Our Music Ministry is geared up for fall, and there is a way for nearly everyone to get involved!
Here is a rundown of your opportunities:

CHANCEL CHOIR, directed by Bill Hatcher, will begin Thursday rehearsals on September 2nd at 7 p.m.  This is a volunteer choir which sings every Sunday, and all are welcome. 

BELL CHOIRS, directed by Karen Zerlaut
Trinity Bells (grades 7 through 12) will begin on Sunday, September 12th, 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.  It is helpful if the youth have been in Rainbow Ringers or some other handbell choir, but not a requirement. Tryouts may be required.

Joyful Bells (adults) will begin on Tuesday, September 14, 6 to 7 p.m. We have babysitting for those who need it.  Reading ability and good eye-hand coordination is desired.

Rainbow Bells (grades 2 through 6) will have their first rehearsal on Thursday, September 16, 5:45 to 6:45 pm. Rainbow Ringers is a beginning handbell choir.

CANTICLE CHOIR (grades 7 through 12) will begin on Sunday, October 3 at 10:30 a.m..  We are delighted that Pam Gregory will be directing.    Please her at 760/3893 if you have any questions.

CHILDREN’S CHOIR  (grades 1 through 6), directed by Marilyn Shepard, will have their first rehearsal on Sunday, September 26.  The Children’s Choir meets weekly for rehearsal on Sunday mornings in Room 5, from 10:05 until 11:00.  Singers also learn to play a variety of instruments.

We urge you to use your talents and become a part of a program which adds immeasurably to our worship every Sunday!  Don’t wait for an invitation– just come!

Listen

Dear Friends,

People come to church for many different reasons.  Some people have told me that they come to church for the sake of their children: “My kids need some good Christian values,” they will say.  “A little religion will do them some good.”  Many people have told me over the years that they come to church in order to improve their personal lives: “I want to be a better person,” they will say.  “Going to church makes me feel good about myself.”  Others have told me that they come to church in order to find peace, serenity, calm: “Church is where I go,” they say, “in order to settle down after a busy week.  It keeps me grounded, centered, at peace.”

I’ve always thought that these are all very good reason for going to church, until I read this passage from Luke 12 this week, which is rather alarming.  Here, we encounter not the sweet, serene, family-values Jesus who wants to improve our already pretty good lives, but one who seems rather intent on destroying us, or at least changing us from the inside out.  “I have come to bring fire upon the earth,” he says.  “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?  No, I tell you, but division…”  He then suggests that following him will cause all kinds of personal chaos and turmoil.  So much for feeling peaceful, calm, and justified.

Some time ago I heard from a unique person who told me why he comes to church.  “I go to church,” he told me, “because it’s the only place left in the world that dares to challenge me.”  He spoke of the honest and candid nature of the Word, the liturgy, the prayers.  “Before you can feel good,” he said, “you’ve got to be honest.”  Something tells me that, somewhere along the way, he had met the Jesus who came to bring a refining fire, to upset the status quo, to not simply improve him, but to change him from the inside out.

See you Sunday,

Rev. Mark

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.       Luke 12:32

Our scripture this week begins with words of encouragement. It is a statement that beckons trust and hope in God’s intention for our lives.  It is good that that the first line of our scripture is so encouraging because what follows in the next two verses is pretty tough instruction about the nature of discipleship.  This is one of those passages that require you to go sit somewhere and think about what this might mean to your life.

So, that is what I invite you to do in preparation for worship on Sunday. Take along with you this wonderful poem attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero as a tool to meditate on the mystery of God’s kingdom.

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

 We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

See you Sunday,

Rev. Martha

Dear Friends,

I read recently of a man who had been doing some personal research on caterpillars and butterflies.  Given his grounding in the Christian faith, he was well aware of how the butterfly is a metaphor not only for resurrection but also for transformation in the Christian life.  His reading on the insects led him to make the following testimony about his faith.  He said, “I don’t want to be a better caterpillar.  I want to be a butterfly.”

The purpose of our ministry is not to make better caterpillars.  It is about helping people to become like butterflies.  We believe that in the life of faith transformations happen.  We do not need to live trapped in our sadness or fear or malaise. Following Christ is an ongoing journey that leads us to wholeness in our relationship with God and each other.

The Scripture we turn to this Sunday carries that same message (Colossians 3:1-14). By virtue of our baptisms, Christ has changed us.  In a sense, he has given us new clothes to wear. What we used to use to cover ourselves – anger, wrath, malice, etc – can now be thrown off and discarded.  Christ has given us new clothes that represent our new selves. This spiritual clothing dresses us for the journey to become the people that God intends us to be.

See you Sunday, 

Rev. Martha

Dear Friends,

Of all the feel-good stories that we are apt to hear or read about, the most compelling feel-good stories of all are those that highlight the rare personal quality of persistence.  I am often inspired by people who refuse to give up or give in – people who, facing tremendous odds, accomplish their dreams; people who, after years and years of struggle, finally break through the obstacles and find success; or people who, after having been told that their efforts are hopeless or in vain, go on to do great things.  Persistence, while not one of St. Paul’s famous “fruits of the Spirit” (Galatians 5), is an essential Christian characteristic.  It is the ability of the believer to press on in faith, regardless of one’s feelings, toward a purpose or a vision larger than one’s self. 

In a world with so many large, complex, overwhelming issues and problems, it’s easy to grow weary of doing good and following in the footsteps of Jesus.  We do not always see the tangible results of our commitment to live generous, just, merciful lives.  How often do we work earnestly to repair our world, only to see it fall apart all over again?  How often have we reached out to others with help, only to see them fall back in the same patterns or troubles?  Like dishes in the kitchen sink, the problems we seek to fix seem often to reappear, piled higher and higher, so that it rarely feels like we’re making any progress at all.

The disciples had come to Jesus one day, asking him to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-13).  Maybe they finally realized that the kingdom work to which Jesus had called them was more difficult than they had originally thought.  Their well of talent and energy and enthusiasm had run dry at last; they were running on fumes.  Meanwhile, there were still demons to cast out and bellies to feed and sins to forgive – day after day after day, with no end in sight.  Perhaps it finally caught up to them and they were desperate.  “Teach us to pray,” they said to Jesus.   I think it was their way of saying, “We need serious help.  We need God to do what we alone cannot do.” 

How else can one persist in the daily practice of faith, if not by prayer?  To do everything we can, at every opportunity, until we have nothing left to give, and then to leave it all at the feet of God, saying, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done….” – this, in the end, is how the world is changed.

See you Sunday,

 Rev. Mark

Order of Worship