Dear Beloved Community,
Our Staff-Parish Relationship Committee would like to share some news. Following consultation with our District Superintendent, we are happy to announce that Sandy Dam will be our lay minister. She comes to us from the Charlton City United Methodist Church. She will be responsible for all the duties of an appointed pastor except for the sacraments and to bring in new members because she is a lay person. Therefore, Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar intends to appoint Rev. John Lucy as the Coordinating Pastor of the George Whitefield United Methodist Church effective July 1, 2021 subject to fulfilling all the requirements needed for a successful transition by the pastor and the respective churches affected by the appointment. The appointment will be finalized at the 2021 Annual Conference Session of the New England Conference. More information will follow, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to any member of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee.
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Sunday, April 25th, 2021 || 4th Sunday of Easter Pastor Christy Wright Yes, we are meeting outdoors at 9:30 AM, this Sunday in front of the Church! For full details, please read below in the Community Announcements Section. If you are unable to join us in person, we invite you to light a candle at 9:30 AM and join us in prayer online or over the phone for a pre-recorded service. Audio worship, including the prelude and postlude, prayers, and the sermon is available over the phone at (978) 990-5000, access code 719365#. Just dial in, enter the access code on your keypad, and you will hear the service begin with music. Note that we may not be able to include the hymns in pre-recorded services - thank you for your understanding. Announcements Opening Hymn Scripture Reading - Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Sermon Back in 2014, I moved to a small town nestled between Worcester and Boston called Hudson. It was a small, tight-knit community that was working through a limited economy and few resources. It was a bedroom community, a town where people would live and settle their lives, but commute out of town for work. We were close to the downtown area, so we had a firsthand view of what was happening (and not happening) in Hudson. We particularly enjoyed a great restaurant that quickly became an anchor for the community. The restaurant itself was only two years old when we first arrived, but its draw was clear: it brought folks from all over the region for their amazing food and great atmosphere. This restaurant's presence in downtown Hudson really truly made all the difference. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I recently visited, and downtown Hudson is nearly unrecognizable from when I first lived there. From one anchor restaurant were birthed two other sister establishments across the street, plus lively storefronts, coffee shops, breweries, art galleries, salons, and additional restaurants that - rather than being in competition with one another, actually partner together for special events and menu swaps. This incredible movement - from one single restaurant to becoming a destination for folks from across the state - in just seven years. And in the middle of a pandemic to boot. In this morning’s scripture reading, we hear of Jesus’ reminder of our call as Christians, as faithful disciples: we are the salt of the earth. And we are the light of the world. If people looking in from the outside cannot see these characteristics, are we truly living into God’s will? But first, it’s important to note what it means to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. What does that look like? How can we identify this in our own lives? When I think of salt, I think of something that enhances our current circumstances, something that lifts up what we have before us and creates a better experience. This might take the form of optimism, of being willing to push through barriers and not accept defeat. Being salt of the earth might also look like courage, courage to right the wrongs in our world. When I season my food with salt, I’m not only enhancing the flavor, but I’m also correcting the blandness - I’m making a change. And as salt of the earth people, as followers of Jesus, we are called to do the same: being unafraid to make changes. What about being the light of the world? What does that look like? Here’s one of my favorite things about light: it spreads. It grows. It shifts and changes. I’m thinking about how the light shifts from one side of the house to the other, as though sweeping across the space to reveal the things I so often miss. As disciples, we are called to be the light of the world, revealing truths and being part of the healing that comes after. As light, we are also called to reach out and spread out all throughout our community, building relationships and being present for one another. Put together, being the salt of the earth and the light of the world requires us to be visible, to be available, to be partners in and with our community rather than be cloistered in our own building and own circle. I don’t think Jesus ever meant for salt to season itself. And I don’t think Jesus ever meant for light to light up itself. Rather, salt and light are explicitly designed to be shared. When I think about that anchor restaurant in that small town of Hudson, their success didn’t come about because they cared about numbers and sales and shut themselves off from the community. Rather, they threw open their doors, invested in their community with their time and innovation, invited collaboration with other businesses, and then, stepped back to allow transformation to have its way with the people of Hudson. A slow and quiet downtown area has now been transformed into a thriving, bustling, and life-giving community. When I think about West Brookfield, I see so many ways that we ourselves have been a thriving, bustling, and life-giving community: we are home to a beautiful town common, a handful of businesses, and three churches. We have the people and the passion to put together our Annual Asparagus Festival (though sadly not this year), weekly Farmers Markets, White Christmas Events, and so much more. With the pandemic, we have had to scale back with our celebrations and gatherings, and we've had to learn how to get creative and think outside the box. But here's a question for us, here at George Whitefield: how can we participate in this community transformation? How can we become an anchor for our community? What can we do to help this community begin to recover from the pandemic? What is our role? As we close this morning, may we recognize the unrecognizable possibility in our midst. May we be moved by Jesus’ words to be and live as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And may we partner with God to set things in motion, so we can step back and allow the Holy Spirit to move and grow and thrive, here in our community and beyond. Amen. Hymn of Meditation 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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Sunday, April 18th, 2021 || 3rd Sunday of Easter Pastor Christy Wright Yes, we are resuming our outdoor worship services at 9:30 AM, this Sunday in front of the Church! For full details, please read below in the Community Announcements Section. If you are unable to join us in person, we invite you to light a candle at 9:30 AM and join us in prayer online or over the phone for a pre-recorded service. Audio worship, including the prelude and postlude, prayers, and the sermon is available at https://georgewhitefieldumc.weebly.com/worship-services or over the phone at (978) 990-5000, access code 719365#. Just dial in, enter the access code on your keypad, and you will hear the service begin with music. Note that we may not be able to include the hymns in pre-recorded services - thank you for your understanding. Announcements Opening Hymn Scripture Reading - Acts 4:32-35 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Sermon I remember the first time I talked with Pastor Zach. I was in my first year of seminary, and I was looking for a place to build community, and a place to call my spiritual home. I found out about Simple Church online, and it immediately intrigued me: it was a dinner church, a space where we could sit down together around the table, share in a meal, sing simple hymns, and have deep conversations about faith with one another. There was a phone number to call to let Pastor Zach know you were coming, and when I called, he sounded so excited: “Yes!” he said. “We’ll set a place for you!” Over the last several years, I’ve been connected to this dinner church in a variety of ways, and it always amazes me how quickly community is built, how fast we grow to love one another, and the impact we have on the surrounding towns. We share grace around the table, and that grace overflows into the community as we tell of the power of resurrection in our own lives and in the life of all those we’re connected with. I continue to marvel at how a place like this can feel so much like church, and yet be so unrecognizable from the pews and the organ and the four walls of what church is typically understood to be. In this morning’s scripture reading, we heard of how the first church was formed. It was simply a community of people who shared the deep belief that Jesus’ resurrection is the location of all healing, all beauty, all life, all love. It was a group of people whose possessions were held in common trust with one another, much like how we might stop by a neighbor’s house to borrow a cup of sugar or a couple of eggs. And the best part is that no one was ever in need - everyone had everything they needed because it was all shared among them. This description of the first church didn’t include measurements for the sanctuary, how many stained glass windows there ought to be, and if the pews should be upholstered in red fabric or dark blue. Rather, this passage from Acts focused on the relationships - for it is the people that make the church, not the building. And when we focus on the heart of the matter, sometimes the idea of church can become unrecognizable. Even for us, our own church has become unrecognizable in the time of Covid. We worshiped from home for the vast majority of the pandemic, and today, we are worshiping outside in the open air. For sure, things are incredibly different than they were before, but it doesn’t mean it’s all bad. Perhaps in this time of Covid, we have been given a chance to remember what church really is: a faith community rooted in God that cares deeply for one another and their neighbor. This is church: here, and now, we are the church. We are the people who make up the church. And though I am grieving leaving you all in July, you all have reminded me what church truly is: a group of deeply loving people who care for one another - whether by providing a cup of sugar or donating toward funeral funds, or dropping off meals or making a phone call to check in on someone. I have never felt more loved and more cared for, and I have been so blessed by you, even and especially as you continue to bless all those in our community and beyond. So may we continue on in our unrecognizable state, even as we make plans to return to the church building. May we continue to love God, love one another, and love our neighbor in the light of Christ. And may we always remember that it’s okay to be unrecognizable, just as Jesus was unrecognizable after his resurrection. For this is the location of all healing, all beauty, all life, all love. Amen. Hymn of Meditation 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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Sunday, April 11th, 2021 || 2nd Sunday of Easter Pastor Christy Wright Yes, we are resuming our outdoor worship services at 9:30 AM on the Charmil Drive Green! For full details, please read below in the Community Announcements Section. If you are unable to join us in person, we invite you to light a candle at 9:30 AM and join us in prayer online or over the phone for a pre-recorded service. Audio worship, including the prelude and postlude, prayers, and the sermon is available over the phone at (978) 990-5000, access code 719365#. Just dial in, enter the access code on your keypad, and you will hear the service begin with music. Announcements Opening Hymn Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross UMH 301 1. Jesus, keep me near the cross; 2. Near the cross, a trembling soul, 4. Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, There a precious fountain, Love and mercy found me; Hoping, trusting, ever, Free to all, a healing stream, There the bright and morning star Till I reach the golden strand Flows from Calvary’s mountain. Sheds its beams around me. Just beyond the river. Refrain: In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river. Scripture Reading - 1 John 1:1-2:2, 3:1-2 We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us - we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. Sermon I want to start with a story I once heard a while back. A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city. They hadn’t ever traveled much, really much at all. They checked into a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight. While the parents were getting room keys, the kids left the reception desk and went to the elevator entrance. They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for. An older lady made her way toward the elevator and went inside. The doors slid closed and she disappeared. About a minute later, the door opened and out came a young woman, completely unrecognizable. The kids couldn’t stop staring. Without turning their heads, they called out for their parents in complete shock! What was going on?? Sometimes transformation occurs in the blink of an eye, and other times it seems to take ages. How do we know when we’re in the midst of transformation? In this morning’s scripture reading, we hear of the ways in which the message of Jesus has been passed on through stories, through generations, through families and churches proclaiming God’s love. Through such stories, the Light of God has been revealed, and we recognize our call toward living as children of God. But I’m also seeing something else here, in this passage: a movement of four different transformations. The first is the realization that I am sacred, and that we are all sacred in Christ. Through Jesus’ great love for us, we have an abundance of grace that not only meets us where we are, in our brokenness, but also grace that helps us move forward. And when we recognize our own sacredness, we can never be the same. We begin to treat ourselves differently, and others differently, knowing that we have all been made in the image of God. That, indeed, is a transformation. The second movement in our transformational journey is that, when we live into God’s call for our lives, we will begin to sense our own identity coming to fruition. We will begin to live in authentic ways that feed our souls. No longer are we trying to fit the mold of what society expects us to be, or who we feel we should be, but rather, we break free of all expectations and live as God calls us to live: authentically ourselves, genuine to our roots which can be found in Christ. But this isn’t easy. This sort of transformation doesn’t just happen. We can’t sit back and passively receive, or wait for someone else to do the work. Which brings us to our third movement, our third growth ring: we’ve got work to do. Yes, God provides, but we are called to partner with God in the work of our souls - whether through prayer and meditation, or through service to the community. Which leads us to the last and perhaps most beautiful of the transformative movement: the personal transformation we experience when we recognize that I cannot be me without you. As a community, we need each other. There’s a reason we’re organized as faith communities - because we can’t have a relationship with God without relationships with others. And what a blessing it is to recognize that we do in fact have so many advocates, mentors, and friends who walk with us. As we embark on this journey of transformation over the next several weeks, we’ll be exploring the ways in which we’re recognizing the beauty all around us: personally, within our faith community, in our local towns, across the world, and, indeed, in the future to come. I’d like to close with a prayer adapted by Charlene Dior: Your Word says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). We know that our thoughts influence our lives. We also know that we can be transformed and our lives can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We’ve come a long way from who we used to be. Yet, we know there is so much more for us to become. We pray that You help instill in us the right mindset to go where You’d have us go next. If we’re being honest, we can definitely identify some areas in our lives where we don’t have the best mindset. Places where we’re selfish and inflexible or have low expectations of people (so what’s the point?). At the same time we know in order for You to answer our specific prayers (You know the ones), we have to adopt a selfless and flexible mindset. If we are to accomplish Your will for our lives, we can’t hold on to this same mindset. We’re praying for Your guidance. We’re praying for your grace. To be honest, a part of us may not want to change our attitudes and mindsets as it relates to some things. Life and circumstances have brought us to a place where compromise and serving others seems counter intuitive and self sabotaging. But we know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We know that we are meant to grow and be molded by You. So even though a part of us is resistant, we know our mindset needs to be renewed so our lives can be transformed. Guide us, God. Plant in us a new way of thinking. Give us new thoughts and new beliefs. We pray for the strength to fully adopt a new way of thinking that aligns with Your Word and the things You have for us to do. Help us release the thoughts and beliefs that do not serve You and will actually hinder us in the places which You are taking us. Thank you for hearing our prayer and for Your presence now and always. Amen. Hymn of Meditation He Touched Me UMH 367 1. Shackled by a heavy burden, Refrain: He touched me, O he touched me 2. Since I met this blessed Savior Neath a load of guilt and shame, And O the joy that floods my soul! Since he cleansed and made me whole Then the hand of Jesus touched me, Something happened, and now I know, I will never cease to praise him; And now I am no longer the same. He touched me and made me whole. I’ll shout it while eternity rolls. 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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Sunday, April 4th, 2021 || Easter Sunday Pastor Christy Wright Join us for our ecumenical Sunrise Easter Service outside at 6:15 AM on Sunday, April 4th at the First Congregational Church of West Brookfield. Masks and social distancing will be observed! If you are unable to join us in-person, we invite you to light a candle Easter morning and join us in prayer ONLINE or over the PHONE. Audio worship, including music, prayers, and the sermon is available at https://georgewhitefieldumc.weebly.com/worship-services Audio worship is also available at (978) 990-5000, access code 719365#. Just dial in, enter the access code on your keypad, and you will hear the service begin with music. Unrecognizable - Pastor Christy Wright You know something that’s weird? Something that’s really been bugging me since the pandemic began? It’s so strange to not recognize someone who is wearing a mask. Even loved ones whom we’ve known for years look so incredibly different wearing a mask. And for some of us, we’ve waited months to have a haircut, or some have even taken matters into their own hands and gone for the kitchen shears - so we’re even more unrecognizable. Whether we bump into people in town or at the grocery store, it can often be a game of who’s who - and in many ways, it can be disorienting. But it can still be a blessing to see one another again, regardless. And we anxiously await the day when we can be in one another’s presence without masks, embracing one another again. We have been through so much this past year that we are still grieving, even on Easter morning, even as the sun begins to rise on a new day. But this morning’s Easter reading, from the very beginning, gives us permission to weep. It lets us mourn, even when we know we should be joyous. In this passage, Mary is asked several times, “Why are you weeping?” Can you imagine such an insensitive question? For three days, Mary had been holding onto so much grief. She had lost her Savior, her friend. She didn’t want to believe it to be true. And I wonder if this was Mary’s first visit to the tomb; maybe she sought closure, thinking that if she were just able to see it in person, she’d finally be able to believe that Jesus was dead and move on with her life. Imagine her shock and her sorrow when she saw that the tomb had been disturbed; she had been seeking peace, a way to grow from this new reality, and instead, she was prevented from receiving the closure she so desperately sought. But the story didn’t end there; as Mary looked into the tomb, she saw two angels, who again asked her why she was crying. She believed that Jesus’ body had been stolen, and all she wanted was to lay the body to rest, so that she, too, could rest within this new reality without him. And as she pleaded with the angels, she turned around to see a stranger in her midst, who she believed to be the gardener, and began pleading with him as well. And then he whispered, “Mary.” In an act of recognition, Mary leapt up and gasped, “Teacher!” She knew that Jesus had risen, in the very moment he spoke her name. Jesus wiped away all her tears in his appearance, except for those tears of gratitude in knowing that she was not alone. But here’s the thing: Jesus was unrecognizable to Mary in that moment. Mary only knew one thing: Jesus was dead. The faith story was over. This wasn’t supposed to happen. So the appearance of a resurrection would have been completely unrecognizable to Mary, an impossibility, a mirage of sorts. She wasn’t expecting this, not in the least. So it makes me wonder - is there resurrection in our midst, something that is completely unrecognizable to us? Where is God moving and working within our own lives? And how would we know? For many of us, this past year has felt like we’ve been sealed in the tomb of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, unable to see Easter on the other side. But I wonder, I just have to wonder: Maybe this isn’t a tomb. Maybe this is a womb - dark, mysterious, and scary for sure, yet filled with life. Familiar, but unrecognizable. Where we are in this moment resembles something we know, in essence, but in appearance it’s all different. We’re learning to discern the visible and invisible in our lives, and we’re beginning to understand the potential dwelling in reality, now, even if we’re only getting glimpses here and there. And it makes me wonder: does God do the best work in the dark? So let’s explore together - where is the unexpected, the unrecognizable in our lives? Maybe it’s a reconciled relationship. Or maybe it’s closure from a job or a particular season in life that is a blessing in disguise. Maybe we’ve lost loved ones this year, and we’ve grown closer to those who remain. Regardless, know that you are not alone. Know that God is doing incredible, life-giving, and transformative work in the darkness. And may we seek to recognize the resurrection in our midst, giving glory to God in the small signs of life that are popping up all around us. I’d like to close with a blessing from the poet John O’Donohue, entitled For the Unknown Self. So much of what delights and troubles us happens on a surface we take for ground. Our mind thinks our life alone, our eyes consider air our nearest neighbor, yet it seems that a little below our heart there houses in us an unknown self who prefers the patterns of the dark and is not persuaded by the eye’s affection or caught by the flash of thought. It is a self that enjoys contemplative patience with all our unfolding expression, is never drawn to break into light though we entangle ourselves in unworthiness and misjudge what we do and who we are. It presides within like an evening freedom that will often see us enchanted by twilight without ever recognizing the falling night, it resembles the under-earth of our visible life: All we do and say and think is fostered deep in its opaque and prevenient clay. It dwells in a strange, yet rhythmic ease that is not ruffled by disappointment; it presides in a deeper current of time free from the force of cause and sequence that otherwise shapes our lives. Were it to break forth into day, its dark light might quench our minds, for it knows how our primeval heart sisters every cell of our lives to all our known mind would avoid. Thus it knows to dwell in us gently, offering us only discrete glimpses of how we construct our lives. At times, it will lead us strangely, magnetized by some resonance that ambushes our vigilance. It works most resolutely at night as the poet who draws our dreams, creating for us many secret doors, decorated with pictures of our hunger. It has the dignity of the angelic that knows us to our roots, always awaiting our deeper befriending to make us beyond the thresholds of want, where all our diverse strainings can come to wholesome ease. Amen. |
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