by Amy Norton, April 09, 2024
Dear Ones, Nourished by our breakfast on the beach with Christ last Sunday, we are about to begin our stewardship season, which will officially kick off next Sunday, April 21st! This year we are exploring the theme of Imagining Together, which invites us to dream into being the kind of community impact we know is possible when God’s people work together in love. But first, we need to rest. Our scripture this Sunday contains this short but powerful offer from Jesus, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take… Read More
by Amy Norton, April 03, 2024
This Lent and Easter (February 14-April 7), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” This Sunday wraps up our wandering journey alongside Peter as he experiences discipleship and beyond. We will be welcoming United Parish member Kate Baker-Carr as our guest preacher. Kate writes “Our text for Sunday brings us full circle. We began Lent with Jesus calling Peter, his brother Andrew, James, and John to leave their fishing nets, their livelihoods, and take up… Read More
by Kent French, March 27, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” We’ve been following stories about the disciple Peter during Lent and all the ways that he’s impulsive, impetuous, usually over-eager and often talking a bigger game than he can play. On Maundy Thursday, he denies his beloved friend and mentor not once, but three times — fearful for his own life to be associated with him. He weeps in bitter regret afterwards… Read More
by Amy Norton, March 21, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” As we begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday, we prepare for the often heart-wrenching way that we will confront our own role in Jesus’ arrest, torture, and death. It’s heavy, there’s no way around that. I also think that it is one of the regrettably few times we explicitly encounter Christ in such a visceral way, drawing such clear parallels to our own… Read More
by Kent French, March 14, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” Come on Sunday and we’ll reflect on Matthew 18:15-22, in which Jesus gives challenging instructions about how to work through conflict and forgiveness with someone who’s offended you. When Peter shows a real interest in learning more about it and asks “How many times should I forgive…as many as seven times?” Jesus responds: “Seventy times seven.” That’s a lot of forgiveness. In preparation,… Read More
by Kent French, March 06, 2024
*Daylight Savings Time Begins this Sunday, March 10. Turn clocks ahead one hour.* This Lent (February 14-March 30), our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” Withstanding Hard Times Sometimes the news seems too hard to hear. A challenging medical diagnosis. The end of a relationship. A job layoff. A debilitating accident. A financial setback. We’d rather turn the other way. We’d do anything to change it. Our response might be “No, no, no!” To put… Read More
by Amy Norton, February 29, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” On Sunday, we’ll be continuing our Lenten journey with Simon as Jesus bestows a new name upon him and cements him forevermore in our narrative as Peter. This nickname, Petros (or Kephas, in Aramaic), might best be appreciated by English speakers as “Rocky” (or maybe “the Rock,” if you’re a Fast & Furious fan). And what an exultant moment for Rocky this is. Blurting… Read More
by Amy Norton, February 20, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” On Sunday, we’ll be continuing our Lenten journey with Peter (still named Simon at this point in the narrative), back out onto his boat in the middle of a stormy sea of Galilee. In those days, before aquariums and marine biology and underwater cameras, the ocean’s depths were a foreboding mystery that still very much inhabited the cultural zeitgeist as the realm of scary… Read More
by Kent French, February 15, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, reflecting on the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” Jesus’ first disciples were everyday people: minding their own business, mending their nets, supporting their families, worrying about expenses, paying their taxes, fretting about the future. First and foremost among them was Peter. He’s a compelling guy, often impulsive, leaping before he looks, getting it wrong at least as much as he gets it right, making promises he can’t keep. Much… Read More
by Kent French, February 08, 2024
This Lent (February 14-March 30) our worship and Church School curriculum follows A Sanctified Art’s Wandering Heart series, following the sometimes mercurial discipleship of Peter and the words of a favorite hymn, “Come, O Fount of Every Blessing.” This is the last Sunday before we launch once again into the season of Lent, those 40 days when we commemorate Jesus’ days in the wilderness and seek to deepen in our own faith and spiritual practices. This Sunday, we’ll offer a prelude to Lent, as we lean into the Wandering Heart series described above (check out the link). Often, before the… Read More
