The lesson from Luke’s Gospel picks up where we left off last week, with the promised “cliff hanger” coming to what could be a frightening end.  Jesus’ words first gladden those who hear him, but when the people realize that the good news he shares might mean that they will have to give up or share some of their own comfort, their joy turns to rage.  Paired with what is one of the most familiar passages from all of Paul’s letters, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, teaching us about love, we are challenged to consider closely the way we treat others and the way we regard our role in the world’s hope.  Join us in prayer and song as we celebrate the good news that there is a kinder, gentler way of being in the world!

Love and peace to you all, Pastor Lisa 

That we are one body in the Church, united from among many varying backgrounds and with many different gifts is something we celebrate.  How we coordinate our differences in one mission in response to our faith in a loving God is not easy, and it can take a lifetime.  And the truth is, discerning what our response should be and to whom we listen is something with which we may struggle.  If this feels unsettling, we may be comforted in knowing that the people of God have long struggled with the same questions.  Recognizing how we receive and accept information, how we learn the good news and in what ways we respond is at the center of this week’s lessons.  Join us as we learn and discern together!

A reminder:  We are meeting only on Zoom this weekend, in response to active cases of Covid in our congregation and throughout the peninsula.  Thank you for your understanding!

Love and peace to you all, Pastor Lisa

Everything and everyone must start somewhere, and sometimes we may not feel ready for the change or the new beginning.  Jesus’ ministry with his disciples began with powerful signs of his unique gifts at a wedding in Cana.  While he didn’t believe it was the right time for him to live into his gifts, to exhibit his power yet, his mother Mary convinced him to do so.  There is a lot in this story that moves us from a sense of expectant waiting to the challenge of action.  What will each of us do with the gifts we are given for engaging and healing this world?  What will it take for us to start ministry that will reveal these gifts in ways we may not even have imagined?  Please join us in worship as we celebrate the gifts of the Spirit among us and rejoice in the ministry of Jesus that is our example of selfless giving.

A reminder:  We are meeting only on Zoom this weekend, in response to active cases of Covid in our congregation and throughout the peninsula.  Thank you for your understanding!

Love and peace to you all, Pastor Lisa

There is something about the beginning of a new year that has my Facebook “newsfeed” and my email inbox flooded with self help information.  One piece of advice suggests creating “daily affirmations,” which is not something I have done consciously, but found myself thinking of while reading the text for this Sunday’s worship service.  Of course we all look for affirmation in our lives!  Everyday challenges, whether personal, employment related or political, can make us wonder to what we may turn, confident in our worth.  On the cusp of his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth must have wondered the same.  So, we may find ourselves taking comfort from some of the same scripture from the Hebrew Bible that speaks to us even now.  We may also find ourselves challenged to respond more wholeheartedly when we reckon ourselves called by God in similar manner to what we read in the Gospel lesson.  We are known and we are loved.  Isn’t that simply affirming!?

A reminder:  We are meeting only on Zoom this weekend, in response to active cases of Covid in our congregation and throughout the peninsula.  Thank you for your understanding!

Love and peace to you all, Pastor Lisa

The light of our faith and the enduring hope that we celebrate at this time of year is central to the message this Sunday morning, when we remember the story of Christ’s own baptism–and our own.  The signs and symbols of our faith are powerful during Christmas and Epiphany, and we will recall the guiding star that led the Magi even as we celebrate in the liturgy around our sacrament of Communion.  With current concerns around increased Covid transmission, we will not be sharing the elements, but you are welcome to bring your own symbol of the bread and cup.  Likewise, for the time being we are returning to sharing recorded voices from our choir rather than having live singing.  Please let us pray for a return to greater familiarity in worship even as we continue to innovate!

Love and peace to you all, Pastor Lisa

This coming Sunday is known in the Christian lectionary simply as “the first Sunday after Christmas day.”  Friends in the UK and elsewhere call the 26th Boxing Day.  Maybe for you and your family it equates with a peaceful lethargy of sorts, with holiday energy spent.  I have learned in the past twenty or so years to be grateful for the seasons I now know to call “tides.”  So, we are in Christmastide, a season that does not end with the last of presents unwrapped or even the setting of the sun on the 25th.  We celebrate the birth of light and life, of God’s love present in new ways, and we do so even after “the twelve days of Christmas” that lead us to Epiphany.  Our worship this Sunday will involve reflecting on the stories we hear and the stories we tell about the mysteries of Christmas.  Join us in the warmth of community, united in faith and hope.

Love and peace to you all, Pastor Lisa