Thinking about Legacy
The 2017 North Danvers Uno Tournament is in the books, and Chloe Hilt was our first ever trophy winner. Thanks so much to Twila Eickhorst and the entire hospitality team for putting on such a fun evening. For me the best part was seeing all different ages—both old friends, and people who had just met—playing, talking, and laughing together. More than one person said last night that they hope it’s something that we do again.
In the Children’s Story yesterday Gordon Bidner reminded the young people (and the rest of us), about the importance of legacy. There are those who have faithfully led the way before us at North Danvers. Now it’s our turn to faithfully serve and continue our testimony to our communities. We also need to make sure that young people are being nurtured and given opportunities to see the way before them. This is why it is so important that at North Danvers there are opportunities for the whole family. We have Sunday School for all ages. We have Mission Kids and Children’s Story during our worship services. We want to have activities in which young people can engage.
In the Adult Sunday School this Spring we are studying the books of Psalms and Proverbs. One of the repeated themes in both of these books is the importance of raising a family in the knowledge of the Lord. One of the images we considered yesterday was Psalm 128:3, “Your children will be like olive shoots around your table” (NIV 2011).
In Israel we learned that olive trees can live to be hundreds and even a thousand years old. The way this happens is the young shoots that come up from the roots and surround the trunk, and eventually grow to become the main part of the tree. I’ve included a picture Josanne took of some of these olive shoots in the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane. You can see the young shoots on the right side of the trunk growing up from the ground. For me, this is a strong image of the importance of legacy and of investing in the lives of our children.
What we do now, and what we don’t do, will have effects far beyond ourselves. God has gifted each of us in various ways to work together for the ministry of this congregation. Let’s work together joyfully and faithfully.
God bless,