There will be a Special Called Congregational Meeting on Sunday, July 17th after the 9:00am worship service to vote on replacement of the air-conditioning unit in the Activity Center quilting room.
Letter from Pastor Shea
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed, my friends. Alleluia!
I pray that you all are holding up well and that you are staying home if possible. I give thanks every day that, so far, none in our community have gotten sick. I pray that that continues and that you all stay safe.
This Easter has been a strange one, that’s for sure. But in many ways it actually mirrors the first Easter quite well. On the day of Jesus resurrection, there was no celebration. There were no parades, brass quintets, or ham dinners. There were no bunnies and colorful eggs. The day began early in the morning, while it was still dark, with weeping and grief.
Even Jesus’ appearance didn’t clear things up entirely. Back at the tomb, Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize him. She mistook him for the gardener until he said her name. The disciples spent their Easter hiding in a locked room, and it took touching Jesus hands and side for Thomas to believe.
That first Easter was marked with doubt, fear, and uncertainty. But no amount of anxiety could alter the truth that Jesus Christ was risen. This is still the truth this week, my friends. Jesus Christ is risen. Even though we can’t gather to hear that story, Jesus Christ is risen. Even though we, too, are stuck at home, possibly afraid, Jesus Christ is risen. Even though we may be depressed, Jesus Christ is risen.
We will continue to join together in worship and celebration through virtual gatherings and in letters and videos. If you are interested in helping to make masks to donate to health care workers, please call the church and let us know. Also, if you would like a list of parishioners who are in particular need of a friendly call, please let the church know. If you have internet access, but do not have an email address, please consider creating one. I would also encourage you to join Facebook, as that is the easiest and most timely place to find information from the church.
I’ll leave you with this prayer from Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints, Denver, Colorado.
Dear God,
As you did your son, Drag us out of our tombs.
There is no virtue in the world, no lifestyle choices, no amount of wokeness that can pull the sun up from the East each day, Lord.
So turn our heads, even if ever so slightly, toward the dawn, so that we may know that it is your grace that both raises the sun and raises the dead.
Even if we have given up, yank us out of our graves of choice. Rescue us from despairing.
When we return to tombs that are no longer meant for us—revive old resentments, pick up a drink after years of sobriety; again give pieces of our hearts to that which can never love us back—remind us that you never tire of reaching into tombs and loving us back to life.
Comfort the dying, Lord.
Revive the faltering.
Grant us joy and make our song Alleluia…not because we aren’t paying attention, but because we are.
Amen.
All love and peace to you,
Pastor Shea Berbaum
Bread Making
This Thursday is called “Maundy,” which means “command,” from the verse in John’s gospel in which Jesus commands us to love another as he loved us. We hear about the Passover lamb, Jesus’ last meal with his disciples before his death, and Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. This Thursday we’re going live to bake bread, break bread, and pray together. Facebook
Looking for a quarantine project?
How about making masks for health care workers! These handmade masks are headed to Texas Home Health with our love and prayers!
Psalm 23 The Divine Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
If there was ever a perfect time for this psalm to show up in the lectionary, it is now.
I’ve sat down to write on this text three times now. I keep getting distracted. It’s quiet here in the office these days. More so than usual. And when it’s too quiet the mind wanders, kind of like sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” What else should I be doing right now? Have I heard from this person? Let me look up their number. Let me call them. I wonder if there are any news updates? I’ll check Twitter. “The Lord is my shepherd…” Oh yeah. I should be writing. I wonder if anyone I know is sick? What if I get sick? What if the baby gets sick? “The Lord is my shepherd.”
Psalm 23 may be one of the most familiar passages of scripture to many of us. It is a staple of Christian funerals and comes up in the lectionary a couple times a year. It’s a Psalm for times of crisis. It speaks of hope and trust in the midst of darkness and fear. It speaks comfort to mourners, safety to those in chaos, peace to anxious times. It is full of the promise of God’s presence in times of struggle and suffering. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me.” “My cup runneth over.” “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is the kind of stuff we need to hear all the time, but especially in days like today.
Maybe you’re home alone, isolated from friends and family to keep yourself and others safe from spreading the virus. Maybe all you have for company is the talking heads on the TV which tells us that things are getting worse, and will continue to get worse, before they are better. Or maybe you have recently lost your job because non-essential businesses are closing. Or maybe you have to go to one of those essential jobs, and risk getting infected yourself. This Psalm is for you. Even now, in all of this, the Lord is your shepherd. Yea, though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Fear not. God is with you.
In this season we’re in it is extremely easy to become distracted and overwhelmed. I am feeling that way literally every day, several times a day. This Psalm speaks a beautiful word of calm for me when my brain, like a sheep, begins to wander. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Pick a phrase from this psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd”, or “Yea, though I walk through the valley”, or “my cup runs over,” any phrase that brings you a sense of comfort in these days of fear and anxiety. Write it on your mirror. Put a sticky note on your lap-top screen (that’s what I did) or your dashboard, or anywhere where you will see it often. Let this Psalm feed you throughout this week.
I pray for you all daily. Please keep reaching out to one another. Write letters and make calls and remind each other that yes, God is with us in this darkest valley, and we are here for each other too.
God is with you,
Pastor Shea Berbaum
The Wilderness is where you wrestle with God
Well this week sure took a turn, didn’t it? For our Lenten service on Wednesday night, I had originally planned to step away from the Israelite’s journey in the Wilderness and talk about Jacob, at whose well Jesus and the Samaritan women met. I wanted to examine the story of how he wrestled with God and received a new name. I think there are some interesting connections there between Jacob’s story and the Samaritan woman.
But then some things happened. Some news came out, guidelines were recommended, and our gathering place was closed. And that really sucks. I don’t like it either. I’m going to miss shaking your hands and seeing your faces. BUT I believe this is the absolute right decision—for us, and for all churches at this time.
We are commanded to love God and love our neighbor. In fact, one of the clearest ways that we show that we love God is by loving our neighbor. At this time that means keeping our distance from one another to slow down the spread of Covid-19, thereby keeping our most vulnerable neighbors safe. Keeping our distance from one another means not coming to church. To do otherwise would be selfish and dangerous. It could cause harm to our neighbor. God doesn’t want you to come to worship and harm your neighbor in doing so. That’s not love—for God or anyone else.
Churches all over the country are having to figure out how to continue to be a community of faith without being together. Some are mailing out worship materials for families to use at home. Others are recording services and broadcasting them. Some are even hosting online video chats so that everyone can at least see each other while they’re stuck at home.
All those things, and any other way we can find to worship God, ARE church. You don’t have to come to 6605 Old Independence Rd. to have/be church. Jesus said that whenever two or more are gathered in his name, he is there. In John 4, when asked by the Samaritan woman where the correct place to worship God was, Jesus said, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.”
Well. The hour is here. We CAN’T worship together like we used to. And we shouldn’t. At least for a little while. So, we’re going to get creative. We’re going to read and study more. We’re going to pray together over the phone. We’re going to drive by the church and receive communion while we can. We’re going to sing along with others as we watch videos or listen to hymns. You are the body of Christ, friends. Wherever you are, that’s where the church is.
Back to Jacob. On the way back to reconcile with his brother Esau, Jacob found himself alone in the Wilderness (Genesis 32:22-32). Somehow, the story doesn’t really say, Jacob winds up wrestling this guy and they wrestle all night, neither one of them gaining the upper hand. When morning comes, the guy tries to leave, and Jacob won’t let him go. I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” Jacob says. The man blesses him and gives him a new name, Israel, because he had “wrestled with God and with humans and had prevailed.”
The world, our nation, and our church are in a wilderness moment right now. Many of us find ourselves alone wondering what on earth is happening. Many of us are wrestling with our faith, trying to discern how show our love for God in new ways. How do I love my neighbor? Won’t God protect me from this virus? How could God let it all come to this? These are good and important questions that we all need to wrestle with. It’s good to ask questions. Remember the Samaritan woman?
My prayer for you is that you are blessed in your wrestling and your questioning. That we come out of this disaster with a clearer knowledge of who God is and who we are called to be. I pray that we meet God in this Wilderness. I pray that we reemerge with new names and new ideas. I pray that we learn what it means to worship God in Spirit and truth.
I’m praying for you,
Pastor Shea Berbaum