Author: lakewooducc

Devotion Twenty Eight
March 3.29.22

WITH FAITH ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE – BUT NOT EASY

I recently saw that message on a church sign. I like it. It reminds me that we do usually want faith to be easy. Maybe we want God or Jesus to do the heavy lifting. We just have to trust that it will get taken care of. If things don’t come to fruition the way we hope, then it must be because God or Jesus didn’t want that for us. It’s easy to think that way but I don’t think that is how faith actually works.

I think we have to do our part. And it is often difficult and challenging. And the more we trust our faith, the deeper we are called to go. And this can lead us quite a distance from where we thought we were or wanted to be.

One of the most important things we are called to do when we live out our faith is to give up control. And that’s a challenge in and of itself. Faith involves letting go of the outcome of a situation. Doing the right thing regardless of how it may turn out. Faith involves giving up what we thought we wanted and following the way of Jesus which may result in a better outcome though we may not see it that way for a long time. Faith involves letting go of our time line. Remember Abraham and Sarah! It may involve adjusting our financial plans. I remember some years ago someone from the church postponing going on a cruise so they could make an additional financial gift to the church. Faith may
involve putting ourselves at odds with people close to us. Faith may involve planting seeds that we may never see bear fruit. The seeds may bear fruit, we just may never know about it. Faith involves giving up control over ‘concrete, measurable’ results. Something our society craves. It is the measurement for the validity and value of everything! But not faith!

Just the letting go of our standards and expectations can be a challenge before you even get to what we may be called to actually do when we live by faith! But oh how amazing and glorious things may be when we follow the way of Jesus. There are surprises and gifts and blessings we could not have imagined. Things happening, unfolding, changing, healing that we could never have anticipated. Abundance and assurance that was never expected. People and projects that provide purpose and meaning. We never could have known. The wildness of that mercy.

Yup. With faith all things are possible but not easy.

Prayer
Take a few moments to reflect thinking about how your faith has impacted your life. What do you see?

May we let go of our desire to have things easy. May we embrace the unknown. Give in to trust. And see where the way of Jesus leads. The way may be hard but the views will be glorious! Amen.

Devotion Twenty Seven
Monday 3.28.22

We say ‘they’? I recently heard that there is a movement within Christianity to use the pronoun ‘they’ not only for groups of more than one and for transgender people, but, I learned, for God.

I have been thinking about this. We know that there are problems with using male pronouns for God. It undergirds and reinforces a patriarchal social model that treats women and others as less than. There are problems with using female pronouns for God. That excludes others, as well, though it may lean into the idea of more balance.

Some people have been adamant that the concept of God has no actual biological gender. God is neither gender. God is genderless. Then there are those who see God as both genders, incorporating the diversity of humanity. It has been accepted in many expressions of the church that using male pronouns for God is just linguistically convenient.

There are others, myself included, that want to see moving away from the anthropomorphizing of God. We want to move away from talking about God as a super human. So we may prefer no pronoun for God.

In the midst of all of these different perspectives on the pronoun and gender issue, apparently, the use of ‘they’ for God is emerging.

Well, what about ‘they’? It eliminates the use of exclusively masculine pronouns for God. It eliminates the use of feminine pronouns for God. It really eliminates a gender orientation for God because ‘they’ can be male and female and neither. We might use ‘they’ for a group of cars or trees. No gender implied. So ‘they’ incorporates all genders AND no gender.

It is also the pronoun preferred by people who are transgender, for some of the very reasons cited. I like the idea that a pronoun used for God is also associated with the transgender community. It connects people who are transgender more closely with the image of God.

‘They’ also moves away from the anthropomorphizing of God. ‘They’ can include animals and plants and mountains and seas. It can more closely associate God with all of creation not just humanity.

And there is another reason I like ‘they.” It’s Biblical. God is referred to in the plural in Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness. . .’” And that is what ‘they’ did according to the story!

Can we say ‘they’? As a pronoun for God? It is something to think about. It is something to try out. Something to experiment with. Is it something we can get used to? I think it is worth finding out! So don’t be surprised in church if we say ‘they’!

Lent is a time to expand our vision, to see more of the landscape around us and within us. I think that ‘they’ is a way for us to expand our concept of God and the community of life. Let us embrace the wildness of mercy and try saying ‘they.’

Prayer
We know that we can never fully understand God, the concept, the word, the force. There is always mystery. Ancient teachings guide and inform us so that we can enter new territory in the geography of the spirit. Let us be willing to explore and experiment so that we may more fully experience the embrace of Love and our oneness with all of Creation. Amen.

Devotion 26
Sunday 3.27.22

I did not grow up with gardening. We always lived in a single family home with a yard but we really didn’t garden – flowers or food. My parents both grew up in apartments in the Bronx, NY so they didn’t have experience with gardening. My grandmother lived with us when I was growing up. She was from a small agricultural village in Bavaria, Germany. She always grew rose bushes and tomatoes. She did things with eggshells and coffee grounds. But I simply was not familiar with gardening.

Now, as an adult, I have two plots at the Azalea Community Gardens near our house. I took up gardening over 10 years ago because I wanted our kids to know where food came from. They were older by then, but I thought it was never too late. [One son now actually works on a farm!] What I discovered is that I actually enjoy gardening. We have grown peppers and eggplant and watermelon and arugula and edamame and beans and sweet potatoes and beets and Egyptian spinach and many other things depending on the year. I like keeping an eye on things in the garden. I like going up there to water. I like chitchatting with the other gardeners; hearing about what is going on in the neighborhood. It’s a good, healthy, outdoor hobby.

So, this past January, my husband Jeff and I both got covid at the same time from our grandsons. As these things go, you don’t have the chance to plan and stock up on certain items or get certain errands out of the way. No prep time. No ‘storm warning.’ We ended up being on what I call ‘house arrest’ for 2 weeks. Friends and people from church were offering to help out. Do a grocery store run for us. Things like that. But as it turned out, we had plenty of food on hand and we had lots of produce to eat from the garden! We had cauliflower, broccoli, peas, kale, Swiss chard, onions, tomatoes, hot peppers, lettuce, and lemongrass for tea. And we had parsley, mint, rosemary, and other herbs for flavoring. So we actually had plenty of food.

To me, the garden has always been a hobby. For fun. I have never really considered it a significant source of food. But during our bout with covid the garden actually sustained us when we could not go to the store. We had plenty of produce!

I think church can be like this. Kind of like a hobby. We go. We like the music. We like to see the people. We like the enrichment and inspiration. And that is all well and good.

But then we hit a rough patch. Someone close to us dies. A loved one enters a treatment facility for addiction. Russia invades Ukraine. We get a dreaded diagnosis. Our job is eliminated and we lose our needed income. There’s a pandemic and a lockdown. Life closes in on us.

And there is the church. No longer a ‘hobby’ for enrichment, but our anchor, our shelter, our refuge, our lifeline, sustaining us through a storm. Holding us up when we could easily be bowled over. Bringing us through something that could have taken us down. Supporting us with light and hope when things look really bleak.

As some point, we all find ourselves struggling, trying to cope, finding life a challenge. In the wildness of mercy, the church is here to sustain us and uplift us and carry us through!

NOTE:
If you are reading this and you are not part of a church, I highly encourage you to consider finding a congregation that suits you. You might not think being part of a church is important right now, but the day will come when you are grateful for it! And that church just might need you.

Prayer:
Imagine the produce section of the grocery store filled with nutritious, delicious, colorful fruits and vegetables for you to enjoy. See the amazing variety of apples and greens and berries. All manner of things! Give thanks for the abundance that we have access to so that we can feed our bodies. Now think of the church and all that it provides. Meaningful relationships, music, moral grounding, spiritual inspiration, purpose, transformation of individuals and the world, Jesus, the reality of God, visions of justice and peace. And so much more! Also an amazing abundance to nourish and sustain the spirit. In good times and in bad. Give thanks for the church and the amazing wildness of mercy! Amen.

Devotion Twenty Five
Sat. 3.26.22

How many times have we been reminded that you see what you are looking for? If you are looking for trouble, you find it. If you are looking for bad news, there is bad news aplenty. If you are looking for kindness, you see it. If you are looking for beauty, it is there.

In the book, Bewilderment, by Richard Powers, which, by the way, I highly recommend, there is a wonderful scene about looking and seeing. Robbie, who is 9, and his dad are taking a walk near their home. There are some other neighborhood kids, a little older, trying to dig up a stop sign. Robbie goes up to them and asks what they are doing. And he ends up asking them if they know about the owl in the tree at the nearby church. They all go to look for the owl. And find it. In the tree. They watch until it flies off. The dad is astounded that Robbie is aware of the owl and where it lives. Robbie and his dad continue on their walk. The dad asks, “How did you happen to find him?” Robbie replies, “Easy. I just looked.” [Bewilderment, p. 159-160.]

This scene has stayed with me. I wonder what is in my path that I haven’t seen because I haven’t looked. Why haven’t I looked? There can be things that distract us. We may be pre-occupied. Maybe we are concentrating on something else. Maybe we have become oblivious to nature. And to other things. Like someone with a need. Or someone in pain. Maybe someone with a story to tell. Maybe we are missing something within us. That needs to be attended to. Or something wonderful and beautiful that we simply haven’t been aware of. What are we missing?

There is a wildness in mercy. Lent is a time to be reminded to pay attention. Where does the owl live in your neighborhood?

Prayer
We may have often sung, ‘Open my eyes that I may see.’ During these Lenten days may we open our eyes. Take a few moments to look at something. Just to look. At people passing by. At a painting. At the yard. At the water. Really look. What do you notice that you have not noticed before? Practice this looking outside of yourself. And also practice this looking inside of yourself. What is there that you haven’t noticed before? Give thanks for what you discover even if it is something difficult or painful. Amen.

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE                             Sally Purvis, liturgist

Build a house for people and birds. Sit with
them and play music.

For a day, for just one day, talk about that
which disturbs no one

and bring some peace, my friend, into your
beautiful eyes.

Hafiz, c. 1320-1389, adapted

PRELUDE                         My Song Is Love Unknown                   Ireland

*CALL TO WORSHIP                                                          Ann B. Snow

Wherever I may wander,
Wherever I may be,
I’m certain of our Maker’s love;
God’s care is over me.

*HYMN                      There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy                   23

SCRIPTURE LESSON

Let us prepare ourselves for the word of God as it comes to us in the reading of Holy Scripture. Our hearts and minds are open.

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

For the word of God in scripture, for the word of God among us, for the word of God within us. Thanks be to God.

CONTEMPORARY READING      Kenneth Bailey quoted by Henri Nouwen

MUSIC                     The King of Love My Shepherd Is              Irish folk

SERMON                        Claiming Our Inheritance         Rev. Kim P. Wells

*UNISON READING                                Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu

I will forgive you
The words are so small
But there is a universe hidden in them
When I forgive you
All those cords of resentment pain and sadness that had wrapped
themselves around my heart will be gone
When I forgive you
You will no longer define me
You measured me and assessed me and
decided that you could hurt me
I didn’t count
But I will forgive you
Because I do count
I do matter
I am bigger than the image you have of me
I am stronger
I am more beautiful
And I am infinitely more precious than you thought me
I will forgive you
My forgiveness is not a gift that I am giving to you
When I forgive you
My forgiveness will be a gift that gives itself to me

MUSIC                                  Wondrous Love             Southern Harmony

MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal is to:

• Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives & in our world.
• Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people.
• Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

MORNING OFFERING

Morning offerings may be brought forward and placed in the plates on the altar. You are invited to write your prayer requests on the sheets provided in the bulletin and bring them forward and place them in the basket on the altar. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.

Offertory             I Will Give My Love an Apple            English folk

*Time of Dedication                                 Joan Chittister, b. 1936

There are families everywhere struggling with their family’s secret poverty, division, alcoholism, abuse and smiling, smiling, smiling on the outside. Open your arms today. Take everyone in. Half the people you see are bearing a secret too big for them to bear alone. Amen.

*PREPARATION FOR PRAYER     Amazing Grace                              547   

MORNING PRAYERS – SAVIOR’S PRAYER                               

Fathering and Mothering God, lover of us all, most holy one.
Help us to respond to you
To create what you want for us here on earth.
Give us today enough for our needs.
Forgive our weak and deliberate offenses,
Just as we must forgive others when they hurt us.
Help us to resist evil and to do what is good.
For we are yours, endowed with your power
to make the world whole. Amen.

* BENEDICTION                                                                       Celtic

Bless to us, O God,
the moon that is above us,
the earth that is beneath us,
the friends who are around us,
your image deep within us.

* RESPONSE

Weave, weave, weave us together;
Weave us together in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together, together in love.

*POSTLUDE           What the World Needs Now Is Love             Bacharach

Circle of Concern: Christopher and Dana, Ann Quinn who is under Hospice Care, William Owen-Cowan, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Maggie Brizendine, Janet Hall, Yoko Nogami walking the Appalachian Trail, All those suffering from COVID-19 and all healthcare workers, Schools: Students, families, teachers, and staff.

Announcements

Facebook Live The 10:30 a.m. service is being streamed on Facebook Live.

Support for Ukraine To find more ways to support Ukraine please visit our website and look at the Weekly update for 3/18/22.

Toiletries for Celebrate Outreach Celebrate Outreach is a local ministry with people who are living without shelter in St. Petersburg. All are invited to donate the following items: toothbrushes, toothpaste, disposable razors, bar soap, wash cloths, deodorant, feminine hygiene items, travel size creams, shampoo, body wash, individual packets of Kleenex, hand wipes, toilet tissue, and paper towels.

One Great Hour of Sharing Offering Lakewood will be collecting this special offering on Palm Sunday, April 10.  There are envelopes at church that can be used or indicate on your check or online donation OGHS.  This is an important way to love our neighbors and our enemies next door and around the world.  

Operation Attack OA needs donations of cereal, peanut butter, canned meat, fruit, vegetables and soup, dried beans, and mac/cheese. Donations may be placed on the shelf in the hallway at church.

Easter Ahead April 17! The wonderful festival of Easter is just a few weeks away. Please note there will be a change in the service schedule.  There will be two identical services at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The congregation is invited to meet and visit out on the lawn between services.  Both services will be streamed on Facebook Live. Please make plans to be a part of this glorious celebration!  Remember – come at 9 or 11.  

Peace March Today at 4:00 p.m. There will be a community march for peace in Ukraine this Sunday, March 27, at 4:00 p.m. beginning at the Dali Museum (One Dali Blvd., Downtown St. Pete). There is free parking available. Many different groups are involved including the Epiphany Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Petersburg. Folks from LUCC, look for the Lakewood banner. Wear church tee shirts if you have one. Please join in this important march for peace. They are being sustained by the support of our community!  Be part of the march today!

For the safety and comfort of all, please wear a mask. Thank you!

Lakewood United Church of Christ 2601 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33712
727-867-7961 lakewooducc@gmail.com Lakewooducc.org
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga