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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Link to the reports from Jan 15 Annual Meeting
Daily meditations in words and music.
Your daily prayer online, since 1999
"We invite you to make a ‘Sacred Space’ in your day, praying here and now, as you visit our website, with the help of scripture chosen every day and on-screen guidance."
Saints of the Week, May 7 – May 14
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7
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8
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Harriet Bedell, Deaconess and Misisonary, 1969 |
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9
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Julia Chester Emery, 1922 |
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10
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William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1645 |
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11
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12
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Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167 |
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13
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Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, 367 |
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14
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May 7 – Easter 4
From Last week…
The Week Ahead…
May 8 – 3pm, Vestry
May 10 – 10:00am, Ecumenical Bible Study
May 10 – 6 pm, "Road to Emmaus", Christian education
May 12 – 7:30am, ECM
May 14 – 10:00am, Godly Play (preschool through 2nd grade
May 14 – 10:00am, God’s Kids (3rd grade and up
May 14 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Sunday, May 14 Readings and Servers
The inner beauty of Wild Flowers from the river bank.
Travel the Road to Emmaus beginning Wed. May 10, 6pm. This 6 week class is for everyone and especially those in preparation for reaffirmation, confirmation or reception. Learn about ways the church can help you to increase your faith. Renew your relationship with God. Refresh your knowledge about the church.
These classes will be held on Wednesday, May 10; Wednesday, May 17: Tuesday, May 23; Wednesday, May 31; Tuesday, June 6, and Wednesday, June 14th. We’ll begin with a simple supper at 6PM, followed by learning and discussion which will end by 8PM each evening. Not only will we have fun together, but we’ll learn a lot together. Topics include:
1. Beginnings: Baptism and Confirmation, The Bible. Knowing our History
2. Faith: What do we believe?
3. Worship: Responding to God’s blessings;
4. Sacraments: Signs of Grace;
5. Spirituality: Created for Prayer;
6. Navigating the Church: From Local to Worldwide Church and The Mission of God: What’s your Ministry?
Please let Catherine know if you plan to attend.
We are in Eastertide until Pentecost, June 4
Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply. There are a number of questions.
Is Resurrection just about death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) ? Is Resurrection of Jesus is a precursor to your own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) ? Does it say something about our own ability to expect to see Jesus (Luke 24) ? How does the new Christian community begin to function making Christ the central part of daily life ? (Acts 2)
Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurection tangible. The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence. Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church.
Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 29th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.This fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all peoples and nation. Note that the Old Testament lessons are replaced by selections from the Book of Acts, recognizing the important of the growth of the church.
Mothers in the Bible quiz, Mothers Day May 14
So how well do you know the mothers in Bible ?
We have an online quiz of 10 questions which could stump the best of you. You don’t have to register, give your name, blood type, etc. The results are only known by you. But give it a try.
The quiz is here for all who dare.
One of the great scriptures on mothers – Proverbs 31:26-31:
"26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her happy;
her husband too, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the city gates."
A Mother’s Day sermon
It is wonderful that the lectionary’s discussion on the good shepherd works well with Mother’s day. Here is a sermon from Steve Shepherd that gets at the heart of mom’s contributions both the famous and non-famous :
"On Mother’s Day we can’t say enough good things about our mothers, but we’ll try.
And God help us if we don’t!
PROP.- I want to share briefly three thoughts:
1- Her hands work
2- Her mouth speaks
3- Her heart loves
Read the rest of the Mother’s Day sermon
Lectionary, May 14, Easter 5
I.Theme – Mystical experiences from Stephen and the Apostles about the truth and revelation of God and the foundation of the building, the church.
"I am the Road, the Truth and Life" – Vasakyrkan, Gothenburg, Sweden
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
First reading – Acts 7:55-60
Psalm – Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 Page 622, BCP
Epistle –1 Peter 2:2-10
Gospel – John 14:1-14
Today’s readings portray mystical and unitive experiences come from the challenges of life. Mysticism often provides us with a greater perspective that liberates us from self-centeredness and defensiveness, thus enabling us to live compassionately.
In the course of his inquisition and martyrdom, in the First Reading Stephen has a vision of God. It enables him to experience his death fearlessly and compassionately. Like Jesus before him, he faces persecution with forgiveness, recognizing from his larger spiritual perspective than the utter ignorance of his persecutors. Their actions are based on a wrong perception of reality; they experience grace as threat and resurrection as destructive of their religious tradition, rather than pathways that will lead to a transformation and expansion of their faith. Stephen’s own forgiveness, based on his mystical experience, may create a ripple effect, opening the door to new possibilities for divine action in his persecutors’ lives.
The Psalmist gains courage through a larger perspective. Threats are all around, danger abounds, but the Psalmist proclaims “my times are in your hand.” The gift of a larger spiritual perspective enables him to experience God’s love shining upon him.
The author of I Peter reminds his listeners to feast on spiritual soul food. They have tasted the goodness of God, and from that nurture, they are able to be “built into a spiritual house.” Growing in spirit enables us to become a royal priesthood, living by life-giving values and sharing good news by our words and actions. This spiritual priesthood is not set apart as better than others, but given the call to healing and transformation, of not only sharing good news but becoming good news to the world.
John 14:1-14 begins with metaphor to a house – In God’s realm there are many dwelling places; Jesus as the Christ prepares a place for us – a future and a hope we can rely on – that enables us to experience eternal life in the here and now. We can face persecution, aging, and death because of our faith in God’s everlasting love. The trials we face now are part of a larger adventure of growing with God.
The passage becomes complicated by the words “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” Perhaps, Jesus is saying, “I am providing a way. It’s not up to you to decide who’s in and who’s out. Look at my life and you will see the heart of God. You will see God’s love for the lost and broken. Don’t place a wall where I have placed a bridge. Don’t decide the scope of salvation, and exclude those I love.” God’s way addresses us in many ways – just as there are many mansions – and we would do well to be generous rather than stingy about the scope of salvation.
Then, Jesus describes his own unitive experience with God. Just look at Jesus and you will see the heart of God: God is in me, and I am in God. The unity of God and Jesus is a unity of vision and aim, an alignment of spirit that releases divine energies in our world.
The passage concludes with the promise that we can align ourselves with God, and then do greater things than we can imagine. What could these greater things be? Given the vision of Jesus’ life presented in the gospels, we could do greater acts of hospitality, spiritual nurture, and healing. We have powers we can’t imagine that can be released when we align ourselves with Christ’s way, letting Christ be the center of our experiences and letting God’s vision guide us moment by moment.
We are always on holy ground. We all can be mystics in our own unique ways, seeing deeply into the universe, and we can have powers to heal and embrace through our relationship with God, individually and as congregations.
Easter 5 -"Many Rooms" – Jan Richardson
"Many Rooms" -Jan L. Richardson
Jan Richardson is an artist, writer, and ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. She serves as director of The Wellspring Studio, LLC, and travels widely as a retreat leader and conference speaker. Known for her distinctive intertwining of word and image, Jan’s work has attracted an international audience drawn to the welcoming and imaginative spaces that she creates in her books, online blogs, and public events. Here she is providing the art and writing on the lectionary.
From the Painted Prayerbook by Jan L. Richardson
"Many years ago, a recurring dream began to take hold of my nighttime brain. The details shift and change each time it visits, but the essence of the dream remains the same: I am wandering through shops—not a mall, but a series of connected stores. The stores are the kind that I love to browse through, the sort that I find in communities that value artistry. As I wander among the stores that spill into one another, I savor what I see: richly hued artwork, finely crafted jewelry, beautiful pottery that calls out for me to touch it.
"In the dream, no matter the changing details, I always find a bookstore. Often it’s a used bookstore, crammed with volumes and with more shelves around each turn. Once the bookstore contained a case of gorgeous hand-bound books, displayed like artwork. I marveled at the colors, textures, and designs, knowing as I touched the books, I want to do this, to create books like these.
"Along with the persistent presence of a bookstore, one other detail of the dream never changes: it always begins with my walking down a familiar street. I turn a corner and suddenly find myself among the shops, thinking, Of course—that’s where they were! These treasures were in my neighborhood the whole time, waiting for me to find them.
"And you know the way to the place where I am going, Jesus says to his disciples on the night before his death. Here at the table where they share their final meal before his crucifixion, there are many things Jesus wants to tell them. His hunger for them to know—which we see again and again in the gospel texts in this Easter season—becomes particularly acute as Jesus gathers with them just hours before his death. And so he will go on to tell them aboutz the Holy Spirit whom he will send, and how this Spirit will be in them. Jesus will tell them that he is the true vine in which they will abide. He will tell them—command them—to love one another, and how the world will hate them. He will tell them that their sorrow will turn to joy. Jesus is desperate for them to know these things, and more.