Pastor Rick's Letter to the Congregation
February, 2020
After our Annual Meeting last Sunday I left feeling very grateful for this community, for the compassion and generosity of our members and friends, and for the amazing culinary skills of those who cook! Breaking bread never tasted so good! And while there are a whole host of people to thank, I especially want to thank those who showed up on Saturday afternoon to set-up for the meeting: Jennifer Garbarino, Tom Bishop, Kristin Ramsden and Karen Turner. There were also many who pitched in on Sunday to see that everything went smoothly and to clean-up afterwards, and the last to leave were Harriet Bussick, Marge Bret and Carolyn Rice. Thank you all!
This year our festive Mardi Gras service will be on February 23. I am sure that Tom and his guest musicians will have us dancing in the aisles. This is a great service to invite your friends to, especially those who might be slightly allergic to church. In addition to the swingin’ music, we will be celebrating our 70th anniversary as a Church in the service that day. So who’s bringing the King Cake this year?
For those who enjoy a good book, we are beginning our Thursday Evening discussion group on January 30 at 7 p.m. to read and discuss, The Forgotten Creed: Christianity's Original Struggle Against Bigotry, Slavery, and Sexism. Author Stephen Patterson writes:
Long before the followers of Jesus declared him to be the Son of God, Jesus taught his followers that they too were the children of God. This ancient creed, now all but forgotten, is recorded still within the folds of a letter of Paul the Apostle. . . . Christian theologians would one day argue about the nature of Christ, the being of God, and the mechanics of salvation. But before this, in the days when Jesus was still fresh in the memory of those who knew him, the argument was a different one: how can human beings overcome the ways by which we divide ourselves one from another?
In my perusal through the book I was impressed by Patterson’s scholarship and accessibility. He takes the time to tell us the historical context in a way that gives a whole new perspective on some of the words Paul wrote in his letters. And I really appreciate the way Patterson is able to present just the right amount of historical information to give a greater understanding of what people were going through in the time of Paul and the early Jesus movements. The big take away is how surprisingly relevant it becomes for us today. I hope you can join us for this timely adventure!
Blessings to you all in our shared ministry,
Rev. Rick Yramategui