Summertime at West Groton!

(Apologies for not updating the blog in a few weeks!)

Hope you are enjoying your summer, wherever / whoever you may be! Here at Christian Union Church, we've been enjoying a wonderful summer, with great weather and time together with friends, old and new!

At nearby Squannacook River (original photo from Kayak the Merrimack)

On Sunday mornings we have also begun to talk about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus-- in other words, what does it look like to consider your teacher, and Lord, a carpenter from Galilee who lived two thousand years ago!??

One thing we've talked some about is, to refer to the great work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the tremendous "cost of discipleship." That is, following Jesus isn't always easy, and often gets you into trouble. Someone who knew this all too well was a man who actually immediately preceded Jesus' ministry --- John the Baptist. Check out this BIZARRE passage from Mark 6:14-29 (NRSV), and if you have a thought or question, feel free to put it in the comment box.

Traditional Greek Icon of John the Baptist

Mark 6:14-29

¹⁴...Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. ¹⁸For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”  

¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, ²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.  

²¹But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. ²²When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” ²³And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” ²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.”

²⁵Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

In Memoriam: Jozsef "Joe" Bukkhegyi

On Saturday, June 9th, at 2pm at Christian Union, we will celebrate and mourn the life and passing of our dear friend Joe. All friends of the church and family are invited to attend.

Click here to read the obituary in the Lowell Sun.

Click here to sign the online guestbook. 

Pentecost 2012

From Pastor Amy:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place, And suddenly from heaven there came the sound like the rush of a violent wind...                                 Acts 2:1-2a


...a sound like the rush of a violent wind. Have you ever sat and listened to the wind from a powerful storm? Those are the winds that rush in with force and fury and you know, just by hearing them, that they are changing the landscape of the outside world. Several years ago, I was home from California finishing up wedding plans. On my trip, we had an unexpected visit from Hurricane Ike. The force of the storm hit in the middle of the night, although my dad boarded up the windows on my family's home so I would not have been able to watch the storm even if it had been light outside. I stayed up through the night listening to storm and watching the news. In the early morning hours, our electricity was finally blown out. As my family slept, I listened to the cries of the wind. When the storm passed, we opened our door to see water rising almost to our porch.

wind
and
water

They often go together in nature but they are also important signs of our faith. In the wind we are reminded that the Spirit of the Living God has come and made his home in us - our lives and our communities. In the rush of the Wind, we know that we no longer act in our own power because the Wind possess the greatest strength. It is in this strength that we are made brothers and sisters and children of God. It is in this power that we are taught that the things which might divide us - languages, beliefs, and physical appearances are loved and embraced by God. In the coming of the Wind, we find that in God's Kingdom we all have a home.

The wind and the water go together. It is the actions of the Wind that claim us in the waters of baptism and when we pass through the waters we hear the Wind whisper in our ears you are loved, you belong, you are mine. 

My dear friends, let us wear red or fuchsia or orange tomorrow. Let us celebrate the coming of the Wind who is the Spirit, may we believe that we belong, and may our words, actions, and the rhythms of our lives let others know that they are loved and belong as well.  


Pentecost Prayer
Jan Richardson

It is not the sparks
caused by our difference
that haunt me
but the brimstone
of those bent
on assimilation
on annihilation

I have felt the template
on my flesh,
I have seen the wounded and the scalded,
and I am not persuaded
that if  we look alike
God will love us more.

I believe God loves the languages
of those struggling to speak
the words embedded in our flesh
of every shape and hue.

And I believe God blesses
every space where we are welcomed
to speak with tongues of fire
and hear with hearts aflame. 

Sermon Preview: You will be my witnesses.

The ascension 
Peter Rogers (1933- ) Oil  1963

Methodist Collection of Modern Christian Art, No.29

Hello everyone! Tomorrow morning is the last Sunday of Easter!.... So hopefully by now you've eaten all your Peeps and Cadbury eggs. If you haven't, then I guess you'll have to bring them to church so I ... I mean we... can help you finish them off. :) 

We'll be talking a little bit about the Ascension--- one of the lesser-known Christian celebratory days in our tradition--- and also the idea of "witness."

Witness is usually referring to, in our day especially, something having to do with courts. Accounts that give credibility to a person's claims.... or, oftentimes, invalidate their claims. 

At the ascension--- Jesus tells his disciples, "You will be my witnesses." The church has always believed and understood---- this was not a one-time charge to such that group of disciples alone. That's the charge for all of us, today. "Be my witnesses." 

Most Christians believe this.  The question becomes, what does it mean? 

Does it mean that we have to be able to 'explain' God, or the Gospel, or Jesus, to other people?   (Does it mean that we need to get in their face and  tell them, whether they're interested or not?)  That seems a little judgmental, I think, to most of us. 

Does it mean that we have to give 'credibility' to God, somehow? --- Maybe so. I think of how many people I've met that have given up faith in God, but the reason is often tied to having had a really terrible or oppressive experience with Christians, or a particular church. I think lots of people today relate to Gandhi's quote about liking Jesus, but not being so crazy about the church. (I have to admit, sometimes that includes me.) 

But, we're not perfect, and that's okay, right? And maybe we have some doubts or questions about faith, too, that we can't answer---- so does that mean that our "witness" is somehow less?

---(And, really, do I have to go TALK to people about God? I mean, really.) 

---So, what do YOU think?  What DOES "be my witnesses" mean? More importantly, what should it look like? 

We'll get into it a bit more, tomorrow. Enjoy the beautiful Saturday!

 

Sermon Preview: Mother's Day and Love

From Pastor Josh: 

Image: Addie Kay Boswell's Circle of Women

Mother's Day is tomorrow!  (Uh oh, better not forget to call my momma....)

Also tomorrow begins the 6th week of Easter, and for our lesson this week we'll be looking again at the Gospel of John, at some of Jesus' last words to his disciples.

As we mentioned a few weeks back, John is a unique work of art in comparison to the other more historical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In John, we have a mash-up of sermons and lessons about Jesus--perhaps some of them based on the words of Jesus--mashed together with various scenes from Jesus' life.The reason for this? To preach words of hope and courage to churches in the 2nd century, whose lives and faith were threatened.

And the great source of hope that the Gospel gives to us? .... is Love. Love God. Love each other.

Sounds great!   It even sounds simple! But it is, really?

I mean, how many of us really and truly know what love is? I "love" my spouse (and partner-in-crime) Amy. I also use the word "love" to describe things like... my friends. Philly Cheese Steak. And the San Antonio Spurs. (#5 on the way!....sorry to break it to you, Celtics. )

Of course I don't mean the same thing when I say I LOVE all these things--- (I better not, or something is seriously wrong with me.)

What we're after here in this text----is the love that, like those early Christians, truly gives us HOPE and PURPOSE and JOY.... that somehow LASTS....even in times of great difficulty. That goes beyond just a fleeting emotion or a comforting thought.

How can we know what THAT kind of love looks like? 

Perhaps, on Mother's Day, we can consider how maybe our MOMS give us a clue??..... (Maybe not?)  

We'll be chatting about this tomorrow morning!

Images from Re:Worship

This Week...

...at Christian Union Church


We will continue our discussion of "Call" as we look at the calling of the disciples from Mark 1:14-20

We have a congregational meeting and potluck lunch directly following our 10a service. Everyone is invited to attend this meeting and please bring something to share. Since Pastor Amy is preaching this week, Pastor Josh is in charge of our covered dish. It will be legendary...or something like that.

Our first Fireside Chat was a success. We had thought provoking discussion about the life of Jonah, how we receive forgiveness, and to whom forgiveness should be offered. We will not meet this week due to the congregational meeting but make plans for the next Fireside Chat, February 5th!

jonah's second chance

This week we are continuing our study on "call" by looking at the life of Jonah...the reluctant prophet. Oh boy was he reluctant.

When I was growing up, anytime Jonah was discussed the story ended with the people of Nineveh repenting. The story went something like: Jonah was stuck in the belly of the whale and had a change of heart. He prayed and God heard his prayer and caused the great fish to vomit him onto the shore where he was pretty close to Nineveh...the great city. Jonah journeys the rest of the distance, arrives, preaches and everyone repents. God decides not to destroy Nineveh. Cue fireworks and streamers.

The end....


Of course that is all well and good but it not quite the story the text tells. Jonah prays, the fish spits Jonah up. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah makes the three day walk to Nineveh: the great city and preaches the shortest, least inspiring sermon one has ever heard. Miracle of miracles, everyone believes Jonah, the tear their clothes and fast in repentance - even the animals are sorry. (Does this strike anyone else as humorous? The prophets have been preaching to Israel for YEARS and YEARS and YEARS to repent and nothing has happened. Jonah walks into the city and says repent and everyone listens.) Anyway, God relents and spares the city. Jonah is not happy. Jonah goes up to the hill and complains to God. God talks to Jonah. Jonah is still unhappy. That is the ending of the story.

It is not one of those endings that grabs you...it is a bit anticlimactic. Yet, it is the ending of the book of Jonah.

Immediately, I want to ask why? I find that I, like many others, am tempted to end the story on the note of repentance instead of with Jonah who is acting like a pouting Polly.

If I end with the repentance, I fail to recognize that Jonah was given a second chance. Earlier in the story, Jonah really screws up. He ignores the task God has given him and runs away. But, God saves Jonah and gives him a second chance. Yet, Jonah is unhappy when God offers a second chance to the Ninevites...Why?

Of course, the bigger question: Am I like Jonah? Is there anyone I am not willing to offer a second chance? 

Just a little something to think about this week.

Join us at 11:15 for the Fireside chats and we will spend some time discussing this question as well as few others.