lakewooducc

Dulcimer Lessons

Beginning Thursday August 22nd at 4:30 pm, Randy Wilson will be giving mountain dulcimer lessons at church for anyone interested. Randy teaches dulcimers in Hindman, KY and he is a fantastic teacher in general for dulcimer, banjo and square dance calling. 1 hour or so of playing, suggested donation of $10. Everyone is welcome!

Weekly Update August 14

This Sunday: The Sermon on the Mount is the heart of the Christian life. It could be preached on for many Sundays. Last Sunday Katharine Meacham Conover recited verses from the Sermon on the Mount and shared her reflections on what it means to her as a Christian. This Sunday, Rev. Wells will preach on the Sermon on the Mount with an assist from Toni Morrison. You are encouraged to read Matthew chapters 5-7.

Theological Orientation Discussions: These discussions were requested as part of reviewing the church mission statement and possibly creating a new mission statement. Upcoming dates for gatherings are: August 14, 21, and 28 from 7-8:30pm. That will conclude the series. All are welcome to participate!

Westminster Suncoast Lunch: There will be a change of date for the monthly lunch, date to be announced!

Lunch Bunch: The Lunch Bunch is going to resume going out to lunch after church on Sundays starting in September. This is an informal gathering of whoever would like to go out to lunch together after church on Sunday. There will be an announcement each week about the plans for that day. Many thanks to Wally Leblanc for getting this going again!

Rev. Wells Away Rev. Wells will be away August 19-21. Please contact the church office for pastoral care.

Creation Justice Task Force to meet Friday August 23 at 10:00 am.

Memorial Service There will be a memorial Service for Tonya Klemmer at the church Thursday, August 22 at 2:00 pm. Tonya was a victim of domestic violence. She worked at Publix across the street from the church. Her friends asked the church to host the service for her.

Concert and Old-Time Music Workshop Evan Kinney with Van Burchfield, Old-Time Music Workshop. As a duo, Evan and Van perform southern breakdowns, rags and novelty songs from the turn of the 20th century. The concert and workshop will be held here at Lakewood United Church of Christ August 17^th. The workshop is 4-6pm and the concert at 7pm. The suggested donation for the workshop is $20 and the suggested donation for the concert is $20. Or come to both for a suggested donation of $30. Feel welcomed to bring and share food and snacks for the refreshment table at the concert! These can be dropped off at church previous to the concert 9:30-12:00 pm, or brought during the concert.All of the proceeds are given to the musicians. To register for the workshop please send an email indicating your intention to attend to the church email, lakewooducc@gmail.com.

Operation Attack: Operation Attack is very much in need of clothes for men, boys, and girls as well as diapers and peanut butter and canned fruit. Donations may be placed in the shopping cart in the entryway to the sanctuary. Operation Attack is an ecumenical effort serving families with children located a Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 1310 22nd. Ave. S., St. Petersburg. LUCC was a founding member of Operation Attack in the 1960’s!

What’s Cookin’?: Have you been needing an excuse to have a good time? Are you interested in stirring up new friendships? Do you like to eat? Then SIGN UP for What’s Cooking! Small, intimate groups that dine together monthly for 4 months for the purpose of fostering friendship among the entire LUCC community. Groups will be announced Sunday August 25, at a potluck held after the service, to which all are welcome. To sign up for What’s Cookin’?, please email the church at lakewooducc@gmail.com , or add your name to the sign up sheet at church. Please sign up by Sunday August 18. For more information, contact Malcolm Wells at malcom.wells14@ncf.edu

Hearing Augmentation: Devices are available from the usher in the sanctuary during worship.

August Birthdays: Mardie Chapman 8/7, Claire Stiles 8/11, Kay Rencken 8/13, Dana Cosper 8/22, James Waterman 8/23, Vita Uth 8/14, and Joanne Reid 8/28, Someone missing? Contact the church office with birthday information.

Circle of Concern: Sherry Santana, Carolyn Moore, Ann Quinn, Maggie Brizendine, Ann Rogers, and Marty Catala and family.

Recent Posts:

Paris to Pittsburgh August 8, 2019
Sermon 8/8 Where’s the Wine? August 8, 2019

Weekly Update: If you are involved with an activity or event that you would like to share with the LUCC family, please send the information to the church office by Tuesday since the Update usually is sent out on Wednesday.

Paris to Pittsburgh

Interfaith Power & Light is partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies and Radical Media to offer this FREE film screening for your congregation, organization, gathering of friends or neighbors, your school or community center.

We warmly invite you to attend this very timely environmental film, Paris to Pittsburgh, THIS Sunday, August 11th, that Interfaith Power & Light is making available to OUR communities!

We (Teresa Miller and Douglas Bonar) have reserved the big room at the Pinellas Park (Barbara S Ponce) Library (7770 52^nd Street North) for THIS Sunday, August 11^th at 2:00 p.m. to host a showing of the 75-minute video.

We are not expecting RSVPS, just show up. There will be LOTS of room (& snacks)! Doors will open at 1:30 for Meet & Greet AND for enjoying some popcorn & snacks…..tempting?!? The Film begins @ 2:00PM. Free, no donations.

The official website and a trailer for the video is linked below:

https://www.paristopittsburgh.com/

Following the film, conversations about….where can we go from here & how do we work with our environmental activist peers, also in the room, to spread to the wider community?

Join as we connect to Co-Create our communities for the highest good of all!

Douglas & Teresa

Sermon 8/8 Where’s the Wine?

Scripture Lesson: John 2: 1-11

Sermon: Where’s the Wine?

Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

“From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!” This prayer is associated with St. Teresa of Avila, a 16th century Spanish cloistered nun. So, even then Christianity was associated with people who seemed, well, miserable. We’re often seen as the religion of “Thou Shalt Not’s”. No dancing. No drinking. No smoking. And we can heap upon that the guilt, guilt, and more guilt, that Christianity has become famous for. And it doesn’t help that the main visual image for Christianity today is the cross, with or without Jesus, an instrument of torture associated with suffering and shame. It’s no wonder people don’t want to come to church! Who wants to associate with a religion known for being so sour and dour?

But the original visual image for Christianity was the garden. Abundance. Beauty. Animals. Plants. Nature. And Jesus in the midst of it all with his friends and followers.

That is much more compatible with the story that we heard this morning from the gospel of John. The story of Jesus turning water into wine is the first big splash in Jesus’ ministry in John. This is how Jesus makes his first impression. It is his debut performance so to speak. And, as we know, a debut is a defining moment intended to set the tone for what is to come. So in this gospel, the first impression we are given of Jesus is not feeding the hungry, or curing someone who is sick, or forgiving someone who has sinned. That will come later. The first defining scene is a wedding. A party. A celebration. Of love and family and community. And at this event, Jesus turns a LOT of water into a LOT of very good wine.

Benjamin Franklin observed, “Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.”

In John, Jesus begins his ministry making people happy at a festive celebration that would go on for several days. At a wedding, Jesus turns water into wine. A large quantity of water. Intended for purification. Evidently from a lot of sin and guilt. Into wine. A lot of wine. Good wine. The best wine. Jesus is known for abundant life and joy. He was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton. He was known for lavish eating and drinking. His disciples were chastised for not fasting. Jesus defied conventional expectations for someone devout and religious. He was serious about turning mourning into dancing, as the psalmist says.

So, Jesus walks into a bar with the disciples. They sit down. Jesus winks at his friends and orders: “Thirteen glasses of water, please.”

In the story of the wedding in Cana, the wine has run out. This is a situation of scarcity and disappointment. Jesus turns the water into wine transforming scarcity and disappointment into abundance and joy and celebration. He transforms the situation. Jesus offers an experience of God, God’s love and grace. The Hebrew Bible associates wine with the good life, abundance, and God’s new age. Jesus is showing people that this is happening here and now, big time; 6 jars of water, each containing 20-30 gallons, turned into the finest wine. This is not a discreet gesture. This is a flamboyant display to make sure they get the message of the extravagance and superabundance of the love of God. Here. Now. With you. Among you. Within you. There is a transformation from worrying about sin and scarcity to joyfully celebrating life, community, and love.

This scene challenges our sense of order and what is possible. It challenges our dour religious sensibilities that associate faith with guilt and sacrifice. Here we see a wedding, a linking in love, a joining of humanity and the Divine, no one left out, no one lonely, all brought together, bonded by love and celebrating with joy. Jesus offers a very positive, joyous expression of faith. It is not sour or dour. It is a party. Food. Drink. Friendship. Overflowing. New possibilities. Greater things. Love.

In a recent post from Matthew Fox, known for creation spirituality, Fox talks about falling in love with the universe. Being intoxicated by creation. Experiencing life in its fullness and being blown away with awe and wonder. Fox cites the commandment: “Thou Shalt Fall in Love at Least Three Times a Day.” He explains: “At first glance, this commandment sounds threatening to our relationships, but that’s because our anthropocentric culture has taken the immensely mystical experience of ‘falling in love’ and applied it exclusively to finding a mate.

“In fact, we could fall in love with a galaxy every day (there are two trillion of them) or we could fall in love with a star, of which there are hundreds of billions in our galaxy alone. Or a species of wildflower, of which there are at least 10,000 on this planet. Or a species of bird, fish, tree, plant. Or with another human being—preferably one different from ourselves or suffering differently. We could fall in love with music, poetry, painting, dance. If we fell in love with one of Mozart’s works each week, we would have seven years of joy. How could we ever be bored?” [http://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/2019/08/01/the-via-positiva-getting-drunk-on-the-beauty-of-the-universe/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Daily+Meditations+with+Matthew+Fox%3A+August+1%2C+2019&utm_campaign=Daily+Meditations+August+1%2C+2019]

That is the superabundance and joy that we see in the defining story of the wedding at Cana. It is the kind of religious expression we see in Jesus. It’s the garden image again. Above and beyond what is expected. An invitation to abundant joy at what is and that we are part of it, together, in love, in God.

Today, people experience so many disappointments. We are consumed with scarcity in our lives. Scarcity of love, joy, money, friendship, purpose, security, beauty, connection, meaning, hope. This contributes to rising addiction, mental illness, anxiety, violence, and suicide in our society. We’ve forgotten how to be in love with life, with nature, with each other as human beings together on this wondrous planet. And this is just what our faith teaches IF we will pay attention and learn.

When Jesus got the bill for the last supper, he was shocked at the expense. Glaring at the disciples, he demanded, “Who ordered all that wine?”

It seems to be hard for us to get the hang of trusting in the way of Jesus to lead us to joy and love.

We are part of a religious expression, as we see in the story of Jesus turning water into wine, that believes in transformation. Jesus is showing us what life can be: a celebration of love and joy and community. We are part of a spiritual tradition that trusts in superabundance and solidarity. We are part of a heritage that believes in new possibilities and greater things. Christianity began as a spiritual path of joy and abundance and celebration. It found its way into judgment and guilt because that’s how to control people.

But in the story of the water into wine, Jesus is clearly out of control. His mother cannot control him. He is not controlled by the dictates of society or the desires of others. He is in God’s hands alone, controlled only by inexplicable, extravagant love. Fitting for a wedding!

So, someone asks: Does anyone know which page of the Bible explains how to turn water into wine? It’s for a party on Friday.

Friends, today, there are people dying of thirst. We are parched. Depleted. There is a deep scarcity of love, joy, meaning, purpose, worth, and community in our context. Sadly, horrifyingly, El Paso and Dayton prove this. And our religious tradition offers us not just water but wine. Our faith invites us to thrive and flourish together – to be overwhelmed – with the goodness and beauty and joy of life.

For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of joy, so let’s look to Mary, not just at the manger, but at the wedding in Cana. In this story, she shows trust and confidence in Jesus. “Do what he says.” And she is not disappointed. Nor are the wedding guests, the host, or the servers. There is more than enough of the best wine for a great party. No sour-faced saints. This story of water into wine reminds us that transformation and change are possible for us as well. If we do what he says. Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

Weekly Update August 7

This Sunday: The core of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus is contained in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5-7. There is someone in the congregation who memorized the sermon on the mount! Maybe we will hear some of that on Sunday! This Sunday will also be Back to School Sunday celebrating the beginning of the school year. There will be special festivities for students and teachers! Please come to be part of supporting education!

Theological Orientation Discussions: These discussions were requested as part of reviewing the church mission statement and possibly creating a new mission statement. Upcoming dates for gatherings are: August 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 7-8:30pm. That will conclude the series. All are welcome to participate!

Back to School Sunday Ahead: Sunday August 11 will be a chance to wish LUCC teachers and students well as the new school year begins. There will be a special Fellowship Hour after church that week. Don’t miss it!

Lunch Bunch: The Lunch Bunch is going to resume going out to lunch after church on Sundays. This is an informal gathering of whoever would like to go out to lunch together after church on Sunday. There will be an announcement each week about the plans for that day. Many thanks to Wally Leblanc for getting this going again!

Come Out St. Pete: This street festival and parade will be taking place Oct. 5 on Central Ave. between 22 and 31st Sts. The church is considering have a booth at the event. Volunteers are needed to help. Please speak with Rev. Wells or one of the advisors if you are willing to help staff a church booth that day.

Concert and Old-Time Music Workshop Evan Kinney with Van Burchfield, Old-Time Music Workshop. As a duo, Evan and Van perform southern breakdowns, rags and novelty songs from the turn of the 20th century. The concert and workshop will be held here at Lakewood United Church of Christ August 17^th. The workshop is 4-6pm and the concert at 7pm. The suggested donation for the workshop is $20 and the suggested donation for the concert is $20. Or come to both for a suggested donation of $30. All of the proceeds are given to the musicians. To register for the workshop please send an email indicating your intention to attend to the church email, lakewooducc@gmail.com.

Ministry with Children and Youth: The church is working on putting a children’s ministry in place for the rest of the year. Many thanks to Marg Radens, Patti Cooksey, Emily Bell, Olivia Gibson, and Claudia Rodriguez for working on this! The next meeting will be Tuesday Aug. 6 at 9:30 a.m. This is the group responsible for the new family friendly seating area in the sanctuary!

What’s Cookin’?: Have you been needing an excuse to have a good time? Are you interested in stirring up new friendships? Do you like to eat? Then SIGN UP for What’s Cooking! Small, intimate groups that dine together monthly for 4 months for the purpose of fostering friendship among the entire LUCC community. Groups will be announced Sunday August 25, at a potluck held after the service, to which all are welcome. To sign up for What’s Cookin’?, please email the church at lakewooducc@gmail.com , or add your name to the sign up sheet at church. Please sign up by Sunday August 18. For more information, contact Malcolm Wells at malcolm.wells14@gmail.com

Advisors to Meet: The next Advisors meeting will be Sunday Aug. 11 following worship. All are welcome!

August Birthdays: Mardie Chapman, Claire Stiles, Kay Rencken, Dana Cosper, James Waterman, and Joanne Reid, Someone missing? Contact the church office with birthday information.

Circle of Concern: Sherry Santana, Carolyn Moore, Ann Quinn, Maggie Brizendine, and Ann Rogers.

Recent Posts:

Weekly Update July 31 July 31, 2019