Download Worship Guide AboveNew Beginnings: Grow Where You Are Planted
Sunday, June 13th, 2021 || 3rd Sunday After Pentecost Pastor Christy Wright Yes, we are meeting indoors at 10 AM inside the Church! (NOTE THE NEW TIME) For full details, please read below in the Community Announcements Section. Prelude *Light of Christ Announcements *Call to Worship (Adapted from Katherine Hawker) One: Called to be branches in Christ’s body, All: We yearn to be connected to the vine. One: Called to be mustard bushes offering shade to God’s creatures, All: We search for places to plant the seeds of faith. One: Called to be growing with God in the midst of this world’s painful questions, All: We seek God’s nurturing presence. One: So let us worship, in the sun and the rain. All: Let us worship, for God is with us. Amen. *Opening Hymn - Trust and Obey UMH 467 (Verses 1-3) *Offering *Doxology No. 95 & Prayer of Dedication *Gloria Patri No. 70 Gospel Reading - Mark 4:26-34 Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain - first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. Sermon As I close my time with you all, we’re traveling through a sermon series called “New Beginnings,” which explores our past, present, and future. This week, we’re looking at the present time - where we’ve been and where we are, and the ways in which God helps us to grow, even at times by surprise. When I was first appointed to West Brookfield, I was appointed as a Local Licensed Pastor, as someone who was on the ordination track but still had a ways to go. I had finished seminary and been through multiple interviews with our District Committee of Ordained Ministry. And the next step was Commissioning Exams. Early this year, I spent a great deal of time preparing for these exams - submitting upwards of thirty pages of writing, multiple reference and recommendation letters, and another interview with the District Committee of Ordained Ministry - before the big interview with the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry in February. I’m not going to lie, I was absolutely terrified. I had several folks offer to “mock” interview me for the exam, looking through my paperwork for potential theological holes and areas that weren’t as strong. I took them up on the offer, but rather than feeling more prepared, I ended up bombing them. I choked on difficult questions, questions that I was super confident with as well as the questions to which I didn’t have an answer. And I cried, a lot, mostly out of frustration with myself. I felt like I had gotten in my head and it was blowing up in my face. I felt like such a failure - and I hadn’t even been before the Board yet. The night before the exam, I talked with a friend who reminded me that, regardless of what happened in the exam, I was called to this work. I was making a difference. And, perhaps, I had just overprepared and was getting too worked up. That morning dawned, and, amazingly, I breathed through it all, and later that night, I got a phone call that I had passed. I had made it. God had taken me by surprise - I have NO idea how I made it through, but I made it. I trusted God. And I trusted myself. And it worked. I just had to lean back into God’s arms and let go. I had made it. As I was reading this morning’s scripture, I was reminded of the phrase, “Grow where you’re planted.” The smallest inkling that I might want to explore ministry had exploded in this movement toward ordination. And as I look back, I can actually track my own growth in confidence. I have no idea where it came from - no idea how it formed, not a clue as to how I’ve gotten to where I am. I can only credit it to God’s grace. This is the mystery of God’s movement in our lives; it kind of happens by itself, by surprise. And yesterday afternoon, I was officially commissioned as a Provisional Elder. This means I will serve full-time in ministry for the next three years before working through exams, and then being ordained as an Elder in full connection with the United Methodist Church. As the Bishop prayed over me yesterday, I felt this mystery of God rush past: I have no idea how I’ve gotten here. But I will be present, and I will move as the Holy Spirit says move. As I was reading up on this morning’s passage, I found a beautiful illustration that I want to share with you. This is from theologian Wendy Farley: “Intimacy with Christ grows in us as certainly and as effortlessly as seeds grow. We have so little to do with Christ’s nearness to us that we can just go to sleep. In fact it might be better if we did sleep through the whole thing, snug and safe, resting like babies in our mothers’ arms. This trust so deep that we can sleep without anxiety is much more useful to us than fussing over the little seed: dousing it with pesticide, repotting it, clucking anxiously over the amount of sun it has. The kingdom is like this sleepy, restful trust. It is not like the frenetic busyness of works of righteousness, and it is not like the anxious attachment to particular moral or doctrinal positions, defending which we gladly expend all our energy.” Ultimately, our growth has more to do with God’s mysterious and beautiful care than our own efforts. Our personal spirituality sometimes grows in fits and starts; maybe we’ll feel stagnant with our growth, and some days it seems like we’re so incredibly close to God. It doesn’t seem like there’s any rhyme or reason, but perhaps, as Wendy puts it, “Jesus is calling us to a very different way of being with ourselves, with one another, with the divine, by asking us to recognize that spiritual growth and intimacy with God arises as naturally as seeds growing.” This personal spirituality and divine grace is given to us asking nothing in return, but what about communal growth? Perhaps all that we have to do is stay present, and move as the Holy Spirit nudges us to move. Over the past year, I had somehow forgotten what grew around the parsonage. When the daffodils arose at the beginning of April, I was graced with the beauty of many white and gold flowers. And I suddenly remembered that there are irises of all colors both around the front and side of the house in mid-May, many of which are still blooming their gorgeous colors. I had forgotten about them. I hadn’t tended to them, or anxiously awaited their arrival. And in fact, Cosmo had run through them multiple times. And so when they bloomed, seemingly out of nowhere, I stepped back and was taken by surprise. So it is with God’s love and grace - in our lives and in our community. As we close this morning, may we remember the grace we’re given: grace that doesn’t depend on our own actions, but in fact just relies on Jesus’ presence in our lives, a presence that will never change. May we remember to grow where we’re planted, for God’s plans for us may just surprise us. And may we trust in the movement of the Holy Spirit, for though we don’t know where the wind will blow, we do know that we will never be without it. Amen. Pastoral Prayer In Our Prayers. Thanksgiving for: the sacrifices of those who protected and continue to protect our country, the gifts that make ministry possible, medical professionals and researchers. Holding in our hearts: those experiencing unemployment, those facing racial injustice and violence, for our world as we continue to combat gun violence, for our congregation as we grieve the loss of loved ones, those experiencing illness or health issues - for Al (and family as they care for him), Cindy, Dan D. (Vicki’s husband), Haley, Kelly R., Richie B., those in nursing homes or extended care facilities (Betty, Claire), those caring for others (Carrie G., Crystal, Rachel), the United Methodist Church. Note that this list will renew each month. *Closing Hymn - I Surrender All UMH 354 (Verses 1 & 3) Benediction And now, may the peace of the Lord Christ go with you wherever God may send you; may God guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm; may God bring you home rejoicing at the wonders God has shown you; may God bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
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Download Worship Guide AboveSunday, June 6th, 2021 || 2nd Sunday After Pentecost
Pastor Christy Wright Yes, we are meeting indoors at 9:30 AM inside the Church! For full details, please read below in the Community Announcements Section. Prelude *Light of Christ Announcements *Call to Worship (Adapted from Tom. M. Schuman) One: On this day, we gather with thanksgiving in our hearts, remembering all You have done for us. All: For God's love is ever constant in our lives. One: On this day, we remember all whom You have given us and the fingerprints they have left. All: Grace upon grace has been poured into our lives. One: On this day, we gather with thanksgiving in our hearts. All: We will sing glad songs for all that God has done. *Opening Hymn *Offering *Doxology No. 95 & Prayer of Dedication *Gloria Patri No. 70 First Reading - Psalm 138 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the gods I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord, when they hear what you have decreed. May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great. Though the Lord is exalted, God looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, God sees them from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever. Do not abandon the works of your hands. Second Reading - 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture - “I believed, and so I spoke” - we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Sermon As I close my time with you all, I’ll be sharing a three-part series called “New Beginnings,” and we’ll progress through our past, present, and future together. This week, we’ll be looking back at all the ways in which God has been faithful and how we’ve witnessed God’s great love and presence in our lives. We will also take some time to remember the saints who’ve gone before us, for we know that they have made us who we are, and we are thankful, so very thankful. As I was working my other job in hunger relief this week, I drove past a church in Framingham that had a sign outside that read: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” This was on Tuesday, the first day of the week that was actually pretty nice - not the rainy and cold weather we had last weekend. The road was still a bit damp though, particularly in shaded areas, and as the sun filtered through the leaves above, the pavement glittered as the light danced across it. The statement, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God,” gave me great pause as I reflected on what I was seeing in front of my very eyes. As we continued our route, picking up food from grocery stores and dropping it off at food pantries and shelters, I couldn’t help but continue to see God’s grandeur everywhere I looked. As you know, the state of Massachusetts has lifted all Covid restrictions - and for the first time, I was seeing the faces of those we were serving. There was no longer a barrier between our humanity; we could truly see one another - and in them, I saw the image of God, the grandeur of God. I imagine that if we took the time, we could all look back and notice God’s presence in almost every moment of our lives, whether we recognized it at the time or not. In this morning’s scripture reading from Psalm 138, this is exactly what the Psalmist is doing: looking back and noticing when God was faithful, when God answered, when God gave boldness and courage. And we are invited to do the same, and give thanks - for God has been with us from the very beginning and will continue to walk with us, no matter what. I’m also sensing resilience here, particularly in our second passage from the New Testament. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are always in the presence of God, and that we ought not lose heart, for everything is being renewed day by day. For indeed, “the world is charged, energized, buzzing with the grandeur, the majesty, the beauty of God” - and everything that cannot be seen is eternal. But we can still sense the eternal, can’t we, even if we can’t see it? My favorite part of this passage is the line that reminds us to take heart, and we sense a beautiful glory beyond all measure is in our midst. What a joy it is to breathe in deep this reality, and remember who we are and whose we are. For we are not self-made creatures; God has created us as whole human beings, gifted and talented in our identity, warm and inviting, bold and courageous. And God has gifted us with loved ones, those who we will always carry with us, no matter if we are separated by distance, by time, or by life eternal. It is here, indeed, where God’s great love endures forever in all whom we love. What a blessing to share in their memory. As we close this morning, I invite you to join in our Remembrance of the Saints litany as printed in your bulletin. Remembrance of the Saints (Adapted from Beth Merrill Neel) One: A thousand days are but a moment to God; all flesh is grass, and withers away. All: Still we treasure our days with those whom we love, and reluctantly give them back to God. One: On this day, we thank God for the saints in our lives, those who are still with us, and those who have gone before. Evelyn Armitage (11/06/2020) Ardell Marona (10/12/2020) Judy Bartlett (03/08/2020) Marge Reim (12/26/2020) Barry Bennett (08/22/2020) Mandy Robbins (03/03/2021) Dorothy Carpenter (05/30/2020) Millie Silverberg (12/14/2020) Oloose Chicoine (07/16/2020) Raymond Swartz (09/02/2020) Barbara Fraizer (03/14/2021) Priscilla Toppin (02/23/2021) Phyllis Warriner (01/17/2020) One: In the beginning, God called the world into being, saying, All: “Let there be light.” One: In the fullness of time, Jesus came from God to us, saying, All: “I am the Light of the world.” One: In our everyday life, we see the work of the saints, All: The ones in whom God’s light shines. One: So let us give thanks for the saints this day, and of days before, All: And let us worship God. One: We gather this morning to remember our call: All: To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. One: We bring with us the events of the week, and the month, and the year in the world and in our lives... All: Trying to know how to be just and loving and humble in the midst of it all. One: We gather here, and see those who are doing justice, who are kind beyond measure, whose love we will never forget... All: And those who set the example for humility. One: With gratitude for living saints, and those who have gone before, with thankfulness for the purpose of faith... All: Let us give thanks, give thanks, give thanks. Pastoral Prayer Service of Word & Table (See program located in your pew) *Closing Hymn - God Be With You Till We Meet Again UMH 672 Benediction And now, may the peace of the Lord Christ go with you wherever God may send you; may God guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm; may God bring you home rejoicing at the wonders God has shown you; may God bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors. Postlude |
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