Peace, yes, a wonderful thing!!!
Rhonda1
-----Original Message-----
From: The Electronic Church [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of John Schwery
Sent: Sunday, April 23, 2006 6:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Church controversy again
Kathy, I don't know why we need a Christian flag to show our
commitment to Him. I think, substitute the Christian flag with the
Maine state flag and give the honored place to the American
flag. This may keep peace and I think peace is what is needed.
earlier, Kathy Du Bois, wrote:
>Hi Guys,
> Well, it looks like Greg and I might be in a bit of the
> thick of it again. Unfortunately, it isn't because of doctrine or
> anything like that, it's over the position of the flags in our
> church. It would be interesting to see if you guys have anything
> to say about it.
> The Bangor area is pretty military. Our airport doubles as
> a civilian airport and a military base. We have the longest runway
> in the country, so I'm told because of this union. Many of the
> troops who are either flying overseas, or returning home, go
> through Bangor Maine. We have a group of people, in the area, who
> have established themselves as troop greeters to give them a warm
> American send off or welcome no matter what time the military plane
> arrives, day or night. A few of the members of our congregation
> participate in this. Hopefully, this helps to set the stage for
> what blew up today.
> The church has always had two flags in the front of the
> sanctuary. One is the American flag and one is the Christian
> flag. In flag protocol, established by the military in the early
> 1800s, the flag of the highest honor is supposed to be positioned
> to the right of the speaker. In a church, this would mean to the
> right of the pastor. Well, this protocol was established before
> the Christian flag was even created so it doesn't mention the
> Christian flag or how to deal with it at all. Some pastors have
> opted to just remove the flags from the sanctuary altogether to
> stop the bickering, but our congregation wants the flags to
> remain. This leaves us with an interesting dilemma, which
> flag should receive top honors in a church?
> First of all, I will say very emphatically that Greg and I
> are both very patriotic. We love our country and we are grateful
> to live here. We have no interest in protesting the war, or the
> military and we never have, but, we believe that Christ should
> receive top honor in His sanctuary. If you go to any of the
> offices of government, the court house, the town office, or any
> military establishment, such as the V.F.W. or the American Legion,
> you won't even see a Christian flag on display and that is
> okay. We may say that we are one nation under God, but we aren't
> and we aren't insisting that the Christian flag appear anywhere
> outside the church. However, as much as I love this country, my
> first allegiance is to Christ. I will protest when my country
> becomes immoral, but I will cling to the cross of Christ no matter
> who is in earthly power.
> Well, at our business meeting, it came up today. The
> veterans among us are all protesting, some threatening to never
> come to our church again, because the Christian flag is in the
> honored position. I have to say that most of the congregation
> voted in support of Greg, putting Christ first. Greg had even
> talked to an army chaplain on the matter before today and the
> chaplain agrees with Greg, but never the less, it's a small town,
> so the winds of trouble are blowing again.
> When I arrived home, I looked up the first commandment in
> Exodus 20:3-6.
>
> You shall have no other gods before me.
>You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
>heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
>You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
>For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children
>for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations of
>those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of
>those who love me and keep my commandments.
>
>I don't know, perhaps I am making too much of the connection, but I
>couldn't help but wonder if part of the reason that our society is
>so messed up today is because other things, such as flags, have
>replaced our love of the one true God in first place in our lives.
>
> Unfortunately, the veterans, in all this, won't hear our
> point because of their emotional commitment to the flag. They see
> us in the same way as they saw the Viet Nam protestors of the 60s
> and, to be truthful, it is hard for us to respect their commitment
> to Christ that they would be willing to break up community over
> this. We have done services in the past honoring the veterans, but
> that doesn't seem to be remembered now.
>Just pray for us Guys. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
>Kathy
>
John
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