Grace to you and peace, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  On this first Sunday of the month, when we may be welcoming and welcoming back guests and friends, we will celebrate Communion together.  Those of you who are worshipping at home are also invited to make ready a symbol of the bread and the cup so that you may partake with us.  The Spirit is with us all when we gather, whether “virtually” or in the same physical space.  

We celebrate in our worship God who made and loves us, and who walks with us at all times, in all places.  That sense of enormity is part of what inspires both the prophet Isaiah as we hear in the 40th chapter this week, and also stirs the apostle Paul in some of his more humble moments.  What stirs you, and how do you see that God moves in your life, sometimes compelling, sometimes nudging, and sometimes simply present?  I hope that we will share some of our stories during our time of fellowship following worship, as I will share with you a small part of my own “call to ministry” in response to scripture.  

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you and peace, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Before sharing a bit about our worship tomorrow, I would like to invite everyone to a new group, which will begin meeting this Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the Dolly Fisher Room.  Our own Warren Lewis, a scholar in the area of church history and theology, will lead us in a study of “modern Christian theology,” quotation marks here because the term modern is not meant as contemporary.  Come with your questions and your curiosity for what promises to be lively discussion as well as new learning.

It is not easy to be a Christian, living in response to God’s will for our lives.  To be a person of faith in God when we are encouraged to listen to so many different voices claiming authority and wisdom is just plain hard.  Scripture from the Hebrew Bible and from the New Testament tells us that we will be tempted to follow voices urging us to do and to be what is not what God would have us do and be.  The litmus test for God’s will, for God’s law?  Jesus told us:  love one another.  Sounds simple, but whether or not we nurture in ourselves this powerful force is more complicated when what is said in the name of Christ gets muddied.  Care to talk about it?  See you in church.

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you and peace, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Greetings this morning come from the warmth of the house as we enter into some days of “real winter.”  “Some days . . .” Time is a funny thing, both a constant on which we rely as we measure out hours, minutes, seconds–and years or decades as we look both back and forward.  Still, the when of our placement in eternity is an interesting question that invites us to consider our impact on others and on the world we are given to inhabit.  These questions are not new to us, and scripture addresses them in varying ways.  Reading through lessons from the Gospel of Mark this liturgical year, we learn some of the ways Jesus suggests we conceive of eternity.  It can be fascinating and also challenging.  

Following worship, those who are interested in continuing the conversation regarding our “tithing in community” may gather in Fisher Hall with coffee and snacks.

Blessings and peace, Lisa

A Service in Celebration of the Life of Rose Ellen Small will be held in the sanctuary on Friday, January 19 at 2:00 p.m. You may view the service on Zoom at the following address:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82683028030

Meeting ID: 826 8302 8030

Passcode: 047493

Grace to you and peace, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Monday is the day we remember the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and it is fitting that our scripture readings for the morning tell the stories of different people’s responses to God’s call.  From the mysterious voice that calls the boy Samuel to Jesus’ very direct invitation to Nathaniel and Philip, individuals have heard and responded in different ways.  Dr. King is one whose full response to what God calls each of us to do and to be has become an example for those who seek justice in the world.  How we hear and how we respond to the nudging of God in our lives is different for each of us.  We will explore together the ways in which we might respond, “Here I am, Lord.” 

I pray that everyone stays safe and warm in today’s storm.  Please reach out to me by phone if you have concerns or if there is something you need!  (978)400-1991.   For those of you who have been waiting for this information, please also know that the service in celebration of the life of Rose Ellen Small will be this Friday, the 19th, at 2:00 p.m., with a reception to follow at the Farmhouse Inn. 

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you and peace, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Today is celebrated as the Feast of Epiphany, which many of us did last night in what will be an annual holiday party at my house.  We feasted and we laughed–a lot.  There was gift giving that the Magi would not have recognized and it may be that some of those gifts will make their way back next year.  Thank you to everyone who came and helped to warm my home! 

With our worship service tomorrow, we will continue to celebrate the ways in which, during the season of Epiphany, Jesus’ significance was revealed to those who knew him.  Often marked as the day to remember Jesus’ baptism by John, we will focus most closely on the overall ways in which Jesus’ identity is made known.  Chief among these is in “the breaking of the bread,” when we share in Communion.  For those of you worshipping at home, you’ll want to make sure you have your own bread and cup so that we may be together in spirit, though not in-person.  Coming together as a community of faith makes for strong connections, and in the sacrament we celebrate Jesus’ presence with us whenever we gather.  Join us as we make our way into 2024 together in faith and hope.

Blessings and peace, Lisa