From The Pastor

Brothers and sisters,

In just about ten days, our church is going to begin a week-long commitment to missions in our community. That commitment is know as “Operation Inasmuch,” taking its name from the story of the sheep and the goats in Mat-thew’s gospel. When Jesus told the sheep that they had helped him in so many ways, they asked, “Lord, when did we see you this way? When did we do these things for you?” And Jesus replied to them, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40; KJV). Thus, we are going to be giving back to our community in several different ways during the week from April 21st through April 27th.

On Sunday, the 21st, the children of our church will be decorating and assembling bags of treats and goodies for the bus drivers at Parkwood Elementary School to show our appreciation for all they do. Those bags will be delivered on Friday of that week so that the bus drivers get to start their weekend knowing that there are some in their community who love and appreciate them.

On Wednesday, April 24th, at 6:30 PM during our usual Bible Study time, the adults of our church will also be assembling bags, but these will be different. These will be bags filled with useful items to give to folks experiencing homelessness in our community. Basically, these bags will be filled with some basic supplies that people who spend all day in the elements may need: bottled water, band aids, sunscreen, ponchos—as well as some snacks. Once those bags are assembled, we will make them available for folks to be able to pick them up and carry in their car. You’ll be encouraged, then, to give out those bags to anyone you see in Durham who needs a blessing. As part of that, we are asking folks to bring in supplies for those bags—the list of needed items is printed in the Operation Inasmuch announcement in this newsletter. So, if you can come out on Wednesday the 24th and pack bags, we’d love to see you! If you aren’t able to help pack bags, you can bring in items that will go into those bags!

Then, on Saturday, April 27th, we are planning to have volunteers go to the home of one of our church members and do some yard work and light repairs. If you are interested in helping with that, please be sure to sign up in the vestibule. If there is a specific type of yard work you’d be willing to do or a specific tool you can bring to help, you can list that next to your name as well. Once I’ve got an idea of who all can help, we’ll coordinate a time with the church member we’re helping and finalize what we’ll be doing that day.

Also, starting Sunday morning, April 28th, we will begin a month-long collection drive for supplies for our Hope House. There are several needed items listed in the Operation Inasmuch announcement in this newsletter. This collection will run through the month of May.

To top it all off, on Sunday, April 28th at 5:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall, we will be having an Ice Cream and Dessert Social with a missionary in India whom our church helps sponsor.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Obviously, this Sunday is kind of a big deal for us Christians. This Sunday, March 31st is Easter Sunday, the day on which we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. It is the day on which we celebrate the fact that the tomb was empty because the one in it had triumphed over death. Easter is arguably the biggest Sunday of the year for churches, with only the Sunday before Christmas coming close to it.

In many Christian traditions, Easter Sunday is not the end of the celebration of Easter. Many other traditions and denominations celebrate what’s known as Eastertide. Basically, Eastertide refers to the seven weeks between East-er Sunday and Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the twelve disciples. It is a time of celebration as we remember the days that the resurrected Jesus spent with his disciples before ascending into heaven.

Here at Hope Valley, we celebrate Eastertide to a certain extent—keeping the paraments white in the sanctuary, singing Easter-inspired hymns through those seven weeks, and singing “Alleluia” in our offertory response each week. But this year, I wanted to emphasize the idea that Easter Sunday was not the first miraculous day in Jesus’ ministry. Too often, we Christians skip from Jesus’ birth to his death and resurrection, leaving out huge chunks of his life and ministry along the way.

This year, I want us to spend Eastertide looking at many of the other miracles Jesus performed during his life. Each of the miracles we’ll look at point toward the incredible nature of the resurrection. They help to predict it and pre-pare the people and the reader for what will happen at the end of Jesus’ life. So, over the next seven weeks, we’re going to take a look at these miracles and see just how they inform our understanding of the resurrection. We’ll see what Jesus was preparing us all for in this, “Season of Miracles.”

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

The last half of March is going to be a wonderful time here at Hope Valley Baptist Church. I want to be sure to touch on just a few of the things we have coming up!

First, during morning worship this coming Sunday, March 17th, the former pastor at my home church, Dr. Glenn Phillips, Jr. will be preaching for you all. Glenn is the pastor that I most remember growing up in Goldsboro. He is the one who baptized me, catching me when I slipped and fell as I was coming back up out of the waters. He and Scott, my youth minister, helped me discern my call to ministry. Most recently, he is the one who preached at my mother’s funeral. He is a truly good man and I am excited for you all to get to hear from him on the 17th.

Then, on Sunday, March 24th we will be celebrating Palm Sunday and participating in the 2024 CROP Walk. During morning worship on that Sunday we will celebrate the arrival of Jesus in the Holy City, though we will also take time to remember what a whirlwind of a week he would have—triumphal entry on Sunday, crucifixion on Friday, and resurrection the next Sunday. After that service, starting at 2:30, the Durham CROP Walk will celebrate its 50th anniversary as people from all over the city and county come together to march in solidarity with those struggling with hunger. It is a wonderful opportunity to gather with members of our wider community and remember that we can do incredible things together.

The rest of that week, we have our two special Holy Week services. On Wednesday, March 27th at 6:30 pm we will be having our hand-washing service over in the sanctuary. The hand-washing service is designed to remind us all of Christ’s simple assertion—that he came to serve, not to be served. By taking that time to wash and dry each other’s hands, we imitate our Lord. Then, on Friday, March 29th at 7:00 pm, we will have our Good Friday service, again in the sanctuary. Good Friday is always an interesting day in the Christian calendar. On the one hand, we mourn the fact that Jesus was killed. On the other hand, we hold on to hope, knowing that there is a resurrection awaiting both him and us. So come out both nights and worship with our church family.

Finally, on Sunday, March 31st we will come together to celebrate Easter once again! On that Sunday, we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and the fulfillment of God’s promise to both Jesus and us—that all who believe do not come under judgment, but pass from death into eternal life. In addition to our usual celebrations, we will also be celebrating the baptisms of two new members of our church! Mark your calendars for that Sunday—to celebrate Christ’s resurrection and to welcome a new brother and sister in Christ into our church!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

I have a random story to tell you all this week, but I hope that it can serve as a reminder of the opportunities we all have to make faithful connections. My story starts with me and my friend, Adam, deciding that we wanted to go to the ACC Tournament this year up in Washington, DC. We made the plans and bought the tickets all in one night. So, when you see that I’m on vacation in a couple weeks, you’ll know where I am!

That raised an issue for me though: I bought all my Carolina clothes when I was in undergrad, which was longer ago than I think! So, this past Sunday afternoon, I had to go to Franklin Street to restock my closet ahead of the tournament—emphasis on the “had to” part! I went through several stores, including walking all the way down to Student Stores on cam-pus, and came away with a good assortment of t-shirts and a nice new Carolina sweatshirt.

Now, when I bought that sweatshirt, the cashier assured me that it was a unisex XXL. When I got home and tried it on, I found that it was not! If I stood perfectly still with my arms down by my side, it barely covered my torso and only about 80% of my arms. I don’t know if you all know this, but at athletic events, you rarely stand perfectly still with your arms down by your side! As popular as crop tops have become, I decided that maybe they were not the look for, you know, the Reverend Benjamin Wines.

So now, I legitimately had to go back to Franklin Street to return this sweatshirt and buy a new one! So, Tuesday night, I went to Franklin Street, strolled up to the store, and found that they had closed early that day—so now I have to go back to Franklin Street a third time for one sweatshirt! Not to be defeated, I went to a couple of other stores and found a sweatshirt that I liked at The Shrunken Head Boutique—an institution! As I was checking out, the cashier and I started chatting.

She is currently a sophomore at UNC and is a double major in, of all things, neuroscience and religious studies. I told her that I had majored in religious studies at UNC and so we chatted about some of the professors there—turns out we had some of the same ones. I told her that I was a minister and asked if she was considering ministry and she said, “Not primarily, but I’m keeping my options open.” So I asked her, “What led you to both neuroscience and religious studies?” And she responded by telling me that she loved science and medicine and wanted to help people, but that sometimes science can get so focused on helping the person’s body, they for-get about the person themselves. She wanted to bridge that gap.

As it happens, Duke Divinity School partners with Duke’s School of Medicine to teach classes on exactly that—bridging the gap be-tween “patient” and “person.” So I told her about the program and encouraged her to look into it. She told me she would and then finished ringing me up. As I left we laughed and said, “What are the odds we’d run into each other and have this conversation?” And if you just consider random, generic “odds”—it’s pretty low. But I happen to believe in a God who can use a decision to go to the ACC Tournament, a closet full of raggedy old clothes, and an ill-fitting sweatshirt to bring people together.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

By the time you’re reading this, Valentine’s Day will have come and gone. Flowers will have been bought, expensive dinners paid for, and chocolates exchanged (though remember that these days are known as “70% Off Chocolate Days”). Every year, there’s always a big to-do about what a person is going to get for their significant other, but there’s also a big to-do about folks rejecting Valentine’s Day.

This year, apparently, has been big on that, with Etsy reporting that searches for “anti-Valentine’s Day” products are up 14% compared to last year. But there’s an even bigger jump for “anti-Valentine’s Day” T-shirts—up 34% from 2023. Now, I’d be lying if I said that some of the stuff isn’t funny. Some shirts declare, “Not today, Cupid.” Others with a masked man advising folks, “Love is in the air; try not to breathe.” Perhaps my favorite, “Who needs valentines when you could have tacos?” And I get it. Valentine’s Day can feel sugary-sweet, syrupy, saccharine. It has been heavily commercialized (again, you can find chocolate for 70% off today—never pay full price!). But let me tell you one of the legends about St. Valentine, the man this holiday is named after.

According to legend, there was a Roman priest named Valentinus who lived during the 3rd century AD, well before Christianity would be tolerated within the Roman Empire. He was arrested during the reign of the Roman emperor Gothicus and was held in custody by an aristocrat named Asterius. Asterius was curious about some of the things Valentinus believed and so he would go and talk with the Christian. Valentinus told him about some of the missions other Christians had been on, spreading the good news, and converting people all over the ancient world. In particular, Valentinus talked about Christ as the “light of truth and salvation.” So, Asterius made a bargain with Valentinus—he would convert to Christianity if Valentinus could heal his daughter’s blindness. Reportedly, Valentinus put his hands over her eyes and chanted, “Lord Jesus Christ, enlighten your handmaid, because you are God, the True Light.” With that, Asterius’ daughter could see and Asterius and his entire family converted to Christianity.

It is true that the modern story of Valentine’s Day is one of flowers and chocolates and fancy dinners. It is also true that it is the story of anti-Valentine’s Day merch—with yet another shirt I saw declaring, “Ew, Valentine’s Day.” But it is also true that Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate the love that God gifts to all of us. The love that we have toward our significant others has its roots in God. The love we have for friends and neighbors has its roots in God. The love Valentinus had for God and for everyone he met was so deeply rooted in God, that even his own jailer’s daughter would be healed by it. I think that’s something to celebrate.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Ben

January is an interesting month. On the one hand, the month is best known for its first few minutes, as folks celebrate the beginning of a new year with friends and loved ones. Those first few minutes are followed up by the New Years resolutions I mentioned in my article two weeks ago. From that point on, though, there’s not a whole lot else that happens in January. The College Football Playoff happens. Everyone takes a Monday to commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But beyond that, January can feel empty in comparison to the hubbub of December.

But as the staff and I have talked about January, we’ve talked about it in a different way. We’ve referred to this month as being one in which the church gets to “take a breath.” December is a wonderful month full of music and joy and celebration, but it is also a month that is full of practices, appointments, deadlines, shopping, and events. And so January comes in to provide respite and a sense of peace. It is a moment when people can breathe deeply, get back to a sense of routine, and start looking forward to what the rest of the year has in store.

I like that idea of January as a month to take a breath because there are several moments throughout the scriptures where breathing is emphasized. The first instance, perhaps the most famous one, is in Genesis 2:7. God gently holds the sculpted figure of Adam’s body close to God’s own face and breathes the breath of life into him. It is God’s breath that gives Adam life. It is not a chaotic moment—God is not beating back forces of chaos or darkness or anything like that in order to give Adam life. No—it is an intimate moment be-tween Creator and Creation.

The other moment that comes to mind happens in Exodus 3:13-14, when Moses asks for God’s name. Moses is already on Mount Horeb and has already witnessed the burning bush. He’s received his call to go and free the people from Pharaoh. He asks God, “If the people ask me for your name, what should I tell them?” God replies with, “I AM WHO I AM.” That phrase is translated from the Hebrew word, “YHWH,” or what we say as “Yahweh.” Why bring that up? Because scholars have pointed out that saying the name, “Yahweh,” mimics the pattern of breathing in and out. Try breathing in and saying, “Yah,” followed by breathing out and saying, “weh.” The breath of God, that same breath that gives life to us all, is what defines God. It is God’s very name!

So, this January, take a breath. After all the wonderful chaos of December, take this month to breathe in deeply. Take this month to slow down and appreciate all that you’ve been given. Take this month to look forward to your future, as you consider all the possibilities 2024 holds. And remember that with every breath, God is with you. That is the depth of God’s faithfulness. With every breath, God fills your lungs with life and love and peace.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

Here we are at the beginning of another new year! 2023 is done and 2024 lies before us. New Year’s resolutions are being made right now, with the most common ones being things like going to the gym, saving money, spending less time on social media, etc. Resolutions are always interesting things because they are, on their surface, meant to be projections for what a person wants to do in the new year. We think of them as being “future” things. But I’d argue that resolutions only make sense in the context of a person’s past. You have to understand where you’ve been in order to project where you want to be.

With that in mind, let’s look back at what we’ve done together as a church this year. We started out the year preparing for our church yard sale. We had the ACC Tournament Food Drive (which UNC won, I might add). We made our way through the cycle of Lent and Easter once again. We reached out to the children and families in our community with our Super Saturday Adventures, reminding them all of the love God has for them. We worshiped alongside passages of scripture that rarely, if ever, get preached on. We held a fall festival. We brought back Lemonade on the Lawn and changed it into our Sunday Social. We made shoeboxes for children in Appalachia. We provided school supplies to local students. We made it through another cycle of Advent and Christmas. Through all of that, we celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, trips and promotions, engaged couples and expectant families. Through it all, we came together to mourn losses, to struggle alongside each other, and create space for each other.

The key to everything our church did last year was a single-minded focus on remaining faithful to God. At both our best and our worst, I would argue that we sought God’s will for us as individuals and us as a church family. And so, I would propose that our New Year’s resolution as a church would be something along the lines of , “Seek new ways God may be pushing us to be faithful.” I understand that sounds vague, but I think it needs to be. When we genuinely seek God’s will, there’s no telling where it will take us—so why limit it? Let’s embrace all the possibilities of 2024 and believe that God will guide us and help us to remain faithful to our community, to each other, and to our Lord.

Happy New Year,
Pastor Ben

What is your favorite Christmas movie? When I ask that question, I’m sure there are a lot of classics that come to mind. It’s a Wonderful Life. The Miracle on 34th Street. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Among my generation, millennials, you’ll hear a lot of folks say they love to watch the Harry Potter movies or The Lord of the Rings around Christmastime. Home Alone is also a classic. But there is one Christmas movie that holds a special place in my heart—one that the title of this article gives away.

I adore the 1966 cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I have always loved that movie and the book it is based on. My grandmother used to read it to my brother and I anytime we went to visit her at Christmas. I have such fond memories of reading about that grinchy old Grinch and all his Christmas-stealing shenanigans. And I adore the animated version of the story, particularly the song, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” And, of course, I also love the message of the story—that Christmas is not about the things that we get—the ribbons, the tags, the packages, boxes, and bags. But there’s one important thing to remember in the final moments of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

For those that may not have seen the movie or read the book, the Grinch is a mean, green, Christmas-hating monster that lives on a mountain above the town of Who-ville. The Whos are people that adore Christmas and they celebrate it each year—loudly. That noise carries up the mountain and infuriates the Grinch. So, one year, he decides to go down into Whoville and steal all the trappings of Christmas—the presents, the trees, the lights, and the food, in particular the roast beast. After stealing everything and loading it up on a sleigh, the Grinch takes the presents up to the top of Mount Crumpit in order to dump them all over the edge. But as he’s standing there, he pauses to listen to what he assumes will be the weeping of the Whos. Instead, he hears them singing and celebrating Christmas all the same. It causes a change in his heart as he realizes that there is more to Christmas than just the material things. So, he races back down the mountain and returns everything to the Whos. The book and the movie end with a town-wide feast and the narrator saying, “He, he himself, the Grinch, carved the roast beast.”

What’s the thing to remember? The Whos open up their celebration to the Grinch without any questions. They simply accept him into their community, bringing him into the joy of Christmas. Later adaptations of the story (2000 & 2018) have tried to figure out some way to qualify the way the Grinch gets accepted by the Whos. Neither Dr. Seuss nor the 1966 movie do that though and that’s important. One of the points of Christmas is the reminder of the unconditional love that God has for all people in all places at all times. There are no qualifications to be loved by God. There is no transaction. There is no “proof” that you deserve God’s love. God just gives it to you. The Whos end up modeling that by creating a space for the Grinch in their celebrations—no questions asked. Not only do they bring him in, they place him in a position of respect and honor. The Whos saw this green monster who “stole Christmas” and chose to include him, to see him as their guest, to invite him into their community. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is, in part, a story about radical love and hospitality for all people.

I’ve mentioned this to a few of you in passing over the last few weeks, but one of my favorite nights of the year is coming up. Let me explain. I enjoy the Christmas season and I enjoy a lot of the decorations that go along with the season. I like the reds and greens and golds of Christmas. And I’ve got a good number of Christmas decorations myself. But you know the problem with decorations? They have to be dragged out of storage, dusted off, and then put up. That takes a lot of time and energy and thought and precision. When it comes to decorating, I don’t necessarily have all those things. That is especially true when it comes to the Christmas tree. All those ornaments. All those branches. It’s just too much!

The other problem with decorations? I really do like them! So, on the one hand, I enjoy having all these things around my apartment. On the other hand, I don’t want to take the time to put them all up! So, years ago, I asked myself, “How do I decorate for Christmas without decorating for Christmas?” And then it came to me! I texted some of my friends and invited them over to my apartment to help me decorate my Christmas tree. “In exchange,” I told them, “I’ll make a pot of chili and feed you.” I’m not great at decorating, but I’m pretty good at making chili! Sure enough, they showed up! We ate chili, decorated my tree, and spent the evening talking and catching up with each other.

We have gotten together every year since 2017 (with one notable exception in 2020) to eat chili and put ornaments on my tree. It has become a tradition among my friends and me. And every year the tradition flexes to include new people and new ideas. My friends will bring new dishes to go with the chili. They’ll bring presents if we’re not sure when we’ll see each other next. We’ll invite other friends to come and join us. This year I think we’re going to bake cookies together as well that night. But in all of it, we reaffirm our love and friendship. What started out as a sneaky way to get my tree decorated has morphed into a sincere night of friendship.If you were here for the Hanging of the Greens service, you’ll remember I talked about the idea that the traditions we carry forward tell a story about what we believe. They are a refrain to a song that we sing throughout our lives. In the church, we carry traditions regarding the birth of Christ, his death and resurrection, and all manner of other wonderful things God has done for us and for our world. They tell the story of our faith. They tell the story of the God we worship. They are beautiful expressions of our shared beliefs, as long as we remember that they tell the story of a God who loves all people in all places.

What are the traditions in your own family? What story do they tell? How do they connect you to others? How have they changed to accommodate new people? And what does all that say about the God we worship?

Merry Christmas,

Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

By the time you read this, Thanksgiving will already be over. I would imagine your fridges will be full of food, your shopping carts full of Black Friday deals, and/or your TV full of football games. Thanksgiving is a time of year that reminds so many of us Americans of the fullness there is to life. It is a season associated with abundance and bounty leading into the Christmas season.

In light of that, though, I want to be sure to remind us all that Advent is also a time of abundance. We typically think of it as a season of waiting, of anticipation—and it is! —but it is also a time when we remind ourselves of the love of God that pours over all of Creation. That love was so abundant that God chose to come and live among us, to take on flesh and be a part of our world. God came to us in the per-son of Jesus Christ and experienced all that it means to be human, to be one of us.

In response to that abundance, to that love, and to all the human experiences Christ had, we at Hope Valley Baptist Church have planned many different special services this year. I want to be sure to run through all of them with you and give you an idea of what we’re planning this season.

The first special service will be on Sunday, December 3rd during morning worship. It will be our annual Hanging of the Greens service as we mark the beginning of the Advent season. The Hanging of the Greens is a beautiful service in which we, as a church, finish decorating our sanctuary. It is an intentional service in which we remind ourselves why we do the things we do during Advent and what they say about our faith.

The second special service is our Service of Lament. This will be on Wednesday, December 6th at 6:30 pm in the church sanctuary. The Service of Lament is a unique service that carves out space for those of us who are mourning or carrying grief through the holidays. It is a service that reminds folks that even if they do not feel particularly joyful right now, the church has room for them.

Our third special service will be our annual musical service on Sunday, December 17th at 5:00 pm in our church sanctuary. This year, it is entitled, “Let There Be Christmas,” and it promises to be a beautiful, joyful service that sings out the wonder, the joy, and the beauty of this season. In addition to wonderful music, there will be delicious food served at a reception immediately following in the Fellowship Hall.

Finally, we will be having our Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion Service this year on Sunday, December 24th at 5:00 pm in our sanctuary. I love this service. It is a time for all of us to come together as a church family on the most exciting night of the year—the night when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. It is a service filled with joy, with singing, with the celebration of communion, and finally with the lighting of candles. Be sure to bring your family with you as we come together as a church family in celebration of all God has done for us.

So, there you have it. Love. Grief. Joy. Celebration. This year, our special services look to tell one overarching thing—God is with us, always. The love of God is abundant in this season.

What good news!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben