Sunday's sermon focused on the question of "Who is the Holy Spirit?" Jesus is going away but He promises His disciples that He will send them "another counselor" or "advocate" to be with them. He will not abandon them, will not leave them alone. The word translated as "counselor" or "advocate" literally means "one who comes alongside." In the ancient world a paraclete was someone summoned to give assistance in a court of law.The paraclete was a legal advisor who pleaded a person’s case in court. What Jesus is saying is that "I am going to send someone who will do for you all the things I have been doing for you." It is the Holy Spirit who empowers the church and individuals to live out their lives as Jesus did.
Here are some upcoming events on our calendar:
Board Meeting--Tuesday, May 15th at 7pm at the church.
Movie Night--thisSaturday, May 19th at church.The movie will be “The Apostle” starring Robert Duvall and Farrah Fawcet.It is rated PG-13.We will meet at church at 5:30 for pizza if you would like—please let us know if you are coming for the pizza so we can plan ahead.The movie will start around 6pm.Following the film we will have a discussion time.The movie is about 2 hrs and 15 minutes long and so we should be finished around 8:45pm.
Sunday's sermon was about welcoming those who are different from us--loving them as Christ loves us. It's not always easy, but it's powerful and worth it for all of us. Loving those who are different is church as it should be--the title of the sermon.
Also on Sunday the congregation voted unanimously in favor of a new vestry floor and a new sound system for the sanctuary. We are excited about this because the vestry floor is used constantly and has been in need of an overhaul for a while. This will make our meeting space all the more better and beautiful. The new sound system will enhance our worship and allow us to do much more in terms of worship and concerts, etc.
Here are some upcoming events on our calendar:
Youth Group—this Wednesday from 7-8:30pm at church.
Car wash--this Saturday from 9am to 12pm at church. Proceeds to benefit the youth group.
Board Meeting--Tuesday, May 15th at 7pm at the church.
Movie Night--on Saturday, May 19th at church.The movie will be “The Apostle” starring Robert Duvall and Farrah Fawcet.It is rated PG-13.We will meet at church at 5:30 for pizza if you would like—please let us know if you are coming for the pizza so we can plan ahead.The movie will start around 6pm.Following the film we will have a discussion time.The movie is about 2 hrs and 15 minutes long and so we should be finished around 8:45pm.
This past week we all heard about and tried to process and come to grips with the terrible massacre at Virginia Tech. We wondered what could cause someone to do something like this. The question heard over and over again was: "Why?" There are no easy answers to the question. There are any number of reasons and some which we may never know.
One question people had was: "Where was God in all of this?" The question of "why?" also included "Where was God?" How could He allow this? Our sermon this morning based on Psalm 77 examines this questioning of God. In this psalm we find the author speaking for all of us--asking questions we ourselves asked this week.
Here are some of our upcoming events:
Ham and Bean supper—at church on Saturday April 28th at 5pm to benefit Paul Carlson Partnership and the youth fund.See Beth Quinn for tickets--$8 for adults and $4 for children under 12. Our special guest speaker for this evening is Carl Beane, the public address anouncer at Fenway Park. Carl has been the voice of Fenway Park since 2003.
Bible Study—every Thursday night at church at 7pm.We are currently studying the Gospel of John. All are welcome; we hope to see you this Thursday night for prayer, study and fellowship.
Youth Group--this Wednesday at church from 6:30 to 8pm.
Confirmation—next Sunday at church from 4:30 to 6pm.
Christ is risen! This second Sunday of Easter we still proclaim this message. Christ is risen indeed. This morning we look at some of the resurrection appearances of Jesus--how He meets the disciples in the locked room. The disciples have locked themselves up out of fear. How do we try to lock Jesus out of our lives? And yet, just as He appears through the locked doors of the room where the disciples are hiding out, so He too can get through our best defenses. God is resourceful and can find us. He seeks us out and comes to bring us peace. Amen.
Here are some of our upcoming events:
Bible Study—every Thursday night at church at 7pm.We are currently studying the Gospel of John.All are welcome; we hope to see you this Thursday night for prayer, study and fellowship.
Confirmation—TODAY at church from 4:30 to 6pm.
Meal with the Minister—on Wednesday, April 18th.We will meet at church at 12pm for lunch.Pastor Dave will provide the soup/stew, chips and drink.If you would like to bring a dessert to share, please let Pastor Dave know.All who can come are welcome, and if you need a ride, let us know and we can arrange that.
Ham and Bean supper—at church on Saturday April 28th at 5pm to benefit Paul Carlson Partnership and the youth fund.See Beth Quinn for tickets--$8 for adults and $4 for children under 12.Our special guest speaker for this evening is Carl Beane, the public address anouncer at Fenway Park. Carl has been the voice of Fenway Park since 2003.
Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. What a great day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ--to celebrate new life. We ourselves can get a fresh start on our lives if we want.
We can't explain every detail of the Christian faith--when it comes down to it, it has to be experienced. We can't prove God exists, we can only experience God. It is literally true that Jesus rose from the dead, but we have to experience Jesus for ourselves to make our faith real. So this Easter, may you experience the resurrection power and life of Jesus Christ.
Here are some of our upcoming events:
Board Meeting—this Tuesday at 7pm at church.All board members please make every effort to be at this meeting as we have some important matters to discuss.
Bible Study—every Thursday night at church at 7pm.We are currently studying the Gospel of John.All are welcome; we hope to see you this Thursday night for prayer, study and fellowship.
Confirmation—next Sunday at church from 4:30 to 6pm.
Meal with the Minister—on Wednesday, April 18th.We will meet at church at 12pm for lunch.Pastor Dave will provide the soup/stew, chips and drink.If you would like to bring a dessert to share, please let Pastor Dave know.All who can come are welcome, and if you need a ride, let us know and we can arrange that.
Ham and Bean supper—at church on Saturday April 28th at 5pm to benefit Paul Carlson Partnership and the youth fund.See Beth Quinn for tickets--$8 for adults and $4 for children under 12.Our special guest speaker for this evening is Carl Beane, the public address anouncer at Fenway Park. Carl has been the voice of Fenway Park since 2003.
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