Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! In the midst of a week of clear skies and sunshine, we are profoundly aware of the unpredictability of our lives, of the constant vicissitudes of life.  We read and watch the news with concern and even deep fear, and wonder what will bring us peace in every sense.  We look to each other and we look to God for comfort.  Sometimes comfort and a sense of safety feel distant, and so we look for the lasting Word of hope, for some deeper truth that can counter the clamoring and discordant messages around us.  We are not the first to feel this way, nor will we be the last, and through all time we have the One through whom we know our greater peace.  Join us in worship tomorrow as we gather strength for the journey.

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Apparently, there are some aspects of our humanity that remain unchanged over millennia.  One of these is our inclination to sing and dance when we are moved.  For some of us, this may only be in response to the feeling of rhythm or our delight at a particular melody.  For some, it may also be in response to an upwelling of emotion: we sing out of our joy, or our mourning, or from a place of simple calm or appreciation of beauty.  In rather striking ways, these elements of elemental response to emotion also are tools for worship.  Still, at various times the same movements and expressions have been disdained as too human, too base somehow for God’s or other human’s appreciation.  Yet, we dance; yet, we sing. 

Equally as constant in our human span is our inclination to criticism of others, is our discontent and sometimes even our malevolence.  We are tempted to be the worst versions of ourselves.  So, when we read stories in scripture that unsettle us, we may need to pause to remember that there are always unsettling circumstances, and there is always our loving God, calling us to be our best selves and encouraging us toward joy.  In worship tomorrow, let us sing–and maybe even feel inclined to dance our praises to the One who made and loves us as we gain strength for the journey.

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Ah, our sacred kings and leaders . . . Scripture tells the stories of generations–of those who reigned for decades with all their human failings, and of One who led with grace and love, sadly not being able to bring about the fullness of his reign here on Earth.  In scripture for this Sunday, we are asked to consider the reign of David, who as a markedly fallible human being, was able to change his behavior and thereby alter his legacy as a ruler; he was one who led, finally, by following God’s will.  Leading with love and with grace, we also hear the way in which Jesus teaches his followers how to respond to those who themselves do not respond well to the good news of God’s coming reign.  How do we respond?  Which leaders do we follow?  What do we do when we are disappointed or afraid?  You may have a sense of tenuous hold on security these days.  We long for assurance and we long for guidance.  So, we gather together to petition and to praise the One who leads with love and who asks us to love one another.  See you in church, where we gather strength for the journey!

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  We have some of the children from our Peaceable Kin-dom camp joining us in worship this weekend, and I know that we will all enjoy their presence.  With them, a remarkable and generous team of volunteers from our congregation learned a great deal about caring for the earth and for all of creation, including each other!  I want to thank each person who was involved in the planning and in participating in this fun-filled week!  

This is the final Sunday of the month, which means that we would have been including children in worship in more focused ways anyway, but as we hear in scripture about the gifts we have received and the gifts that we have to give, we also will hear some of the songs the children learned this week.  I hope that many of you will help to make them and their families feel welcome in the fuller life of the church.  

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Kirk Jones, a professor from Andover Newton, published a book called Rest in the Storm, which I read as part of a wonderful class called “The Jazz of Preaching.”  While our personal and sometimes academic connection did sometimes center on music, I continue to read Kirk’s words because of “rest.”  In thinking of our expectations for summer recreation and relaxation, I wonder where we find our rest and also whether we are called to rest or to work?  If to the former, how are we best to find comfort and rest; if the latter, how is our work to be fruitful without being draining.  Some possible answers to these questions may be found in our readings for this week.  I look forward to exploring these ideas with you as we grow in faith.

Blessings and peace, Lisa

Grace to you, and peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Gearing up for our celebration of Pride today, I am also writing with thoughts of welcome in mind.  It is not always easy to know how we make room for others, whether in our own family, in our community, or in the wider world.  Still, we are invited–and I would even say challenged to love–widely and well.  That is our single law.  So, we will look this weekend at what it means to love.  Sound simple?  Jesus knew how difficult this can sometime be, and Jesus’ first followers sometimes struggled with how to live out this law.  We are not alone, which is the message we try to share with others as we live out our love.  Let’s keep figuring this out together.  

Blessings and peace, Lisa