Good morning Friends! I hope you weathered the storm! I look forward to being in worship with you next Sunday, February 6, 2022 in person. Today, enjoy worship from the comfort and warmth of your home. Blessings, Pastor Sandy
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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.
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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Sunday, May 30th, 2021 || Trinity Sunday Pastor Christy Wright BUILDING GRAND REOPENING!!! Yes, we are meeting indoors at 9:30 AM, this Sunday inside 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. Building Grand Reopening Liturgy Leader: Although our Church has been dispersed for far too long, we continue to meet together in the name of the Creator God, and of the Son Jesus Christ, and of the life-giving Holy Spirit. Amen. Leader: Loving God, from the beginning your Spirit has moved over all Creation, constantly challenging us, shaping us and calling us to new birth. Rejoicing that your Spirit is with us forever, and delighting that we can worship in our church buildings again, we say together... All: Praise to you, O God! Leader: How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! (Ps 84.1) All: Praise to you, O God! Leader: Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol God our Creator, all you peoples! (Ps 117) All: Praise to you, O God! Leader: For great is God’s steadfast love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever (Ps 117) All: Praise to you, O God! Leader: God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isa. 40.29) All: Praise to you, O God! Leader: God of love and new life, during these strange and challenging times, we acknowledge that we’ve learned new skills, we’ve worshipped in new and different ways, we’ve considered our well-being and the well-being of others, we’ve heard the birds sing and allowed creation to speak to us. We give thanks for blessings received! All: Praise to you, O God! Leader: Almighty God, merciful source of Love, source of all holiness and grace, we thank you for your goodness and unending love to us and all creation. We thank you for making and sustaining us and surrounding us with your blessings; but of all your gifts we thank you most that in your love, beyond our power to express, Christ came to restore and heal the human race. We praise you, God, for all the channels of your grace, and for the hope of sharing your glory. Enlighten our hearts and minds and show us the greatness of your love, that our gratitude may be sincere: not only the praise of our lips but the offering of our lives, dedicated and righteous in your service for the sake of others. All this we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, with you and the Holy Spirit one God, now and ever. Alleluia. Amen. Leader: And now, with great joy, let us re-enter the sanctuary! All: Praise to you, O God! Announcements Opening Hymn Scripture Reading - John 3:1-17 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “ Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Sermon Ya’ll, we made it! We are finally in the sanctuary! It has been a long, long, long year, filled with uncertainty and grief. This sanctuary has remained darkened for over fourteen months. We have lost loved ones. We have waited with so many questions and so few answers. But now? Now the sanctuary is filled with family, family whose bonds will never be undone, for we are a community of love, despite the distance we have endured over the past year. Though sadness lingers in so many forms, we know that a new day is dawning, for God has brought us together again. Ya’ll, we made it. We made it. It’s almost a sense of relief, right? It’s the day we’ve been waiting for, because the hope we’ve been praying for for so long has finally sprung forth. In the midst of the darkness, something was going on beneath the surface, something that was hidden, like a seed germinating in the ground. We are now finally beginning to see it come to fruition - for it is a new day. In this morning’s scripture reading, we hear of a similar seed being planted, slowly coming to fruition. Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee, visited Jesus at night, hidden in the shadows of darkness away from the crowds - initially so that he wouldn’t be seen by other religious officials to be seeking the counsel of Jesus, a man of whom the Pharisees were suspicious. But something else happened in the darkness of night - Nicodemus understood something he wouldn’t have understood before: that new birth comes from God, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit. Nicodemus had to stretch his thinking in order to grasp what Jesus was telling him: new birth is mysterious, out of our hands. We cannot control it, we cannot steer it, but we can reach out and receive it with open arms. And new birth happens on its own timetable - it’s not immediate. All this, Nicodemus learned in the darkness, in the cover of nightfall. Something I didn’t realize until I was working on this sermon is that we actually encounter Nicodemus several more times in this Gospel, and each time, it appears that Nicodemus has grown in faith - his actions speaking to truth in his belief. In chapter seven, Nicodemos stood up against the Sanhedrin - the religious council of the time - by arguing that Jesus didn’t have a fair trial. And again, Nicodemus appeared in chapter nineteen with spices at Jesus’ graveside to anoint his body. For Nicodemus, the journey from first nighttime encounter with Jesus to paying him homage at the tomb - this took time. Nicodemus’ faith grew gradually, and his understanding bloomed slowly over time. New birth doesn’t occur in the blink of an eye. It takes time, and it often requires darkness. One of my favorite ways of understanding this concept is that God does the best work in the dark. I think back to my college days when I was using an analog camera and developing my own film in the darkroom. After taking the photos, I’d carefully unwind the film in the dark, cautiously winding it on its reel so it wouldn’t become overexposed. Light would actually ruin the negatives, but darkness, in some way, protected the image. And when those images showed up in the enlarger and were printed on the light sensitive paper, the image that was revealed - well, it was like magic. It was invisible, but it became visible because of the darkness. So for me, maybe darkness isn’t actually as scary as we think it is. Maybe darkness actually reveals something, a fundamental truth about reality that we had been unable to see before. Knowing all of this, are we ready to ask what happened throughout the pandemic? This was arguably the darkest time of our lives for many reasons - so what has God been up to? What has been revealed to us? Though we are celebrating our first Sunday back in the building, I think we can agree that during the pandemic, it was revealed that the Church isn’t the building. Church is the people. It is us, the Body of Christ, called to be Jesus’ hands and feet no matter where or how we worship. We are not tied to the building, but we are called to leave the building and serve others in Jesus’ example. In the loss of ten beloved members in 2020, and three more in 2021, it’s been revealed that life is so precious, and that time away from one another can make things that much more difficult. But we know that, even though the folks we so dearly love are no longer with us, we never walk alone. The saints that have gone before us make up a great cloud of witnesses who are always on our side, always by our side, always within our hearts. And during the pandemic, it has been revealed that God never leaves us. God has been with us from the beginning of time, and God’s love and presence endures forever. We are always, always held in infinite love, regardless of our circumstances, mistakes, and trials, for we know that we can never be separated from the love of God through Christ. Thanks be to God! And so, may we always remember that there is much to celebrate, even in the darkness - for we know that Jesus’ resurrecting power is just around the corner. May we remember that in the darkness, we are never alone, that the Holy Spirit always walks with us. And may we live into the source of Light, God our Creator, who sustains us now and forever. 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, May 23rd, 2021 || Pentecost Sunday 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 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 2:1-13 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound, the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphlyia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” Sermon I don’t know about you, but the past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Last week, the CDC made a significant announcement regarding the wearing of masks, and just a few days later, Gov. Baker announced the official reopening of the State of Massachusetts at the end of this month. In the midst of all of this information, I’m left in a haze: is this really happening? Are we actually, truly, nearing the end of the pandemic? Are we on the other side of this thing? As I reflect on the past year, it feels so disorienting to believe that yes, indeed, we are truly beginning to see a new day dawning. But the evidence is right in front of me. While I was on vacation this past week, I had the joy of reconnecting with friends and family, some of whom I hadn’t seen for over a year: some whose toddlers had crossed the threshold into school-aged kids, and others who adopted new pets or added an addition to their home. A lot had changed over the past year, and though we had all kept in touch over the phone or through cards and letters, we still had so much to share with one another. We were all fully vaccinated, and as we took off our masks, we realized what we had been missing all this time. I met up with a friend for nearly five hours at a local restaurant, where we dined outside and shared our greatest joys of the past year and our most heartbreaking moments. We also visited with family friends twice while I was home, and each time, we were there for over three hours. I can’t neglect to mention the hours and hours of conversation I shared with my parents and family - over coffee, over meals, and just while doing laundry or dishes. It was like a floodgate had opened - a new line of communication that had been muffled by face coverings and marred by distance was now crystal clear. I think we are, indeed, on the other side of the pandemic. The questions, the doubts, the fears - none of them are erased, but perhaps they are eased a bit. The tragedy, the pain, the suffering, the loss - none of it is forgotten, but perhaps it hurts just a little bit less as we look toward the future. As we celebrate Pentecost today, we are also celebrating the inauguration of a new day. Just as the Holy Spirit blew through the early Church of the first century, and startled and confused the followers of Jesus, so too, we can expect a bit of a haze as we enter this new chapter. We will still have hesitations, questions, and uncertainties about how we go about the future. But the best part is that we know that we can trust the answers in the wind, the Holy Spirit blowing in the wind. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t just give us guidance. The Holy Spirit opens up lines of communication within and among us, and between God and us. As we begin to think about starting to remove our masks, the Holy Spirit nudges us to nourish our relationships once more, to invest in one another and within our community. And the Holy Spirit breathes life into us as well. This year has been a really, really difficult year for so many reasons, and at many points, I know this year felt more like death than life. But God does not leave us tired and weary, and God has never left our side. No, be still, and feel God’s presence, for God breathes new life into us each and every day. As we inhale, we breathe in God’s great love and the gift of the Holy Spirit, & as we exhale, we have the opportunity to breathe God’s life & love into all that surrounds us. What a gift. So whoever you are, whatever you are facing, know that you are not alone. God’s great love was made evident from the beginning of time when the Spirit blew over the waters of creation, and God’s great love is known now, even and especially in the dawning of a new day. May we recognize the answers blowing in the wind, knowing that the Holy Spirit is guiding us even now. May we nourish the relationships that give us life through God’s great love, and may we take heart that even in the midst of death, life is sprouting up all around us, through the power of Jesus’ resurrection. 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, May 9th, 2021 || 6th 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 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 - John 15:9-17, 26-27 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. Sermon As I was preparing for this week’s service, a song kept popping into my head: All You Need is Love by The Beatles. All you need is love (all together now) All you need is love (everybody) All you need is love, love Love is all you need When this song was first released in 1967 during the Summer of Love, we were in the midst of the first Civil Rights Movement in the US. Generally speaking, there were two responses to this Beatles hit: the first one was that life was as simple as love - all we need to do is love one another, and we can solve any conflict that comes our way. But a second response arose: we are naive to think that love is the only solution to the world’s problems. This was a rejection of the tranquil and hazy notion that undefined and unchallenging love can do anything. For anyone who has been married for a year or seventy years, love is hard sometimes. On the outside, it looks like love is a never-ending honeymoon period. Love is this euphoric timelessness that carries you through anything and everything. Rather, on the inside, love is mostly unrecognizable from the fairy tales - there are conversations to be had, apologies to make, wrong-doing to confront, and reconciliation on the other side. In this morning’s scripture passage, we hear Jesus imploring the disciples to remember his love and the love of God in all they do. In this, there is great joy - joy that deeply abides through the paradise of love and the heartache of wounded spirits. Jesus tells the disciples that they have a new model for love: they’ve heard the phrase, “love one another as you love yourself,” but they’ve never heard that they were called to love as Jesus loves. This challenge to love suddenly became much more difficult for the disciples, for human love is imperfect, but divine love is pristine. How were they to ever meet Jesus’ gold standard of love? The good news is that we aren’t alone in this: Jesus sent the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to lead us in such love. And, if we go back to the original language in the passage, we find a richer definition of love; it’s not some dreamy emotion, but rather, the concept of love in this passage has implications for our everyday life. The word for love in this case is agape in Greek, which comes from the Latin for caritas - which means charity. This means that we love by doing, not simply feeling something toward other people. Love, in other words, is a verb. So when Jesus says, “Love others as I have loved you,” what he’s actually saying in the original language is, “do unto others as I have done for you.” This is why Jesus explains love through the image of laying down one’s life for others. To love others in Jesus’ example is to speak life into another’s situation, not death. To love others is to offer our whole selves in commitment to healing and reconciliation. To love others is to be open to the transformation of a relationship, even when that means stepping back, stepping in, or stepping up. As Scholar Carmelo Álvarez puts it, “Love becomes a transforming power more than a superficial and emotional expression.” And Jesus has appointed us to do this work. To be appointed is an honor, and a serious thing: it is a commitment we make to follow through on. Just as a pastor in the United Methodist Church is appointed, and goes where called, so too we are called by God to go where God sees work to be done - by us. As close this sermon series about being unrecognizable Christians in a world that so desperately needs God’s love, as we look to the future, we are called to respond to Jesus’ appointment for us: bear the fruit of the Spirit, of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. We are called to be the Body of Christ, and do love. So go, bear fruit. So go, love. So go, transform the world. For we go not alone, but in the example of Jesus Christ, sustained by God the Creator, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. 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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Stream Audio Worship AboveNote that we may not be able to include the hymns in pre-recorded services - thank you for your understanding. Covered under ONE LICENSE: #400013-P Unrecognizable: Our World in Christ
Sunday, May 2nd, 2021 || 5th Sunday of Easter - Communion 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 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 - 1 John 4:7-21 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent Jesus into the world so that we might live through Christ. In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us and sent Jesus Christ to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in God and God in us, because God has given us the Holy Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that God has sent Jesus as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as God is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because God first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their siblings are liars; for those who do not love a sibling whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from God is this: those who love God must love their siblings also. Sermon Several years ago, I attended an enormous conference called the Parliament of World Religions. It was an incredible experience where I encountered people of all different faiths from all over the globe. One of my favorite parts of the conference were the meals. In the Sihk faith community, offering free, hot meals to all who wanted them is a regular part of their faith practice - and they brought this to the conference. As we entered the space, we were invited to remove our shoes and don a headscarf as a sign of respect. We were then led into a large hall lined with long, narrow rugs with aisles in between. We were seated on the rugs next to strangers who quickly became wonderful conversation partners, and we were given trays as the food began to pass by us. The food was traditional Indian food, and vegetarian, so that all could partake in the meal. And we could feast and get seconds and thirds until we had had our fill. I experienced so much love and grace from folks that I didn’t even know, and I was filled to the brim with gratitude. This meal was completely free, and was offered every single day of the conference. Any extra at the end of the day was transported to local shelters and food pantries, so there was no waste. What love is this, that I was fed, without cost, by complete strangers with no strings attached? As I reflect on this memory, I’m thinking a lot about what love does in the world. Love does incredible things: love is generous and kind. Love listens. And because love’s origin is Divine, because love’s source is from God, we know that love is eternal. It reminds of how our founder, John Wesley, described grace: because God loved us first, we are always found in love. We are always bathed in grace. This grace has been present from the beginning of time; we can’t earn it, and we can’t lose it. It is ours, always, because God loved us first. So what is our response? On a personal level, we are often led toward loving God. We build a relationship with Jesus, and we come to know the Divine in deeper and more powerful ways, each and every day. John Wesley knew this type of faith to be personal piety - a seeking for personal holiness that bolstered our own relationship with God. But Wesley also knew that focusing on personal piety and nothing else would lead to a faith that was one-sided, a faith that, in some ways, was self-centered and self-serving. So Wesley proposed a balance between personal piety and what he called social holiness. This is the understanding that we are called to transform the world through God’s love. It means that we take seriously the line in the Lord’s Prayer, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. As Christians, we have a vision of what heaven will be like: where all tears will be wiped away, where there is no one in need, where we will all feast at the banquet together. Our call is to bring forth the kingdom of God, here on earth as it is in heaven. This means we love: love deeply and love thoroughly. As we close this morning, I would invite you to reflect on how we can love in these two ways: love God, and love neighbor. What does that look like? How does this manifest in our world? And so, may we experience God’s great love all our days, taking heart in knowing that God loved us first. May we follow in Jesus’ example of love, who spread a feast for all who hunger and thirst. And may we heed the Holy Spirit, who guides us and reminds us of the love we have and the love we can give, with each and every breath we take. Amen. Communion Hymn of Meditation - God Be With You Till We Meet Again 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. 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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