Weekly Invitation September 8
Dear Friends,
This Sunday we begin our new Sunday Schedule. It’s also Rally Day! The Choir is back. We’ll be recognizing the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and celebrating the baptism of Tristan Steben. And it’s communion Sunday. A full, celebratory day. How do we fit it all together without feeling like we’ve got a mean case of whiplash? We turn to scripture. James tell us,
13-15:Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. 16-18: Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.
We all come to worship carrying with us the baggage of our lives. Some of us have had a great week, and we’re ready to give thanks. Some of us barely made it through the week, and we need a boost before we can face another. Some of us need a safe place to cry, others want a little company, and still others need a place to sit and be still, if only for a moment. We all come, from our different lives and experiences, carrying different wants and needs, expecting to experience something holy. We come, as we are (broken, hopeful, wounded, angry, energized, lost, grieving, rejoicing, tired, busy, depressed, anxious) and present ourselves to God. Every week, we come, offering ourselves, and our worship, trusting that these gifts of love are pleasing to God. We come trusting that God will meet us, right where we are, and touch our lives.
How are you feeling? Are you healthy? Do you need healing of body, mind, or soul? How is your marriage? your relationships? your finances? What do you need from God? Bring it all to worship on Sunday, and offer it to God in prayer. Come and receive…comfort from the community, the gift of God’s grace in communion, healing, anointing prayer. Come as you are…and receive the love of God. It will make all the difference.
I’ll see you on Sunday,
Pastor Heather
As you remember 9/11 this week, you might check out this prayer: A Litany of Remembrance, Penitence and Hope.
