Love is in the air. And on the airwaves. And was pretty much inescapable as Valentine's Day approached.

But it's not all hearts and flowers as some Butler County clergy have taken to their pulpits and discussed love in all its forms as the subject of sermons and lessons.

The Rev. Brady Randall, pastor of Orchard Hill Butler County, which meets at 107 Staley Ave., said his Feb. 10 sermon took love as its subject.

“The love of God and the love of Christ, that will be the message,” said Randall.

Randall said the Bible mentions four types of love represented by four Greek words: eros, storge, philia, and agape.

Randall said, “Eros is the romantic, sensual love.

“Philia is the familial, intimate love that Christians might practice with each other,” he said. “Agape is the highest form of love, it's unconditional and self-sacrificing.”

“That's the sacrificial love, agape. That's the love that Christ has for us, the self-sacrificial type of love,” said Randall.

The fourth type of love, storge, he said, “is more of a familial love, the love of parents and children.”

Recognizing agape can be a conundrum, he said.

“Part of it is how do you become a child of God?” Randall asked. “Does it mean you do good things to please the father. Some say you have to be born into it, like you are born into a family.”

“But God tells us 'It's not necessarily what you do, it is what I have done,'” said Randall.

But Valentine's Day doesn't resonate with the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church, 120 Sunset Drive, Center Township.

Trinity's pastor, the Rev. Joel Benson, said, “We don't normally do anything about it. We won't focus on that. It's not something we would normally do.

“Valentine's Day is a secular holiday. It's just not one we would be a part of,” he said.

“Now the Grand Commandment is 'Love each other as God loved us,' and we certainly talk about loving each other all the time,” said Benson, but he said there were no plans to incorporate Valentine's Day into any of the worship service's parts.

That could be because the origin of Valentine's Day is unclear and the saint it celebrates is no longer listed in the official calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, downgrading it to a local celebration.

Tradition has it Valentine of Rome was a Christian martyr, killed on Feb. 14, in the year 269 under the direction of Emperor Claudius II of Rome either for refusing to convert to paganism or for performing weddings for soldiers who had been prohibited from marrying.

Others have suggested that Valentine's Day has pagan roots and is associated with Lupercalia, a February pagan holiday centered on fertility and love.

The Rev. Jason McQueen, pastor of Cabot United Methodist Church, 707 Winfield Road, Cabot, said he hasn't incorporated Valentine's Day themes into either last week's or this Sunday's services.

For McQueen, it's more a question of timing not any aversion to the holiday.

“I've done that in the past, but we are going to go in a different direction this year,” said McQueen.

“I'm pretty certain we understand that concept (love) very well here at Cabot United Methodist,” he said.

<br />

<br />