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Homily by F. William Rohm
Sunday, May 26, 2019
St. Stephen's Church
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
http://lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Easter/CEaster6_RCL.html
May the words of my mouth and meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in Thy sight Oh Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.
Amen
Good morning.
As some of you may have noticed, I am not Bishop Baxter.
He really wanted to be here today. It is on his bucket list to preach at St. Stephen. We pray for him this morning to recover from the medical issues that laid him up a few days ago, and sent us scrambling priest-less to pull together a service in 48 hours. If it works well, you can thank Michele, Bill Day, and Sue Beamer. If it seems like a bumpy ride, blame your Viper villain.
Memorial Day. A time for reflection. A time to remember those who have served in the U. S. Armed Forces. It was first celebrated in 1871. But those honored go back to our very foundations as a nation, the Revolutionary War. And we must never forget, not only soldiers throughout our history have sacrificed, but also we honor their families and the sacrifices that they have made.
My great grandfather Fritz, who lived in Patterson, now Mifflin, served as a regimental Bugler in the 16th Pennsylvania Calvary. They were made up of folks from right around here. He was one of the first awardees of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Under fire at the Battle of Reams Station in Virginia, he rescued Union General Beaver from death at the hands of a charging Confederate division. General Beaver lived on to become Governor Beaver, and later had Beaver Stadium named in his honor.
Fritz Rohm was a Presbyterian, and may also have attended this church during the period when it was a home to the Presbyterians.
Our story here, in this church, starts with the War of 1812. A man, General Evans, served with honor in that war, and participated in the events at Fort McHenry near Baltimore Harbor that were memorialized first in a poem, and then in song by Francis Scott Key. “And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, over the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
As our Psalm for today proclaims to us, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
As was a custom at the time, as a result of his service, General Evans was given land by the Federal government on what was considered to be the frontier. This area later became Thompsontown. Shortly after the war, he began building the General Evans house which still exists right up the road from here. Using stone from the same quarry, and during the same time period, he also built this church where we are worshiping today. General Evans was a soldier and a man of faith. A new beginning in a new place. A place of worship, and a home.
And over two hundred years later, this building still stands, having served as a church for Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, as well as Episcopalians.
In our gospel for today, Jesus says, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” This church has been a Christian home, our home, for over two centuries. For that we have General Evans to thank. We honor him today along with multitudes of others, both for his military service and Christian faith. God Bless them all.
Amen
