UCC Files



December 6, 2020Second Sunday of AdventIsaiah 40:1-11Messengers of HopeThe prophets are not always easy company. As a body, they would be difficult dinner companions. It’s hard to imagine them sitting down to conversation about the weather or kindly inquiries about how the grandchildren are doing. Others shake hands politely. They blow raspberries. The prophets calling and passion is to reveal the truth that God has shown them. Most of their listeners, in their time and ours, would rather have their truths served with a sugar coating. So, the prophets rarely win any “likeability” polls. But if you can handle your truth served rare and with minimal dressing, the prophets are bracing conversation partners. Their bluntness springs from a deep and always unsatisfied yearning to bring everyone closer to God. And yet, sometimes, the poets surprise with an after-dinner song of joy. Today, in the fortieth chapter of the book of Isaiah, the prophet leaves behind his fiery ranting and offers words which at last sound less like a lecture and more like a lullaby. Maybe this comfort, this intimacy with God is what the prophets had in mind all along. Can you listen past their prickly rhetoric to hear what they really want for those who listen - in their time and in ours?Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.Speak tenderly to JerusalemToday, on this second Sunday of Advent, listen! There are prophets speaking in your city, in your county, in your church. Sometimes those prophets are cranky. Sometimes they stick out their tongues instead of smiling. Sometimes they lecture, rather than hum lullabies. And that lecture can feel like it’s really close to home. But you’ll know a true prophet by this. That their words bring you ever closer and more intimately into relationship with a God who wants nothing more than to know and be known. December 13, 2020Third Sunday of AdventPsalm 126Shouts of JoyIf you’ve ever been through a period of grieving, it’s likely that someone in your life has, at one time or another, shaken their head and clucked their tongue and assured you that “God doesn’t give anyone more than they can handle.” Or, maybe that someone patted your hand and said “God is just testing you right now. If you have enough faith, you can get through it.” Or maybe even, “Don’t cry.” These platitudes, although they are usually intended to comfort, can instead sting. They can leave the recipient feeling that if only their faith was stronger, they would not feel sad or angry. The psalmist shows us a different way of thinking of God. The psalmist knows that hard times and sorrows are neither tests from God, nor signs of the displeasure of God. The author of Psalm 126 sings instead that sorrows and grieving are just part of life. These words remind us that God does not bring misfortune; instead God is with us in our grief.One UCC church in New Hampshire wanted to demonstrate God-with-us to the whole neighborhood last Advent. Motivated by the tragic death in their congregation, the church decided to show God’s light in the darkness of grief. They invited members of the church to purchase a string of Christmas lights in memory of someone who had passed. Overseen by a professional lighting design company, it took twenty volunteers to hang all the lights that were donated. When the thousands of lights were strung together all over the outside of the building and surrounding greenery, they were a very visible reminder to all who passed of the light of the presence of God in the community. *See link below.During Advent, we anticipate the incarnation - the coming of the God to earth in the form of a human. The Divine One comes to us as Christ Jesus to remind us that through all the ups and downs and griefs of life, God is never far from us. And, like memorial lights in a New England winter, that presence can bring more joy than all the well-meaning words in the world. * 20, 2020Fourth Sunday of AdventLuke 1:26-38Birthing a PromiseChristmas Fund OfferingToday is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the season of watchful waiting for the coming of the Christ Child. If you have practiced a ritual of lighting Advent candles, either in community or in your own home, then this Sunday you will light all four candles. As we do, we celebrate and acknowledge the gifts of this season - Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we are also invited to receive the Christmas Fund Offering. As the promise of God’s light and presence shines through the advent candles, we can bring hope, peace, joy, and love to those we honor with our special offering. Soon it will be time to put the advent wreath away for another year. But through your gift to the Christmas Fund Offering, you can keep hope, peace, joy, and love alive all year long for those who have served the church. The Christmas Fund funds four programs: Christmas Thank You Checks, Pension Supplementation, Health Benefits, and Emergency Grants.Christmas Thank You Checks are for retired United Church of Christ clergy and lay employees. Retirees with limited financial resources receive a gift at Christmas time as a way of saying “thank you” for years of service to the UCC. Last year, more than a quarter million dollars was given to 521 individuals, and the number of those helped increases every year.Pension Supplementation is for lower-income retired United Church of Christ clergy and lay employees. These are monthly payments designed to bring household incomes up to a basic level to be able to afford basic needs like food, utilities, and medical expenses.Health Benefits supplementation is for lower-income retired UCC clergy and lay employees who may receive assistance in paying Medicare premiums.Emergency Grants are for currently active or retired clergy or lay employees who are facing unforeseen circumstances that create financial need. Give to the Christmas Fund at: 27, 2020First Sunday after ChristmasLuke 2:22-40Long-Awaited GiftA LitanyHoly One, Like Anna and Simeon, we have waited. And, like Anna and Simeon we rejoice now at the young ones who have appeared. In an age of climate change, the seas rise along with the temperature. While her elders posture to protect resources, or argue about who is at fault, a single young woman dares to speak truth to power. As our youth are empowered, empower us at all ages to listen and then to act. We give thanks for the energy, vitality, and leadership of the youth in our church, community, and world. Like Anna and Simeon, we rejoice!The scourge of gun violence has affected no group so horribly as the young. Children who cannot yet read know how to hide in the event of an active shooter in their classrooms. And so, it is the young who lead the way in calling for reasonable gun controls and an end to gun violence. We give thanks for the energy, vitality, and leadership of the youth in our church, community, and world. Like Anna and Simeon, we rejoice!The cries of Black Lives Matter that has spilled from hearts into the streets is a rallying cry that gives voice to generations of oppression and violence. As the youth lead the way in making the social change that must come, help us to uplift their leadership. Give us the grace to get behind them, instead of standing in their way. We give thanks for the energy, vitality, and leadership of the youth in our church, community, and world. Like Anna and Simeon, we rejoice!(Lift up the gifts of local youth who have shown energy, vitality, and leadership in calling for social change and justice in Christ’s name.)We give thanks for the energy, vitality, and leadership of the youth in our church, community, and world. Like Anna and Simeon, we rejoice! Amen.January 3, 2021Second Sunday after ChristmasJohn 1:1-18Another RoadIn a few days, Christians around the world will celebrate the feast of Epiphany. Like so many of our Christian observances, this one contains the seeming contradictions of human and divine. It is on the one hand an acknowledgement of the divine nature of Jesus, which was recognized by the Three Magi who came to visit the Christ Child. On the other hand, it is a celebration of Christ’s appearance to all people, as The Magi are often thought to represent Christ’s Gentile followers.It is not uncommon to tell stories to try and make sense of our stories, especially the ones that hold contradictions like Epiphany. In Italy on this day, Italian Christians tell the legend of Befana. The story goes like this:Befana was an old woman, who was renowned throughout the village for keeping the most meticulously clean house. All of her energy and time went into creating a beautiful home. When the three Magi followed the star through her village, they naturally stayed with her in her lovely abode. They told her about the Christ Child, whose star they followed. After a day’s rest, the three began again to follow the star, and they urged Befana to come with them. Befana said no at once, for if she left the village, who would keep her house clean and neat? The more she thought about the Christ Child, the more Befana was compelled to see and know more about him. Quickly packing a bag of sweet treats and carrying a broom for the new mother, Befana hurried down the road. But the Magi had already gone on ahead. Although she hurried to catch up with them, Befana could not find the Magi and to this day she searches for the Christ Child. Although her search for the Child was not successful that night, on Epiphany Eve, Befana travels still, visiting each child in Italy. And for each child, she leaves a gift, because she now knows that the Christ Child can be found in each young person. Questions for reflection:How does the story of Befana help you understand the story of Epiphany in a new way? How does this story embody the paradox of this season’s celebration both of Christ’s divinity and his ministry to all people? How can your life be a story that tells a story about the meaning of Epiphany?January 10, 2021The Baptism of ChristFirst Sunday after EpiphanyMark 1:4-11Defining MomentsA rite of passage is a defining moment. Standing in the moment between two ages or phases of life, a rite of passage defines both who we were before the ritual and who we will become after it is completed. Anthropologists and theologians both know that we need rites of passage not only to know who we are individually but also to know who we are as part of our community. Without rites of passage, we cease to have these vital markers of our self and communal definition.Baptism is a rite of passage for us, as it was for Jesus. Jesus goes to the river Jordan, where his cousin John is baptizing and calling for repentance or turning from sin. In the hundreds of pieces of art depicting this scene, we most often see Jesus alone with John - and sometimes the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. But Jesus was hardly alone. The scripture tells us that everyone in Jerusalem was there, along with many from the countryside. There would have been a giant crowd with Jesus, to take part in and witness this important rite of passage. Many cultures and religions, including the Judaism of John and Jesus’ time had a ritual of washing. Jesus' baptism was an evolution of that ancient rite. It was not meant to replace the old ritual, but the meaning shifted to accommodate new understandings about God, society, and individuals. Think about the rites of passage in your own life. Consider the times when you made a change from one stage or age to another. Who was there to witness and to participate? How did the presence of the wider community help you feel God’s presence? In our changing time, how have new rites of passage grown out of old ones?January 17, 2021Second Sunday after EpiphanyPsalm 139:1-6, 13-18Known and Loved*O Lord, you have searched me and known me.My God, you see and understand all that I am. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.You know even my most hidden thoughts. You search out my path and my lying down,and are acquainted with all my ways.When I work, when I sleep, you are with me. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.When I speak, you know what I’m going to say before I do. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.You are everywhere, even right here with me!Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.I cannot imagine how you think or feel or create. You are so vast.For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.And yet, you are close by, too. Always giving birth, always making new. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.You even made this sacred body that I call home. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.You know how I was made because you made me!In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.You write the past, you sculpt the future. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!I cannot weigh or measure you, God, I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.I only know that wherever I am, you are too. And that is enough.*Italics from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18January 24, 2021Third Sunday after EpiphanyMark 1:14-20Follow MeEcumenical SundayLast summer, the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota galvanized the nation and sparked urgent protests in many cities. Although the Black Lives Matter movement was not new, it was newly urgent for many as marchers took to the streets, chanting, “Say their names” and “No justice, no peace.” For the first time for many Americans, our eyes were lifted to the role of policing in our communities. Calls for change in policing include plans to shift financing to other social services and methods of protection. Activists invited us to imagine a 911 call resulting in response by the right person to help with a social service or mental health need. Those who called for changes in policing noted how seldom police are able to interrupt crimes in progress, and how inefficient the bureaucracy of policing has become. They drew a line from modern police forces back to slave times, when police forces were established to control enslaved African Americans. It can be very hard to imagine a new way of organizing ourselves and our society. Even though modern policing is a relatively new idea, it can seem as if things were “always this way.” When the men who became the disciples were called by Jesus to follow him, they could not imagine any other way of living. Their fathers and grandfathers and all the many generations before had been fishermen. Everyone they knew in their villages were fishermen. Yet, Christ called them to imagine something completely new. And once they did, they initiated a way of life that literally changed the world. We are a resurrection people. This means that as Christians we understand as the most important tenet of our faith that something old must pass away in order for something new to be born. With the introduction of a movement to change policing, we have a unique opportunity to see our resurrection belief transformed from theological idea to lived reality.January 31, 2021Fourth Sunday after EpiphanyMark 1:21-28Power to DoHealth and Human Service SundayThe book of Mark begins with a bang. Jesus is anticipated by John, baptized in the waters of the Jordan, sent into the wilderness for forty days of testing, begins preaching repentance and calls to the fishermen who will become his disciples - all in the first twenty verses. And now, beginning in verse 21, we hear the story of his first encounter with a suffering person - a man with a so-called “unclean spirit.” As Jesus is teaching in the temple, “with authority,” the man cries out, naming Jesus as Holy. Jesus, showing the firmness of his authority, rebukes the spirit that is causing the man so much torment. In this first healing story in the book of Mark, we encounter a person who was suffering as much in spirit as in body. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe last year, the response to avoid infection was quarantine. While this tactic undoubtedly saved millions of lives, it resulted in another crisis - a spiritual one as many were isolated away from the love and touch of ordinary human interactions.Health can be thought of as a three-legged stool. Mental, spiritual and physical health work together to support the whole person. The United Church of Christ Council for Health and Human Service Ministries understands this whole-person approach to wellness. So, in addition to providing timely medical and emergency information to clergy and congregations, the Council also provided a corner for tending to spiritual health. For example, The Community Care Space, a YouTube channel and playlist, provided guided meditations and prayers as a way to bring healing to the weary and isolated. On this Health and Human Service Sunday, we give thanks for the United Church of Christ Council for Health and Human Service Ministries and their work in supporting all the facets of human health.February 7, 2021Fifth Sunday after EpiphanyMark 1:29-39Source of StrengthSimon Peter’s mother-in-law speaks:“Peter was like a son to me, even though I did not bear him. So, when he put down his fishing nets and started to follow the Teacher, I paid attention. Some of the other women in the village said they were irresponsible, and if they stopped the work we counted on, we all would starve. “Fishing for people!” they scoffed, “THAT won’t put bread on the table.” I never said much in those conversations. In truth I never said much at all.When we heard the Teacher was coming for a meal, I felt this might be my chance to listen, to finally understand his teachings. The other women and I worked all the day before and all through the night to make everything just right. By midday, I felt heavy and moved slower and slower. Finally, the other women saw and urged me to bed, but I was determined to meet the Teacher so without a word I tried to keep to my work. At last I took to bed. I tried to stay awake, but the sickness made me sleep. When I woke up, the Teacher was there. That strange light that always seemed around him shone in the darkness of the room. His hand on my forehead was cooling and his touch was light, but it filled me with a new strength. All at once, I understood his strange command. To fish for people was to bring them near to God, to one another. I wanted to be one of those fishers, and in that moment, I knew that I would be able to. No longer heavy with fever, I rose. Serving quietly was the chance to be near the table, and to hear what the Teacher was saying. As fast as I could bring bread and wine to the table, it was gone! First, the neighbors came pouring in, and then people I had never seen before. With that cool touch, he healed them all.Early the next morning, I was up before the rest and I saw The Teacher slip out the door. I understand what it’s like to need a few quiet minutes with the Holy One. So, when the others asked where he was, I kept silent. But when they started to get ready to go, to look for him, I packed a bag and I followed. And I’m following still. We don’t have to be preachers or have our names recorded in books to follow. We just have to be ready, to rise up, to listen and to go when he calls.”February 14, 2021TransfigurationMark 9:2-9Compassionate CommunityRacial Justice SundayScience and Technology SundayBy a coincidence of the calendar (or perhaps a “God-incidence” of the calendar) today sees the collision of several different religious and secular observances. Today is Transfiguration Sunday, observed throughout Christendom as the day that the disciples saw Jesus for the first time as a truly divine being. In the United Church of Christ, we designate this Sunday as both Racial Justice Sunday and Science and Technology Sunday. And this also happens to be what has become the secular holiday of St. Valentine’s Day. Observing so many different, and seemingly contradictory, holidays and designations on the same day can seem confusing. It may seem as if they are in competition with each other, and that if we lift up one, then another may fall by the side.We can hold all of these together, however, as we celebrate this day as what it means to be progressive Christians. *“Progressive Christianity is characterized by a willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity, a strong emphasis on social justice and care for the poor and the oppressed, and environmental stewardship of the earth. Progressive Christians have a deep belief in the centrality of the instruction to "love one another" (John 15:17) within the teachings of Jesus Christ. This leads to a focus on promoting values such as compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance, often through political activism.” *Wikipedia.When we recall the progressive expression of our faith, it takes away the need for competition and a sense of scarcity or anxiety. We remember that in Christ, we are united in love and acceptance. We give thanks that our tent is big enough and wide enough to hold the wonder of miracle, the persistent call to social justice, the yearning for knowledge, and even the sentimentality of a greeting-card holiday. However you observe this day, give thanks that you do it in company with a great cloud of witnesses who join you in following the same Christ in many ways. February 21, 2021First Sunday in LentPsalm 25:1-10God’s Loving PathsTeach me your paths, O Lord, the Psalmist cries.Teach me your paths! These are powerful words as we take our first steps into the season of Lent. As we enter Lent, we are invited into humility. We remember that no matter who we are or where we are on life’s journey, we still have things to learn. We approach Lent as students of Christ’s way. When we agree to be a student, we agree to be transformed. We agree to come out of the period of teaching different than the way we went in, aware that everything new that we learn will change us. As we enter Lent, we look to Christ, who each year has something new to teach us. No matter how often we have taken this journey, the Lenten path is waiting for us, and ready to teach us. The psalm, with its plural “paths” rather than singular “path” reminds us that there is more than one way to embark on the Lenten journey. If you have always approached Lent the same way (by giving up something in particular, or by taking on something in particular, or even by doing nothing unusual at all) try a different path this year. Follow the Holy One in another way and allow yourself to be transformed. As we enter Lent, we remember that we are never alone. We are always accompanied by The Teacher, who wants for us the renewing and transformation of our minds, hearts, and souls. So, be open to Christ’s teaching, be ready to follow a new path if one appears before you. A prayer to carry with you into Lent:Teach us in your paths, O Lord! Guide us as we walk and instruct us as we journey. As new paths open before us, help us to follow them with curiosity and joy. Remind us that no matter the path you guide us on, you always desire to lead us in the way of new life. In your name we pray, Amen. February 28, 2021Second Sunday in LentPsalm 22:23-31Always CloseSeminary SundayChurch Vocations Sunday Do you feel that you are called to ministry, but are unable due to time or finances to receive a traditional theological education? Take a look at the PATHWAYS program. According to their website (), “PATHWAYSoffers you a program for progressive theological engagement that values the past without being limited by it, moving intentionally into the present while looking boldly towards the future. We provide a welcoming online space to bring your questions, doubts, and desire to deepen your understanding...Whether you are on the path to authorized ministry, want to hone your current skills, or just want to explore your faith more deeply, we have a program for you.PATHWAYS welcomes students from a wide variety of denominational and faith backgrounds. PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc., is a registered independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It began as a program of the Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC). PATHWAYS continues to be affiliated with the Southeast Conference, works with UCC participants across the nation, and is a respected member of the Regional Theological Education Consortium. Participants also come to us from several other denominations and from non-denominational communities.PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc. exists to offer a range of stimulating, accessible, and affordable online progressive Christian resources for church leaders, faith explorers, pastors, and those discerning various vocations and callings within and outside the church community.PATHWAYS staff members work with representatives from Conferences and Associations to support the educational needs of UCC Members in Discernment (MID) pursuing an alternative pathway to ministry.As part of the UCC’s vision for multiple pathways to authorization, the entire PATHWAYS program of thirty plus courses can be used as an alternative route to fulfill the academic requirements for becoming an authorized minister.” To find out if PATHWAYS might be right for you, visit . ................
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