We will gather, masked and distanced, outside for worship on Pentecost Sunday, which is May 23rd. Bring a chair and meet us on the front lawn of the church for an in-person, outdoor service. We will bring the technology with us, so if you’re not comfortable, ready, or able to join in person, you can still connect and participate in the service on Zoom.
*In case of rain, we will have worship on Zoom only.
Here’s where we are posting coloring pages and other materials for this summer’s Intergenerational Sunday School Class on Compassion from Illustrated Ministry.
MCU Power Academy – May 21 and 22
Our friends at Metropolitan Congregations United are bringing community organizing training to you! In virtual sessions, we invite you to join us to learn more about how lean into your own power, to build power with neighbors, and make positive change in our communities. Led by local organizers, you’ll learn more about our approach to building power and practice putting some of these skills and strategies in action! Usually, interested folks pay to go to a week-long training for this info, but this year, MCU is trying out these mini-sessions, and offering them to you on Zoom FOR FREE! The Power Academy is designed for participants to attend both sessions, but if you can only make one or the other, please don’t let that stop you! Join us-
Friday, May 21st, 6pm-8pm and Saturday, May 22nd, 11am-1pm
You can register online here: Power Academy Training Part 1 (everyaction.com)
Grab you mask and come join us outside! We’re going on a hike at Cliff Cave Park on Saturday, May 1. Meet us on the church parking lot at 9 a.m. to caravan to the park, or at the trailhead at 9:30 a.m. Bring some water, wear your sunscreen, follow all your COVID safety practices and come enjoy the outside. Park by the Riverside Shelter at the bottom of the hill.
This Sunday (4/25), instead of Sunday School, at 9:30 am we will gather on zoom for a special time of conversation and prayer- to process the events of this week and to pray for God’s justice and healing.
All are welcome to join us for this time together.
Zoom meeting ID 768 992 383.
**Some resources for your thoughts, prayers, and conversations:
A Statement from the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) – Where do we go from here?
A Letter from the Presbytery of Giddings Lovejoy Dismantling Racism and White Privilege Team
New Bible Study Course Beginning in May
You can join us on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. on Zoom for weekly bible study. This month we’re doing a deeper dive into the Acts readings from worship each Sunday. Then on May 5th we’ll begin a new class, using scholar Amy-Jill Levine’s book Short Stories by Jesus : The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. Purchase the book on your own from your favorite book seller, or contact Pastor Erin if you’d like her to get you a copy. Zoom Meeting ID 259 777 226.
4/11/2021
Join us for HOLY HUMOR SUNDAY! Wear a silly hat, prepare a goofy joke, download a hilarious zoom background, and join us for a joyful good time!
The worship bulletin will be available here on Saturday morning.
We’ve made some funny zoom backgrounds you can use:
You are invited to join in a long tradition of journeying with Jesus and the cross on which he was killed. It used to be that people would travel to the Holy Land to walk the very route Jesus walked in those final days. The story is that it became quite a pilgrimage site and was often overcrowded, so in the 1500s people started making replicas of the journey in their own spaces. Now, in churches the world over, place images from this journey in and around church buildings so we can participate in that pilgrimage from far away. The stations give us moments to pause and reflect along the way. The scenes, some scriptural, some carried from other traditions, bring this story to life and through death. As an act of worship, as an act of remembering, you are invited to join this journey.
Below you can see the artists who contributed to this collection. If you come back to this site on Good Friday (4/2) will will have more info about each station, a few written prayers, and a video featuring the artwork.
| 1. Jesus is condemned to death (Mark 15:1-15) | Donna Cook |
| 2. Jesus takes up his cross | LeAnne Smith |
| 5. Jesus falls for the first time | Miriam Hale |
| 4.Jesus meets his mother | Caitlin Stanford |
| 5.Jesus is helped by Simon the Cyrene to carry his cross (Luke 23:26) | Donna Cook |
| 6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus | Mel Smith |
| 7. Jesus falls for the second time | Kristy Hale |
| 8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-31) | Lisa Thompson |
| 9. Jesus falls for the third time | Donna Cook |
| 10. Jesus is stripped of his garments | Brenda Booth |
| 11. Jesus is nailed to the cross (Luke 23:33, 47) | Christine Woodward |
| 12. Jesus dies on the cross (Luke 23:44-46) | Christine Woodward |
| 13. Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his mother | Meredith Jackson |
| 14. Jesus is laid in the tomb (Luke 23:50-54) | Wendy Barrow |
Solemn Reproaches of the Cross
(from the Book of Common Worship, 2018)
This is the cross
that held the Savior of the world.
Come, let us worship God.
This is the cross
that held the Savior of the world.
Come let us worship God.
This is the cross
that held the Savior of the world.
Come let us worship God.
O my people, O my church,
what more could I have done for you?
Answer me!
I led you out of slavery into freedom,
and delivered you through the waters of rebirth,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
Forty years I led you through the desert,
feeding you with manna on the way;
I saved you from the time of trial
and gave you my body, the bread of heaven,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I led you on your way in a pillar of cloud and fire,
but you led me to the judgment hall of Pilate;
I guided you by the light of the Holy Spirit,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I planted you as my fairest vineyard,
but you brought forth bitter fruit;
U made you branches of the vine,
and never left your side,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I pour out saving water from the rock,
but you gave me vinegar to drink;
I pour out my life
and gave you the new covenant in my blood,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I gave you a royal scepter,
but you gave me a crown of thorns;
I gave you the kingdom
and crowned you with eternal life,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I struck down your enemies,
but you struck my head with a reed;
I gave you my peace,
but you draw the sword in my name,
and you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I opened the waters
to lead you to the promised land,
but you opened my side with a spear;
I washed your feet as a sign of my love,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I lifted you up to the heights,
but you lifted me high on the cross;
I raised you from death,
and prepared for you the tree of life,
but you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I grafted you into my people Israel,
but you made them scapegoats for your own guilt,
and you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
I was hungry and you gave me no food,
thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you did not welcome me,
naked and you did not clothe me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me,
and you have made a cross for your Savior.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty,
Holy immortal One,
have mercy upon us.
Join us for Palm Sunday Worship OUTSIDE!
We will meet this Sunday (3/28) at 10:30 a.m. at the Humboldt South Shelter in Tower Grove Park. (Click here for a map of the park- Humboldt South is number 11 on the map.) Wear a mask, bring a chair or blanket to sit on, and don’t forget social distancing… but come and be together live and in person.
We will post the worship bulletin online on Friday 3/26 at this link. You can download it and bring it with you or we will have some copies there, too. We’ll also have palms for you to waive around!
We’ll also be collecting supplies for Isaiah 58 at worship. We’re asking folks to bring some toothpaste for our friends at Isaiah 58 to the park.
And we’re going to log into the zoom on a hotspot from the park, so if you’re not able to participate in person, you can still log-in online and join us virtually.
Palm Sunday Outside is our first worship service of Holy Week. To see the entire Holy Week worship schedule, please click here.
Join us on Saturday 4/3 at 10 am for an outdoor, distanced, masked, no-contact Easter Egg Hunt! We’ll meet at the Old Carriage Shelter in Tower Grove Park for this annual event, adjusted a bit for pandemic safety. Wear your mask, bring your own basket, and come ready to hunt! We will “hide” empty eggs, have the kids collect them, then we will give out candy with a big scoop (no-touch) based on how many eggs each kid collects. As always, we’ll have one hunt for the tiny humans, and another hunt for the medium-sized humans. There will also be some no-touch games and other general silliness. Wear your bunny ears and come join us outside!
Click here to see a park map– the Old Carriage Shelter is #10 on the map.
