 Pastor’s
Page
By the
time you read this, we’ll have just finished celebrating the Resurrection of
our Christ. And, like those first disciples, we may be wondering, “What’s
next?” Now that we’ve polished off the last of the jellybeans and chocolate
bunnies, what does it mean to us as church folks that we’ve just celebrated
Easter?
Of all the Gospel stories
that relate what those first followers of Jesus did following the very first
Easter, perhaps my favorite is the one at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. When
Mary Magdalene and the other women go to the cemetery where Jesus’ body had
been laid, and they speak with the angel that is there, the angel tells them
to go to Galilee, where Jesus will meet them. So, the disciples go to
Galilee, and climb the mountain “where Jesus had directed them. When they
saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”
Things haven’t changed
all that much in 2,000 years. We greet Easter with joy and alleluias,
happily shout out “Christ is risen!” and then--some of us believe, and some
of us doubt, and most folks are somewhere in-between. And with our belief
and with our doubt, with our answers and with our questions, we’re called,
like those first disciples, to figure out what comes next – what it means to
be “the body of Christ” in this world we live in today.
Our sermon series for
April is going to focus on “Being Church.” We’re going to consider the
increasingly prevalent claim in our culture today that “I’m spiritual, but
I’m not really religious.” What does that mean? Is there a difference? If
so, what might it be? We’re going to talk about “belief” – how Christian
beliefs have been expressed in the past, how some of our understandings have
changed over time, and what belief has to do with action. We’re going to
think about what it means to be the “community of Christ” and about what it
means to have “the same mind in us” (so unlikely in any congregation, but
perhaps especially in a UCC congregation!) – how we worship and serve
together in spite of, and while embracing, our differences. Finally, we’re
going to consider “the power of commitment” – and not just abstractly, but
concretely how it affects each and every one of us right here in our church.
If you have a friend or
acquaintance you’d like to introduce to our church, this is a wonderful time
to do so. While we won’t be talking specifically about the UCC, we’ll
certainly be reflecting together on our varied understandings of what being
church is all about – and my guess is, there are folks out there in our
community who will find that exciting and intriguing.
Let us celebrate our
risen Christ together – in worship, in service, and in our relationships
with others!
Blessings, Pastor Sharyl
Easter Thank-Yous
Our Maundy Thursday and Easter services
were wonderful, as was our informal Breakfast & Blessings service, thanks to
the energy and hard work of so many people. Among them, we all thank:
-- Nancy and David Hoefer and Carolyn Ramsey – for both their creativity and
their “engineering” feats on the paraments, window-drapes, and butterflies
-- Our musicians – Bob Boberg, our chancel choir and bell choir members, and
their directors, Karen Caton and Martha Jones
-- Our Righteous Readers – this time, Len Allen, Don Everhart, Betty Hall,
Donna Hochmuth, Chuck Holmgren, and Julie Krueger
-- All of our breakfast and coffee preparers, bringers, servers (the food
was wonderful), and cleaner-uppers (especially our ever-faithful Charlie
Koontz, Van Garbin, and Jon Ragsdale) |
