A Prayer at the Save-A-Lot
(of course, look for a very different kind of prayer on the day before Thanksgiving)

O God of all our days, our shelter and hope through all generations: In every age, your truth has been proclaimed by many voices that it is you who makes our hearts wise, our minds sound, and our purposes righteous to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.

We celebrate that this day has arrived. We pray a word of thanks on behalf of many people who have worked hard to make the opening of this store possible. Through the processes of visioning, planning, renovating, rebuilding, purchasing, and stocking; many minds, voices, and bodies have labored to see this day happen. We are grateful for what they have been able to do. We pray a word of thanks on behalf of men and women who now have work because this new store is here.

Most of all, we pray a word of thanks that there is something new in our community. Though it could easily be considered small and insignificant, we have often confessed that little things add up, and we have agreed with your word that all things work together for good. May this new thing help us to have hope for the continued renewal of this community. Open and enlighten the eyes of our hearts that we would be able to see the coming of your kingdom, even on days like today, and where we can each work as your servants within it.

We pray your blessings upon all the businesses of our town and our county, for these are the places where your people also gather. Though we can be found gathered in church buildings, we also see one another in the post office, in banks, and in the grocery stores, and we will lean heavily upon your promise that where two or three are gathered in your name there you will be also. We are grateful that you bless us with your presence as we worship, but we also pray you will bless us to go to work in your name and that we will find you waiting for us there.

Again, O Lord, we give you thanks for this good day, but we know it is not the work of our hands or the achievement of any human effort. This day is good because you have made it so. Therefore we pray these words of thanksgiving through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Invocation at the Grand Opening

of Sav-A-Lot grocery store

in Allendale, SC. October 31, 2007.

The Town Pastor
I have been pastor of First Baptist Church of Allendale, SC for almost 8 months now. I now have to watch my step because folks are beginning to recognize me at Hardee's, the post office, and grocery store. This is small town life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am one of a few full-time pastors who reside in town. This makes me the go-to-guy for a number of occasions. One distinct honor came this summer when members of our National Guard unit returned after being deployed in Iraq for a year. I was asked to deliver the invocation in a welcome home ceremony. It was a special experience to look out at the faces of families who had not seen these men and women for a year. Everyone was happy they were home. It certainly was a holy moment. Everyone knew that. I might have felt like Peter did at the transfiguration. "It's good for us to be here!" I don't know why Jesus did not turn to Peter and say, "Well, duh!" Of course, it being Jesus, I reckon he didn't have to.

This Wednesday, I am honored to pray again at another moment in the life of the town of Allendale. A new grocery store is opening. This might not sound like a big deal, but in a town that has seen its fair share of difficult days, here is at least a glimmer of hope. Here are a few more jobs in place that has the state's third lowest unemployment rate. Here is some commerce being generated where folks are used to not being an option for shopping. Perhaps, in some subtle way, it wakes us up to more that we all could be doing as a community. Maybe, then, it won't be a glimmer of hope, but we could somehow become exposed to the bright, shining glory of God. And I'll get busy building boothes for Moses and Elijah . . .

Look for me to post the grocery store grand opening invocation Wednesday.

One Happy Computer Owner
You might want to ask for clarification when your pastor says, "My latest experiences using the internet have made me really happy."
What exactly do you mean by that, Rev?
OK, it is not what you think. Lately I have been determined to catch up with some folks I have not seen for a long time. The internet has been a big help.
I have used Facebook over the last couple years to keep up with friends. Now that Facebook has opened up beyond college students, I have been able to find a lot of folks who went to college with me.
I haven't seen my taekwondo instructors in 11 years. Of course the TKD association has a web site, and Dave and Caryn are still teaching. They are level 5 TKD masters now!
All in all, it has been pretty easy to find people, though I would never confess to being a brilliant, private investigator type. I'm really glad to be able to stay in touch with a lot of friends and family members.

The Lord's Supper
Yesterday, I think I had one of "those moments". I think you might know what I mean, moments that come around to help you get a glimpse of what the ministry is all about. I mentioned to Trisha that every church member should get to sit where I sit sometimes and take a good look at this part of the body of Christ. Yesterday, I got to see each of these folks passing the bread and the cup to one another. The plates passed between family members, from the old to the young and back, from the poor to the the well-off--each person a loved member of the family of God. It overwhelmed me for a moment, and I breathed a hopeful prayer that each person I saw got what they needed. I did.

I was reminded of that ending scene in "Places In The Heart". Everyone was in church passing the Lord's Supper to each other. This scene gets a bit unusual as the plate is passed down a row that includes a man who was killed and a man who killed him. The message: even if there is not room in your heart for another, there is room at the Lord's table for all. Paul told Timothy, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim 2:13) The little boy in the movie said, "The peace of Christ." I say Amen.

Pastor Perks
I have been in the business a while (16 years this summer). I have been taken out to lunch. I have had church members invite me to their homes for dinner. I have received my fair share of fresh vegetables and preserves. But today . . . (cue the Lou Gehrig speech)
Today... Today... Today...
I consider myself... myself... myself...
The luckiest preacher on the face of the earth... earth... earth...
Thanks to some good church folks, I've got 6 pounds of shrimp in the freezer!!!
What a treat! Thanks, church people!!!
And you knew this was coming . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF7XPcUnDj4