As we continue to celebrate the joy of Christ’s resurrection—and the possibility of our own—we are invited to acknowledge our own doubts as we hear the story of the disciple we have come to know as “doubting Thomas.”  What does it take us to believe the news we hear?  What does it take for us to have faith?  What is the difference?  We are also invited to consider what we do in response to our faith and given guidance as to what a new life in the light of Christ can look like.  Join us on Sunday for celebration and for contemplation and then join us as we leave our worship to live lives of service in action.

Isaiah 65:17-18:  “¹⁷For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. ¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating!”  

Luke 24:5b:  “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

The wonder of Easter is upon us, and we gather tomorrow morning to celebrate the good news of Christ’s resurrection and the new things that God can do in our lives today, bringing us new life.  Join in worship at 5:30 a.m. at the foot of Blue Hill Mountain, where we pray the rain will have let up enough to allow us to remain dry, though perhaps we may not view the sun’s rising.  Then, at 10:00, we gather again in the sanctuary for exuberant praise and thanksgiving, celebrating the redeemed life we are promised in Christ!  

Our Maundy Thursday service will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary, where we will listen to the stories of Jesus’ close friends and family as we receive the growing darkness in anticipation of his betrayal and crucifixion. Our Chimes Choir and Instrumental Ensemble will be playing, and Sarah Schneider and Pastor Lisa will share a duet of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu.

 On Good Friday, you have the opportunity to remember Christ’s passion by walking the Stations of the Cross, again with our friends from St. Francis.  We will begin together at 12:00 noon, at the head of the Murphy Trail at the back of the church parking lot. 

Holy Week moves us among several emotions as we conclude the Lenten journey with Easter celebration next weekend.  Our service this Sunday, filled with music from many musicians among the congregation, welcomes this breadth of experience as we hear the stories of Palm Sunday and also of Jesus’ passion—of his last encounters with his friends, his judgment and his crucifixion.  How we navigate this breadth of human emotion is our ongoing challenge and blessing, and we are invited this week to consider the ways in which the experiences of Jesus’ disciples and other individuals who participated in the events of his passion parallel our own experience, if not to the same intense degree.  Join us throughout the week for worship; details may be found on our website as well as in next Wednesday’s eVisitor. Blessings and peace, Lisa

In this fifth week of Lent, we have a very full morning for worship and learning.  Our fearless music director, Ann, has pulled together a wide variety of music to invite us into a space of contemplation and praise.  Many thanks to the chimes ringers and members of the instrumental consort as well as to our choir for their time and talent!

As we move toward Holy Week and the promise of resurrection, we in some ways parallel the encounters the first disciples had with Jesus in their journey toward Jerusalem.  We remember sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  In the echoes of that miracle, we may wonder at the many ways in which humanity responds to God’s working in our lives.  Is there a right way to worship?  Is there a right way to live in the world?  Jesus leads us in very specific directions and links our faith to the faith of our forebears.  From a disagreement among his friends we may learn ways of worshipping and of serving that help us to ease some of the divisions we have created over time.  Join us as we celebrate the gift of God’s love and our call to respond. Blessings and peace, Lisa

It’s a familiar story, really, and we all wish we couldn’t tell someone our version of it.  The parable of the prodigal son has made its way into our vocabulary and even into songs, because the emotional breadth it represents is so familiar to anyone who has lived with the blessing of family.  The word prodigal has become interchangeable with what is actually a misunderstanding of the term, however.  To be prodigal is not to be wayward, but wasteful.  So, the “sin” that follows the young man home has less to do with his initial departure than with his spending his time foolishly.  The effect on relationship becomes primary only when he returns.  We are invited to know the ways in which we have wasted relationship or have squandered its resources, but more importantly to learn ways of reconciling relationships—with one another and with God.  Bring your hurt as we look for healing; bring your questions as we look for truth. Blessings and peace, Lisa