I attended the 11 o’clock Sunday service on Feb. 28, at the 1st Presbyterian Church of Eureka Springs, the sister church of the Holiday Island Presbyterian Church. Clare Kelley is pastor of both congregations and required to make a hasty yet, I am sure, dignified exeunt after the 9 a.m. Holiday Island service to meet her 11 a.m. obligations here in town.
Who are the Presbyterians? Among American Christians, they are the best educated, the wealthiest, and have possessed great political, business, and institutional power. One would expect a group with such attributes to be well-mannered and organized, and I was not disappointed: several members greeted me, made sure I was comfortable and seemed genuinely pleased to have me as their guest. The 46-minute worship experience followed what I am sure is a precise order of service that was dignified, familiar, and rather comforting.
Danna Hearn is the church pianist and led the congregation and choir in singing three hymns. The first was the marvelous Christ Be Beside Me, also known as St. Patrick’s Lorica. It was followed by O God in Whom All Life Begins which, by the third verse, encouraged thoughts of suicide. The closing hymn, When We are Living, is a humble and rather sweet song about the ups and downs of real and everyday life. A five-member, robed choir sang the introit and some special music; they were flat out terrific and knew exactly what they were doing.
Clare Kelley has been pastor of the First Presbyterian Church(es) for the past 12 years. This Sunday, she gave an 11-minute sermon titled “Imperishable.” I broadly summarize: Good things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good people. The only sure thing that good and bad people have in common is that they die. That seems unfair. But good people do not perish – from memory, from the hearts of people who know them, from the presence of God, because of what they produce. What do they produce? Love. We know someone is a good person, a good Christian, a child of God, because they loved, and are loved. Love does not perish, nor will they.
Kelley’s sermon was the best 11 minutes I spent all week. She has a plainspoken manner that is authoritative and matter of fact, yet is approachable and radiating with kindness. She didn’t tell any jokes – thank you, Jesus – and had prepared a sermon that was intelligent, to the point, and economical.
The 1st Presbyterian Church has served Eureka Springs for 130 years this coming May. They have much to celebrate.