Loch Leven’s history
extends back to 1928. It began as the
Dolly Varden Angling Club. By the 1940s,
it had become an exclusive resort getaway and hosted Hollywood guests like Mary
Pickford and Buddy Rogers, Maria Montez and Jean Pierre Aumont, John Ford and
Edward Arnold.
We purchased Loch
Leven in the fall of 1956, and since the summer of 1957, Loch Leven has been the
primary location for our summer camp programs.
At 4000’ elevation,
Loch Leven is a little cooler than the valley below, but summer days can still
be quite hot, and the surrounding mountains contain mostly chaparral: yucca,
manzanita, even some cactus and other desert-type plants that do well in a hot,
dry climate.
The area really isn’t
an area one would want to spend much time in, especially during the hot summer,
except for one thing: Loch Leven is located where two canyon streams meet. Skinner Creek is dry during much of the
summer, at least on the surface, but the seasonal flow and the year-round water
underground allows lush plants and trees to grow.
With the streams and
the trees, Loch Leven truly is an oasis in the desert.
The trees along the
creeks at Loch Leven are a living example of what Jeremiah talks about: they do not fear the heat. Their leaves stay green. They continue to bear fruit.
For all those who come
to Loch Leven, to spend a week at summer camp, or a weekend retreat, they find
their own faith watered by the stream of God’s spirit. And when the spiritual drought comes, they
endure, because their roots are deep, and they have drunk from the water of
life.
It’s amazing, what
spending a week along the banks of these creeks does for a young person. No other experience is as influential in the
spiritual growth of young people.
Without Mountain Home
Creek and Skinner Creek, there would be no Loch Leven. That is no exaggeration. These streams are
the life of the camp, in more ways than one.
Sloan Hamilton, our on-site camp manager, along with volunteers like Tom
Reed from First Christian Church in Pomona, have been working to make new
pathways along the streams, as well as doing work in the streams to improve
fish habitat as well as accessibility for other wild creatures. Hopefully even more people will realize the
beauty and the life that these streams bring to Loch Leven and all who visit
that wonderful place, and how important it is to care for the streams as we
work to be good stewards of all God has given to us.
If it’s confusing to
you how a tree can grow on both sides of a river, just understand that this is
poetic imagery, not meant to be taken literally, and let your mind have fun
trying to picture a tree growing on both sides of a river…
Or better yet, let
your mind wander back to Genesis, and the tree of life there, and the Garden of
Eden with its four rivers coming from it.
The image here in Revelation obviously intends to take your mind back to
that peaceful paradise.
By the way, when
people think of Revelation, they think of the Apocalypse. The truth is, the two words mean the same
thing, and in some languages, the Revelation to John is called the Apocalypse
of John.
But here’s the thing.
Apocalypse doesn’t
mean a great, terrible, end-of-the-world catastrophe; it means a revealing.
And what is
revealed? A restored creation. The tree
of life, from Genesis, that heals and restores.
In the beginning the earth was good, and at the end, the earth is
good. Creation is good.
In between, there is
good, but there is also sin. Violence.
War. Suffering. Greed.
But we have this
vision. The vision of a better
world. A kingdom of God. A beloved
community. A new heaven and a new earth.
It’s the vision the
prophets had, the vision Jesus had when he talked about the kingdom.
But then, with Cain’s
murder of Abel, things changed.
Diversity led to resentment and jealousy. Abundance led to scarcity. In God’s creation,
there is enough for everyone to have everything they need; there is
abundance. But we take more than we
need, we hoard, and some are left without.
Abundance has been replaced by scarcity.
And in this new world
of our creation, the trees refused to
produce different types of fruit. Now,
only one type of fruit grows on a tree.
But always, there is
the river, washing over us, cleansing us of anger and greed and
resentment. It washes over our eyes,
replacing our vision for the world
with God’s vision.
It is a vision of a
world marked by wholeness.
It is a vision of a
world marked by equality.
It is a vision of a
world marked by justice.
It is a vision of a
world marked by peace.
Gandhi knew that the
world provides enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.
When the river of God
flows through our lives, we learn to share.
We learn that our neighbor does not have to be a threat to us, but a
friend. We learn that we don’t have to be a threat to our neighbors, that we
can love them and work with them.
Bixby Knolls Christian
Church is a part of that flow. We are a
part of the stream, the river of the water of life. It flows through our ministry, and brings
life to the world.
I believe that our ministry is as essential for the creation of
that new world as Mountain Home Creek and Skinner Creek are to Loch Leven.
Through the ministry
of Bixby Knolls Christian Church, people come to understand that they are
connected to one another – that we are all connected as part of the human race
– just as we are connected to the land through the food we eat and the clothes
we wear.
Through the ministry
of Bixby Knolls Christian Church, God’s vision for a world of beautiful
diversity is revealed. We are one of the
most diverse small congregations in the country, and that is an important part
of our witness.
Through the ministry
of Bixby Knolls Christian Church, we learn that we depend on one another for
survival, just as we depend on the trees and forests for oxygen.
Through the ministry
of Bixby Knolls Christian Church, God is revealed an empowering, life-giving
force. Too many people in our world
today have such a very narrow view of God, that God wants nothing more than to
judge and punish, that God wants to limit your capabilities and stifle your
potential. Too many have even come to
understand God as an abusive parent, beating humanity into compliance.
But that is not
God. God is a force for love in our
world. God empowers humans to live up to
their full potential. God calls you to
be nothing less than fully human, to be all that you were created to be. It is not God’s will to imprison you and hold
you captive with burdensome rules and regulations and unrealistic
expectations. It is God’s will to set
you free.
This is a message of
life. This is a message that waters the
soul of every human being. It is a
message that is as essential to the salvation of humanity as a stream in a
desert is to the trees that grow along its banks.
And just as the staff and volunteers at Loch Leven take good care
of the streams there, we, too, are called to take good care of the message and
the ministry that has been entrusted to us.
One way we do this is
by pledging our support to the church, and committing a portion of our income
to the church so that this message can continue to bring life to the world.
In a few minutes we
will bring forward our pledge cards. I
know many of you have prayed and thought about what you are able to commit
to. Most of you have you cards already
filled out. And I am so thankful for all
you do, to water the trees, clear the paths, and help the ever-flowing stream
provide life to as many people as possible.
If you haven’t yet
filled out a card, it’s not too late.
You can make a pledge.
If you have already
filled out your card, but now you’re thinking, “this work of making sure the
water flows, that life flows, is too important,” and you realize that it
requires a bigger commitment: it’s not too late. You can cross out your pledge and fill in a
new amount, or get a new card.
I personally know it’s
not easy to commit your support to the church when there are so many other
financial needs and worries in your life.
A couple years ago I realized that my own giving to the church was
woefully small. I decided to change
that.
In three years, I’ve
increased what I give to the church by 50%, but that’s not bragging; generosity
is one virtue that I am still working on in my own life, and I still feel that
I’m not yet at where I’m supposed to be.
But I am on my way. I’m moving in
the right direction, even if I’m not there yet.
So I guess I’m right
there with you. We’re in this
together. The struggle over finances,
and how much we can sacrifice, is something we share.
And I invite you to
grow with me; grow in generosity, and allow the blessings to flow through us
and through our church, so that the river of the water of life may refresh,
replenish, and renew the life of our community and our world.
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