In this episode, Pastor Mark talks vacation and keeping the Sabbath including hospitality to others, even those who are not family.
Pastor Mark is a Christian Pastor, author, blogger, and sometimes background actor. He brings all of his years of life experience to ask spiritual questions about the ordinary events of life.
Go to this link to hear the podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/pastormarkchat/1083910/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2023 Blog #33
August 21, 2023
Vacation Blogs 3 of 5
Sabbath Is For Hospitality
This is my third week of my Sabbath month and I am feeling more relaxed than I have been since last summer when I enjoyed such a vacation. One of the most wonderful things that I have experienced, and given, is hospitality. Hospitality, whether given or received is something to celebrate on Sabbath.
Each week at First Reformed Church of Wynantskill, NY I am extended tremendous hospitality with fine food, good coffee and incredible conversation. It certainly helps that my wife grew up in this church and her father pastored there for twenty years. Nevertheless, the welcomes are warm and although I only see these people one month a year it feels like I see them every day. I began to wonder if I should extend hospitality to the extent that I receive it.
Next door to my lake house is a long-time resident of the lake community. He has had many difficulties in life including debt issues and some family estrangements. He feels lonely at times, and a bit remorseful and guilty over a few things from the past. He has a good heart and has helped me a number of times in August acclimating to life near the lake. In the past few years his health has declined and he is unable to continue with the part-time job that got him out of the house each day.
Several neighbors helped him get on the local Meals on Wheels so that nutrition would not be an issue for him. Several neighbors take turns bringing him food and chatting with him. He lives mostly in his chair and rarely gets out of it.
The neighbor who most often brings him food was going to be away a few days and asked me to bring the neighbor a plate of food after each dinner. It seemed to me that he might like some company so instead of bringing food to him I invited him to our dinner table and he gratefully accepted.
It was difficult helping him get up and get out. He needed a walker to walk up to the house and he took some time to get up our steps, into the house and be seated at the table. It certainly took effort to have him come but it was worth it. He sat at the table as he enjoyed eating in community instead of alone. Rather than listening to TV noise in the background, he heard the sounds of noisy children and their antics. He seemed to enjoy it as he remembered happier times with his family.
Entertaining my neighbor has become a regular event during this vacation. The fellowship seemed to do more good for him than the nutrition and socialization is always better than isolation. It also did me a lot of good. It allowed me the chance to be hospitable in return for all the times that I have received hospitality. There were times when he wasn’t feeling able to make the walk to our house and I missed him when he wasn’t there. He is always good company.
I do hope that when my vacation ends I will not forget this lesson in hospitality. If all of us as well as our faith communities showed good hospitality how much better and stronger would we all be? May hospitality be something that we all practice each and every day.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Vacation #Sabbath
#Hospitality #Relationships
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please look at his website:
In this episode, Pastor Mark talks vacation and keeping the Sabbath that God requires of us and how keeping the Sabbath can be such a blessing to us and our Families.
Pastor Mark is a Christian Pastor, author, blogger, and sometimes background actor. He brings all of his years of life experience to ask spiritual questions about the ordinary events of life.
Go to this link to hear the podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/pastormarkchat/1074932/
Sabbath Is For Family
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2023 Blog #33
August 14, 2023
Vacation Blogs 2 of 5
Sabbath Is For Family
This is my second week of my Sabbath month and it is magnificent. I have put aside my work and am enjoying life in my cabin by the lake. Last week I wrote, and podcasted about taking time for God. This week I want to talk about taking time for family. My sabbath is about family also.
It has been fun to entertain my oldest Grandson this past week. We have enjoyed spending time together, going on trips, and doing bonding activities of many varieties. But my family time has been more than that. Last night I spent the evening with all three of my grandsons, their parents, and even my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Needless to say, my small cabin was very crowded.
My kitchen table holds six people but there were twelve people gathered around the table for dinner. We brought in a second table and chairs from the backyard. The small cabin was bursting with people and the noise that comes from three young children. There was not a moment when things were quiet. Other people might view this as a problem or at least a nuisance. Not me. I view the noise and chaos as a blessing.
I want my grandchildren to be loud when they are enjoying themselves. I want the whole family to be crowded into a small place. What is the alternatives to these activities? Not having the family gathered in one place! Not having children enjoying life being kids and instead feeling uncomfortable during family gatherings! Would anyone wish that?
In our society, we find ourselves busy with work and activities, often at the expense of our relationships and families. Sabbath is a time to affirm and re-kindle these familial relationships. Such relationships require time spent with one another and there is no substitute for time. We are the people that we are because people older than ourselves formed relationships with us, taught us and mentored us. Now it is our turn to foster relationships with those family members younger than us.
Yes, it was work to set up our dinner. Yes, there was a lot of cleanup to do following the meal. Yes, the noise could be annoying at times. But we gave the family, especially the children, memories that will last for lifetimes. If good relations are formed within families, all the work and inconvenience is more than worth it.
Sabbath is for families do we neglect our families or take time to nurture relationships with family members. What a blessing it was to feed the crazy, noisy family members.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Vacation #Sabbath
#HonoringGod #Family
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please look at his website:
Our daily devotional is a re-post with permission from Words Of Hope. Come view our website at www.clintonave.org.
Seeing the Invisible
Read: Hebrews 11:1-3
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (v. 1)
Planting a garden is an act of hope. When I plant a seed in my garden, I don’t know if we’ll get heavy rain and the seed will be flooded away, or if we’ll have too much heat when the plant is young and it will be scorched, or if the weather will be just perfect for growth.
I also don’t know what will happen to me in the time it takes that seed to grow. I trust that I’ll be around to see it bear fruit. And yet I still plant the seeds. I trust that the rhythms that God breathed into life at creation will continue and that this tiny seed will produce new life.
Our faith in God is also an act of hope. We don’t see God face to face, but we see the evidence of his work in our midst. It’s obvious that everything in the world is not the way God intended it to be, but we can see the rhythms and designs of creation in the world around us.
We see brokenness, but we also see God’s care for us in the love of those around us. We may not see it, but we trust that God is working to reconcile everything back to himself (Col. 1:20). We believe this because God’s Word tells us it’s so. Faith is trusting that God’s Word is true and that God will keep his promises.
As you pray, ask God to help you have faith in him.
A new episode of Pastor Mark Cast is uploaded for you. Please follow this link to listen: https://rss.com/podcasts/pastormarkchat/1066864/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2023 Blog #32
August 6, 2023
Vacation Blogs 1 of 4
Sabbath Is For God
Each year I spend my summer vacation in August through the first Sunday of September. I really love this time away. It is my sabbath. I always find it to be refreshing and it recharges my energy. After such a time away I am once more ready and able to lead the busy fall schedule. I find this downtime very helpful in keeping myself from getting overwhelmed and, ultimately, burned out.
I believe that there is a reason that God mandated that we take a sabbath. Sabbath is good for us. Jesus himself said that the Sabbath was created by God to benefit humans. It is not to be a burden to us, but a joy. I think that it is a pity that so few people in our culture honor the Sabbath. It is good for us.
There are two aspects to the Sabbath requirement. The first is to do no work. The second is to dedicate the day to God. It is far too easy to get so wrapped up in our work that we neglect to take a Sabbath. It is just as easy to take a Sabbath day and dedicate it to our own leisure and to forget about God. For us to take a proper Sabbath, we must put aside work as well as to honor God.
Yesterday, I sat in the First Reformed Church in Wynantskill and had the chance to truly honor God. It is hard for ministers to really worship and honor God each Sunday as we scurry around to prepare and lead worship. It is a rare pleasure to sit and worship and honor God. I did this, and will continue to be a congregational worshiper during my vacation. It is quite energizing to hear someone else preach from a new perspective than the one I bring.
By the standards of Orthodox Judaism, my Sabbath really is not one at all. I started the day by cooking food; a violation if I was Orthodox and Jewish. I also drove my car, yet another violation. It reminds me of being in Jerusalem at the Western Wall during the Sabbath. One member of our group kept a written diary of our trip. She was asked to stop writing as writing is considered “work.” I began to take a picture of the Western Wall and was also asked not to do so. This is considered “work” also, even though photography is a hobby for me, not work.
My Sabbath also would not live up to my mother’s definition of Sabbath when I was in Grammar school. My sister and I were not allowed to go out and play on Sunday. We were to stay inside and read our Bibles. She felt that she was rather liberal in Sabbath. We were allowed to read our Bibles anywhere in the house. When she was a child she had to stay in her room to read her Bible each Sunday.
No, I don’t do Sabbath to my mother’s extent nor do I live up to the expectations of Orthodox Judaism. Yet, I found my Sabbath to be very refreshing. I did not work. I sat in the pew and worshipped. I enjoyed more time to simply “be” with God, family and friends.
Sabbath is good. I hope that anyone who reads this or listens to my podcast who does not honor the Sabbath will begin honoring it. The joy and refreshment that we experience will be ours.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Vacation #Sabbath
#HonoringGod #Worship
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please look at his website:
In this episode, Pastor Mark talks about new leadership taking over a mission that he has been a part of for years and celebrates passing the torch.
PastorMarkCast passing the torch. In this episode, Pastor Mark talks about new leadership taking over a mission that he has been a part of for years and celebrates passing the
Pastor Mark is a Christian Pastor, author, blogger, and sometimes background actor. He brings all of his years of life experience to ask spiritual questions about the ordinary events of life.
Go to this link to hear the podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/pastormarkchat/1058409/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2023 Blog #31
July 31, 2023
Passing The Torch; What’s Next?
For five or six years now our congregation, in conjunction with the UCC congregation in the nearby town of Cresskill, has been doing a lunch program for day laborers in our town. This originally was funded by a Lilly grant but now depends on donations from the congregations as well as outside donations. Our rhythm has always been that we make lunches on Wednesday and distribute them on Thursdays. My Spanish is far from fluent but it is better than the other volunteers, so our distribution was dependent on me, and one other volunteer from the Cresskill congregation. This changed in January, and again last week.
In January, our procedure changed as Ivan Gil came to our congregation with the mission of beginning a Spanish-speaking congregation, nested within our congregation. He joined me in distributing these lunches and our interactions with the day-laborers deepened because of his Spanish fluency. Increasingly, I found myself holding the boxes of lunches as he did the talking.
This past week I received a “demotion” from box carrier to “chauffeur.” Two of the young men from the fledgling Spanish-speaking worshiping group joined Ivan and I in the distribution. Now three people were able to interact and invite these laborers to join this small group of worshipers. One of these young men held the box of lunches. My job was simply to drive around and offer encouragement. I wonder how long this trio will want me to be part of this group. Clearly they will be able to do without me when the new volunteers are familiar with the routine. In terms of this project, I may become obsolete.
So, should I feel hurt that I can be replaced? Should my ego be wounded by these three taking over a task that I have been such a part of for so many years? Or should this be a celebration that a new generation of leaders is rising up with language skills that I do not possess? I prefer this “passing of the torch” to be a celebration of new, young, leadership.
When the day comes when I am not needed on this project I know that God will give me some other job to do. What will it be? I do not have a clue but I know that God will not keep me idol for long. With the surrendering of this mission, I am quite confident that God has another mission in mind for me. At the right time, God will tell me.
The book of the Bible, Ecclesiastes, tells us that “for everything there is a season.” When one season ends, another begins. We do God and our neighbors, a dis-service if we try to hang onto tasks and projects after we are no longer functional. Sometimes it is best to let go and start new adventures as God directs us.
Do we trust God to give us something new to do? If so, we can easily let go of what we are doing. If we have no such trust in God, then letting go is difficult to do. Our egos will tell us to hold on long after it is good for us to let go.
Do you trust God? If so, be willing to “pass the torch” at the right time and pick up a new torch, also at the right time. If we trust God and are resilient, we will do great things to bless our community and honor God.
Go to this link to hear the podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/pastormarkchat/1049327/
