Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Worship Service 9:00 a.m., Meetinghouse

As a response to the violent clashes between white supremacists and counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va., that left a woman dead and 19 injured, the national leadership of the United Church of Christ issued this Pastoral Letter:

Last weekend, a group of white supremacists came to Charlottesville, Virginia, and incited violence to protest the removal of a Confederate monument. Although protest is the bedrock of our nation’s democracy, coming in riot gear proves that they intended to do more than simply protest.

We, the Council of Conference Ministers and Officers of the United Church of Christ, strongly condemn the acts of violent hatred expressed by these white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klan members. Their white robes and burning crosses were replaced with polo shirts, khakis, and tiki torches, while their lynching was replaced with a speeding car barreling through a group of peaceful protesters with the intention of harming and killing others, which it did. Their vitriolic hatred is the same.

We confess that the events of Charlottesville are systemic and communal expressions of white privilege and racism that continues to pervade our nation’s spiritual ethos. And if we only condemn the acts of August 12, 2017, without condemning the roots of racism, which perpetuate discrimination in our American schools, justice system, business, and healthcare systems, then we have sinned as well. We must work toward the Kin-dom of Heaven here on earth now for the sake of a just world for all.

We do this by committing to follow the ways of Jesus, who stood with the oppressed, spoke out against political and religious powers, and courageously embodied a just world for all as he sought to create it. Today, we must follow the ways of Jesus in addressing the hatred of white supremacists and racists among us.

Our local UCC churches must be true solidarity partners with those who march in the streets. Our UCC churches are encouraged to move from the sanctuary and walk alongside other clergy and community leaders who seek to resist, agitate, inform, and comfort. We must resist hatred and violence. We must also agitate ourselves, and our neighbors to acknowledge any racism within or among us. We must inform ourselves, and our neighbors what our sacred stories reveal to us of a just world for all. We must lament and grieve with those who are injured or murdered during violent confrontations with those who mean us harm. And we must comfort those who have been discriminated against with the transformative love of God.

As we go forward, let us model the legacy of activism through our sacred call given to us by our UCC ancestors: May we be prophetic truth-tellers like our Congregational Christian forebears, who marched in public squares demanding equality for all. May we serve others, and remain faithful witnesses like our Evangelical and Reformed forebears, who tended to the needs of the forgotten. And may we be courageous like our non-UCC forebears, who left their spiritual home and joined the UCC in order to fully live out who God created them to be.

In the days to come, may God's truth, mission, and courage be our guide to embodying the Kin-dom of Heaven here on earth.

Transition News

As you probably know, Pastor Nada’s ministry ends with a special service and reception on Sunday, August 27. Plans are underway to select an interim minister, who will serve while we prepare for and seek a new settled pastor.

While our by-laws provide that the Deacons form a search committee for calling a settled pastor, they are silent as to how we select an interim minister. Traditionally, the Church Council has chosen a search committee for that purpose. Last Monday, Council appointed that committee: Chip Marsh, who will act as chair; Claire Bennitt; Jen McCaughtry; Dave Ridgway; and Charlie Swart. They held their first meeting on Tuesday, when they met with Rev. Mary Nelson, the Conference’s Regional Minister, who will be assisting in the search, and began their work.

This is important work and, while the committee will move quickly, their priority is to spend the time necessary to undertake a careful review of candidates, an interview process, and their final selection. That candidate will be presented to Council for approval; under UCC polity, an interim minister, who is hired to serve for only a limited time, probably a year to eighteen months, does not come before the full congregation for a vote.

After the interim pastor has arrived and gotten up to speed, the Deacons will appoint a search committee to seek and call a new settled minister. Once that committee completes its work, which will be an extensive and exhaustive search, their proposed candidate, who will serve as our new settled minister, will be presented for a vote at a congregational meeting.

On behalf of the congregation, thank you to the members of the interim search committee. We appreciate your willingness to devote your time and talents to this important selection.
Dave Reif
Moderator

Practicing Joy Together - Another Opportunity to Strengthen

Beginning September 19th

Discipline.....Exercise...practice, practice, practice!_How do those words strike you? Perhaps as important, worthwhile, noble activities...but not too joyful? Not something we would choose to do eagerly?Well, I am hoping that a few of us would like to gather together to re-think and experience the value of doing practices - spiritual practices - together as a group.I am eager to join with some others to begin Practicing Joy Together, a communal activity where we would meet periodically to explore or grow in understanding and appreciation of some of the age old "spiritual disciplines" that have shaped Christians for centuries. We would spend some time learning more about various exercises, and then commit to practicing them together and on our own until hopefully they became part of our daily lives.We could think of spiritual exercises as demanding sweat, blood and tears (as hours in the gym do for many of us). Or we could envision them as.... Making space for God in our busy worlds * Clearing away the clutter which weighs us down so much of the time * Seeking first the Kingdom of God * Keeping company with Jesus Training in faithfulness.Any one of these intentions sounds pretty joyful, exciting, expansive, doesn't it? And while spiritual disciplines are most often thought of as done individually, there is extra benefit when practiced in community. As one pastor puts it, "When we do things with others, it makes up for our own shortcomings [and lapses]."Guided by a book called Joy Together, I envision us meeting once a month to consider such things as Thankfulness, Contemplative Prayer and Scriptural Reading, Hospitality, Sabbath, Fasting - and other less structured practices which we do almost without thinking.Our first meeting would be on Tuesday, September 19th from 6-7:30. That is the same time that Teen Talk will be held, so parents of youth attending that meeting would be free to join us while they wait for their offspring. At that time we will consider future meeting times.All are welcome - all who are eager to tap into God's wisdom amidst the accelerating pace of life.Talk to me if you are interested, or just come and we will talk then. SPT

Sunday School’s Origins

Sunday school began in England as early as 1751. Better known is Robert Raikes’ work in Gloucester 30 years later. Concerned about poor children who worked in factories six days a week and often turned to crime, he offered classes on the only day kids were free. Soon various organizations offered a loose network of such Sunday schools, which taught basic reading and writing, using the Bible as a text. Ten years later, Samuel Slater started the first U.S. Sunday school in his Rhode Island textile mills. By the mid-1800s, Sunday school attendance was an almost-universal childhood experience. As society became more secular and public education was mandated by the 1870s, Sunday schools focused on spiritual practices: prayers, hymns, catechism knowledge and Scripture memorization. Well into the 20th century, Sunday school served as the church’s main outreach tool. Many adults fondly remember their teachers and lessons, and Sunday school continues to play a significant part in faith development.

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