Category: Posts

Weekly Update 6/24

WHAT IS GOING ON AT CHURCH –

Summer Sundays

The theme for the Corona Sabbath posts this summer is ‘GROUNDED.’ Yes, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, many are not taking expected summer trips and vacations.  Feeling grounded.  And with the demonstrations going on, many do not feel safe to venture out because of the pandemic and feel grounded.  And with a global pandemic, a global recession, and global demonstrations against racism, it is a time to lean on our faith to help us feel grounded.  Each week’s presentation will explore a different dimension of our faith which helps us to feel grounded in these uncertain times.  When we are grounded, we can grow and flourish and bear fruit!  So, look for the Corona Sabbath post each week to help you be grounded!

Corona Sabbath

Each Sunday will have a different theme.  In addition to the material from Hilton and Kim, we hope to include contributions from the congregation each week.  You are invited to send a picture, a poem, a quotation from a book or article, an image, a work of art, a song, a video of you doing something or reading something, anything you would like, that you feel relates to the theme.  Hilton and Kim will try to incorporate the contributions into the Corona Sabbath Devotional on the related theme.

The themes coming up are:

Hope for the Future

Forgiveness

Compassion/Justice

Service/Generosity

Transformation

Trust

Gratitude

Comfort

Peace

Healing

Wonder/Awe

Please email contributions on any of these topics to the church at lakewooducc@gmail.com. Or use the “regular” mail. 

Is there something you would like to share but are not sure where it fits?  No worries.  Send it in and it will get used where appropriate. 

Many thanks!

This Sunday

The church will be open from 10:30 to 11:30.  The peace candle will be lit.  It will be a time of prayer and reflection as a witness that the church is still open and ministry continues even though we are not able to gather in person for worship.  

Look for a Corona Sabbath post on Friday.  Check for it at the website – lakewooducc.org
Also, please subscribe to the website so that you receive regular updates about church life. 

Hymnals for All

While we might not be able to recite many scripture verses, we can probably sing the words to many hymns.  Singing is one of the things people miss most about not having in-person church services at this time.  Hymns are a source of inspiration.  We have associations with certain hymns.  The tunes and the words help us to feel grounded.

Music Director, Hilton Jones, would like to use more hymns in the devotional posts provided by the church.  If you have a hymnal and sing along, there are no copyright issues and problems. 

To that end, please know that the church hymnals are available to be checked out like a library book but with no due date and no fines!

You may pick one up at church on Sunday mornings (10-12) or Wednesday mornings (9-12) or Sunday evenings (7:30-8:00).  There is a clip board to sign your name indicating that you have taken a book. 

If you would like a hymnal delivered to you, please contact the church office and we will try to do that. 

When we can worship in person again, the hymnals will need to be returned. 

‘God respects me when I work; but God loves me when I sing.”  Rabindranath Tagore 

Are You Counted?

With all of the upheaval in society, it might be easy to forget about the census.  But responding to the census is a way to respond to all that is going on around us.  The census is very important to the allocation of resources in our society.  And it effects our representation in government.  If you have not already done so, complete the census!  

https://2020census.gov/en.html

Sunday Evening Demonstration for Racial Justice

Last week there were 14 people participating in the demonstration for racial justice along 54th Ave. S. in front of the church from 7:30-8:00 p.m.  In addition to folks from LUCC, there were people from the Social Justice Committee at Westminster Suncoast, and a friend of a church member.  There were many expressions of support and a few expressions of opposition from passing cars.

This public witness will continue in coming weeks.  Everyone is welcome.  Bring a sign or use one of the signs provided.  The intent is to send a positive message about racial justice.  No political or partisan signs, please.

Here are pictures from last week’s witness:  https://lakewooducc.org/2020/06/23/sunday-evening-demonstration-for-racial-justice/

Father’s Day Zoom

Many thanks to those who participated in the Father’s Day Zoom last Sunday.  In addition to many stories about fathers shared by those present, there was a creative reading of “The Good Woman” from Proverbs 31:10-31 re-oriented to apply to a man/father/husband.  Rick Carr shared a music video featuring a song that he wrote and pictures of his father that he prepared for his father’s memorial service in 2011.  The new board book for children by Ibram X. Kendi, Antiracist Baby, was read as part of the Zoom.  It was a very meaningful time together.  Many thanks to all!

There will be another all church Zoom gathering on the evening of Friday July 24.  This will be a Christmas Eve in July celebration complete with Christmas carols.  And maybe even Christmas cookies!

There will also be an all church Zoom gathering  on Sunday morning August 9 at 10:30.  The theme is Back to School.  It is the Sunday before school starts and it will be a celebration of learning and a time to share memories of teachers who have made a difference in our lives.  

Feedback Forms

Many thanks to those who submitted feedback forms to the church.  The advisors met last Sunday and reviewed the forms and made plans according to the suggestions and recommendations of the those who responded.  The information provided was extremely helpful.  Again, many thanks!  Please know that ideas and responses and feedback from the congregation and beyond are ALWAYS welcome!  Please contact Pastor Kim Wells or one of the advisors:  Lucille Ruga, Jane Diven, Malcolm Wells, Olivia Gibson, or Patti Cooksey.  

Labyrinth Has Been Refurbished

In recent weeks, the labyrinth has been restored and refurbished with some trimming, raking, and new hay.  Please know that this spiritual path is open for your use any time. 

There is a guided walk on Wednesday mornings at 9:00.  This involves scripture, reflection, and sharing for those who would like to.  This devotional gathering is outside and physical distancing is maintained.   All are welcome!  

https://lakewooducc.org/2020/06/23/labyrinth-has-been-refurbished/

Installation in Covid Time

A colleagues in the Florida Conference UCC was installed last Sunday afternoon on Zoom.  Since there couldn’t be a processional, clergy were asked to send a picture, robed and in red stoles, the color of the Holy Spirit, designated for an installation.  Here is the picture sent by Rev. Kim Wells:

the picture will be in the email and website post.

Creation Justice Task Force Update: Permaculture Report 

On Sunday, June 7 at 11:30am in the Fellowship Hall, the Permaculture Design Team students, Scott and Sarah, presented their ideas for transforming our church property into an inviting and sustainable natural environment for our community and beyond. The Creation Justice Task Force met with them multiple times over the past few months and were ready to see how our dreams and desires for an environmentally friendly, attractive, and useful transformation of our natural environment might translate into a reality. We were thrilled with their slide show and well researched presentation of possibilities divided in three phases for implementation over the next few years.
The Creation Justice Task Force is planning for the Permaculture Design Team to share this slide show and information with more of you in the near future in either a zoom or in person meeting. Stay tuned for further information!

Spiritual Direction Offered by LUCC Clergy Member.

In these troubled times, it is important to find ways to tend to our spiritual lives. In the Christian tradition, Spiritual Direction is one of the ways of paying attention to the spirit in our lives. A Spiritual Director is someone to talk with about what is going on in our spiritual life and in our relationship with God however we may conceive of God.

Rev. Sally Purvis, Ph.D., a member of LUCC, is a retired clergy person with training and experience in Spiritual Direction. She is offering her services as a Spiritual Director to the community. The sessions would be held on Zoom and there is no fee to be paid. Church leaders are pleased to have the ministry of the church expand in this way.

Spiritual Direction with Sally is open to anyone, not just the congregation. And it is offered to everyone whatever their spiritual or religious background or affiliation or lack thereof. Sessions are generally held once every three weeks. Spiritual Direction is not a mode of therapy. It is a process for understanding and deepening your relationship with God/Spirit in ways are authentic and life-giving.

Sally was trained by Henri Nouwen, a noted spiritual guide of the 20th century, and did Spiritual Direction as part of her professional ministry before retiring in 2015.

If you would like to explore Spiritual Direction with Sally, please contact her at
sallybpurvis@icloud.com or contact the church (867-7961 or lakewooducc@gmail.com ).

The church is very grateful to Sally for offering this avenue of support to the congregation and the community.

DayStar Donations 

Grocery donations given to the church were donated to DayStar Life Center this week.  Daystar is taking grocery donations as well as adult clothing on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To drop off donations, drive around to the back of the building to the open bay area. 

DayStar Life Center
1055 28th St. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712

We encourage you to take your donations to them rather than leave them at the church.  However, if you are unable or don’t feel comfortable going to DayStar, please do leave donations at the church and we will deliver them once a month to DayStar.  Thank you.

QUICK LINKS TO OUR RECENT POSTS DURING THE CORONA CRISIS:
Sermon videos: https://lakewooducc.org/category/online-devotional/
Sermon texts: https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/sermon-texts/
Posts containing music: https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/music/

For all those links, please note the “Older Posts” button near bottom of page.

FOR JUST THE MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/music-at-lakewood 

Daily Corona Prayer

https://lakewooducc.org/2020/03/20/lucc-corona-daily-prayer

Assistance Available

If you need help of any kind – something from the store, someone to talk with, support managing during shelter-in-place, parenting concerns – please know that the church is ready and willing to help in any way needed.  This situation is trying for everyone.  You are not alone.  We’ll make it through together.  Please contact the church office (lakewooducc@gmail.com or 867-7961 or Rev. Kim Wells at wells.kim.p@gmail.com).  

Miss someone from church?  Give them a call or send a note.  Personal contact is so important when physical contact is limited.  

Music Ministry

About Hilton’s music. . . If you would enjoy hearing Hilton play more Irish folk songs, you can
listen for free at either https://hiltonjones.bandcamp.com/album/irish-
tunes or https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/irish-tunes .

June Birthdays: Genie Terrell 6/10, Tony Rogers 6/21. Someone missing? Contact the church office with birthday information.

Circle of Concern: JoAnn Reid, William Owen, Wilbur Reid, Martha Lamar, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Ann Quinn, Maggie Brizendine, and All healthcare workers and essential workers. All those suffering from COVID-19.

Please keep Yvonne Riesen and family in your prayers.  Yvonne is in the process of moving to the Memory Care unit at Westminster Suncoast.

Vita Uth is having surgery on Wednesday.  Please keep her in your prayers.

 Please Keep Ann Rogers in your prayers as she has been in the hospital and has now been moved to rehab. 

Please keep LUCC member, Olivia Gibson, in your prayers. She is a nurse in a COVID-19 unit in a local hospital. We are grateful for her ministry!

Recent Posts:

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.

Labyrinth Has Been Refurbished

In recent weeks, the labyrinth has been restored and refurbished with some trimming, raking, and new hay. Please know that this spiritual path is open for your use any time.

There is a guided walk on Wednesday mornings at 9:00. This involves scripture, reflection, and sharing for those who would like to. This devotional gathering is outside and physical distancing is maintained. All are welcome!

Sunday Evening Demonstration for Racial Justice

Last week there were 14 people participating in the demonstration for racial justice along 54th Ave. S. in front of the church from 7:30-8:00 p.m. In addition to folks from LUCC, there were people from the Social Justice Committee at Westminster Suncoast, and a friend of a church member. There were many expressions of support and a few expressions of opposition from passing cars.


This public witness will continue in coming weeks. Everyone is welcome. Bring a sign or use one of the signs provided. The intent is to send a positive message about racial justice. No political or partisan signs, please.

Corona Sabbath 14 Father’s Day

father's dayThese weeks when we cannot gather in person for Sunday worship, Lakewood United Church of Christ is providing brief weekly sabbath programs for you to listen to on your own or with others in your social isolation group. They will be posted on Friday so that you can schedule your sabbath time to suit your schedule and your spiritual inclinations. We hope these programs are of spiritual support to you in these difficult times.

There is a scripture reading and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells as well as music offered by Music Director Hilton Kean Jones. This week for Father’s Day, there is a special music video featuring the pictures of father figures contributed by the church family and music by a father and son and daughter-in-law from the congregation.

During these summer weeks, the theme being used in “Grounded.” Some of us feel that shelter-in-place feels like being grounded. Some would normally have travel plans and feel grounded. With the many challenges facing our society, it is important to feel grounded. So these Summer Sundays will focus on key concepts in Christianity that provide grounding. So, welcome to “Grounded.” This post focuses on grace.

You are invited to find a quiet space, inside or outside. Light a candle. Take a look around you. Breathe. Life-giving breath. Be present.

You may begin by offering this reading:

Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let this goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee!

–From the hymn, Come, O Fount of Every Blessing, words by Robert Robinson based on Psalm 36:7-9

When you are ready, start the video below.

(For written text of the above video click HERE.)

On this Father’s Day, we give thanks for those who have had a fathering role in our lives. We give thanks for those who are fathers and have been fathers, offering themselves to the care and nurture of others.

You are invited to watch the video which follows featuring pictures of fathers contributed by the church family and accompanied by music from a father, son, and spouse trio.

Let us pray:

We give thanks for those who have shown us fathering love. We are grateful for those who have nurtured and provided for us. Those who have comforted us and helped us to grow. Those who have taken joy and delight in watching the circle of life continue!

We are mindful that so many who want to be fathers and share their fathering love are not able to do so. We think of those who are separated from their children, those who are in prison, and we remember the many fatherless children in our land and in our world.

We pray for those children who have had their father’s taken from them through violence or death.

We give thanks for neighbors, teachers, uncles, pastors, friends, who share their fathering love with children.

May we help to nurture into being a society that values all fathers and father figures and their importance in the lives of the others. May all children and young people know the support and nurture of fathering love. Amen.

As you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to notice the thoughts and feelings and that arise for you.

After viewing the video, you are invited to offer the following closing:

Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come.
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

–John Newton, Amazing Grace. Newton was a slave trader who became a Christian and joined the abolitionist movement.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

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

QUICK LINKS TO OUR RECENT POSTS DURING THE CORONA CRISIS:
Online Devotionals: https://lakewooducc.org/category/online-devotional/
Sermon Texts: https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/sermon-texts/
For above links, please note “Older Posts” button near bottom of page.
Music: https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/music-at-lakewood

Corona Sabbath 14 Father’s Day Reflection Text

Greetings and welcome to Corona Sabbath. This is one of the ways the church is endeavoring to offer spiritual support during these challenging days of COVID-19. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

In this summer series on the theme “Grounded” we turn to one of the foundations of faith – grace. We listen to two scripture lessons that speak of grace.

Psalm 104 tells of the wonders that surround us in creation and provide for our well-being.

And a well known story from the gospels reminds us of the grace that sustains us each and every day!

Read from Psalm 104:24-34
Adonai, what variety you have created,
arranging everything so wisely!
The earth is filled with your creativity!
There’s a vast expanse of the Sea,
teeming with countless creatures,
living things large and small,
with the ships going to and fro
and Leviathan whom you made to frolic there.
All creatures depend on you
to feed them at the proper time.
Give it to them – they gather it up.
Open your hand – they are well satisfied.
Hide your face – they are terrified.
Take away their breath – they die and return to dust.
Send back your breath – fresh life begins
and you renew the face of the earth.
Glory forever to Our God!
May you find joy in your creation!
You glance at the earth and it trembles,
you touch the mountains and they smoke!

I will sing to you all my life,
I will make music for my God as long as I live.
May these reflections of mine give God
as much pleasure as God gives me!

And now from Matthew 14:13-21. A story of a meal offered freely to everyone. No questions asked. No charge.

When Jesus heard about the beheading [of John the Baptizer], he left Nazareth by boat and went to a deserted place to be alone. The crowds heard of this and followed him from their towns on foot. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast throng, his heart was moved with pity, and he healed their sick.

As evening drew on, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy some food for themselves.”

Jesus said to them: “There is no need for them to disperse. Give them something to eat yourselves.”

“We have nothing here,” they replied, “but five loaves and a couple of fish.”

“Bring them here,” Jesus said. Then he ordered the crowds to sit on the grass. Taking the five loaves and two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven, blessed the food, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, who in turn gave it to the people. All those present ate their fill. The fragments remaining, when gathered up, filled twelve baskets. About five thousand families were fed.

[pause]

Grace. That’s what we call what we say before meals. We say grace. We have several graces that we use at our house.

Sometimes we say:
Come, Lord Jesus, be thou our guest,
Our morning joy, our evening rest,
And let these gifts to us be blessed
And we to thy loving service.

Another one we say is:
One is God made the sun. God made the sea. God made the little fish. And God made me.
Thank you for the sun. Thank you for the sea. Thank you for the little fish. And thank you, God, for me.

I like the hand motions for that one.

And sometimes we sing –
We give thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks for food and friends.

In my husband’s family, they have a grace they chant based on the Psalm that we read called “The eyes of all wait upon the Lord.”

And we have a new grace in our house we have learned in the last few months:
Blest be the hand that plants the seed.
Blest be the earth giving all that we need.
Blest be the food that we share among friends.
Blest be the love that never ends.

We say grace before meals to give thanks for the food before us knowing that we did not produce the meal on our own. It took dirt and water and sun and seed and labor and energy. We did not provide all of that. It came from many sources. And it did not come from human hands alone.

We don’t produce water or air or sunlight or seed. We don’t produce the cells that hold the capacity for life and the bearing of fruit.

Since I eat a plant-based diet, my twenty-something-year-old son tells me that I’m not to say vegan anymore, it puts people off, so, since I eat a plant-based diet, I’m only going to comment on the plants that have been provided so that we have food to eat. They are amazing. We should say grace!

We listened to the story of Jesus and all of those hungry people! Poor Jesus. Heartbroken at the death of John, going off by himself to grieve, but being confronted by the needy crowds. And does he tell them, Leave me alone? I need a day off? No. He’s distraught, but still he is able to respond to their needs. And there are leftovers. It’s grace. Everything needed and more.

I asked someone recently, what is grace? The answer. “Free lunch.” Just like this story. What is needed is given.

Grace is part of the foundation of our faith. We are grounded in our knowing that there is this amazing capacity for us to be sustained physically, spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. There is this power. This gift. Grace.

It doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen. They do happen. There are accidents. Tragedies. Violence. Illness. Heartache. Injustice. And when these things happen, and they will happen, it is grace that sees us through.

I try to imagine if I was informed that one of my sons had been killed by the police. How could I ever go on? And yet I see these mothers. They do keep going. And they are passionate. It’s testimony to grace.

So much about our lives – we are just given. And it is so “amazing.”

Notice, I said “given.” One of the radical aspects of grace that makes it so powerful and so important, is that grace is not transactional. Grace is gift. Free gift. The whole concept of grace helps get us out of the mindset of transaction: Of buying and selling. Of trading. Of earning. Of meriting. Of recompense. Of the whole transactional view of reality which is so prevalent in our culture and is integral to a capitalist economic system. We live in a world that is all about transaction which puts a value, even a monetary value, not only on goods, but on people. Grace is not about transaction. It’s simply about gift. And it undermines the whole premise that anything can be had for the right price. Grace is an antidote that we need to keep our perspective and our balance in a world where everything is commodified.

We want to remember that our faith is grounded in grace. So much is being given to us all the time. We don’t have to live in fear or scarcity or hold on to our power or privilege as if we’re going to be bereft because we believe there is always grace to sustain us. What is needed will be given.

Sometimes what is needed is change. Transformation. And grace can be an avenue of transformation. Grace accounts for the sometimes inexplicable ways that we find ourselves changing, our feelings changing, our attitudes being transformed. Sometimes to be sustained, to live fully and freely, we have to change. And grace makes it possible for this to happen.

I was in a Zoom this week and we were put into small groups to talk about story and language. There was a man in my group that shared part of his story which he is seeing much differently than he used to. He told us that he thought he had done what he was supposed to do – go to school, work, get married, have a family. That is what was expected. And he did it. He felt he was a self made man according to the dictates of the society around him. Only now, as an elderly white man, he is seeing that he was born into circumstances that made all of that possible. He now sees how much was simply given to him, not as a result of his own choices or efforts, but simply because of the circumstances that he was born into. He is seeing all that he has benefited from that he did not recognize in the past. And he finds it bemusing and he is grateful. He is seeing all of the grace in his life that he hadn’t noticed before.

This weekend, we celebrate Father’s Day. If you have a wonderful father or have beautiful memories of your father, that is just how you happened to get born, who you happened to be born to or who you were given as a dad. And how beautiful is that? It’s simply grace. And if your experience with your father was more complicated, there were difficulties, if it was problematic, it’s grace that has brought you through that.

Whatever our circumstances, we are beneficiaries of grace. Take a breath. That is grace. 
We did not create the air. We did not design the lungs or the respiratory system. So much is simply given to us. In these times of uncertainty and challenge and change, let us remain grounded in grace which has the power to sustain us whatever life may hold.

[pause]

On this Father’s Day, we give thanks for those who have had a fathering role in our lives. We give thanks for those who are fathers and have been fathers, offering themselves to the care and nurture of others.

You are invited to watch the video which follows featuring pictures of fathers contributed by the church family and accompanied by music from a father, son, and spouse trio!

Let us pray:

We give thanks for those who have shown us fathering love. We are grateful for those who have nurtured and provided for us. Those who have comforted us and helped us to grow. Those who have taken joy and delight in watching the circle of life continue!

We are mindful that so many who want to be fathers and share their fathering love are not able to do so. We think of those who are separated from their children, those who are in prison, and we remember the many fatherless children in our land and in our world.

We pray for those children who have had their father’s taken from them through violence or death.

We give thanks for neighbors, teachers, uncles, pastors, friends, who share their fathering love with children.

May we help to nurture into being a society that values all fathers and father figures and their importance in the lives of the others. May all children and young people know the support and nurture of fathering love. Amen.

(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)