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Brothers and sisters,

It is incredible to think that Advent is already upon us! This coming Sunday, November 27th is the first Sunday of Advent. It is the first Sunday that we begin to turn toward the manger and anticipate the arrival of the Christ child. And so, as this season begins, I wanted to take some time to describe the various services we will be having this year as part of our celebration and anticipation.

The first special service we will be having is this Sunday, November 27th during morning worship! This will be our annual Hanging of the Greens service. This is a service that is designed to formally finish up the decorating of the church for Advent and Christmas. Through readings, responses, and prayers we will meditate on all the various symbols we adorn the church with each year.

The second special service we’ll be having this year is our Service of Lament on Wednesday, December 14th at 6:30 PM. The Service of Lament is designed to be a time when we come together as a church family to acknowledge that some of us are carrying grief into the holidays. For some, this is their first Christmas without a loved one. For some, there may be a lot of strain on their relationships. Others may be feeling a sense of anxiety, depression, or both. At this service, we will carve out time and space to be with our brothers and sisters to remind them that they are always loved and that we, their church family, are willing to help them bear their burdens.

Then, on Sunday, December 18th at 5:00 PM, we will be having our special musical service, “God Bless Us, Everyone!” Kathryn, the choir, and all our wonderful musicians here at Hope Valley have been preparing and practicing for this service for weeks now and it promises to be a joyous service of singing and celebration! In addition to all the beautiful music, we will be having a reception after-ward as a time of fellowship as we enter the last week of Advent.

Next, we will be having our yearly Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion Service on Saturday, December 24th at 5:00 in our sanctuary. This is also a wonderful service as we come to perhaps the most exciting night of the year! It is a service where we come and declare our joy and gratitude for the message of Christmas—that God came and dwelt among us. Be sure to bring your family as we take communion together and light candles to celebrate the joy of Christmas.

Finally, the next morning—Christmas morning!—we will be having morning worship at 11:00 AM in our sanctuary. There will be no Sunday School that morning, but we will take time to come together and worship God as a church family. And, to the parents reading this, if your child needs/wants to bring their favorite present with them to worship that morning, they are more than welcome to do that!

I am looking forward to this next month of worship with you all! I’m looking forward to the time spent in fellowship as we anticipate, once again, the birth of Jesus and the reminder of God’s promise—that God will always be with us.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,
This past Sunday, November 6th, was All Saints Sunday. We took time to remember, honor, and celebrate the lives of those Christians who came before us. We took time to remember the things they taught us and the good times we had with them. If you were here on Sunday or you tuned in to the livestream, you heard me us that phrase, “those Christians who came before us” a lot. And you also heard me talk about those saints teaching us things. But as I thought about this past Sunday, I realized that I really didn’t share many of the things I had been taught over the years from the saints within my own life. So, if you’ll indulge me for a bit, I figured I’d share a few things that Sunday got me thinking about.

The first thing that hit me after the service was when I walked back into my office and saw my certificate of ordination. I was ordained by my home church, FBC Goldsboro, and so the names of the folks on my ordination council are people I have incredibly fond memories of. My youth Sunday School teacher’s name is there—she was, and still is, the definition of warmth, kindness, patience, and hospitality. She also makes, hands down, the best sausage biscuits!

Bob’s and Bill’s names are on there. I remember the steadiness of their faith and their dedication to serving the church however they could. I worked with them a lot building handicapped ramps for folks all around Goldsboro and Wayne County. They embodied James’ belief that faith without works is dead—and their faith was very much alive! I also remember that Bob has a sweet tooth and Bill liked to “pay” me for my volunteer work with a McDonald’s cheeseburger and a Diet Mountain Dew.

There were also three pastors on my ordination council, though only two signed. Scott and Glenn’s names are there, my youth pastor and senior pastor, respectively. To write what they have meant to be personally would take far too many Illuminators to be practical. The first pastor I ever interned for, Alan, also sat on the council—he is the unsigned pastor, simply because he called in from Georgia to be a part of it. Those three taught me more about my faith, myself, and what it means to be a pastor, than I will probably ever fully understand. And since there seems to be an unspoken food theme in my recollections—Scott never turns down Thai food, Glenn loves country cooking, and Alan is a sandwich connoisseur!

Most of the folks on my ordination council are still with us. Bill has gone on to glory, but I love that I have gotten to know all of them. I am grateful for the things they taught me and the good times I’ve had with each of them. And as I sit and think about all the wonderful things God has done for each of us, I really do believe that stitching Christians together as a family is one of God’s greatest ideas.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

By the time you’re reading this article, I will no longer be in the state of North Carolina. As you all know, I’m on vacation this week and my friends and I have traveled out of state for one of the most interesting trips I’ve taken in a while! By the time you read this, I will be in Salem, Massachusetts, just a couple days before Halloween.

As a history buff and a nerd for all things religious studies, I’m incredibly excited to travel to a place where every street has a history, every building has a story, and every name has a past. I’m also excited to be there just a few days before Halloween simply because I love Halloween and Salem is a place that leans into the wonderful weirdness of that holiday. It leans into the air of mischief and mystery that Halloween brings with it. And, from all I’ve read about the town, it is this incredible blend of the old and new. You can walk down one street and find a wax museum that recreates the people involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Walk down another and you’ll come to the House of the Seven Gables, made famous by Nathanial Hawthorne. Turn the corner, though, and you’ll find yourself in a run-of-the-mill Starbucks or a CVS. Salem’s past and present intersect in a fascinating way.

Now, obviously Halloween gets a lot of fanfare each year. As of 2021, Halloween was a $10.1 billion industry in America, with $1.9 billion being spent on candy alone. Stores deck themselves out selling various spooky products and decorations. But there is a church holiday the day after Halloween that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

All Saints Day happens every year on November 1. Halloween’s modern name is derived from its original name, All Hallows Eve—that is, the day before All Saints Day. And in the past, All Saints Day was a day of the year in which churches would honor the lives and the faith of Christian martyrs, the saints, who had come before them. In modern times, though, we tend to use the word “saint” to describe any person of faith.

That means that All Saints Day has grown into this holiday where the church takes time to remember those Christians that have come before us. It is a day when we deliberately take time to consider the ways that the Christians we have known in our own lives, before they passed away, have shaped and molded us. It is this beautiful expression of the way that God calls all kinds of people from places all over the world to be a family of faith. It reminds us of their love for God, their neighbors, and for each of us. It is a beautiful holiday where the church’s past and present intersect in a faithful way.

Typically, churches celebrate All Saints Day on the first Sunday after November 1 and so we will be celebrating on November 6 this year. The families of our church members who have gone on to glory have been invited to join us for a special service that Sunday. You are invited as well. Come on November 6 and support our brothers and sisters who have lost someone. Come and share with them a fond memory of their loved one. Come and remind them that you are available to them if they ever need anything. Come and be a part of this tradition that links us with those saints who have gone before us, those saints who live among us, and those saints who will come after us.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

It’s that time of the year again. One of my favorite local events has come back to town and I’m excited to get to go soon. Growing up in North Carolina, this event was one that I went to constantly either for school field trips or for church youth outings. To this day, I’m the one that always gets my friends together and sends out the text, “Ok, so when are we going?” Y’all, the State Fair is back!

Now, I will say this, I am a more subdued State Fair visitor. I’m not into all the crazy rides with the pi-rate ships flipping upside down or rides like, “The Zip-per,” which is just a monstrosity! I’ve never understood the desire to go on the ride that uses centrifugal force to push you against the wall. I guess folks are curious what the spin cycle on their washing machine is like?

Instead, I go to the fair to take in the atmosphere, check out the submissions of artists and farmers from all over the state, and eat as much crazy food as I can! Every year, there’s a new lineup of things you never knew could be fried (might I recommend the Fried Key Lime Pie Bites!). Every year, there’s at least one thing I hear about that I think, “I’ve got to try that.” And this year, thanks to a local Instagram account I fol-low, I know what I’m looking for. It’s the Korean Corn Dog by Golden K Dog. It’s a chicken sausage with mozzarella cheese and fried like a corn dog. French fries are added to the batter, then it’s rolled in Flaming Hot Cheetos, drizzled with nacho cheese, and served with a side of spicy mayo. Sign me up!

Now, you may be wondering why I’m talking about the State Fair and particularly why I’m talking about a corn dog covered in Flaming Hot Cheetos. The answer is simply this, I love the creativity of the State Fair. It is a place where all different kinds of people from all different places all over this state come together to show off their talents and their interests. You can go into one section of the fair and see the largest produce you can imagine, cared for diligently by farmers here in NC. Go to another building and you can find local cake artists recreating scenes from Charlie Brown or creating a pastoral farm scene or making a Hocus Pocus themed cake. In another part are pumpkin carvers. In yet another part are musicians. And then, yes, there are the wildly creative food vendors.

What it reminds me of is the vast creativity of God. We were shaped and molded by a God who created all kinds of landscapes, land-forms, animals, birds, fish, reptiles, etc. And we are called, in our own unique ways, to be creative as well. We are called to use the gifts and talents God has given us in creative ways. Sometimes to spread the Gospel. Sometimes to reach out to our communities. Sometimes just to bring others joy. So, if you go to the State Fair this year, I’d encourage you to take a few moments and just take in all the wonderful creativity surrounding you. Whether you are there for the rides, the gargantuan produce, or the crazy food, take in the joy of it all.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben