Sunday, June 25, 2017 – Summer Service of Worship
Put two cents a meal into a container for every meal that you eat. Bring your offering to church on the 1st Sunday of every month.
A monthly Caregiver Support Group for individual’s who are caring for a loved one(s) with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. This group will meet the FIRST Wednesday of every month from 1:30-2:30 pm in the church parlor.
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“Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.” The first line of Max Ehrmann’s poem, Desiderata (1929) caught my eye as I passed by the framed document. It was a High School graduation present that stopped me long enough to find a peaceful place in my busy college life.
Last month, I gifted my oldest grandson with a framed copy of the Desiderata for his high school graduation with a few comments about its scriptural parallels in the Psalms and Gospels. Reflecting on the entirety, I can understand why the Rev. Frederick Kates copied it for devotional materials at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It is perfect for a Sabbath day or moment. Consider the following excerpt.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive (God) to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”
Words often stop us. And, sometimes they bring us to a holy place. I believe this is what Sabbath is about. Stopping for more than a moment or even an hour to reflect and connect with the Holy. In Genesis 2: 1-3, God stopped working and creating on the seventh day. “God blessed the day and made it holy”. (Genesis 2: 1-3) “Stop!”
It is a radical act to keep the Sabbath holy. It’s an act of rebellion to go against the world that schedules us every day, drags us from one event to another and insists on filling the air with noise. It is a radical act to stop looking at your phone. It is an act of rebellion to say, “no”, I have one hour or two dedicated to Sunday worship and prayer. Stop long enough in the “noisy confusion of life (to) “keep peace with your soul.”
Blessing of a Summer of Sabbath Days, Pastor Deb
P.S. I will be with my family over the Fourth of July and Rev. Gerling is willing to preach on Sunday, July 2.
The Quaker Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Geneva once again invites the member congregations of GAIC and others to join us in the Walk for Peace in the annual Geneva Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 29, 2017. (more…)
It is said that “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Visual arts range from Michelangelo’s Pieta to Tiffany stained windows to the movies and even clipart. Works of art interpret and reflect our faith story. (more…)
Our first two days of photography sessions are complete and we have added additional photographic sessions on Wednesday, June 15th. (more…)
On Saturday, May 20th, the Choir, along with friends from the wider community, will be presenting a Free Concert in the church’s sanctuary. The concert, Love Your Neighbor – For Everyone Born, a Place at the Table, will explore the strong multi-cultural tradition of loving the neighbor, even the ones who seem most different, in song, Bell Choir music, instrumental music, and words. Come and join us for this special concert.
“You know, most white people don’t even think of themselves as having a race.” (Debby Irving’s Waking up White, p. 151) Are you interested in exploring whether this statement is true? And what the consequences are for American society if it is? If so, please join us in reading and discussing Irving’s book. (more…)
Spring…Flowers…Sunshine…Friendship
These are some of the things I think about in May! I remember when I was about 8 years old or so, making construction paper cone shaped May Day baskets, filling them with purple Violets and Myrtle from our yard and hanging them on neighbors’ doors, ringing the bell and running away. Such a simple gesture that brings a smile, happiness and friendship. (more…)
