Words of Welcome

Mount Shasta from the north Psalm 104:24-34 “O Lord, how manifold are your works!” Through God’s Wisdom, “all things bright and beautiful” are being created, and all God’s creatures depend on God’s Spirit for sustenance. This is true also for the new creation in Christ. So, with the Psalmist “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” The connection between the 104th Psalm and Pentecost is subtle, but the Psalm’s witness to the work of the Spirit is there. It’s there in the references to God’s Wisdom and God’s life-giving breath. It’s there in the presence of the Spirit through whom God renews “the face of the ground.” The Spirit comes not only on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit’s presence gave life to the church, but the Spirit has been present since the beginning of creation. We hear this word about the renewing presence of the Spirit during a pandemic and while the nation is faced with the question of wha

Acts 1:3-14 I have a confession to make. I’m tired of waiting for this pandemic to end and I know I’m not alone. It’s Memorial Day Weekend and it’s finally getting warm outside. We’ve been cooped for more than two months and we want to spread our wings. Along the way, we’ve watched as Baseball’s opening day has come and gone without any games being played, while a lot of other events we might have enjoyed have been canceled. Some of us have travel plans that are on hold because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The Governor is loosening some of the restrictions, but the stay at home order has been extended because we’re not out of the woods yet.  While waiting can be difficult—just ask any child at Christmas time—sometimes good things come to those who wait. This includes waiting for the Spirit of God to come upon us with power so we can be Christ’s witnesses in the world. Today we celebrate Jesus’ ascension, which according to the Book of Acts occurred forty d

John 14:15-21 When we began meeting for worship online in the middle of March, we were just getting started with Lent. Right up to that moment we had high hopes for our Easter celebration. We looked forward to our Easter breakfast, singing “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and hearing Pat close the service with the “Hallelujah Chorus.” We were also getting ready to welcome our interfaith friends from the Troy-area Interfaith Group to an experience of Easter worship. But, Easter came and went and we were still worshiping online. Now it’s the Sixth Sunday of Easter and we’re still worshiping online while sheltering-in-place. Although Pentecost sits on the near horizon, we still don’t know when we can safely regather in-person as a community. As time marches on and we continue to live through this season of uncertainty, we’ve heard a word from the Gospel of John that takes us back to a moment of uncertainty and anxiety for Jesus’ disciples. If we go back to chapter thirteen

Living Stones by Hilda  1 Peter 2:2-10 What does it mean to be chosen?  Does it matter who does the choosing and when you get chosen? Some of us know the feeling of being the last one chosen for a team.  Perhaps you watched or at least paid attention to the recent NFL draft. In the NFL draft, the team with the league’s worst record goes first. So, the Cincinnati Bengals chose quarterback Joe Burrough to be the savior of their franchise. That’s a big load to put on the shoulders of a young quarterback, but it’s an honor to go first. For their part, the Lions got to pick third. Then there’s the last player chosen in the draft, who takes home the title of “Mr. Irrelevant.” The word “chosen” figures prominently in 1 Peter 2. Peter invites us to come to Jesus, the “living stone” that was rejected by humanity but is  “chosen and precious in God’s sight.” Later in the reading, Peter informs us that we are part of a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’