There is probably no more archetypal Thanksgiving Day song than this. It should easily be the quintessential Earth Day song as well.
It’s a song every child probably knows by hear. As such, it deserves a simple, childlike, reverent simplicity. That’s what I’m shootintg for her with organ flute stops and a woodwind quartet.
To sing along, here’s a link to a representative text of four verses: https://hymnary.org/text/for_the_beauty_of_the_earth.
WHAT IS GOING ON AT CHURCH –
Earth Day Week! Please see the suggested list of things to do to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day this week. Here’s the link. https://lakewooducc.org/2020/04/19/suggestions-for-celebrating-earth-day-week-2020-lakewood-united-church-of-christ/
This Sunday, in celebration of Earth Day, there will be an LUCC Family Zoom gathering on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. to share our experiences and thoughts about Earth Day. The links will be sent to you later in the week. Please plan to participate.
Pictures wanted! Hilton is compiling a photo montage of pictures of nature taken by the church family. Please email them to the church by today – Wednesday. Here’s the email link: lakewooducc@gmail.com
The (NEW IMPROVED) LIST OF FABULOUS LINKS:
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 links, please note “Older Posts” button near bottom of page.
Corona Sabbath Posts
Each Friday, the church will post a devotional with readings, video from Kim, and music from
Hilton. You are invited to access these at the website and observe the sabbath according to
your schedule over the weekend. There will be a new one posted each week. This week’s post will highlight the Earth Day.
Please use the link below to view last week’s Corona Sabbath Post –
https://lakewooducc.org/2020/04/18/corona-sabbath-5/
In addition to the weekly Corona Sabbath devotions on the website every Friday, Hilton is also posting music, mainly hymns, on the website daily. These are also posted on the church’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. You may find links to all the music posts on the website at https://lakewooducc.org/category/posts/music/ — note the “Older Posts” button down the page.
Daily Corona Prayer
https://lakewooducc.org/2020/03/20/lucc-corona-daily-prayer/
Connecting
In an effort to stay connected as a congregation, a text version of the Corona Sabbath posts is being sent in the mail to those in the church family that are not regular users of the Internet. The church is also sending a paper version of the Weekly Update to those who may appreciate keeping in touch that way.
Additional Zoom gatherings are also being planned. There is one this Sunday at 10:30 in honor of Earth Day.
Labyrinth Walks
Labyrinth Walks are being held as scheduled on Wednesday mornings at 9:00. We feel given current information and restrictions that it is safe to hold this activity. It involves less than 10 people, it is outside, and the people can be at least 6 feet apart. Bring your own chair and wear a mask if you wish.
Church Finances Unexpected Funds Arriving and Thinking of LUCC: Claire Stiles
As many of us will be receiving unexpected funds from the federal government
soon, perhaps we can consider giving some of the money to help our church and
other service organizations survive and provide for others during this challenging
time. Some of us have been blessed with sufficient income in retirement or are
still employed so could more easily share some of the $1200 or $2400 that our
households will receive. If that is true for you, please join me in deciding to use a
portion of this income to support our beloved LUCC and any other organizations
and services in our community that need our help!
Many thanks to those who have continued to support the church financially. Your gifts are greatly appreciated!
Fabric needed for masks
A local nonprofit of refugee women from Congo is making masks for healthcare and other facilities. They are in need of fabric. The material needs to be 100% cotton and the tighter the weave the better. If you have fabric to donate, please contact the church office at 727-867-7961 or lakewooducc@gmail.com.
Subscribe to Website
This would be a good time to subscribe to the church website. As a subscriber, everything that is posted on the website will be sent to your email.
There’s now a new way to subscribe to posts from the church website by email. On any page of the website, look down the page for “Follow Blog via Email.” If you subscribed before, you’ll need to subscribe again with this new button. Notice, it’s right above the Paypal “Donate” button!
If you would like assistance with this, please contact the Church Office.
Sundays. . .
On Sundays, Rev. Wells will be at church from 10:30-11:30. The peace candle will be lit and
prayers will be offered. You are welcome to stop by to pray or meditate. The labyrinth is also
available. This is a symbolic witness that the church is still here, is still serving, is still active, is still shining light – even in these drastically changed circumstances.
Help Offered
Several people from the congregation have offered to help others as needed. If you need
something from the grocery store or help with an errand or some other kind of assistance,
please contact the Church Office. There are those who are ready and willing.
Church Office Changes
Given the increased restrictions on social contact, the church office is closed until further notice. The church administrator, Gabi Paxton will be working from home. The ministry of the church is continuing to the fullest measure possible under the current conditions. Please continue to be in contact and reach out to the church and staff.
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 .
April Birthdays: Zachary Blair-Andrews 4/16, Mary Beth Lewis 4/29, Someone missing? Contact the church office with birthday information.
Circle of Concern: William Owen, Wilbur Reid, Martha Lamar, Jen Degroot, Carolyn Moore, Ann Quinn, Maggie Brizendine, and Ann Rogers. All healthcare workers and essential workers. All those suffering from COVID-19.
Please keep LUCC member, Olivia Gibson, in your prayers. She is a nurse on 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.
The title in the New Century Hymnal is To You, O god, All Creatures Sing, #17. It has 6 verses. The only representative texts I could find only have only have 5, so when/if you sing along, and I hope you do, you’ll have to improvise that final verse!
The descant I use on verse 4 is the one given in the NCH. I don’t mind using my own descants, but I also like to use given ones because they become favorite, personal pleasures of soprano and tenor members of the congregation…so why deprive them of their guilty pleasures–indulge, indulge!
In verse 6 I put the tune in the pedals and inverted the counterpoint in the hands. The harmonization of this magnificent tune, is of course, by Ralph Vaughn Williams.
This morning’s Earth Day hymn is this famous Native American hymn. #3 in the New Century Hymnal, both verses are given in the original Dakota language as well as in an English translation. Hymnary.org gives just the English translation.
The NCH suggests the 4 quarter note drum throughout. I debated using that since I don’t want to err in the direction of tasteless cultural approbation any more than I already have by using this hymn. But…it seemed to work if done very softly and it gives a sense of forward motion.
The footnotes in the NCH give Joseph Renville, 1842, as having adapted the tune and James Murry, 1877, as having provided the harmonization. Renville helped establish the Lac qui Parle mission in Minnesota and Frazier, a Native American, was a Congregational minister.
Corona Sabbath 5 (First Sunday after Easter)
Date: April 19, 2020
Scripture: John 20:19-31
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
Rest in peace. This phrase is on many gravestones. It is a saying that we offer as comfort in the face of death. Because we need peace when confronted with death.
In the story we heard from the gospel of John we see just that. Death. And peace. The reality of death is underscored in the exchange involving Thomas. Unless I see the wounds, I won’t believe it. The death of Jesus is real. This is not some sham death. Something staged. A trick. Jesus was really killed. Dead. To this precious mortal life.
And there is peace in the story. Three times Jesus declares: Peace be with you. The disciples are afraid, distraught, in shock. And they are given what they need most – peace. In the face of the horrific death of their dearly beloved friend they receive peace.
One of the important dimensions of our faith is that it offers us peace in the face of the stark reality of death. This is a key function of religion in general: Helping human beings deal with death.
The stories of Jesus appearing alive after the crucifixion were a way for people of that day and time to find peace in the aftermath of Jesus’ death. In a context where life after death was associated with important cultural figures, Jesus’ followers found peace in associating this pattern with Jesus. It gave his friends and followers peace to conceive of Jesus alive in a new way, his presence continuing. The stories of the resurrected Jesus show us how his friends experienced the peace which passes all understanding even after his death.
The follow up, that this eternal life was offered to everyone after death, was also a source of peace and comfort. The concept of Jesus coming back from the dead in a new way and inviting people to live eternally with him after death is a way of offering peace in the face of death.
Death is a natural, inevitable part of life. So it is important that we find ways to make peace with death. This is one of the things that our faith gives us: A way to experience peace around death.
The stories of the resurrection of Jesus and eternal life with him in a heavenly realm are a way of making peace with death; of experiencing peace and comfort around death. We may look forward to seeing our loved ones who have gone before us. That is beautiful. There can be great relief and comfort in that image. And we are grateful that our faith offers that vision of peace around death.
For some people, the concept of life after death, some kind of ongoing life does not offer comfort. It can seem too magical, unbelievable, or unscientific. If it gives you more peace to believe that when you die your individual physical life is over and you go on in the memories of those who have known you, that’s ok. If it gives you peace to think you will be cremated, buried, and become soil and return to the earth, and that is the completion of your life, then that is beautiful.
If you are at peace with not knowing what, if anything, happens after the last breath is exhaled and the body dies, that is fine, too.
If people find peace in the idea of returning to this life in another form, some kind of reincarnation, then that is wonderful. What is important is making peace with death.
I recently saw an interview with the people who made the movie “Fantastic Fungi.” The movie is about the importance of mushrooms and fungi to the health of the planet and to the health of people. In one segment, a man shares how he was told that his cancer was spreading. He was very anxious and afraid. The doctor gave him a pamphlet about a program that involved taking the drug psilocybin, obtained from mushrooms, in a controlled setting, to help cultivate spiritual peace. The man followed up and arranged for an appointment. He tells of experiencing a higher power. It gave him peace and comfort and assurance that he never could have dreamed of. And he now has peace around death, even his own impending death. He is not afraid. Again, what is important is the idea of knowing peace in the face of death.
We also know that the condition of our relationships has a lot to do with our experiencing peace in the face of death. Notice that in the story from John, Jesus challenges his followers to forgive. Forgiveness is part of creating peace in our lives and in our relationships. And this contributes to our experiencing peace around death. Our faith teaches us to live with honesty, authenticity, and humility, freely giving and receiving forgiveness. This kind of life helps to foster peace with death. So whatever our thoughts about what happens after we take our last breath, to cultivate peace around death involves how we live and the condition of our relationships while we are still breathing in this life.
Our faith involves turning “our mourning into dancing” as we are told in the Psalms. It is about experiencing transcendent peace in this life when confronted with the reality of death. We believe in a God that can never be fully known, a God of infinite love. We do not want to limit how people may experience peace around death. That peace may come in many different ways.
What is important, I think, is that we are trusting Divine Love to offer us peace when we are facing the deepest sense of sorrow and loss imaginable. Peace in the face of death. And the stories of Easter and the resurrection show us how that happened for those first century friends of Jesus. These stories show us a God of endless creativity and eternal love.
In this time of COVID-19 and the tremendous suffering, grief, and death that we are seeing, it is important for us to think about how we are associating peace and death. This disease is disrupting how people are used to finding peace in the face of death. We are used to being with our loved ones when they die. We find support in communal gatherings in the aftermath of death. We rely on traditional rituals to process our loss and grief. With the necessity of physical distancing, it is particularly difficult to find peace around death at this time.
Easter reminds us to trust that the healing will come. There is peace in the face of death. The story from John reminds us of the completely unexpected ways that the disciples experienced peace around the death of Jesus. There will be ways for us to find peace in the face of death even during this Corona time. We can trust the infinite creativity of Divine Love. Amen.
(Click HERE if you wish to see the post containing the video of this text.)
Lakewood United Church of Christ 