215 Mountain St. East · Worcester MA 01606 · 508-853-4071 · office@salemccworcester.org
Sunday School for all ages begins at 9:30.
The Sunday Worship Service begins at 10:45 AM.
Follow along on The Secret Sojourn, from July 9 though July 17.
Rev. Mark Frykholm, Senior Pastor
Rev. Mike Nyman, Youth Pastor
Brad Hendrickson, Director of Music
The people of Salem confess the historic Christian faith. We believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and accept the scriptures as the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. For a fuller explanation about our faith, read the Covenant Affirmations.
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These are challenging days in the life of the church. I have been involved in many recent discussions about trends in ecumenism. It would seem that the “new ecumenical spirit” that began over forty years ago following Vatican II among Protestants and Catholics alike, feels less tangible in the beginning of a new century. Denominations and church bodies are divided on a number of issues, even amongst themselves. We have seen this in the news as of late when various churches have gathered for their annual meetings and found themselves divided on issues. One conclusion to the drop in ecumenical cooperation is that it may be due to such internal issues in all our denominations. Whether that is the case or not, I truly hope that ecumenism is still alive, even if its “wellness” seems to be a bit in question.
We are sometimes tempted to think that this generation is more challenged by unique issues than generations before. In truth, every generation has wrestled with its own issues, some old, some new. But there is a larger issue at play as we reflect upon our generation and the challenges facing us. The larger issue is to keep before us our freedom in Christ. This truth has been front and center in the Covenant Church from its beginning. For the sake of the unity of the body, we agree to disagree. We can do so because in Christ we are free. We see this great truth reflected in the wisdom of past Covenant leaders.
Jim Hawkinson who will be our guest on our anniversary weekend in October, in his recent book, Glad Hearts, The Joys of Believing and Challenges of Belonging (Covenant Publications, Chicago, ©2003), has compiled the writings of Covenant people over our somewhat brief history. The following excerpts reflect the wisdom of some who have gone before us and remind us of this gift of freedom lived out in the Covenant.
The Covenant believes in the freedom of the individual conscience. It was born in a struggle for the right of the individual to read the Word and to expound it as he understood it. The Word of God is not bound. … It has been interpreted to mean that the Covenant does not care what you believe, that we consider doctrines and their interpretations as being of no consequence … Nothing could be farther from the truth. What the Covenant has seemed … to say is this: You have the right of private interpretation, but you do not have the right because of your interpretation to break the fellowship, for that is based on the blood of Christ. In the Christian church there is room for many opinions, but there is no room for division. You are free to believe what you think the Bible teaches, and you are free to seek to convince your brother, but you are not free to say that he is a lesser Christian because he has another understanding of the Scriptures than you do. You have the right to learn with us as we pursue this study together, but you do not have the right to sow mistrust of those who have come to another conclusion. (Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), Wait for Me! (1959), pp. 53-54)
Because the Covenant Church provides a considerable measure of theological freedom, it has been troubled throughout its history with a number of fruitless controversies. No community which allows itself this much freedom can avoid differences of opinion and vigorous debate (both of which give depth and power to the common life), but a shared level of theological awareness can probably prevent much of the kind of clash that leads nowhere. (Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), Into One Body … by the Cross, Volume Two (1986), p. 402)
The Covenant is a Bible-believing fellowship … but it has never officially subscribed, even under the pressures of the 1920’s, to the tenets of Fundamentalism or evangelicalism if by this we mean an adherence to Scriptural inerrancy or verbal inspiration. There are many covenanters who are Fundamentalists and there are probably many local covenant churches that would formulate their faith in these biblicistic terms. They belong to the family of faith together with everyone else who believes that the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, are the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. As indicated, they share the rights and privileges pertaining to membership. But there is one right they do not have and that is to demand that all other Covenanters must believe as they do. (Karl. A. Olsson, Into One Body, p. 424)
As Christians we must be free to maintain our convictions as to what is right and wrong. We must also be ready to welcome other Christians who may interpret the teachings of the Bible somewhat differently as to how Christians should act. We must not offend our brothers and sisters by our actions, but we also must not permit the church to be enslaved by advocating restrictions on legitimate Christian freedom. To try to reach an agreement on matters like these would result in endless discussion, but we do know that the Bible teaches that we must accept one another as Christians in spite of our differences. (Wesley W. Nelson (1910-2003), Learning to Love People, 1973 p. 24)
In this our 125th anniversary year as a church, we are reminded of our rich heritage as a Covenant people that centers around our freedom in Christ. We mark our journey by the words of the apostle Paul. “ …lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Eph. 4:1-6)
Thanks be to God.
Pastor Frykholm