Here are the elements of our Palm Sunday Worship Service – April 5, 2020 [Read more…]

Here are the elements of the service we shared in Zoom Worship on Sunday, March 29, 2020 [Read more…]

Since we could not meet in person today – our community met together online via Zoom video conferencing. There were about 50 of us there and it was such a blessing to see each other’s faces and be able to connect with one another during our time of “sheltering in place.” Below are parts of the service we shared with the congregation, including readings, hymns, and a message from Bob. [Read more…]

“Jesus as Rule Breaker,” Bob Ryder

READINGS
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefor the Lord your God commands you to keep the Sabbath day. [Read more…]

“Jesus as a Holy Troublemaker,” Susan Ryder

 This morning we begin a Lenten journey we will be traveling together for the next six weeks. As you know, Lent is the season observed between Ash Wednesday and Easter and is traditionally seen as a time for contemplation and preparation for the events of Holy Week, as well as a time for redemption and renewal. [Read more…]

“A People of Resilience – John Lewis,” Bob Ryder

READING
Jeremiah 1:4-8 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’ [Read more…]

“People of Resilience – Bayard Rustin,” Susan Ryder

READINGS

Isaiah 2:4 He shall judge between the nations, and arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers.

Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Bayard Rustin: “My activism did not spring from my being gay, or, for that matter, from my being Black. Rather, it is rooted fundamentally in my Quaker upbringing and the values that were instilled in me by my grand-parents who reared me. Those values are based on the concept of a single human family and the belief that all members of that family are equal.” [Read more…]

“A People of Resilience,” Bob Ryder

Amos 5:24

“…let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

REFLECTION
It was 60 years ago yesterday when four African American college students – Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr and David Richmond quietly sat down at a whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and remained there when they were asked to leave.  It was a sit-in – a peaceful protest challenging segregation in the “Jim Crow” south, and it was one of the most catalyzing events in the American Civil Rights movement. [Read more…]

“Practice What You Preach,” Susan Ryder

READINGS
Matthew 23:1-7 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places… But I say the greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” This continues through the chapter, beginning each new section with “‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” [Read more…]

“Hold On to Your Thread,” Susan Ryder

 READINGS

Luke 6:27-36
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. Be compassionate, just as God is compassionate.” [Read more…]