In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
This church is one I have wanted to visit for a long time because my family was connected to one or both of the Carnegie churches that merged to form Carnegie Presbyterian Church.
They seemed to have weathered the inevitable storms of the merger very well and now are one church. Some items were used from each church in the new building, which has a bright airy feel. The round stained glass window and ornate wooden cross on the wall below add a great deal.
We were greeted at the door and enjoyed a more extensive conversation with a young man who turned out to be the pastor’s son. A few people asked me about or thanked me for my service.
The organ was strong during the introit but we were able to hear the choir for the rest of the service. There was one beautiful voice that could have carried over the organ.
The people responsible for the Sunday School program were recognized and some students were promoted. We got to see some of their handiwork after the service.
Since this was Youth Sunday we didn’t get to hear the pastor deliver a sermon. The young man who did the message is the Youth Director, son of friends of ours, and just graduated from seminary.
The message “Mission: Impossible?” has been a recurring theme for us of late. We are not sure just what He is calling us to do but we know it’s not impossible. The sermon was introduced as “Advent in June.” The Scripture was Mary learning that she would be mother to Jesus and her acceptance in faith of her call. Mary, no doubt, questioned how God could do this within her expectations.
I thought the song “Mary, Did You Know?” was hard to hear sung, but even to hear the beautiful words read is painful to someone who lost a son.
The church supports some of the ministries that are dear to us and we look forward to returning to hear the minister.
We had hoped to stay after to lay hands in prayer for a young woman from the congregation but she needed to go home.
This church is a success story, the result of the merger of two churches whose buildings in Carnegie were in close proximity to each other. The congregations made the decision to merge and both buildings were sold. After a time the current property was purchased and this new building built.
Some congregational mergers seem to take place in name only, but all we observed was one big happy church family.
The large, attractive marquees at the bottom of the hill assured us we had the right place, and at the top of the hill we found three large wooden crosses at the entrance to the parking lot.
We arrived early and were engaged in conversation almost immediately. Members graciously took time to give us some history and details about the merger, the building, and the grounds.
It turns out we chose to visit on Youth Sunday, so we were blessed to experience several special events we would not have otherwise witnessed, namely the participation of much youth talent, the Promotion/Appreciation of the Sunday School, and a sermon from the Youth Director, Alex White.
The choir was inspiring; I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the descant in “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty.” It was beautifully done.
An especially encouraging idea: a note in the bulletin indicating that anyone who has experienced an answered prayer should take a flower from the sanctuary entrance and place it in a vase in the front, thus reminding others that God answers prayers.
As mentioned, the sermon, “Mission: Impossible?” was presented by Alex White, the Youth Director at this church and, as of just over a week ago, a graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The message was a reminder of Mary’s incredible faith in submitting to God’s plan as presented by the angel Gabriel. It is easy for us to take it calmly…we know how the story ends. But Mary had no idea what she was in for; she was young, inexperienced, and unmarried, and she trusted God with all her heart.
I think Alex was right on when he pointed out that no woman is ever truly ready for motherhood, nor does she know what she is in for. (I know I didn’t. I was totally clueless.) But it is a process, a journey, and no one is ever really ready for God’s plan and Jesus is full of surprises. The important thing to God is our faith, and like Mary, we are called to carry Jesus out into the world.
I look forward to returning to CPC to experience the contemporary service.
Lord, we pray Your continued blessings on this church. When You call, may they answer as Mary: “May it be to me as You have said.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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