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Is is vitally important? Psalm 146 (please: read this short psalm first)  I was at a committee meeting this week. (I’m in lots of meetings, as a matter of fact. I think it’s some sort of test of endurance)  The group included clergy and lay people from all over our District. At this meeting, we discussed the future of our church, our denomination (we like to take on very small issues), and one of the simple questions we took up was: Is church important, is it vitally important to us and to the people in our respective churches? Frankly, it was disheartening to hear the group’s responses to that question. Everyone was in agreement that while our churches are made up of good people, kind people, wonderful people even – nevertheless, church is not seen as being vitally important. The opinion was offered that if church were vitally important to us, it would not be viewed as just another ‘activity’ which we squeeze into our schedules, and for which we make a little time on Sundays. If church were vitally important, it would not be on an equal level with social, civic or athletic clubs. If church were vitally important, there would be no conflict in determining which of our family’s commitments take priority on Sunday morning. It was also pointed out that there are some folks in most local churches for whom it is vitally important.  Such challenging questions, regardless of the fear they may strike in our hearts, are important for us to ask of ourselves. Many of us (clergy and lay people alike) fall prey to taking things for granted, including our faith commitment. It’s easy for our lives to become all booked up with countless activities (including meetings?), and for our commitment to God to continually take a back seat. We increasingly place our faith in things of this earth, convinced that if we just keep running & buying & possessing hard enough we will surely find happiness and fulfillment. Listen to what the Psalmist says: Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. (3-4, NRSV)  To speak of ‘church’ is more than to speak about attendance at Sunday worship or church meetings, fundraisers and pot-lucks. It’s about the role which ‘church’ (think God, Jesus, scripture, prayer, Christian fellowship, nurture, outreach, witness, missions = faith) plays in our life each and every day. It’s about the priority we give our faith in all that we are and all that we do. For every one of us, this necessitates taking a hard look at the enticements and the pressures offered by the mortals and princes of our time, to determine where to put our trust. For the Psalmist the choice is clear: Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope in the Lord their God. (5) For me and for you – what’s our choice, where do we seek our happiness? - Pastor Piet - June 10, 2007