No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome at First Congregational Church of Blue Hill.
If you are visiting us for the first time, please allow us to extend our warmest greetings. We are an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ. Sunday Worship services are available in-person, via Zoom and live stream on Facebook. While masks are no longer required, we do ask that everyone mask while singing. We look forward to having you join us in worship.
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! The phrase, “The Road to Damascus” has come to represent an epiphanal moment, a time when a person undergoes significant change due to sudden realization. In our lesson for this Sunday, we read about how Saul, a renowned persecutor of those who followed Jesus, meets the risen Christ. His life is changed, and so are ours as a result. That we can have new insights that open us to greater love at any time is a gift, and we celebrate that gift in our worship this week.
Blessings and peace, Lisa. p.s. Don’t forget our hymn sing with George Emlen in the sanctuary at 4:00 Sunday afternoon!
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Worship at Home Materials: We offer worship in-person as well as on Zoom. Coffee & tea are available after the church service. Masks are not required in the church but are encouraged when singing hymns.
Below you will find materials to accompany this week’s Sunday Morning Worship via Zoom. An order of service with scripture readings, are available by clicking the following links.
Helpful Hint: If you are planning to join the Sunday morning worship Zoom call, you might wish to print the service of worship for home prior to joining the call, if you have that capability.
Children’s Message
Psalm 30, NCH p. 639 Psalm 30
A Reading from the New Testament Acts 9:1-20
A Reading from the Gospels John 21:1-19
Message “The Face We See” Pastor Lisa
*A link to the sermon will be shared on our website during the week following the service
Instructions for Joining the Zoom Call Sunday, May 4th @ 10:00am Worship Service
To join us for worship via Zoom, please use the following information. It is not necessary to set up a Zoom account before the call. If you’d like to, it is free and pretty self-explanatory. You can set up your account at www.zoom.us.
Whether or not you choose to set up an account, when it’s time for the meeting, click the following link:
In order to sign in to the call, you will need to download Zoom. Your computer / device should prompt you to do so. When you sign in, you may need to choose your audio source, and choose to sign in via video.
Also, if your computer or device does not have a camera, you won’t be able to use the video option, and though you should still be able to see other participants, they won’t be able to see you. Zoom does work well on iPhone, iPad, and probably other smart phones, so that’s an option if your computer has no camera.
If you have never used Zoom before, please give yourself plenty of time to get set up. It takes a few minutes to download Zoom, get signed in, adjust audio and video as needed, etc.
If you are interested in calling into the worship service by telephone, you may dial the following phone number: 646-558-8656. When prompted, enter the Meeting ID and Password. Please note that this is a long-distance phone call, but this may be a good option for those unable to join via computer.
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Worship music this week is again varied, and provided by our instrumental consort, led by Ann Boudreaux! Thank you!
Fresh from the Land Peace Foundation’s “Journey of Peace and Friendship,” on their leg from Troy to Unity, I am grateful for the companionship we all shared. I also am grateful for the sharing from people of varying backgrounds, intent on manifesting the vision of a world of kindness and compassion. Combine this with our scripture reading in which we hear Jesus’ distinct voice in very pointed words: “Peace be with you.” How we manifest peace individually and how we do so as a congregation is our joyful focus and is one on which I pray we may nurture together, both tomorrow in worship and always.
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Worship music this week is plentiful, and provided by our choir and local brass choir, accompanied by George Emlen on organ, under the direction of Tina Dreisbach. Our Easter celebration will begin at dawn on Blue Hill Mountain with the strains of an antique pump organ (Thank you, Hunt!) and our voices united with the birds.
As I write on this on Holy Saturday, the last day of Lent, I was struck by an article sent from my younger daughter’s alma mater, Colby College. In an interview, popular YA novelist, John Green, addressed the students particularly when he said, “It’s so easy to feel like this is the end of the story. And I don’t blame you if you feel like this is the end of the story, like, the human story,” Green said. “This is, in fact, the middle of the story, and together we are going to invent a different end. I don’t know what the end will be, but we will shape the story together. And that is itself, I think, an act of hope—to remember that this is the middle of the story and it falls to us, together, to write a different and better end for ourselves and for each other.” Green could well be listening in to my sermon writing this week. I would say that in this time, we have a role in resurrection. God has done for us what gives us hope for eternity and for today, and we can be a part of that story of new beginnings that challenge the deaths of our age. We can be a part of ending violence, of ending cynicism, of ending hatred. In such, we remember and we celebrate that Jesus Christ led us in a bold new way of being, grounded in compassion and mercy, and looking toward redemption. That good news can carry us even through our darkest times, thanks be to God!
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Worship music this week is provided by our choir, accompanied by Clair Maxwell on organ, under the direction of Tina Dreisbach. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, when we will parade with the palms that remind us of the exuberance and great honor with which Jesus was met on the road to Jerusalem. We also remember that this begins what we have long called Holy Week, recognizing that it is set apart for God, distinct from other times in special ways. In the middle of everything else going on, we remember and we honor events that shifted the way we understand challenge and even death, and how our participation, how our choices matter even today. All this, and we may even wonder what it means for something to be holy. As we continue to prepare ourselves for the extraordinary, good news of Easter, we step forward with all our questions and the self-reflection of Lent, yearning to know God’s forgiving grace in the midst of our deep concerns. Let’s do this together!
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Worship music this week is provided by our choir, accompanied by Clair Maxwell on organ, under the direction of Tina Dreisbach. On this fifth Sunday of Lent, we celebrate the Sacrament of Communion. All those worshipping at home are invited to prepare the elements at home, whether a piece of bread and juice, or even a cracker with your coffee. We eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus and his saving acts and his lasting presence with us.
That God is able to do a new thing, even within and for us, is wonderfully good news, isn’t it? Sometimes, though, we have a difficult time imagining the possibility of significant change, and this can cause us to stagnate or even to freeze in place and purpose. Knowing that the possibility for change is always a possibility with God, we may take heart today and plan for growth and goodness tomorrow. What that goodness looks like is also and perhaps equally as difficult to imagine or to understand, which is illustrated well in the familiar story we will read tomorrow. The roles of “Martha and Mary” are so familiar that their names even have become tropes of service and of reverence. What is demanded of us and when? Together, we plumb texts like these to understand their relevance to our actions and our hope today. In a weekend that is geared up for community witness to the values of our democratic nation, we may ask again from what does our hope come?
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Our Thursday morning Bible study group (“Not Your Mama’s Bible Study!”) has been reading and discussing the parables that Jesus told his disciples and others in order to illustrate the way that God would have us treat each other and ourselves, to illustrate what living in the kin-dom of God would be. So, it is good timing that we read for tomorrow what is probably one of the most well known of all these stories, “the Prodigal Son.” Perhaps you have even used the expression to describe one who has seemingly left behind your family’s values or who has taken advantage of a parent’s wealth. What about the other “characters” in the story, though? What else are we meant to understand about what God wants for all of us? Paul’s words in his second letter to the church in Corinth urge us to understand just how radical it is to follow Jesus. In the familiar Gospel upending of our typical expectations, Paul reminds us that when we choose to follow Jesus, we are meant to become an entirely new creation. In such, our capacity for forgiveness and for reconciliation are deepened. It’s not easy! But we are meant to encourage and uplift one another as we try to develop a new and more loving way of living. Boy, don’t we need it now!?
Worship music this week is provided by our instrumental consort and chimes choir, with a lovely and lively blend of tunes with an international feeling. Thanks to all who spend their time in rehearsing!
