by Kent French, May 25, 2023
This Sunday is the Day of Pentecost, when we remember that stunning moment when the Holy Spirit descended on a diverse crowd of believers and seekers, giving them the ability to understand one another despite language and cultural differences. The movement increased by about 3,000 people that day. Afterwards, God performed “many signs and wonders” through Jesus’ apostles (Acts 2). In our secular lives, it is Memorial Day weekend, a cultural marker of the start of summer. We center it around a national holiday that began in the 1860s to remember Civil War dead. And after World War I, it… Read More
by Kent French, May 18, 2023
During this Eastertide (April 9-May 27), we have been reflecting individually and collectively about our money stories: Remembering (April 30) what about our personal history has shaped our relationship with money, Releasing (May 7) what attitudes or feelings about money get in our way, Reimaging (May 14) how our money story can be different, And this Sunday, we look at Restoring (May 21, Consecration Sunday), how we can come into greater wholeness in our relationship. If you’d like to reflect on these themes on your own, I encourage you to check out the online study journal here. It is also Consecration Sunday, when we bring forward… Read More
by Amy Norton, May 11, 2023
Beloved, We’re halfway through our Stewardship season, are you ready to talk about money some more? As we’ve dived into the exploration of Our Money Stories, we’ve prayed, sung, and reflected on themes of Remembering and Releasing, and now we arrive at an invitation to Reimagine. A word of warning: reimagining can be dangerous- revolutionary, even, because dreams are powerful: just ask Joseph, of technicolor-dreamcoat fame, or Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Nevertheless, God instructs us to dream big- to reimagine our economic system so that it is grounded in God’s values of compassion, justice, and peace- instead of productivity, efficiency,… Read More
by Kent French, May 04, 2023
On Easter Sunday, Amy and I reminded all of us that we are called to be Resurrection people — people who see possibility and hope even in seemingly impossible situations. People who have the audacity to dream and work and live into a better future. We are currently in the 50 Days of Eastertide (April 9-May 27) in which we especially remember what it means to live into a Resurrection mentality and soul-ability. At United Parish, Eastertide also coincides with our annual Stewardship season, when together we re-commit ourselves to supporting the work of our collective ministry. Just like public… Read More
