(Written as overhead the Thunderbirds salute the frontline workers)

“‘All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of others.” – 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

Three thousand California churches have announced that they will hold in-person worship services on Pentecost Sunday. Many reasons for defying the stay-at-home orders are being given. Most of them boil down to “you can’t tell us what to do!” Some organizations are bringing lawsuits against governing authorities, stating that such orders can’t apply to churches because of constitutional rights to freedom of religion and freedom to freely associate and freedom to peaceably assemble.

I get it. I have a knee-jerk reaction to being told that I can’t do what I want to do. I get angry when I see a leader order us to stay at home and wear masks if we venture out (especially when they do this without a mask and from a place other than their home!) I want to stomp my feet, and swear, and shout “you aren’t the boss of me!” Then I want to break the rules to prove that I can. But then my adult self (and sometimes my beloved) reminds me that I am no longer an adolescent, and that I have nothing to prove.

We will not be opening the church for in-person worship on Pentecost Sunday. That’s not just because medical experts, government officials, and the Bishop tell us not to. This isn’t a decision based on fear. We are making this decision because to open would violate our principles. Wesley’s three simple rules for the Methodist societies are:
1. Do no harm.
2. Do good.
3. Stay in love with God.

We are guided by the principle that if we love the members of the congregation, we want you to be well! We do not want to bring you harm! There are all sorts of things we can do to encourage you to be good and to nurture your relationship with the Lord that don’t require us to do potential harm.

As an amateur Constitutional scholar and a professional citizen, I think an argument could be made that the church is outside the control of the government on this matter. In that sense, we could utilize the cry of the teenager and of the new Christians in Corinth: “All things are lawful for me!” 

“Great, right, true, folks,” St. Paul might reply, “In Christ you are set free from the requirements of the law.” (He would have meant the Torah, the Hebrew law.) “But so what? You are free to do what? To do harm? Use your freedom to build up! Let your freedom be of benefit to others!”

Of course Paul isn’t talking about lock-down orders. He is talking about food and drink. In 1 Corinthians 6 he uses the same formulation to talk about sex!  This idea applies to all of life.

Instead of being reactive and feeling controlled, be proactive and make a difference for the better.

I suggest that this isn’t just for pastors. This is for all of us. Choosing to do what is right because it is good (rather than grudgingly oblige outside forces) will lead us to health. In this case it will help maintain physical well-being, but I am convinced that this attitude will strengthen our emotional and spiritual well-being as well!

Gracious God, in Christ you have set us free. Help us to use that freedom for the good of others. Help us subject ourselves to the wisdom of science and the counsel of leaders. Help us to know that you set before us a choice. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us that we might Choose health; choose life; choose love; and choose that which builds up! Give us courage, hope, and peace. Through Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.

I am tired of reacting to the latest orders, and living in hope of returning to normal. I am tired of being told what I can’t do. So I choose to live differently. To see this as the new normal and to celebrate what I can do.

To that end I announce to you that Pentecost, the birthday of the church, will be our re-birth day. For the past year we have been remodeling our worship space. We have taken the opportunity of having a new pastor to answer the Bishop’s call to envision a new church. We have stated “I see a new Community!”

Now we will put that new community in to place. We will redesign worship and all of our activities from the ground up. Instead of saying “we can’t” we will say “this we can do!” Instead of waiting for a time when we can be together in person, we will start acting now, and add the in-person parts to the mix whenever that may happen.

God is doing a new thing! Do we not perceive it?

Pastor George

Many years ago, I was driving here to work and this song came on the radio. It touched my soul so much that I had to pull into a parking lot to listen.  The song is by Laura Story and is called “Blessings”. Her husband had been diagnosed with brain cancer in the first couple of years during their marriage.  She wrote this song years later as a response to her own questioning of her faith in God after she had been caregiving for her husband for around 5 years. Their lives were not what they thought they would be, and she was having problems dealing with caring for her husband, young family, and herself.  

I had not heard or thought or this song for serval years but last week it started to play inside my head and heart.  During this time, our lives are not what we would have ever thought or wanted.  Many of us are struggling in a variety of ways, from loneliness, to not being able to have a minute to ourselves.  We are grieving for our lives the way they were.  Sometimes we pray and wonder if we are being heard.

While I do not believe that God sent COVID to teach people a lesson I do believe that God can work through this mess to bless us. I also believe that if we look carefully, we can see that God has indeed blessed us during this time.  All of us have had to reevaluate our priorities and learn to adapt to new realities and that can be a good thing.  Last week when I went shopping, I was thrilled to be able to buy flour. I had not even seen any in the store for weeks.  I even texted my husband Jeff a celebration emoji.  While I was checking out and the clerk asked how I was doing; I said how happy I was over being able to get flour. We chatted about how different things are now how simple things like being able to get flour can make us happy.  We need to be able to notice all the small blessings everyday that God have given to us.  We need to be able to look past our circumstances and see how God is working though them to bless us and others. Sometimes God’s mercies are in disguise.  

Blessings
Laura Story
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Laura Story
Blessings lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

Gracious and Loving God, I pray that we can recognize the blessings that you give us every day.  That you can open our hearts to also see the blessings that are in disguise in our lives.  May we use this time to get closer to you and closer to those that we are blessed to have in our lives. Be with us when we struggle and with those who are struggling know.  Help us to be able to do your will doing this time.  Be with those who are working on the front lines in so many ways to help others.  Open our hearts to feel your peace that passes all understanding.  Amen

Grace & Peace, Suzanne

1 Lord, you have been our help, generation after generation.

2 Before the mountains were born, before you birthed the earth and the inhabited world, from forever in the past to forever in the future, you are God.

Psalms 90:1-2

These days we all are trying our best to comply with the new standard of what it takes to stay healthy and to keep our friends and loved ones well. Some days, I confess it can get a little old. Keeping our distance, not getting to hug or hold each other, to laugh boldly or sing in the close presence of another.

Keeping our distance is a sign of our love, but what if we added a blessing as part of our distancing? What if we started to bless the space between us? The Irish Poet, John O’Donohue writes, “a blessing is a powerful and positive intention that can transform situations and people. Whenever you give a blessing, a blessing returns to enfold you.” This blessing doesn’t have to be audible, it can be a blessing said in your thoughts. If you happen to walk in your neighborhood as you pass others, or if you watch people go by from your window, offer a blessing upon them…maybe something like “may you experience each day as a sacred gift” or “may God’s peace be upon you” or “may God bless the space between us.”

And so I offer this blessing of the space between us, until we see each other face to face…

May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine upon you,                              and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.    

Numbers 6:24-26                                                                                                                   

In peace, Brenda

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks.  Philippians 4:6 

In the book of Acts, we are told of how Peter had been thrown into prison because of King Herod’s harassment of the Christians. Peter was in a difficult situation. How could his fellow Christians help? They could pray. So, they prayed intently and continuously. Their prayers were answered when an angel was sent and led Peter out of prison.

We are in difficult times right now and may be feeling anxious, lonely, or frustrated. We are doing our best by staying at home, wearing masks, having groceries delivered to our homes and washing our hands constantly.  All these things have proven to be helpful tools in flattening the curve. But as people of faith, we have another tool in our toolbox.  We have the belief in the power of prayer.  

Perhaps we are not sure exactly what to pray for or who to pray for currently.  That is ok because God knows what the needs are for all of us in this world right now. God has promised to answer our prayers and we can find comfort in that promise. We might not at first be aware of a prayer being answered because it might not be in the way we expected.  Just like the angel that led Peter out of prison, we must keep our eye open for the unexpected answers to our prayers. 

Just as God heard the prayers of the early Christians God hears our prayers, as well.  Our prayers don’t have to have big fancy words. Prayers can be a few simple words. Prayers can be said at any time of day or night. There is no “right” prayer.  God wants to be in relationship with us so anytime you want to share, God is ready to listen! So pray when you are lonely. Pray when you are frustrated. Pray when you’re happy. Pray while moving. Pray while sitting quietly. Pray for yourself. Pray for others. Just pray, pray, pray! 

Gracious God, thank you for always being there when we are ready to talk to you.  What a gift that we can come to you with whatever is on our hearts and minds without judgement. We pray for all those who are struggling in this time and for those that are in hospitals without their families nearby.  We pray for those who continue to put themselves at risk for us. We pray for those who reach out to neighbors and friends daily. We pray for those who are growing inpatient and we pray for your guidance for that time when we begin to reopen. May we do it safely for all.  

In your name we pray, Amen

Marty