies the new creation that proclaims liberty for the oppressed, good news for the poor, sight for the blind, and the day of salvation (Luke 4:16-30).
 
We are the disciples of the One who overturned tables, poured out coins, and drove out wrongdoers (John 2:13-22). We are the inheritors of a Reformed tradition that founded public education, sought the abolition of slavery, elevated the rights of women, and was one of the first to ordain and marry LGBTQ persons. We are the flame carriers of revolutionaries like John Witherspoon (the only clergyperson, a Presbyterian, to sign the Declaration of Independence), or like Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who stood in protest of the Nazi regime and died opposing it), or like Martin Luther King Jr. (who overturned a segregated temple and nation). We are a people of protest.
 
To be Protestant is to submit to the subversive, world-turning, life-changing work of God, and then, to tell… everyone. To open their eyes to the tables already smashed, to the people already loved, to the cross already broken and the Christ already risen.

by Jill Fandrich

In 2014, Joan Gray, a Presbyterian pastor and former moderator of the denomination, wrote a book called Sailboat Church. In it, she described two types of churches-- rowboats and sailboats.  Rowboats, she said, are controlled by the power of the people rowing. With enough strength, effort and determination, rowers can move the boat on a fairly straight path in the direction they want it to go, often working against forces which could take them in a different direction altogether. They might reach their goal, but they often exhaust themselves in the effort.  
​
A sailboat church, on the other hand, functions like a sailboat. A sailboat harnesses the power of the wind rather than the brute strength of the sailors. Those controlling the sails and the rudder are in sync with the wind and the water. Sometimes that means tacking back and forth, going sideways in order to go forward. Sometimes the trip can take a long time, because wind can change direction. Sometimes they end up where they didn’t think they were headed.

I read this book when it first came out six years ago. I liked the analogy but could see how in many ways our church was more of a rowboat than a sailboat. We had (and still have) capable, hardworking, and dedicated people who put a lot of energy and time into the work of the church. That’s a good thing, right? But were we putting all our effort into reaching destinations we chose, all the while fighting the tides which might take us elsewhere?

I have a confession to make. I’m a rowboat type myself. I like to feel in control. I like to have a destination and a plan. I don’t deal well with change. I definitely don’t like unknowns. I’m not afraid to work hard, and I like to work with others who do too. I never really liked sailing when my husband tried to teach me years ago. I couldn’t get the hang of reading the wind. It was scary to let the wind take control. I chafed a little when I read this book the first time. I didn’t want our church to be a sailboat church. I thought we were doing just fine rowing along.

Then 2020 happened, and I’m revisiting this analogy. This year, I’d rather be a sailboat than a rowboat.

What happens to boats when they are caught in sudden unexpected storms? Sometimes out of the blue, winds and waves can make a pleasant boat ride terrifying and dangerous. We were traveling along pretty happily in our boats when the pandemic hit in March, buffeting us against the rocks of isolation, job loss, loneliness, economic uncertainty, mental health issues, and change.

Dropping anchor in a storm isn’t a good choice for either rowboats or sailboats. At best, they don’t move, either forward or backward. At worst, they sink, allowing the boat to be washed over by waves.

Skilled sailors have a better chance in a storm than rowers. Rowers would have to work very hard against strong winds or waves, and could expend all their energy just staying afloat. Sailors, however, can use the power of the winds to keep going, if (and this is a big if) they can read the winds correctly. Reading the wind’s direction and working with it will keep the boat not only afloat but moving forward. It might be a wild ride, but it can take the boat to new and exciting places.

In case I haven’t overworked this analogy enough, the “wind” for sailboat churches is the Holy Spirit, which came to the early Christians as a “mighty rush of wind” at Pentecost. Not a gentle breeze, mind you. A mighty rush.

I’m happy to say as we proceed through 2020, we are becoming more capable sailors. This year, we swiftly adapted to new ways to worship, serve, and gather. Online worship turned out to be an unexpected joy, opening our church to people who did not or could not join us in person before and who are now beloved members of our church family. We are free to experiment and try new things. We're taking our lead from God. We're trusting better. We're listening better. We're more in the moment, open to ambiguities and creative potential.

A sailboat church is not only more effective, it’s more faithful. As we let go of the oars, and let the Holy Spirit fill our sails, God only knows where we’ll go from here.
                                                                                                                   

by Audrey McNally and Jill Fandrich
What does Westminster Presbyterian Church have in common with the Washington National Cathedral and the Biltmore, America’s largest private residence? All are homes to an E.M. Skinner pipe organ, crafted by American’s pre-eminent organ builder of the 20th century.
 
Ernest Martin Skinner (1866-1960) was both an artistic and mechanical engineering genius. Using a new and innovative electro-pneumatic system to power the organ, Skinner strove to increase the instrument’s expressive tones and to simulate the sounds of an entire orchestra. His organs were the best money could buy, and they were installed in hundreds of churches, concert halls, universities, and private homes throughout the United States and beyond.
 
A pipe organ is very different in structure from the modern electronic organ that many faith congregations now rely upon. Praised by Mozart as the “king of instruments”, a pipe organ is powerful and complex, with thousands of metal or wooden pipes, each producing a single sound. Only some of these pipes are visible (often those being strictly ornamental), while the ones that create all the different pitches and timbres of sounds are arranged like trees in a forest, hidden in a chamber apart from the console where the organist plays. A wind-raising device, or bellows, often located in the basement, provides the air for what is essentially a gigantic wind instrument.
 
Westminster’s pipe organ, referred to as “Opus 579”, was built in 1926 at the peak of E.M. Skinner’s popularity and influence. The noun “opus” (from the Latin for “work”), followed by a chronological number, is often used to describe a work of art, such as a musical composition. But in this case, “opus plus number” refers to a particular organ, each one having been individually and uniquely crafted for the space in which it was installed.
 
Westminster’s Skinner organ has three keyboards (called manuals) and a pedal board controlling 2,069 pipes. (For comparison, the great organ of the National Cathedral has 10,647 pipes.) At the time of its installation, this organ cost approximately $15,000 and was paid for by donations from among Westminster’s [then] 800+ members. Today, a brand new pipe organ of comparable size and quality would cost over $1,000,000.  The Skinner Opus 579 was dedicated on December 6, 1926, with a recital featuring a guest organist from New York City and a soloist from the Rochester Opera Company. The dedicatory hymn included this verse:
           
            Then through the waking pipes there thrill,
            As love shall touch the keys,
            Now loud and grand, now soft and still,
            The heavenly melodies.
 
Pipe organs and Christian churches share an extensive history. The introduction of church organs is traditionally attributed to Pope Vitalian in the 7th century, and an organ is the emblem of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The pipe organ is ideally suited to accompany human voices, including cantors, choirs, and entire congregations. As Chicago-based organist John Scherer explains, the organ is “great to accompany 1,000 people singing their hearts out – because it can support them and make them sound better”.
 
Although Westminster’s sanctuary can seat nearly 500 worshippers or concertgoers, the sound the pipe organ produces can fill the vast space with a mighty resonance. Our adult children have fond but spine-tingling early memories of nearly jumping from their pews when, during the climactic portion of the Good Friday Tenebrae service (when Jesus dies), the organist would create a terrifying blast of noise by laying the upper part of her body across a good portion of the manuals.
 
Well-built and carefully maintained pipe organs usually last for about 100 years before extensive work or restoration is required.  At 95 years of age, Westminster’s organ has begun to exhibit problems with ciphers, tonal issues, and sound quality. After nearly five years of study by a special committee and evaluations by organ builders and consultants, the Westminster congregation and its leaders have committed to an historical restoration of Auburn’s only Skinner organ to its original condition. Through donations, pledges, foundational grants, and loans in what we have enthusiastically christened our “Ode to Joy” campaign, the organ will be fully restored in 2021 by Kerner & Merchant Pipe Organ Builders of Syracuse.
 
Westminster’s members recognize and affirm the importance of music, and particularly organ music, to our worship experience. For nearly a century, our rare and valuable Skinner organ has been played for countless worship services, funerals, weddings, and community concerts, and we want it to continue to inspire and thrill listeners for many years to come.
 
For additional information about Westminster’s Skinner pipe organ and the “Ode to Joy” campaign, please visit the Ode to Joy Skinner Organ Restoration Campaign page of this website.