Pastor's Messages
Message on Tuesday, October 14, 2025
“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” Ephesians 5:13
Dear church,
Happy birthday, William Penn!
Our Quaker father, the founder of our Commonwealth, the recipient of an incredible transfer of land, riches and resources, was born on October 14, 1644. As we move closer to the 250th birthday of our church, founded at the dawn of American Independence, it’s appropriate to remember the foundation William Penn laid here in our region - to the benefit of our entire nation. Thanks to him, everything around here has a “Penn” name, especially schools. How many can you count? Pennbrook, Penndale, Pennfield… And thanks to his historic role, there is still a healthy contingent of Quaker schools and Meetinghouses in our area. The values they espouse, such as religious freedom, listening to the spirit, listening to others, being present in the moment, paying attention to the inner light, seeking justice and peace… have not lost any of their relevance.
Granted, I prefer a traditional, structured church service with music, liturgy and prayers carefully prepared in advance. But a little bit of Quaker spirit can’t hurt the church. I often learn from people in our congregation, from their experiences and spiritual insights that may pop up in a casual situation or in a formal Bible Study, at a Men’s Breakfast, on a Mission Trip, among Stephen Ministers, or in the newly established Women’s Spiritual Sharing Circle (starting October 21). Nobody needs to hide their own inner light and no single person has all the answers. In that sense (and less in terms of our worship style) we invite the Quaker spirit into our community.
It is hard for us moderns to imagine just how restrictive and exclusive European societies were during colonial times. Just like the father of the Quaker movement - George Fox, William Penn spent time in prison for his unusual beliefs, and he was from a privileged family. Whatever the dominant religion was in any of those places in old Europe, they tended to suppress differing voices and religious traditions. Whether it was the Anglicans, the Catholics, Lutherans or Calvinists, it didn’t matter. Our Christian faith had not reached the level of maturity required to tolerate or even embrace differing views as a gift rather than a problem. We humans are slow learners (oh, so slow!) and I’m afraid AI will pass us in no time… In fact, don’t we still display the same attitudes today when it comes to our dreaded politics? They are so tribal that you may get the feeling we live in pre-modern times!
The man who greets us from the top of City Hall in Philadelphia reminds us that diversity must not be a dirty word, displaying wokeism. It’s a sign of enlightenment and in William Penn’s case, a spiritual form of enlightenment. It’s also representative of the early Christian church with its many expressions and its ability to attract people from different classes and cultures. Sometimes, in order to find the future, it’s instructive to re-visit the past, believe it or not.
And finally, look at that passage from Ephesians 5:13. It is true, everything that becomes illumined also becomes light by virtue of reflecting the light. Suddenly, you can see a new path in front of you. Suddenly, you see people in a new way. That is the opposite of ‘being set in your ways.’ It is liberating!
May God’s light shine in you and through you!
Have a most blessed day,
Pastor Andreas Wagner