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!
I was listening to the choir rehearse on Thursday and we are in for a treat with the anthems that George Emlen is accompanying. His setting of Psalm 67 is one of the pieces, so we will hear it from them rather than reading it together.
At the invitation of Jesus, we again hear his message of peace this week. Christ’s peace is not what we may think of, however. What is a peace that passes all understanding? In our worship this weekend we will be praying for such a peace and building our trust in God, who wants for us what we often don’t even know to ask.
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! In a remarkable scene from the lives of the early apostles, Peter extends a wide, wider, and widening welcome that we are invited to model. Where humans have put boundaries, Peter has learned from a vision that God shows no partiality. This is something we live into in this congregation, yet it is not always easy. As we gather for worship this weekend we are mindful of challenges around us and of our yearning for rest in the storm. This is our constant hope, and in the vision John recounts in our passage from Revelation, we are stirred by the promise of God wiping away our tears. This is good news for us at any time, and perhaps never more certainly than when we mourn and when we are afraid. So, we gather together tomorrow for hope and for encouragement for the journey.
We welcome Bill Schubeck and members of his band, Moment’s Notice, as we share a jazz service, in part. With Victor Lopez on bass and his son, Aramis, on drums, we hope to have people singing along on the last hymn, particularly, and enjoying the prelude and anthem with their different musical feel.
Grace and peace to you, from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ! Thanks to our wonderful choir for blessing us this weekend, under the leadership of Tina Dreisbach, and to Clair Maxwell who will be playing the organ for us.
Some of the most familiar images of our Christian faith are located in the scriptures we will hear this Sunday. Jesus as Shepherd and Jesus as the Lamb of God are familiar ideas, even to people outside of the church. In soothing language from the 23rd Psalm, in powerful language from the apocalyptic book of Revelation, and in sometimes confusing language from the Gospel of John, we learn about a soothing, powerful and challenging God. How do we meet God today, when we need comfort, and to be stirred, and to be led? Grateful for community coming together, we gather for worship at 10:00 a.m. See you there!
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.
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!
