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Lenten Devotion 3/20/2022

Devotion Nineteen
Sunday March 20, 2022

Today is the first day of Spring. It is a day to celebrate the changing of the seasons. It is a time to look for signs of new life. Well, if you live in a temperate climate. Not so much in our semi-tropical climate here in Florida.

Often when people move to Florida they say they miss the changing of the seasons. Having lived in Florida for 32 years, I have come to appreciate the changing of the seasons in different ways. We have the brutal heat and the intense thunderstorms of the summer. We have the season when oak trees drop their pollen, in our case, into the pool so we have to skim a couple of times a day. There are the two planting seasons for the vegetable garden – in the fall and as the new year begins. There is the season when the northerners are in Florida and the traffic is congested! So, there are ways that we can mark the seasons in Florida.

Here we are not going to know it is spring because all the bare branches on the trees begin to bud and those glorious spring green leaves appear. Or because the grass turns green. Or because flowers suddenly begin to emerge from barren dirt. It’s not as dramatic here. The changes are more subtle. So we have to pay more attention.

It can be like that with matters of the spirit. Sometimes there is dramatic unmistakable welcome change. And it is glorious. But often our spiritual growth is more subtle, incremental, and less flashy.

Our subtle seasons here in the semi-tropics invite us to look more closely. To pay more attention. To concentrate our awareness. To be more mindful. Because the world around us is going through its yearly paces and cycles. The plants and the animals are going through their seasons. Our son works on a farm in Bradenton and in the spring the calves are born. Nature stays true to its cycles.

These subtle seasonal changes reminds us of the need to pay attention to our spiritual cycles and seasons. How are we changing? How are we growing? What is surfacing in us? What is emerging? What is dormant and fallow? What comes up each year around the same time? This Lenten season is a time for reflection and examination and introspection. It’s a time to pay attention to what is going on with our spiritual lives. Maybe we haven’t had some kind of dramatic breakthrough, but if we are looking, we may just see that we are growing and learning and becoming more healthy and whole.

In the wildness of mercy, we may find that we are becoming more loving and caring and compassionate toward ourselves, others, and even our enemies. Even if it isn’t flashy and flowery, there may be slow and steady growth.

Prayer
Look outside, out a window, or sit on a porch. Notice the signs of life around you. How are things changing? Emerging? Growing? What are the signs of new life? Take some quiet moments to think about your life. Do you see some new attitudes or openings or softenings taking place? Do you see passions forming? Do you see new love emerging? Or maybe forgiveness or acceptance? Give thanks for the signs of life in your spirit. Amen.

Lenten Devotion 3/19/2022

Devotion 18
Saturday March 19, 2022

We had several huge clumps of lemongrass in our garden plot at the Azalea Community Gardens. These plants were in the plot when we first started
renting it about 8 years ago. The previous gardener left them. And the city did not remove them. So there was already lemongrass in our plot when we took it over.

But the lemongrass was too prolific. It did too well. We had to remove it because it had gotten too big. There is a maximum height of 4 feet for plants in the garden. The lemongrass was well over six feet. So, I dug it out and removed it. But there was so much of it. And I liked making lemongrass tea. So, I took the plants home and read up on how to grow lemongrass. I decided to cut back the stalks to six inches and then to put the plants in the ground in our yard at home and see what would happen. So, I cut all the stalks down and soaked the roots. I dug the holes and put in the clumps of stalks at various places in the yard. Then we watered them daily. Within one day, new green shoots started to appear with more appearing each day. And these new shoots were not shy. Within a few days some were six and eight inches tall. And they are continuing to climb. I have never seen anything come back so fast and furious after being severely pruned. I expect to be drinking lemongrass tea again soon. Maybe even by Easter!

During this time of Lent, we often reflect on what is holding us back from re-turning our lives to God. We think about naming the obstacles to our discipleship. We ponder the forces and influences that are distracting us from living fully and freely in the reality of God. This is intended to be a time of honest assessment and awareness. And in that process, we identify what we need to get rid of, cut back, chop down, prune, uproot, so that we might live fully in the joy and community of the kin-dom of God.

There can be a lot to let go of. To turn your back on. To strip away. And it can be a painful process. We may grieve what we must leave behind. We may be sorry for how we have wasted our energies. There may be waves of sadness and regret. But there is the lesson of the lemongrass – new life emerges. Bursts forth. Shoots up. Thrives.

This season, may our sadness or grief at letting go not overshadow the new life and possibility that is emerging. May our eyes and hearts be open to what is coming forth; appearing. Something new is happening. May we notice that as well and take courage and joy from the re-turning of new life. There is a wildness in mercy!

Prayer
Think about something you have let go of or moved away from. A habit. A relationship. A perspective. A behavior. A grudge. Notice the absence that is present. Now look for what is new. What is arriving. Relief. Energy. A new relationship or activity that brings joy. A lighter heart. A new purpose. A mended spirit. Give thanks for the wildness of Divine mercy that is with us through our pain all the way to the joy on the other side. Amen.

Bulletin 3/20/2022

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE                                Sherry Santana, liturgist

The greatest danger to our future is apathy.

Jane Goodall b. 1934

PRELUDE                          The Meeting of the Waters                         trad.Irish

OPENING RESPONSIVE READING                Nan Merrill, based on Ps. 63, adapted                            

O Love, You are our Beloved, and
we long for You,
our souls thirst for You;
All that is within us thirsts,
as in a dry and barren land
with no water.
So we call out to You in
our hearts,
sensing your power and glory.

For You have been our salvation,
and in the shadow of your wings
we sing for joy.
Our souls cling to You,
your love upholds us.

MUSIC                                       Slevenamon                                  trad. Irish

SCRIPTURE LESSONS
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.

Isaiah 55 and Luke 13:1-9

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.

SPECIAL MUSIC                             Dreams                                      Andreyev
Bill Parsons, Balalaika

CONTEMPORARY READING                     Father Theophane Boyd, 1929-2003

SERMON                           Tyrants, Towers, and Trees            Rev. Kim P. Wells

RESPONSIVE READING                                 W. S. Merwin, Hawaii, 1927-2019

Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water looking out
in different directions

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we know them we are saying thank you
looking up from tables we are saying thank you
in a culture up to its chin in shame
living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the back door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks that use us we are saying thank you
with crooks in office with the rich and fashionable
unchanged we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us like the earth
we are saying thank you faster and faster

with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is

MUSIC                                        Carrickfergus                                 trad. Irish

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. If you would like assistance, please turn to someone seated near you.

Offertory                              Four Jigs                                     trad. Irish

Time of Dedication                                   George Herbert, 1593-1633

Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart, whose pulse may be thy praise. Amen.

PREPARATION FOR PRAYER         Raglan Road                                 trad. Irish       

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.  Please observe physical distancing.

MORNING PRAYERS – SAVIOR’S PRAYER                               

Holy One, our only Home, hallowed be Your name.
May your day dawn, your will be done,
Here, as in heaven. Feed us today, and forgive us
As we forgive each other. Do not forsake us at the test,
But deliver us from evil. For the glory, the power,
And the mercy are yours, now and forever. Amen.

* BENEDICTION                                  Nan Merrill, based on Ps. 63, adapted

We would radiate your Love as long
as we live,
and become a blessing to others
in gratitude to You. Amen.

*POSTLUDE                          The Red Haired Boy                          trad. Irish

Circle of Concern: Christopher and Dana, Ann Quinn who is under Hospice Care, William Owen-Cowan, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Maggie Brizendine, Janet Hall, 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.

Book Talk Re-Scheduled for March The monthly Book Talk for March has been rescheduled to Thursday March 24 at 6:30 p.m.  You are encouraged to participate.  It is virtual.  Here is the Zoom link:  Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2700683648 Meeting ID: 270 068 3648

Guided Labyrinth Walks NOTE CHANGE OF DAY:  The guided labyrinth walk next week will be held on Thursday March 24 at 9:00 a.m. 

Toiletries for Celebrate Outreach Celebrate Outreach is a local ministry with people who are living without shelter in St. Petersburg.  LUCC was asked to collect toiletries for this ministry.  This collection will be ongoing in addition to the food being collected for Operation Attack.  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. Many thanks to Janet Blair and Jim Andrews for taking the donations to Celebrate Outreach.  

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.

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