Online Archives

As episcopal leader of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Bishop John Schol speaks or preaches to at least seven churches a month. Recently, he visited Mt. Zion UMC on Ark Road in Lothian.

There was no special cause that prompted his visit. Rather, "the members, staff and friends of Mt.Zion-Ark Road look forward to hearing a message, for this time and season, from our bishop," said the Rev. Hosea Hodges, the church’s pastor.

Bishop Schol visited the church Nov. 22, as the congregation was celebrating Thanksgiving.

The bishop spoke on Matthew 5:25-33, in which Christ preaches the Sermon on the Mount, advising the people not to be anxious.

Anxiety, Bishop Schol said, can take on three faces in our culture. The first is depression, which can stem from excessive worry that draws us inward and gets us stuck in negative places. The antidote to depression is trust – trusting in God and recognizing all that God created us to be.

The second face of anxiety is despair. Despair rears its head when we worry about what others say, think or do. When we fail to see life through the eyes of God, to see the possibilities that God provides, we can despair. Hope, said the bishop, is the antidote. "Hope is stronger than despair."

The third way anxiety comes to light in our life is through greed. It comes when we get into our heads and say, "I wish I had what they had. If I had more time, things or money I’d be happier." "You just have to get over that," Bishop Schol said. "God gives us all that we need. The antidote to anxiety is thanksgiving."

The bishop praised the church for its faithfulness, outreach and its ministry to involve and empower youth, and called on them to embrace hope, trust and thanksgiving. "God loves you and wants nothing but the best for you," he said. "Trust God."

Among those in the congregation were William S. Pratt, who recently turned 80, and his friend Anthony Watkins. The pair were happy that the bishop visited their church.

"We’re a family here in this church," Pratt said. "I grew up in the church and it showed me the way toward Jesus Christ. We have a lot to thank God for."