Clergy Deliver Messages of Faith

To many, the solar or Gregorian calendar is more than just a system of tracking days, weeks, months and years. Christians, in particular, believe it has religious and spiritual connotations. And many give this new year greater significance than just the start of another thousand years.

A handful of local pastors and religious leaders agree that the new millennium is a good time to reflect on the teachings of Jesus, around whose birth the solar calendar evolved.

Their messages follow, expressed in their personal style and perspective. Some are humorous. Others are reflective. All aim to give encouragement for the new year.

The Gregorian calendar, the solar calendar used by most of the world, was sponsored by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Although it has been universally adopted, at least for civil use, there are groups--including Jews and Muslims--who adhere to other calendars for religious purposes. So today’s messages are from Christian leaders and from Rabbi Shimon Paskow, spiritual leader of Temple Etz Chaim.

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The Rev. Brandon Cho, senior pastor of Simi Valley United Methodist Church:

One day a young pastor dreamed that Jesus was coming during the new millennium. He was excited and anxious at the same time. He called his mentor-pastor and said, “I am calling you because you have always given me good advice. I dreamed that Jesus is coming at any time. What shall I do?”

The older and wiser pastor said just two words: “Look busy!”

I would suggest the following perspectives as we seek to live a productive life:

1. Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow.

2. Make your faith relevant and dynamic.

3. Follow Jesus Christ, hope of the world and your ever-faithful good shepherd.

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Msgr. Joseph S. George, pastor of St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church, Thousand Oaks:

As we begin a new millennium and celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, my thoughts and dreams are full of hope for all of us. Our nation is experiencing great prosperity. We are becoming more aware that prosperity must be shared with all our people.

There is also a reawakening of our leadership potential and the understanding that we have a responsibility to work for the good of the world community and especially Third World countries.

The Catholic faith community during this Jubilee Year 2000 is committed to peace, justice and reconciliation among all people.

May this be a millennium of special blessings for all God’s children.

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The Rev. Bill Coulter, pastor of Channel Islands Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Oxnard:

My millennium message is that we should walk with God. That is the direction we have been taking. We have been trying to be more what Jesus wants us to be and following the simple things the Gospels talk about, like serving one another and thinking of others more than ourselves.

The love of Christ is something we emphasize all the time as members of our church feed the poor in the park every Saturday and Sunday or take care of the seniors as they minister to their needs in the seniors’ home.

I can’t describe the good feeling you get by serving others. It is something you can get only by sharing the love of Christ.

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The Rev. Elizabeth Habecker, parish associate, St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, Camarillo:

Is Jan. 1 a beginning or an ending? Do we celebrate what lies ahead or focus on the days gone by? So much of the media attention is on the past. Are we to learn from the past so that the future will benefit? Responding to the huge importance a millennium celebration calls for, it has even taxed the resources of Las Vegas!

The Christian finds hope in the time God calls us. We live with the anticipation that our Lord will be present to us once again, that is the future we look to.

For the faithful, time is not measured by parties and noisemakers. Time is a gift God has given us, and we are called to celebrate it each day. Every evening is the close of a time offered to God, and every morning is the beginning of a new time to give thanks.

Celebrate this New Year’s as yet another opportunity to recognize God’s timeless presence. A new millennium is a gift of time, and God is always part of that.

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The Rev. Tim Beal, pastor of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Thousand Oaks:

Time has significance only as a means of determining relationships.

A new year, a new century, a new millennium is significant only if it marks a change in the ordinary and expected. We Christians celebrate that God’s compassionate and creative power is at work in our time and place.

With God’s involvement, the past is not a prison that limits who we are or what we can become. God gives us the opportunity to choose now what we will live for and how. And with God’s help, we face the future with hope.

May God bless you this holiday season.

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Gary Wilde, president of the Ventura Stake of The the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints look forward to the new millennium with optimism and a sense of duty to lift and help others around us. Our prophet and president Gordon B. Hinckley recently said:

“This is an exciting and wonderful time as we step across the threshold of the centuries. It is only two millenniums since the Savior walked the earth.

“We stand on the summit of the ages, awed by a great and solemn sense of history and as we greet the beginning of another thousand years, we ought to be more Christ-like, more forgiving, more helpful and considerate to all around us.”

We wish every family and member of our community a healthy and happy New Year as we usher in the new millennium together.

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The Rev. Dennis Chapman, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Simi Valley:

The long-awaited, dreadful Y2K is finally upon us. As we leave one year, one decade, one century behind us with all its uncertainty and fears and face the next 1,000 years also with its fears and uncertainty, what can we expect?

The world continues to laugh at the Bible and Christians in general. But, they--Bible-believing Christians--are not left with the fear and uncertainty that persist. The Bible-believing Christian leaves the old year and enters the new year with absolutes that have proven themselves throughout time. These absolutes that the world mocks at are the truths that eliminate uncertainty and fears.

What are some of these absolutes? The absolute trustworthiness of the Bible, God’s word, proven and test proven without fail for centuries. The absolute of the love of God.

The absolute that God will judge men who reject the free pardon of salvation in his son Jesus Christ. The absolute of the joy, peace, purpose and power that God gives to those who trust him. The absolute that God loves us and has a plan for each one of our lives. We can face the new millennium with hope, peace and purpose as we settle into the absolutes that we have in God’s word and his son, Jesus Christ.

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The Rev. John Neiman, associate pastor, St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church, Oxnard:

My message is to tell the people the message of Pope John Paul II. His words have become our motto for the new millennium.

In the pope’s proclamation he has said, “Open wide the door to Jesus Christ.”

By that he means for us to take our faith out to the place we are--to our jobs or wherever we go. We are to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others. We should proclaim Jesus Christ by everything we do. People should be able to know Jesus by looking at us and seeing the lives we lead. We are to take our faith to heart and live that faith by loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbors.

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Rabbi Shimon Paskow, Temple Etz Chaim, Thousand Oaks:

We hope there is peace in the world and economic prosperity. We hope progress will be made in the world that will bring improvements in everyone’s health. We wish everyone will have a good year with health, wealth and happiness.