 
Rt. Rev. Bishop G. Porter Taylor
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina
BISHOP TAYLOR VISITATION AUGUST 2
Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina Bishop Porter Taylor
made his visitation to Grace Mountainside Lutheran & Episcopal
Church Sunday, August 2, 2009. This was Bishop Taylor's third
visitation to Robbinsville. Bishop Taylor is the primary shepherd of
God's People at Grace Episcopal Parish and represents our communion with
all other Episcopal congregations in the WNC Diocese and with the Episcopal
Church and Anglican Communion. The Rev. Steve Holcomb and The
Rev. Deacon Helen Thompson both serve under Bishop Taylor's direction.
It is Bishop Taylor's prerogative to preach and celebrate Holy Eucharist.
A Pot Luck Picnic/Cook-Out Fellowship after worship is planned.
The Rt. Rev. G. Porter Taylor was consecrated as the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina Sept. 18, 2004. He grew up in Asheville, N.C., and earned his B.A. degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his M.A. in English from the University of South Carolina, and his Ph.D. degree in theology and literature from Emory University. He received his M.Div. from The School of Theology at Sewanee and served at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Franklin, Tenn. Before his call to the Holy and Sacred Order of Bishops, he served seven years as rector of St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church in Athens, Ga. He is the author of To Dream as God Dreams: Sermons of Hope, Conversion, and Community, and From Anger to Zion: An Alphabet of Faith. Bishop Taylor is married to Jo Taylor, who is a research nurse. They have two children, Arthur & Marie.
Rev. Dr. Leonard Bolick
Bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA
BISHOP BOLICK VISITS GRACE MOUNTAINSIDE WITH BISHOP TAYLOR
Grace Mountainside Lutheran & Episcopal Church was doubly blessed Sunday, August 2, 2009, because Bishop Leonard Bolick joined Bishop Taylor! Bishop Bolick last visited Grace Mountainside to preach (and trumpet a conch shell) at Rev. Steve Holcomb's ordination July 14, 2004. Bishop Bolick is the primary shepherd of God's people at Mountainside Lutheran Church and represents our communion with all other
congregations in the NC Synod and with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The Rev. Steve Holcomb is privileged to serve as Pastor by consent of Bishop Bolick.
The outward and visible presence of our Episcopal and Lutheran Bishops representing their collective faith communities coming together to lead our Sunday worship at Grace Mountainside Church testifies to an inward and spiritual truth we hold dear that we come together in one spirit to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Rev. Dr. Leonard Bolick, Bishop of the North Carolina Synod, ELCA, is a native of Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
Before coming to the bishop's staff, he served Calvary-Concord and St. James-Fayetteville. He joined the bishop's staff in 1986, with responsibilities in youth ministry and evangelism and served on the synod's transition team to form the new Lutheran Church. He was installed as Bishop of the N.C. Synod on February 2, 1997.
He holds two doctorates of ministry, from McCormick Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana and a doctorate of Divinity from Lenoir-Rhyne College of Hickory, N.C.
He and his wife Rita have two children, Joseph and Sarah.
Of his office he states: "We, in the office of the bishop, are here to serve the synod for the sake of the Gospel. We try to be as available as we know how to be in terms of support, pastoral care, encouragement and sometimes to challenge."
KYLE PRUITT RENEWAL OF BAPTISM
The Rev. Walter Edwards had led Kyle Pruitt in Cetechism instruction and the Rev. Steve Holcomb examined and concurred that Kyle was ready to be confirmed. The announcement that Lutheran Bishop Bolick would join Episcopal Bishop Taylor presented a rare opportunity. The Rev. Steve Holcomb contacted Bishop Bolick to inquire into the possibility that he would confirm Kyle Pruitt during his visitation. Bishop Bolick communicated his willingness to do so, but the liturgy of the service would necessarily need to be Lutheran. Since this was technically Bishop Taylor's canonical visit to Grace Mountainside Church, his permission to use the Lutheran liturgy was sought and graciously conferred. In a remarkable service, where both Bishops preached, both Bishop Bolick and Bishop Taylor laid hands upon Kyle Pruitt's head and prayed.
Kyle Pruitt presented to Bishop Bolick and Bishop Taylor by his mother.
Dcn. Helen Thompson, Rev. Steve Holcomb, Bishop Bolick,
Kyle Pruitt, Julie Pruitt and Bishop Taylor.
Rev. Steve, Bishop Taylor, Kyle Pruitt, and Bishop Bolick
UPDATE: NEW STAIRS!
Mr. Nick Nichols has completed construction of the north ascending
front entrance stairs to match as closely as possible the south
ascending entrance stairs he completed two years ago. The deterioration
of the north facing concrete stairs and its narrow, irregular tread had
made continued use of the stairs unwise. Previous engineering evaluations
into repairing the north facing stairs had reached expensive and unsatisfactory
conclusions. Mr. Nick Nichols devised a workable solution based on his
experience with installing the south facing entrance stairs that the Governing
Board approved as being affordable and attractive. We sincerely appreciate
the planning and work by Mr. Nick Nichols to complete construction to
the north facing entrance stairs.
SANDI CASE & GRACE MOUNTAINSIDE CHURCH IN EPISCOPAL LIFE
June, 2009
Sandi Case Quilts for Grace Mountainside Church Featured in Episcopal Life
The great news to Grace Mountainside Church is that Sandi Case decided to return
and reside in Robbinsville in 2010!
UPDATE: NEW ROOF!
Though we are currently experiencing tough economic times (as Pastor Steve
says, "lean years") our stewardship during the "fat years" will make this
project feasible without any financial hardship upon anyone. Building repair
contingency funds carefully built up over the years will be utilized.
Capital fund raising from the congregation and/or requests to the
Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina and/or the Lutheran
North Carolina Synod will NOT be required. Cutbacks on outreach ministry
funds and/or church operation funds will NOT need to be made.
Mr. Mike Kelley contacted the winning bidder. Installation of our new metal
roof began the last week in June. The project was completed the second week
in July, 2009.
HE IS RISEN!
Mark 16:1-8 : The Resurrection
1. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3. and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4. But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "
These verses, and the account of the resurrection in the other Gospels, have challenged the common senses of humanity from that Easter Day to now. It seems that there is nothing in our living experience that validates the attestation that someone rose to life after being three days dead. In our ever more pragmatic world these passages seem bereft of proof or wanting some science to explain what happened in the tomb. Because none has yet been found, some consign these accounts to the absurd that no rational, cognizant human should naively accept as truth.
The three women had watched Jesus die and saw where he was laid. (Mk. 15:40 & 47) Pilate inquired from the Roman centurion that he was dead before his body was given to Joseph of Arithmathea to be laid in the tomb. (Mk. 15:45) Both Biblical and non-biblical sources agree that Jesus was crucified, died and was buried in a tomb. It is mere unsubstantiated conjecture to assert Jesus survived the crucifixion or the women went to the wrong tomb.
Why did the women go to the tomb? Mk. 15:42 tells us evening had come when the body was laid in the tomb. The holy day began at sundown. The women had no time to prepare the body for a proper burial. The grieving women had to wait until the morning after the sabbath had past (Mk. 16:1). They wondered aloud who could help them roll away the heavy cartwheel sized stone that sealed the entrance to the tomb. But when they arrived there the stone had been rolled back. They entered the tomb to perform their sad final preparations. They entered and made the most significant discovery in human history. Jesus was not in the tomb.
At the very crux of this issue is a question each of us answers: what happened in the tomb?
By far the best evidence supporting the resurrection is the existence of the Christian church. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, we would have never heard of him. At best, Jesus would have been a footnote in Judean history; another in a line of hundreds of failed messianic wannabes.
There have been those in and out of the church who have regarded Jesus one of the greatest individuals and noblest hero in history, who lived one of the loveliest lives known, but then died. To them his life is worthy of respect and admiration but little more. They would probably agree with those who argue that the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb (Mt. 27:63-66) fell asleep enough to not be awakened by some people unsealing the tomb (a noisy operation) who then stole the body. Jesus is more than a dead hero of the past!
There are others in and out of the pews who find in Jesus a man whose words merit careful study and teachings worthy of analysis and critical evaluation. Certainly study is necessary and encouraged but Jesus is not merely someone to learn everything about. Jesus is more than a dead figure in a book, even if that book is the greatest in the world!
There are others in and out of the sanctuary who consider Jesus the perfect human example. His life is worthy of imitation and emulation. He is certainly that. There are the lives of innumerable saints who have earnestly tried to conform to the model. All have failed to measure up. Does their failure condemn them? Jesus is more than dead model of life.
Do you believe in the resurrection? Do you accept as truth, even though there are no facts, that Jesus arose from the dead?
I believe this to be the most crucial question one answers in their life.
If you do believe in the resurrection then certain things follow.
First, and most important, if you believe that Jesus rose from the dead then you accept that he is alive! If he is alive, then Jesus is not someone to discuss so much as someone to meet! Jesus is not a memory in a book so much as a living presence! Jesus is not a model to copy so much as a living friend and guide! A Christian life is not one dedicated to knowing all about Jesus, but the life that knows Jesus. Today one may know all there is to know about Abraham Lincoln, but it is impossible to know Lincoln personally. Lincoln is dead. Jesus is alive! And because he lives a personal relationship is not only possible, but Jesus wants one with you. A relationship with our Lord is possible only because -- he is risen!
The resurrection is about relationship between you and God.
Second, by rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates our life does not end at the tomb. Death is a doorway through which we pass from this life to the next. Personal resurrection is predicated by the example of Jesus' resurrection. Our soul/spirit (that container of our wills, our knowledge, our morality, our memories, our emotions, the essence of who we are) continues after our body dies. The quality of the life we choose to live on earth influences the quality of our life hereafter. One thing we have been taught, if we choose to refuse a relationship with God in this life, we won't have one in the afterlife. The great Christian hope of life everlasting is possible only because -- He is Risen!
The resurrection is about life.
Those who are unable to believe in the resurrection of Jesus have less reason to believe in their own afterlife. For many of these, life is reduced to fairly predictable biological and chemical processes summarized by the terms birth, growth, reproduction, injury, illness, aging and death. Many perceive death as the great equalizer, a complete finality fate offers. Life, when viewed from this perspective, justifies its own purposes, sets its own measure of successes, and validates its own means to achieve desired goals. These can be at odds with the Christian view of life.
Man: "No. I don't believe in all that religious stuff."
Christian: "I see. Do you believe we just live and then die; end of story?"
Man: "Yes, so I have to make the most of my life the best I can right here and now.
Christian: "So do I. But I believe death is a door, not an end."
Man: "No, I believe death is the end. Period. Maybe my life force gets recycled or rejoins the cosmos. But I will never be aware of it."
Christian: "Care to bet on that?"
Man: "Bet?! How?"
Christian: "I'll bet everything that death is a beginning, not an end. You'll bet everything that death is the end. OK?"
Man: "OK. But we will never be able to collect until after we're both dead."
Christian: "That's my point! If you win this bet then my death and your death will be the end. No hereafter. No Pearly Gates. No fires of Hell. Death will be the end and we will never know the truth. On the other hand, if I win this bet then my death and your death will be passing from this life to the afterlife. Then we will both know the truth. I have an assurance where I will be. And so do you. I am convinced your bet is lose-lose. Even if you are right and death is the end and you win, you still lose because you will never know you won and we will never have a chance to know the truth."
Man: "So you believe I'm going to Hell?"
Christian: "What I believe is that you're already betting your life on it."
Third, those who believe in the resurrection of Jesus perceive their relationship to everyone else in God's creation. We are all God's creation, his children, his wandering sheep. We are called to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to a hurting and needy world. We are called to employ our God given talents, treasures and time to serve all people simply because they are God's people. We are called to love one another, to love those who despise you, to love the unloveable, even love our enemies for the sake of the Gospel.
We are called to help one another through the trials and sufferings in life's journey;
to meet another in their depths of depression,
their grief and despair,
their pain, their heartbreak, their loss,
their feeling of unworthiness or shame;
to offer a helping hand, a listening ear,
a caring heart and resilient faith to lift them with the
hope of eternal salvation possible only in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And hope and salvation is made possible only because -- HE IS RISEN!
The resurrection is about community.
We are an Easter people! We assemble to celebrate the joy of our relationship with Jesus Christ because He is risen! We gather here filled with Christian hope of eternal life where pain and sorrow are no more and God will wipe away every tear because He is risen! We meet joining our voices together in prayer and song to praise and thank God Almighty who defeated death and sin once and for all time because -- HE IS RISEN!
Amen.
Rev. Steve Holcomb
 |
