26 May 2021
Good day Yorkshire!
This has been an event-filled week for our family as we are celebrating our son Brayton’s graduation from Northeastern High School. I know several folks are having the same type of week as Sarah Berman, Jacob Wingard, and Michaela Monticchio are also graduating from high school this week or in the next week or so, as well. For us, tonight was Baccalaureate, tomorrow is an awards function, and then Friday morning (yes, 9AM), is graduation. We are very proud of our son and all of those that will be graduating with him- especially with what they have had to persevere their year in completing this final year. I am looking forward to our Graduate Recognition Sunday on June 6th, during our 9AM Worship hour where we will also be recognizing our students that are graduating from college this year.
We are still in need of Preschool Teachers and Teacher Aides for our Joyful Noise Christian Preschool. We are extending our recruiting efforts in as many ways as we can. So, if you know anyone that may be interested, please let Director Julie Mann know. She and Barb Snare are working hard in screening and interviewing prospective candidates, but have not yet found the right folks. Keep this effort in prayer as we have an ever- growing enrollment of students seeking a Christian preschool experience! Thank you for your assistance!
This weekend, we will be celebrating Memorial Day. We often look forward to Memorial Day as the official start of summer, an opportunity for a three-day weekend. But the observance of Memorial Day is so much more than hotdogs, hamburgs, and the opening of the pool. Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
The gospel writer John records Jesus’s own words in speaking about dying for a cause- specifically the cause of one’s friends. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13, NIV). The American military is known as the only military in the world where men and women voluntarily serve their country, and are willing to die not only for their friends, but for the rights of their fellow citizens and the freedoms that we still cherish. What also differentiates the American Soldier is that they do this willingly to protect the sovereign rights of other nations, as well.
As we remember the great men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for others, we also have to remember that the greatest interest of those who enter the portals of combat is peace. The American Soldier trains very hard, not in hopes to go to war, but for the purpose of being prepared in case such services are
required to preserve the freedoms we hold so dear. It is also the high level of training that keeps our enemies at bay, as they know the formidable force that they represent.
As the church, I often wonder what the impact would be if we trained as hard in our faith, as the soldier does for potential combat. What if we knew the Scriptures so well that the enemy dared to confront us, knowing that our strength existed not only in our individual preparedness, but the power of our united fellowship, as well. What if we, the church, were willing to commit hours of effort in preparing to serve the Church of Jesus Christ, seeking to not only preserve our freedoms as Christians, but to be willing ambassadors for Jesus on the spiritual battle fields of this world? The American Soldier trains so that if needed, he/she is ready, willing and able to confront the enemy, and die for the cause of a nation. Is the church so prepared for the cause of Christ?
The good news is that I don’t believe that many of us will be called to make the ultimate sacrifice in our effort to serve the church. But what a difference we can and will make through our training–meaning our study of the scriptures, daily devotions, and time in prayer, right! Jesus commanded us to carry out some specific tasks to further His Kingdom here on earth, and as we have been studying in our worship on Sunday mornings, He will be with us in all that we do. The training we receive comes at the hand of the Holy Spirit who resides within our heart – there is nothing that we can’t accomplish, there is no enemy that we can’t stand down.
Joshua 1:9 states, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
A tradition that I learned from a veteran in my former church was that we are to take a moment at 3PM on Memorial Day, a minute to be exact, to specifically honor and remember, in silence, the fallen. My challenge is this, take this moment at 3PM, and spend it in prayer- prayer not only for our historically fallen veterans, but for those veterans and families that are facing such sacrifices even as we celebrate on this day.
Peace and Blessings to each of you on this Memorial Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
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