| October 1, 2020 Good afternoon. ” The logo on our (church) bag is an olive tree symbolizing peace. The tree is younger saying that we are looking towards new growth here at Poole. The wrapping of the tree trunk reminds us of the unity that we have in the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The olive tree symbolizes our rural roots, and a reusable bag will remind us to care of God’s creation.’ ————– The logo on our church bag was designed by Josslyn Hagen. The cloth bag was designed about a year ago. It was Josslyn’s idea about what Poole Church is, and wants to be. The biblical writers and the church members throughout history have tried to define the nature of the church. We are a community surrounded by our beliefs in God. We live by, or want to live by, a certain set of ethics and morals that draw us together. We have changed our minds over the years. In the Old Testament there are many covenants ( or agreements ) between God and the community. We have the Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and Jeremiahic covenants . They are all slightly different. God does not change ( although God changes his mind in the book of Jonah ) but God’s people change . Then, in the New Testament, God changes the goalposts by becoming part of us as a human being, Jesus of Nazareth. God was with us for about 30 years, and now we live in the midst of the Spirit of God. I would venture we do not all see history this way. Mostly we do, but all of our beliefs are not exactly the same. We are women and men, young and old, new believers and old believers ( like me ). We grew up in different families, worked different jobs and lived in different houses. We read the same Bible, but from different places and from different angles. For example, what did Jesus look like when he lived on earth ? He was Jewish. He was brown. He lived in a small area of the world, in and around Jerusalem. Was he tall , and had long hair ? Was he slightly overweight ? Did he look like his mother or father ? Was he comfortable in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek or even Latin ? He did not speak English. Were his eyes blue or green ? And what does Jesus look like in heaven ? The same or different ? When you pray to God, through Christ Jesus, do you see a being,or well, just what do you imagine ? We are all different , trying to follow the ways of God through Christ and Spirit. Enjoy the journey !  Fred Tread on bold new paths! Fireflies flash the direction Hope springs eternal ! Monica Pieper Landoni 2 |
