Jenny and I had a great vacation these past two weeks! After a couple of days on the Eastern Shore in Chincoteague, Virginia and the Assateague Island National Wildlife Preserve we traveled south to Cape Charles, VA where I conducted a wedding for old family friends.
         From there it was on to the North Carolina Outer Banks and Nags Head for a week—right on the beach and seafood every day!  Thoroughly rested, I preached this past Sunday for my son, Daniel, who is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Ahoskie, NC.  It is a great church; progressive and open, it was the first North Carolina Baptist Church to leave the Southern Baptist Convention when the SBC turned to fundamentalism. The church is now associated with the Alliance of Baptists—a progressive group with ties, I’m proud to report, to the UCC.  To end our vacation, Jenny and I spent two days touring the historic Northern Neck region of Virginia.
         We are glad to be home. Thanks for giving me this time away.
 
Building a Future Together:
         You’ll recall that, on the Sunday before I left, we began our journey to the future by looking at the best of our congregation’s past. Our contention is that if we build a future on the best of who we’ve been, then we can move forward with confidence and excitement.
         Here’s some of what we found out from the surveys and which we presented on August 8:

• The best of who we are is marked by a warmth, love, inclusion, welcome and openness to all.
• Being UCC and lifting up it’s values of progressive theology, justice and openness is crucial.
• This congregation has been known for it’s missions and community activism—and we feel most alive when we are so engaged.
• We want to be with each other and doing things together as a church family—in ministry and service, and for fun.

         In our survey, these four things seemed to have been said over and over, and in many and various ways. And from these four things a number of dreams for our future were articulated in the surveys, including:

• That our UCC identity and ties be strengthened.
• That we pursue our UCC values of welcome and openness by becoming an Open and Affirming  Church, a Just Peace Church and an Environmental Justice Church.
• That we develop more congregational and group opportunities for fellowship, ministry, worship, and learning.
• That we increase our efforts to reach out to others and, especially, those unlike ourselves, young families, the GLBT community.
• That we adopt a “Can Do” and a “Yes, I Will” attitude.
• That we follow the example of the Church Council in writing a Church Covenant for our life together, and that we re-write our UCCA Mission Statement.
• That we call a new minister, with realistic and clear expectations, who will care for us, lead and inspire us. 

         We’ll be working with these findings in greater depth over the next many weeks—you all will be part of that process and will be well-informed as we go along. I’m excited and firmly believe UCCA’s best days are ahead of us.
         I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday!  Bring a friend—or two!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Joe
 

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In Worship This Sunday—August 29, 2010

 

The  Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 

                  Lectionary Readings:
                           Litany of Adoration and Praise—Psalm 81
                           Hebrew Scripture—Sirach 10:12-18
                                             Note: The Lectionary for this Sunday offers several options for the Old Testament
                                    Reading.  We’ll read the option from the Apocrypha, the book of Sirach (also known as
                                    Ecclesiasticus).  The Apocrypha isn’t often read in Protestant churches, appearing in
                                    Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican/Episcopal Bibles. Of great value, however,
                                    The Apocrypha covers a politically and religiously turbulent period in Israel’s history 
                                    (ca 165-63 BCE).  
                                             Sirach is a book of traditional Jewish wisdom and this passage on humility fits
                                    well with the this Sunday’s Gospel.
                           Epistle—Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
                           Gospel—Luke 14:1, 7-14
                   Sermon: “Table Manners”

Upcoming Sundays:
            September 12 - All Church Family Annual Picnic following the church service
                September 19 - No 3rd Sunday Potlock Luncheon

Summer Sunday Singers:
            Everyone is invited to join our Summer Sunday Singers at 10 a.m. each Sunday
                to rehearse our morning worship music.  It’s great fun and only 2 more weeks !

Children's Ministries

Beginning in September, Godly Play (for children ages 3 and up) will be offered immediately following Time for Our Children (they come to worship first, then are invited to go to Godly Play).  All children are welcome to leave the Sanctuary at that time or they are welcome to stay in worship with their families.  They reunite with their families during fellowship time.

Godly Play is an imaginative approach to working with children, an approach that supports, challenges, nourishes and guides their spiritual quest.  In Godly Play we enter into parables, sacred stories and sacred liturgy in order to discover God, ourselves, one another and the world around us.

 

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