A MESSAGE FROM REV. KAREN KINNEY: LIVING AN ACTIVE FAITH
Grace and peace to you,
This Sunday, the fourth in our stewardship series, focuses on our core value of living an active faith and our Mission Study theme of being a more mission-active community of faith. I am reminded of these verses from James 2:14-26, where the author reminds the readers/hearers that faith not put into action, faith without works is a dead faith. It does no good to have faith if you ignore the needs of your siblings.
This community of faith does a lot of putting faith into action – of 
living out its core value of having an active faith: We believe faith is not simply a set of beliefs, but a way of life. Faith is lived out in the daily practice of those beliefs through concrete actions of love, justice, mercy, kindness, repentance, reconciliation, and peace. Our Mission Study theme stated this:
The congregation feels deeply committed to following the teachings of Christ through an active mission that draws on the skills and experiences of the congregation to address the needs of our members and the wider community.
How might this community of faith draw on its own gifts, talents and experiences to become advocates on justice issues? What might they be? What works of charity should continue or be born? How does this community of faith want to live out its faith in action not just words? What monies will support this continued living, active, mission-oriented faith?
For 151 years, this community of faith known as First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem has lived an active faith through good and challenging times. We will celebrate our 151st anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 15 in several ways.
First, our one service at 11:15 a.m. includes a dedication of our pledges to support these core values and Mission Study themes we have explored over these four weeks. After worship, we will gather in Fellowship Hall for a catered lunch so that we can be together and celebrate this milestone. We will see how our 1,510 Acts of Service have accumulated since last November.
Then at 4 p.m., we will gather again in the Sanctuary to witness a program of music and reflection which we are calling Beautiful Memories: A Celebration of Music and Place. A 100+ person choir has been assembled and former pastors Rev. JC Austin, Rev. Sue Pizer Yoder, Rev. Ruth Santana Grace, Rev. Bill Hess and Dr. Sally Brown will offer reflections as we express gratitude for all that the congregation and 2344 Center Street have made possible over 69 years. We hope you will attend this celebration of music and place and the memories gathered.
Blessings,
Pastor Karen