Festival Worship

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the Living God… (Psalm 84)

In the weekly rhythm of life, I find myself renewed by our Sunday morning worship of God. Throughout the week It feels like the stresses and strains, the tugs and pulls, the twists and turns of life have their way with us and our world. But when we gather together to sing and pray and listen and fellowship, it’s as though life gets centered again, that faith, hope and love are renewed, and all is well as another week of life begins.

I am anticipating two wonderful worship gatherings ahead!

First, this Sunday, October 29 is Reformation Sunday, when we remember the birth of the protestant Church now 500 years ago, and ponder how the church is always reforming itself into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus. The hearty brass will help us sing with all our might Martin Luther’s great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amidst the flood of mortal ills prevailing”… God through the prophet Jeremiah will announce “days surely coming” that are found to be among many others our days. Jesus will say, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”, and we will ponder that elusive and desired freedom. And we will hear again St. Paul’s word to the early church, that same words that caused Martin Luther to protest the ways the church had wandered away from Jesus: “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” Don’t miss this wonderful hour!

Second, next Sunday, November 5 is The Feast of All Saints, when we speak the names of those who have died over the last year, and we add also names of many more who we’ve loved and lost through the years. We contemplate St. John’s dream of those gathered in God’s glory who wait for us, as we sing “For All The saints, who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed…” And coming to the Lord’s table, we remember their communion still with us! Beginning in the sanctuary, our worship ends in the memorial garden where we remember too all laid to rest there. Again, don’t miss this special, holy moment!

In these gatherings we gain strength and renew our hope, that even though our days are filled with trouble and challenge, by God’s grace and with faith we will find our way home to God too. Psalm 84 goes on: “Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion…they go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.”

Looking forward with you!

Peter Hawkinson

Festival Worship

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the Living God… (Psalm 84)

In the weekly rhythm of life, I find myself renewed by our Sunday morning worship of God. Throughout the week It feels like the stresses and strains, the tugs and pulls, the twists and turns of life have their way with us and our world. But when we gather together to sing and pray and listen and fellowship, it’s as though life gets centered again, that faith, hope and love are renewed, and all is well as another week of life begins.

I am anticipating two wonderful worship gatherings ahead!

First, this Sunday, October 29 is Reformation Sunday, when we remember the birth of the protestant Church now 500 years ago, and ponder how the church is always reforming itself into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus. The hearty brass will help us sing with all our might Martin Luther’s great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amidst the flood of mortal ills prevailing”… God through the prophet Jeremiah will announce “days surely coming” that are found to be among many others our days. Jesus will say, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”, and we will ponder that elusive and desired freedom. And we will hear again St. Paul’s word to the early church, that same words that caused Martin Luther to protest the ways the church had wandered away from Jesus: “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” Don’t miss this wonderful hour!

Second, next Sunday, November 5 is The Feast of All Saints, when we speak the names of those who have died over the last year, and we add also names of many more who we’ve loved and lost through the years. We contemplate St. John’s dream of those gathered in God’s glory who wait for us, as we sing “For All The saints, who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confessed…” And coming to the Lord’s table, we remember their communion still with us! Beginning in the sanctuary, our worship ends in the memorial garden where we remember too all laid to rest there. Again, don’t miss this special, holy moment!

In these gatherings we gain strength and renew our hope, that even though our days are filled with trouble and challenge, by God’s grace and with faith we will find our way home to God too. Psalm 84 goes on: “Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion…they go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.”

Looking forward with you!

Peter Hawkinson

The Grace of Dogs

Today’s post is written by Pastor Jen.

If you were anywhere within half a mile of Trunk or Treat this weekend, or happen to be a Facebook friend, then you’ll know my latest big news: I brought home another foster puppy.

She is my youngest puppy yet, and I mean it when I say: she is giving me a run for it.

This little munchkin is three months old, and while our first few days went smoothly, Sunday morning and today have been some big tests.

The tests are two-fold: potty training and crate training. And I’ll spare you the details, but there have been moments when I feel like my house will never be clean and quiet again – and then of course it will, and that will be bittersweet.

We have had a couple of moments where I was pulling my hair out, and yelling, and (it was clear) freaking the puppy out. The puppy who, I firmly believe, is not trying to test my patience, but just really really good at it. And when I calmed down, I felt terrible about it. Terrible about losing my cool, and thinking this was about me, and just wanting her to understand and behave right now.

But the thing about dogs, which my trainer reminds me often, is that they live in the moment.

So just a few hours after giving up on getting her to go potty, roughly putting her in the crate, and leaving this puppy while I went to church, I returned to find her…fine.

Happy, wiggling, and utterly unconscious of what was weighing me down.

It’s a gift. A really, really big gift – especially as we get to know each other and work through the hardest parts of training. This little dog was in a shelter kennel just four days ago, and now she’s spending her days at my condo and in my neighborhood, playing with my dog, getting her meals at new and strange times, having multiple walks every day and being woken up in the dark of the night to go outside and pee. She’s so good at (almost) all of it. But when she’s not, and I can’t understand that…she lets it all go from one hour to the next.

An amazing example for those of us who are champion grudge-holders, who live frequently relitigating the past or worrying about the future.

In these days that are so anxious and upsetting, when hate crimes against both Israelis and Palestinians the world around are on the rise as a reaction to what’s happening in the Holy Land, when the war in Ukraine drags on and countless other conflicts don’t make the headlines but still boil up and over, it can be an enormous challenge to wake up and take the day as it comes. To be present where we are, and live in the moment, and try to accept the grace of each day. To let go and lay down what is past, and try to face the challenges of right now with as much grace and thoughtfulness and love as we can.

But that’s the call, I think. To remember that God’s mercies are indeed new every morning, and to trust in the One who made us to take us into that new day.

As I sit here, with another load of soiled towels in my laundry, with two exhausted dogs passed out next to me, with no idea what’s for dinner or when I’ll get another workout in…I’m going to try to do just that. To remember and to trust.