From the pastor's study

    For the last several years, February has been set aside as black history month.  The purpose has been to inform our nation more fully of the black heritage.  It is a worthy purpose, and to a certain extent, it is being accomplished.  I want to push the envelope a little further to say that each of us has a heritage which is important and which ought to be investigated.  When we begin to delve into our family heritage, we discover some interesting facts.  We learn who we are by virtue of who we have been.  Many of us discover that our family heritage goes back to Europe or possibly Asia or to some other country.  It often involves settlements in other parts of the United States.  We learn that we haven't always been where we are now or who we are now.

    An example from my own family.  As best we can tell, on my mother's mother's side of the family, we can trace heritage back to four brothers who came to America possibly to serve as soldiers for the King of England (Hessian Soldiers).  They were promised land after England won the war (Revolutionary War).  Problem was that England didn't win the war; they lost.  What were the four brothers to do?  At least one of them joined up with the railroad and went west with the railroad, helping to build it as they went along.  He settled in the sand hills of Nebraska, which is where my mothers' family calls their ancestral home.  As we learn more about things like this, we learn to be more appreciative of where we are today and of who we are today. 

    Not least among the trends of heritage is spiritual heritage and trend.  We haven't always been Baptist.  My forebears have been Methodist, probably Lutheran, and who knows what else?  That makes a difference as well.  Why don't you take an interest in your family's heritage?  Begin to investigate it and learn more of who you are today by discovering who is in your background.  You probably will be glad that you did.