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Brothers and sisters,

It’s been almost a year since I took a trip to Salem, MA with two of my closest friends. If you were to dig up your Illuminator from 10-26-22, you’ll see that I wrote about how much I was looking forward to the trip. And it was a great time! We were there the Saturday before Halloween, so Salem was in its finest form. Lots of people. Lots of costumes. Crisp air. History all around us. It was fantastic!

I remember when I came back, folks kept asking me, “So when are you going to work some of your Salem trip into a sermon?” Over the last year, I’ve not found a good sermon to include some of the stories from that trip. But there is one story I’ve told a lot and a related story that I think has some-thing to say about our upcoming Trunk-or-Treat.

Part of the reason I was so excited to go to Salem last year was because of its reputation as “Witch City.” I majored in religious studies at Carolina and so I find all kinds of belief systems fascinating. So, going to “Witch City,” I wanted to wander through some of the more “legit” witch shops—places where people could buy supplies that they believed would allow them to cast “spells.” We went into one shop and I was amazed by everything I saw in there, but two things truly caught my eye.

The first was a big bowl filled with pre-packaged bay leaves—something like 10 to a pack. And everybody that came through was picking up a pack of bay leaves. Curious, I walked over, picked up a package, and turned it over to see why folks were gobbling them up. First of all, this store was selling just 10 bay leaves for $16, which is crazy enough on its own! Second, the package said that witches believe that if you place a bay leaf in the heel of your shoe as you head into court, you’re more likely to win your case. And remember, these bay leaves were flying off the shelves! I wanted to turn to the folks and say, “How many of you have court dates?! Salem, what have you done?!”

The second thing that caught my eye was a wall of “spell candles.” The idea behind these was simple. Supposedly, a witch had worked a spell and infused it into the candle. As the candle burned, the spell would activate. And when I say there was a wall of them, I mean there was a 6’ x 8’ display! This thing had sections! Candles for getting a new job, keeping your current job, getting a promotion, etc. Candles for finding love, keeping love, breaking up with someone, etc. Candles to win the lottery, find treasure, or just get cold, hard cash! But what made me stop and say a little prayer, was the fact that these candles I’ve listed were not selling. The ones that were selling were things like a candle to find comfort after the death of a loved one, to repair broken relationships, to make rent by the end of the month. The candles that were selling were candles for folks who were hurting and were looking for peace, looking for community.

Obviously, Trunk-or-Treat won’t help folks get a promotion or help them win the lottery. Putting a ticket from one of our games in the heel of your shoe isn’t going to help you win a court case. But for a couple hours this Saturday, we can offer folks a sense of peace and joy. We can offer them community and let them know they are loved. Not through candles or “spells” or anything like that. But through loving others, knowing that God has always loved us.

Happy Halloween,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

There’s a lot going on right now. At the church, we’re planning events like the Trunk-or-Treat happening on October 28th from 4:30-6:30 p.m. We’re also planning a Deacon Ordination service on Sunday, October 29th during morning worship. On top of that, the choir is in the thick of rehearsing Christmas music for Advent and Christmas (did you realize the first Sunday of Advent is only eight Sundays away?).

Within the wider North Carolina community, college football is in full swing with Duke and UNC both looking good. The State Fair is coming to town this week and bringing all the buzz, the hubbub, and fried food that comes with it — though I must admit the crazy food offerings this year are a little lackluster. We’re also in the midst of a string of beautiful weather with perfect temperatures, picturesque skies, and the slightest hints of red, yellow, and orange beginning to show on the leaves.

On the national level, you can walk into any Starbucks and see the overwhelming number of options for how you’d like pumpkin spice in your coffee, with my favorite being the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. Or you can turn on any news channel and be treated to a bounty of news stories about how Taylor Swift has taken over the NFL. That includes so many reporters, analysts, and pundits trying to work one of the lyrics from a Taylor Swift song into a pun for their story. And, frankly, most of them should’ve said “No” to doing it.

It feels like a time of bounty and abundance. Summer is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but to me there’s something magical about the fall. It feels like the whole world is relaxing. We’re all cozying up with coffee or tea for warm nights in or we’re putting on jeans and light jackets to experience the crisp in the air. This doesn’t even begin to touch on all the foods that come with fall which I’ve seen more and more people deeming the beginning of “soup season.” To me, it’s the time of year that just feels right.

In the midst of all of that, I think about the abundance and the bounty of who God is. Last Wednesday night, we talked about what God chooses to do with all God’s power. Specifically, we talked about it in the context of Philippians 2:6-11, where Paul says that Jesus did not see his power as something to be exploited. And so, what does God choose to do with pow-er? God chose to create. When we get outside and enjoy these calm days filled with crisp air, gentle sunshine, and beautifully colored leaves, we see what God does with power. When we gather together with our friends and family, people who have been made by God in God’s image, we see what God does with power. When we come together as a church to worship God, to reach out to others, and to be a positive influence in our world, we see what God does with power. God creates. God liberates. God sets things right. Now and evermore.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

This coming Sunday, October 1, we will be starting a new sermon series entitled, “Uncomfortable Faith.” The basic premise of this entire series is that there are some teachings of Jesus that can make us feel a little, you know, uncomfortable. There are some teachings that we think, “Did Jesus really say that?” Or, there are things he said, particularly parables, that we may think, “You know, I remember that being in there, but I forgot just how intense that passage was.” Those are the types of passages we will be looking at over the next two months.

Here’s the thing. In the midst of these intense passages, these words of Jesus that may make us feel a little uncomfortable, there are beautiful messages of faith and love and grace. In the midst of these intense passages, I am fully confident that God will walk with us. And I would argue that if we are not willing to challenge ourselves, to examine the sometimes difficult teachings of our faith, to consider that we may not have all the answers, then we are doing ourselves a disservice. Faith is a journey. It is a quest to draw closer to God in all that we do. Sometimes that means wrestling with ideas we hadn’t thought of be-fore. Sometimes it means wrestling with passages that make us uncomfortable. But, again, God walks alongside us and guides us in all of this—if we will humble ourselves and listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Now, for this series we will mostly be looking at passages from the Gospel of Matthew, but we will have two detours. I will be on vacation on October 15th, so a student from Duke Divinity School will be preaching for me. I’ve told him to prepare a standalone sermon, rather than ask him to preach on an uncomfortable passage. And on November 19th, we will hop over to 2 Corinthians and have a more Thanksgiving-themed worship service. But I am looking forward to preaching this series. I’m looking forward to the questions we’ll get to ask and the conversations I hope this series will start.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben