February 2012
Feb. 5: Pastor Scott is away today, and we welcome the Rev. Alice McDermott as our guest preacher. Alice is the former longtime pastor of Salem United Church of Christ in the City of Tonawanda. Her message, “In the Eye of God,” is based on Psalm 147 and Mark 1:29-39. Holy Communion will be served. Remember that this is Souper Bowl Sunday; see the article in this issue of the Focus.
Feb. 12: In Mark 1:40-45, Jesus heals a man with leprosy – in biblical times, referring to any number of skin diseases. This miracle story reflects a two-part formula for healing that we would do well to reclaim: the cleansing process, and seeking sanctification, in this case from the religious authorities. In our own time, often we look for the “magic bullet” that will heal, or cure, what ails us. Jesus’ lesson is that God’s healing is more nuanced, and more interactive, than that. We’ll think this through in a message called “The Healing Two-Step.” Don’t forget that our annual congregational budget meeting follows worship on this day. See also a separate article in this Focus about a special healing service that takes place at 4 o’clock this afternoon.
Feb. 19: Jesus’ miraculous Transfiguration is recorded in all three “synoptic” Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke. Today’s we’ll read Mark’s account (9:2-9) and, in a special story sermon, consider the possibility that “thin places” between earth and heaven do indeed exist, not just for Jesus, but for all of us. Our traditional pre-Lenten pancake breakfast follows worship.
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22: We begin the journey of Lent on this Ash Wednesday with a 7 p.m. worship service. You will find your experience of Holy Week and Easter deepened and enriched if you enter this time, as the Book of Joel exhorts, with a good hard look at your life and the ways we all tend to veer from God’s call to us. Imposition of ashes will be available at this service.
Feb. 26: On this first Sunday of Lent, we’ll begin a series of reflections from the Hebrew Scriptures – the Old Testament. In it we’ll explore the gifts that God overflows into our world from the moment of creation, and recognize that all of those gifts come into their greatest fruition in the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. In Genesis 9:8-17, God makes peace with humankind after the Great Flood by establishing a new covenant – one signified by the “bow in the sky,” the rainbow. Our message, “The Promise Keeper,” calls us to remember and recommit ourselves to this life-giving covenant. The first installment of our Lenten adult education series begins after worship today; see the article in this issue of the Focus.