August 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.    Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.   We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!

Rainbow Cross

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

August 8

Wrestling with Our Hunger

Matthew 14:13-21

Our hunger for God is not only met when we gather for worship but also when we are at work, when we are in fellowship, when we engage in conversations and build relationships, when we serve and love as we are sent to do.

August 13

What are You Seeking?

Matthew 14:22-33

Now, we ask not just what does God look like or how do we recognize God’s presence in the world, but what would the world look like when it is aware of that presence? What would we look like, what would our community look like if we really believed what we say about Jesus and about grace and salvation?

August 20

Is it Fair?

Matthew 15:21-28

When we are truly seeking the face of God, we go beyond fair and move into grace manifested in love in all our relationships.

August 27

Who do You Say?

Matthew 16:13-20

Out of nowhere, it seemed, as they traveled along, Jesus asked his disciples a question of identity. “Who do you say that I am?” It’s a question we must answer again and again as we seek to become disciples of Jesus Christ.

July 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.    Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.   We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

Rainbow Cross

July 2 – Communion

Quenching a Thirst

Matthew 10:40-42

Jesus sees hospitality as central to our discipleship. We may continue to learn and grow in welcoming one another as Jesus accepted us.

July 9

Taking the Yoke

Matthew 11:25-30

On the path of a disciple, we are learning to grow in our relationships with Christ and with the community. It begins when we take the yoke.

July 16

Seeds in the Dirt

Matthew13:1-9, 18-23

We are asked to imagine fruitfulness and then to work for that in the whole ministry of the church.

July 23

Shine like the Sun

Genesis 28:10-18

We never know who we might see shining like the sun. We are learning to imagine a new reality where even flawed humans, like ourselves, can be disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

July 30

Hidden and Mixed In

We prefer the obvious. We like to be sure. But faith is something else indeed. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that faith “is the conviction of things not seen.” Not seen? Like a treasure hidden in a field, or like yeast mixed in the flour, hidden and mixed in. That’s how grace works.

June 2023 at the United Methodist of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.

Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.   

We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!   

Rainbow Cross

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

June 4 – Trinity Sunday & Peace with Justice – Pride Sunday – Communion

Genesis 1:24-25, 27a

Rainbow Over Church

For this week only, service starts at 9:45 am.

We gather to celebrate Hybrid Communion Worship together, and then join in the Pride Parade in downtown Santa Cruz at 11 am.  Genesis 1:24-25, 27a and 31a will inform our time together the Goodness of God!  God confirms that all of creation is birthed in goodness and grace!  May we fulfill that goodness in all we say and do! (Zoom folks, please remember your ‘holy snack’!) 

June 11 – Matthew 9:9-13 and Genesis 12:1-3

Matthew 9:9-13 and Genesis 12:1-3 will inform this Sunday of ministry together. After 10 years, God has called us to serve with mercy and grace in a new way.  Our world is still in desperate need of healing grace and mercy!  As the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz prepares to welcome new pastoral leadership with Kangse Lee and Maria, God’s grace and mercy will continue to thrive!  We have much to offer!  May all be well!

Flowers and Lighthouse garden
Photo by Joseph Jacobs

June 18 – Isaish 43:19 and Exodus 14:5-15

Stream through field

Haley Feuerbacher will provide leadership during these next two weeks as we continue to prepare for this pastoral change on July 1.  Isaiah 43:19 and Exodus 14:5-15 will guide our journey as we hear about transitions … our fears of entering into the wilderness of the in-between; loss and change and the fire of the Holy Spirit allow God to plant and grow … as we become co-laborers to create “something new”!  Join in this transition; be openly blessed!

June 25 – Isaiah 43:19 and Acts 2:1-4

Isaiah 43:19 and Acts 2:1-4 remind us that there are two types of fire… the kind that destroys, and the kind that releases life – impassions us – lights our way into a new future.  How will we be joining God to do a new thing in this new appointment year beginning July 1?  May we give gratitude to all that came before us, releasing what no longer serves us, and rising into the courage to embrace holy change!  May we move forward into ‘that which we do not know’ … and trust God in the process!

Distant mountains

May you find the welcoming place of God as you invite others to share this journey!

May 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.    Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.   We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

Rainbow Cross

May 7 – Communion – John 14:1-14

Spring Flowers

As the Season of Easter continues, Jesus is in the process of departing the followers with the anticipation of a Comforter … the Holy Spirit.  Jesus asks us to live faithful lives…’divine’ lives … living lives of sacred service to one another and the world.  Might we be able to ‘change the world’ by living lives where “the Jesus in me meets the Jesus in you”?!  May the world experience such Godly Living!  Let us be this example!  (Zoom participants, please remember your ‘holy snack’!) 

May 14 – John 14:15-21

John 14:15-21 reminds us to be faithful and loving by living the life lessons Jesus teaches us.  We are the Easter People, called to live lives of faithful service.  And Jesus reminds us that as we live such lives, the Spirit of Love will infuse us with spiritual power.  May we listen to God, live the life Jesus teaches us, and be empowered to share acts of faith with our brothers and sisters in the world.  So much love to share with our needy world … what are we waiting for?!

May 21 – Luke 24:44-53

Wooden Heart
Old Tree

Luke 24:44-53 reminds us that if we are mindful, we can pray and listen for the message of Jesus in our hearts and minds and spirits.  As we “wait” for the infusion of God’s Spirit with our spirits, we can keep faithful, open, and eagerly wait for the work that is calling us forward!  May we be “on the look-out” for ways to serve God and our neighbors, so that health and goodness may be grown in our world!

Join us for a ‘Farewell Potluck’ for Pastor Jay and Joseph.

May 28 – Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21

… the gift of the Spirit empowers us this day!  Catch the Fire … Be Renewed … Allow your Spirit to be ‘Aflame’ with Goodness and Mercy.  Show such faith through your daily living … to God and one another!  Consider reading the Pentecost Story of Acts 2 in your native language in Worship!  Let this be an awesome and spirited day filled with warm fiery colors! 

Pentecost

May you find the welcoming place of God by inviting others to share in this journey of the Spirit!

April 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.

Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.    

We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid and Zoom Small Groups.  

Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!   

Rainbow Cross

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

Journey with us during Holy Week, April 2-9.

Climbing Tree

April 2 – Palm Sunday – Communion – Matthew 21:1-11

Palm Sunday

Journey with us as we remember the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into our lives!

Palms … Music … The Adventure of New Life begins!  Communion will be served; Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’! 

Photo Image, Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe, Chates de Carbet Rain Forest, courtesy of Linda Wilde

April 6, 7:30 pm – Holy Thursday

We gather in the Fellowship Hall for this In-Person Taizé Service to remember “The Last Supper”. 

Unfortunately, Zoom services will not be available; however, ample space is provided for safe distancing.  Mask for your comfort. Music, the story of the Passover, and Communion will be included in this musical service of prayer.

Holy Thursday

April 7, noon to 3:00 pm – Good Friday

Good Friday

Our Sanctuary will be available from noon to 3 pm for a time of prayer, meditation, and self-guided reflection; stay as long as you wish.  Unfortunately, Zoom services will not be available; however, ample space is provided for safe distancing.  We remember this day as we grieve the destructive nature of the world in which we live.  We pray to change our hearts and our world.  We recognize the grace of God…so deep.

April 9, 10:45 am – Easter – John 20:1-18

Our hearts are strangely warmed (as John Wesley would say) by the Grace of God that extends from Good Friday to Easter!  Make this day of Easter your new spiritual experience!  Be touched by the reality of God’s love; embrace the moment of Mary as she recognizes the Risen Christ!  Easter is just the beginning of your new life story! 

Easter

April 16, 10:45 am – John 20:10-31

Ocean Sunrise

Easter is not just an event … Easter is a way of life!  Continue to join us as we celebrate the ways in which we can extend new life to others!  Kristen Muro will share how we come to transform our lives…moving beyond disbelief and mistrust into the embrace of radical belief!  Allow this time to be the opportunity to embrace life-changing, soul-changing and world-shifting ways that can resurrect and transform…ourselves and our world!

April 23, 10:45 am – Native American Ministries Sunday – Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Easter is not just an event … Easter is a way of life!  Continue to join us as we celebrate the ways in which we can extend new life to others!  Kristen Muro will share how we come to transform our lives…moving beyond disbelief and mistrust into the embrace of radical belief!  Allow this time to be the opportunity to embrace life-changing, soul-changing and world-shifting ways that can resurrect and transform…ourselves and our world!

Sunset

April 30, 10:45 am – Acts 2:42 – 47

Calla Liles

How do we live out the rest of our days?  With the events in our world that hurt our hearts and destroy the lives of others … might we put our sights on living a sense of “Awe!” as we seek to live the changes we long to see in our world!  May our spirits embrace the sense of beauty God creates.  Let our hearts live as a people of faith…may we truly be “the Easter People”! 

Photo Image, courtesy of Joseph Jacobs.

May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit!

March 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.    Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.   We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!   

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

Rainbow Cross

March 5 – Communion – John 3:1-17

Nicodemus

Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’!  As the Season of Lent continues, Nicodemus comes to Jesus by nightfall to protect his identity from his faith community.  Nicodemus is asking Jesus the deep spiritual questions that are on his heart.  What are those deep spiritual questions that call to us in the night?  Are they questions about prayer, the ‘end times’, how do we live faithfully in a world filled with violence, struggle, and a lack of spiritual insight?  We might ask, why is God allowing me a ‘Do-Over’?!

March 12 – John 4:5-42

John 4:5-42 shares the story of an unnamed woman who has a conversation, midday, in the heat of the desert!  She is ostracized by her community; Jesus welcomes her … and invites her to believe that God is available to everyone!  God’s grace is sufficient!  What do we struggle with in our lives that others condemn in us?  Maybe we also condemn those same aspects about ourselves!  And yet, Jesus reminds us that God welcomes us; we are free to live a sacred, faithful life!  We might ask, why is God speaking through me?!

Woman at the Well

March 19 – John 9:1-41

Blind Man

In John 9:1-41, Jesus is faced with multiple issues of people not willing to take responsibility.  There is a man born blind, and no one … not the learned authorities, the family, or the community … is willing to affirm anything about this blind man … not how he became blind or how he was blessed with sight once again!  Like the Samaritan woman last week, we can easily ask, ‘why is God working through me’?!  Am I needing ‘new eyes to see’?!  What am I not seeing that needs to be responded to?!  Am I fully and faithfully responding to Jesus?!

March 26 – John 11:1-45

John 11:1-45 invites us to ponder the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, intimates of Jesus.  The ‘resurrection of Lazarus is a reminder that in the midst of life, we are in death.  In this last service before Palm Sunday, we can be asking ourselves, ‘what are we living for, God?!’  Why give us life, only to die in the end; what is the point?  Ponder this season, ‘what is the point of your life?!’   Are you living the kind of life that empowers you to make a difference?

(Our visuals this month come from our Stained Glass Windows.)

Death of Lazarus

May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit!

February 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.    Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.   We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!   

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

February 5 – Communion – Matthew 5:13-20

Communion

Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’!  Matthew 5:13-20.  Are you making a difference in this world ‘being like salt’, or have you lost your ‘saltiness for life’?!  Are you ‘light’; are you shining and engaging in the world’?  How are you living spiritually in the Beloved Community? 

Be encouraged as a receiver and distributer of God’s Grace! 

May you be a full participant in the “Community of God”. 

February 12 – 1 Corinthians 13

In the midst of the struggles of living faithfully in the world, Paul reminds us (1st Corinthians 13), to live the way of Love!  Love is not simple … or maybe Love IS simple … How are you living the breadth and depth of God?!  Where is love growing in your life?  How are you planting, nurturing, and sustaining the experience of God’s love … are you sharing that love in the world around you?  Love … such a gigantic task … and So Worth It!!!

Way of Love

February 19 – Matthew 14:13-31

Hands bread and fish

We welcome Haley Feuerbacher, Ph.D., who will lead us in an amazing interpretation of Matthew 14:13-31.   Moving from the popular mantra, “I am enough” and being very aware that we simply are not … we can pass on our mission responsibilities to others or run ourselves ragged to respond – expecting others to do the same.  Today we will discover from scripture and earth lessons, ways to flip our way of doing church and ministry.  We will explore the radical ways scripture and life gives us permission to be human with all our needs/limitations, discovering the pathway to answer our call as the Church!

February 26 – First Sunday of Lent – Genesis 2:15, Matthew 4:1-11

We begin a new season in our spiritual development.          Lent …a time of purging our behaviors that are contrary, so we can focus ourselves on the richness of responding to God’s opportunities.  We begin this Sunday in repentance.  Ashes remind us of dying to the self and rising in God’s Grace.  Genesis 2:15 and Matthew 4:1-11 can offer us ways to respond to God’s call to deepen our spiritual awareness … to ‘move into’ into our spiritual home.

Our visual this day comes from Pat Verheul.

Fisrt Sunday of Lent

May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in the journey of the Spirit!

January 2023 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.

Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.    We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!   

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us!

Rainbow Cross

January 1 – Communion – Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

New Years Day

Welcome to the New Year, as the Christmas Season continues!  For Everything There Is A Season … so the writer of Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 reminds us.  This is a wonderful way to start a New Year!  Join us for the breaking into a whole new era; choose one simple spiritual resolution…something you are committed to observing in your life! 

Zoom participants, remember your ‘holy snack’!

January 8 – Epiphany Sunday – Matthew 2:1-12

We celebrate the Epiphany and the Renewal of Baptism this day … the arrival of the Magi, and the showering of light infested waters upon us as we reaffirm the mystery of God’s Saving Grace in our lives!  Matthew 2 & 3 remind us of the stories of our early faith, and our calling to journey forth in faith!  Let 2023 be the year for deepening your faith in new and amazing ways!

Epiphany Sunday

January 15 – Human Relations Day – Isaiah 49:1-7

Human Relations Day

Human Relations Day (and Special Offering) reminds us to be empowering as the people of God…to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with God and one another.  Each of us is chosen to be an empowering essence with the world…to be a sacred element in this life.  Isaiah 49:1-7 reminds us that we are chosen by God to care for one another and to be justice seekers for the earth.  May we be faithful!

January 22 – Matthew 4:12-23

Matthew 4:12-23 reminds us of our calling to ‘come and follow’ the Jesus who resides in our hearts, our minds, and our spirits.  We are called to walk alongside one another.  To offer healing and to empower others to find their deep spiritual path; to share in helping to cultivate God’s Beloved Community.  How are we choosing to grow in God’s grace?

Yacht Harbor

January 29 – Micah 6:3-4, 6-8, Matthew 5:1, 5, 6, 7

Care for one another

Care for one another.  That’s all we are called to do; to care; to humble ourselves and our egos so that others may have life … and share life abundantly!  Until that day comes…we have our work cut out for us…to live with a hunger and thirst to make sure that everyone is filled … to be merciful so that everyone is filled with mercy!  Is it possible to live righteously … live mercifully … live meekly?

May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit!

Advent and Christmas at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith.

Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.    

We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!  

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us.

Rainbow Cross

November 27th – First Sunday of Advent

Hope

Welcome Christmas into your heart as you hear the faith stories of all the ‘Advent Characters’ who are approached by the Angel!  The Angel prepares our way today by introducing us to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds … the unsuspecting people of faith!

Prepare your hearts with Hope … Come!  Prepare!

December 4th – Second Sunday of Advent – Communion

Zoom Participants, prepare a ‘holy snack’. Continue to journey this season as we prepare our hearts.  We move from a place of Hope as we prepare our hearts for Peace.  Allow the Angel to deepen your spirit with the message of Peace, given to the  Shepherds.  Allow this message to infuse your soul! 

Peace

December 11th – Third Sunday of Advent

Love

Our journey unfolds as we focus on Love this day.  Imagine being silenced by an Angel like Zechariah or visited by an Angel every time you slept like Joseph!  We would probably not get any Christmas cooking done!  See how these two characters prepared their lives for the Love of God.  Are we preparing for a times such as this; are we prepared for this kind of Love?

December 18th – Fourth Sunday of Advent

We arrive at our journey’s end in Bethlehem, where Joy awaits us!  Are your hearts prepared to receive and share this gift with your neighbors far and wide?!

The Angel comes with reassurance to Elizabeth and Mary, as the Angel came last week to their partners.  May we find the kind of Joy in our hearts like Mary and Elizabeth found, when they received such news!

Joy

December 24th – Christmas Eve Service – 7:00 pm

We have been anticipating this night all season!

On this night, Jesus is born!  Saving Grace is poured upon us as we celebrate this gift of new birth! 

Please invite others to join you as we celebrate this gift of new light in our lives…our world!  Join our Hybrid Service of familiar carols and ‘light in the dark moments of life’.  Bring, Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love with you!

December 25th – Christmas Continues!

We rarely get to celebrate Christmas Day in Worship.  So, leave the wrappings of your Christmas gifts under the tree, and join us for music and the hearing of how everything started from John 1:1-14.  Be the Light of the World this day, as we begin to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas!  Join us next week as we continue to celebrate on New Year’s Day!  And then come back once again on January 8th as we celebrate the Epiphany.  Be a blessing in 2023!

Christmas Day

May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit at Christmas!

November 2022 at the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz

Welcome to the United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz, as we seek to be faithful to God by being fully inclusive.  We have open hearts, open minds, and open doors.  Join us as we deepen our resolve to share love generously.  This is a time for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with our neighbors and the world as we grow deeply in our faith. 

Join us as we seek to build relationships with spiritual depth, reaching out to the world.    

We remain committed to offering a healthy and safe ministry in the midst of this COVID Pandemic, offering Hybrid Worship and Hybrid/Zoom Small Groups.  Check out our website for the latest information, and “Like Us” on Facebook!  

Whoever you are and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome to grow with us.

Rainbow Cross

November 6th – All Saints Sunday – Communion – Luke 20:27-38

November 6, 2022

In Luke 20:27-38, we discover that our God is the God of Life, whose Love Never Ends!  This odd parable about marriage in the face of death and dying, has Jesus expounding on “why we ‘worry’ about ‘the afterlife’ instead of living faithful and spiritual lives now?!”  We remember the lives of those who have touched us and taught us to be people of faith.  We praise God by caring for our neighbors and living with justice and peace in our loving hearts.   Celebrate The Feast this day; zoom participants … fix a ‘holy snack’!

November 13th – Veteran’s Day Remembered – Isaiah 12:1-6

Isaiah 12:1-6 reminds us to proclaim God as our Comforter!Live in God’s saving grace with strength and mercy!  Work to bring joy into each and every day!  Live in gratitude and peace, so that our world may find and live God’s healing touch!  Allow yourself to an instrument of God’s healing peace in your daily journey.  Be a gracious witness to your faith in all that you say and do! 

Our visual this day comes from Joseph Jacobs.

Veteran's Day

November 20th – Celebration of Thanks and Praise – Deuteronomy 26:1-11

November-20-2022

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 reminds us that God is the creator of all goodness and grace.  How do we return thanks and praise for the gift of life that we share with others?  We remember to share what we have; to welcome the sojourners on this journey of life:  the immigrant, those who are estranged, persecuted and abused!  We know this land in which we live is filled with the substance of life:  milk and honey!  We are invited to share; to return our thanks and praise; to be responsible to our siblings in life who are especially suffering in this time of life.  We are called to be gracious even when our times are desperate.  May we work together as we remember to share the gift of life!

Our visual this day comes from Joseph Jacobs.

May we find the welcoming place of God as we invite others to share in this journey of the Spirit!