PastorMarkCast
In this week’s episode Pastor Mark discusses the shortness of life and how life can change in a split second and ask what would we want our last words, thoughts and actions to be.
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.
https://rss.com/podcasts/pastormarkchat/677059/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #43
October 31, 2022
Life can change in a second
More than twenty years ago I heard the shocking news that a great friend, mentor and minister in the Albany area suddenly collapsed while jogging. He had died instantly of a burst aneurism. It had burst in a split second.
Not look after my mentor died, my mother-in-law was out for her daily walk. As she aged she was conscious of her blood pressure. She took daily walks of one mile and was diligent about taking her blood pressure medication. While walking she suddenly collapsed, the victim of a major stroke. She lived a number years after that but was permanently paralyzed on her left side. She went from mobile to paralyzed in a split second.
Almost three years ago my sister had just dressed for work when she suddenly collapsed and died of a massive heart attack. She died instantly. Her death came also in a split second.
Two weeks ago I was speaking to one of my elders on the phone. Without warning, her speech changed and she said that something was wrong. After the ambulance took her to the hospital it was determined that she had a brain tumor and would require surgery. She is undergoing post-surgical treatment now. In a split second her voice changed from normal to slurry. What a different a second can make.
A week ago a tragedy happened to a young man in a town a few miles from ours. He commuted to New York City every day where he worked as a stagehand for the Metropolitan Opera. He was twenty years old. His backpack got caught in the subway door and he was dragged to his death. His life ended and his family’s world changed in a single second.
Why am I recording all these tragic stories? Because I am reminded that life is fragile and life is short. I suspect that if we all keep this in mind we would all behave better, be kinder to one another, and even our thoughts would be more gentle. Would we want our last action, our last words or our last thought to be our final ones?
We don’t know how many years or days we have left in our lives. We don’t know if our deaths will be sudden, or if they will come after lengthy illnesses. Nobody but God knows the length of our days. We have no control over that. We can control how we live our years. Will our lives bless others and please God or will we think, act, and speak in ways that harm others and disrespect God?
Life can change or end in a second. How well will we be living at our end?
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Tragedy #SuddenDeath
#ChristianLiving #FaithfulLiving
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book:https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
Pastor MarkCast
In this week’s episode Pastor Mark discusses the mentality of “us and them” and asks the questions how does this event give meaning to our lives, bless those around us and help us honor our creator?
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://media.rss.com/pastormarkchat/feed.xml
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #42
October 24, 2022
Reflections on “Us” Vs. “Them”
Every Thursday morning you can find me in places around town handing out lunches to day laborers who come to town for work. In conjunction with another congregation we make the lunches on Wednesday and distribute them on Thursday. Never in my life have I seen such grateful looks from the recipients. You would think that we were giving these men a million dollars. Some start eating immediately making me wonder when was the last time that they ate. I usually give such people a second lunch.
The week after hurricane Ian struck Florida a man in a pickup truck saw us distributing lunches, rolled down his window and began yelling. “Why are you giving them lunches? Give them to Americans. Do you know how many people in Florida are hurting?”
I struggled not to get angry, smiled at him and asked, “will you help us pack supplies for Florida?”
He sped off, nearly hitting me in the process. I was grateful to be a few feet away from his truck. As scared as I was from a near collision, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for he, or anyone else, who saw the world in terms of “them” and “us.” I knew such people in my neighborhood when I was growing up. They tended to be very lonely people.
Depending on to whom I am speaking, the definitions of “us” and “them” changes. “They” can be people of different race or possibly a different ethnic group. Maybe “they” are a of a different political party or a different economic group or age strata. Many people create these definitions, or get taught them as children from their elders. Either way such definitions restrict the experiences and relationships that we can potentially have with newcomers who have a lot of gifts to share.
I celebrate others and can’t wait till all the others are “us.” I worship Jesus Christ, who went out of his way to show that there was no “us” or “them” but only “us.” When we read the Bible stories of Jesus he seemed to go out of his was to reach out to the marginalized, the shunned and the estranged with the intention of drawing them into the circle of “us.”
I am hoping that God’s Spirit descends on our whole country and ends some of this us vs. them thinking. I am hoping that people of good will lead by example in ending the divisions that stand between us and begins to make the whole country “us.” We have a lot to learn from one another and a lot of gifts and blessing to share with each other but we will never gain those benefits as long as we see the world as “us” and “them.”
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#UsVsThem #DayLaborers
#ChristianFaith #JesusChrist
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book:
In this week’s episode of Pastor MarkCast, Pastor Mark discusses the movie “Father Stu” and asks the questions how does this event give meaning to our lives, bless those around us and help us honor our creator?
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.
https://media.rss.com/pastormarkchat
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #41
October 17, 2022
Reflections the NY Mets and Adaptability
As I have said before I am a life-long fan of the NY Mets. I was ten years old when they pulled off the miracle in 1969 and the team ignited the NJ/NYC area. I was equally pleased with those other World Series appearances in 1973, 1986, 2000, and 2015. Even if the team loses in the World Series it is great to see them make it so far.
This year was very optimistic for those of us who are Met fans. We started out strong and had a good lead over the Braves in the first part of the season. Something happened at the All-Star break. The team was never the same after that. I suspect that the trades we made interrupted the chemistry of the team. Other fans from social media fan sites have speculated that the Mets started living off early season laurels and stopped playing up to their capabilities. I hope that this is not true, but too often in human nature we do focus so much on what we have done in the past that we forget to produce in the present.
I once knew a man with mental health issues and addiction issues who refused to get help. He lived his last years in a single room occupancy telling me about the awards and accomplishments that he had received in high school. He never lived in the present, only the past.
I’ve known churches who are declining and do no outreach or mission who can describe the great mission activities that their church engaged in during World War II.
No one loves studying history more than I do. We can learn great things from history if we are willing too. Yet, if celebrating history keeps us from being and doing in the present then we have missed the point of studying history. Learning history helps us perform today and that is the key to success. To thrive we must always learn from the past and adapt to new situations.
It is good when we can reflect on great doings from the past. Rather than keep us stuck in the past I hope that our histories can be motivators to do even better in the present and future. The way to the future is to do well in the present. I hope that we all take that lesson to heart. Innovation and adaptability is what keeps us from being backwashed in life.
I hope that my beloved Mets learn this lesson and earn a few championships next season.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Adaptability #NYMets
#ChristianFaith #HistoryLessons
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book: https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #40
October 10, 2022
Aaron Judge, Judge or Witness
I confess that I am not a fan of the Yankees. My Grandmother trained me to be a Mets fan. My grandmother was a die-hard Dodger Fan and her heart was broken when that team moved to California. When the Giants also left for the West coast, there was a deep void left in the hearts of National League fans. When the Mets were founded they adopted the colors of Dodger blue and Giant Orange to attract National League fans such as my Grandmother. We were encouraged to watch Met’s games on her color TV but Yankee games were strictly forbidden.
Met fan or not, I can’t help but be celebrating the wonderful accomplishment of Aaron Judge who this past week set the record for the most homeruns in a season, excluding steroid users. Aaron did an amazing thing but more than this I am impressed with Aaron Judge as a human being as well as an excellent Christian witness.
Aaron’s life seems to have been charmed from the beginning. Dare I call it “pre-ordained?” At one day old he was adopted by his parents, Patty and Wayne Judge who are both schoolteachers in California. At about the age of ten he realized that he must have been adopted. His height towered over his parents and his skin was darker. He is bi-racial and his adopted parents are Caucasian.
He credits his parents for shaping him into the person that he has become. He credits them with giving him a good start with instilling him with a work ethic. He considers himself a Christian and is not afraid to proclaim it. Each day before games, he prays on the field for each of his teammates but what his specific prayer is he will not disclose. It is his private prayer for them.
His Twitter account clearly proclaims his faith and has the follow Bible verse on it: 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Judge reports that this is his favorite Bible verse. This profile also proclaims: “Christian. Faith, Family, then Baseball.” He also founded the “Aaron Judge All Rise Foundation.” Their mission statement is to “Inspire children and youth to become responsible citizens and encourage them to reach unlimited possibilities.”
I celebrate the skills and gifts of Aaron Judge. More than his skills, I celebrate his character and his striving to lead a Christian Life. He is an example to us all. I encourage all of us who proclaim ourselves to be Christian to live by the example that Aaron Judge shows us. May our lives all point to God and reflect God’s glory.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Redemption #AaronJudge
#ChristianFaith #NYYankees
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book:https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #39
October 3, 2022
Reflections on the Movie “Father Stu”
I saw “Father Stu” on Netflix recently. I am happy that I watched this movie. It was well worth my time even though I found the beginning to be a bit draggy. It has a number of important themes that were raised and that are worth exploring.
The movie follows a man named Stu who is a bit of a rough character. His home life was no prize with the family mourning a long deceased little brother and a father who lives away from the family but still is an alcoholic with abusive tendencies. Stu is a boxer who must stop boxing as this sport has damaged his body.
He goes to Hollywood to become an actor and to attempt to reconnect with his distant father. A vehicular accident leaves him close to death but he has a vision of Jesus’ Mom, Mary, who tells him that he will live and that he must discover how to have a meaningful life for himself and one that honors God. He decides to become a priest.
Some folks are reluctant to let him into seminary because of his background which includes drunk driving offences. He reminds the seminary officials that many devout Christians had less than sterling backgrounds.
He doesn’t fit in well at seminary. He is a bit less well-mannered than his student colleagues. Yet, he is the one that excels at prison ministry. He can talk to inmates in ways that the more cerebral and polished students cannot. The prisoners can relate to him and listen to him.
Finally he develops a muscular degenerative disease that will someday take his life. Contracting this disease may or may not be related to his boxing injuries or from his near fatal accident. His next quest is how to use this illness and the pain and immobility that it brings him to honor God, instead of falling into depression or self-pity. He rises to the challenge and continues to be faithful to God despite his circumstances.
Finally, through his steadfast faith and witness, his parents begin to explore faith and are ultimately baptized. His father even begins to attend 12 step meetings and seeks sobriety. The witness of Father Stu effects many people.
This is a story of a man growing up in disfunction but overcoming it.
This is a story of a man who survived by a miracle.
This is a story about wanting to give his life to God because of this miracle.
This is a story of a church that looks at purity more than redemption and almost loses a great asset.
This is a story of one person who was redeemed and whose life helped change, for the good, many people around him.
What challenges do you face in life? Has someone told you that you were not pure enough or good enough to be close to God? I recommend that you watch this movie and become inspired to imitate Father Stu. I pray that we all learn the lessons that it seeks to teach us. I pray, that you, like Father Stu, rise to honor God despite your circumstances.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#Redemption #FatherStu
#Purity #Vocation
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book: https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #38
September 26, 2022
Celebrating a Paper Bag Resurrection
Not always, but frequently, I eat Wanton soup for lunch on Thursdays. I don’t know how I got into this habit. It just seemed to evolve. It is a soup that I enjoy weekly, especially in cold weather. Until recently my soup was served in a plastic container in a plastic bag. Now, plastic bags are no longer available and my soup container was served in a paper shopping bag. I really like carrying a paper bag again. They are nostalgic for me.
I was a young man when plastic bags first began replacing paper bags in most stores. I remember many older women complain that plastic bags did not keep their shape like the paper bags did. When these bags first came into use, most people I know (myself included) requested a paper bag inside the plastic one. This helped the plastic bags keep their shapes. The use of the paper bags allowed us to use fewer bags and to store our groceries in fewer bags.
Gradually, stores phased out paper bags and went exclusively to plastic bags. The claim was that these plastic bags would save trees by using less paper. I didn’t hear anyone explaining what would happen to all of this plastic that was put in landfills. Most people I knew were angry when paper bags were discontinued. It was a commonly held belief that the stores were using plastic because they were cheaper and not to protect trees.
Now, forty years later, as most communities have mandatory recycling of bottles and cans, the thin plastic bags were not eligible for recycling at households. Instead, stores had bins to collect these. Over these decades I saw very few bags going into these bins and I always wondered if these bags were simply taking up space in landfills.
Now we are back to paper bags as the disposal of plastic has become a real issue. These bags are polluting our earth as they don’t seem to lend themselves to recycling. In short, instead of making paper bags from recycled paper, we shifted to plastic and greatly increased the poisons that we dump into the earth. We didn’t think about the future implications of our impulsive shift from paper to plastic.
When we act impulsively or with short-sighted goals, we often cause negative consequences for future generations. For the sake of people who will be following us in life, we need to think through the implications of our actions. Our actions will have impact upon the future. Let us be careful in what we do so that our actions will have good consequences.
So, will I be using paper bags from stores? Not very often. For years I’ve been using re-usable cloth bags. I believe that these are the best choice.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty #BergenfieldNJ
#UnintendedConsequences #RenewableResources
#ShoppingBags #PaperBags
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book:https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2022 Blog #37
September 19, 2022
An Undeserved Gift at Citi Field
I drove over the George Washington bridge and made my standard snarky remarks about “being in New York City.” I am a Jersey snob after all and spend as little time in New York City as I can. This trip was different, however. I was looking forward to the trip for, although in New York, Citi Field is still a great place to be.
I parked in the VIP section of the lot and walked toward the entrance for “special guests.” After passing through security we were directed toward the “Clover Lounge.” It was there that I began to realize just what a wonderful gift I had been the recipient of. There was an abundance of free food that would rival the food of a wedding reception buffet.
For almost an hour we feasted on beef, shrimp, salad, rice chicken kabobs and that doesn’t include the hotdogs, pretzels, and four different desserts. I lost count of the number of cannoli’s that I ate. I felt more than full when I ate, but not before I brought a few sodas and bags of potato chips with me to our seats.
The seats for the game were the best I had ever sat in. We were on the third base side, four rows from the field. I was fifteen feet from the Pittsburgh ball boy and ten feet away from the field camera and photography booth. The game was even better as Taijuan Walker pitched well enough to win the games as the Mets beat the Pirates.
Did I deserve any of this? No. I didn’t pay for the tickets. Pam received four such tickets as a free gift from Peter B of “The Pulse” who has done some podcasts for “My Sanctuary Healing” and Hudson River Care and Counseling Center. He gave these to us as a free gift. I, Pam, a church deacon and his son, were the recipients of this gift.
This is similar to God’s grace. For those of us who will receive the gift of heaven from God, we must never feel entitled to it or that we have earned or deserved it. It is a gift. How do we respond to gifts? With gratitude. If the Holy Spirit tells us that heaven will be given to us, we are obligated to live lives that honor and show gratitude to God.
It was a great gift that I received on Friday night. I owe a lot of gratitude to Peter B. for his wonderful gift to us.
#ReformedChurchInAmerica #PastorMarkAuthor
#BergenCounty
#BergenfieldNJ
# NY Mets #HudsonRiverCareandCounseling
#MySanctuaryHealing #ThePulsewithPeterB
To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book: https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/
Pastor Mark Author 