46-16 Little Neck Parkway, Little Neck, N.Y. 11362
"The Church That Love Built". 

From the Pastor’s Desk                                                                                                               February 2012

"A teacher of the Law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: 'Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus replied, 'The most important one is this: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second most important commandment is this: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. There is no other commandment more important than these two.'" (Mark 12: 28-31, Good News Bible) 

Dear Friends in Christ, 

   Whenever February rolls around, I think of Abraham Lincoln above all else. When I was growing up in Illinois, we didn't celebrate "Presidents' Day"; we celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday on February 12 and George Washington's birthday on February 22. My father was an avid Lincoln buff and had an extensive collection of writings both by and about Lincoln, particularly focusing on the Civil War period when he was President of the United States.

I remember visiting Lincoln's home and law office in Springfield, Illinois numerous times over the years, and also making a pilgrimage to Lincoln's Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. In fact, my grandmother had lived in Springfield for many years and had never visited any of those sites until she went with us when we were staying with her for vacation one summer when I was in grade school. Even she came away impressed by those experiences.

One of my favorite Lincoln quotations has to do with the question of why he, a man who was said to pray fervently and was quite familiar with the Bible, never joined any particular church. The question was asked of Lincoln by Congressman Henry Deming of Connecticut, and Lincoln's answer is extraordinary. I quote him in part here: 

"When any church will inscribe over its altars as its sole qualification for membership, the Savior's condensed statement for the substance of both law and gospel, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,' that church will I join with all my heart and soul." (as recorded by Carl Sandburg in the Introduction to his volume, Lincoln's Devotional)

One reason I was drawn to and have remained committed to the community church movement is that I believe this is precisely the kind of church body we strive to be. Here at the Community Church of Little Neck, we have no dogmatic doctrinal positions to which anywhere near all of our members would subscribe. We don't (or at least shouldn't) pass judgment on one another's beliefs—in fact, our By-Laws expressly state that we should welcome as members any who accept our Church Covenant. And our Church Covenant mentions no doctrinal standards other than "the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ".

I firmly believe that, if Lincoln were alive today and learned about the Community Church of Little Neck, he would not hesitate to join our membership with all his heart and soul. It should be our goal to be the kind of church that Abraham Lincoln would have found both acceptable and a breath of fresh air. I hope we can continue to give witness to this kind of love and acceptance for many years to come, both within the Christian community and to the world beyond. 

Yours in Christ, Pastor Paul Drake 

SERMON TEXTS AND TITLES FOR FEBRUARY 2012 

The following are the Scripture texts and titles for Pastor Drake’s sermons during the month of February, 2012.