Bread and More Soup Kitchen continues to serve a free to-go meal every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:15.
April 2026
Mother's Day, Sunday, April 10: Please join us for a special Mother's Day service. The women of the church will lead the service and the men will serve breakfast. Always a fun Sunday.
Sunday School: Please call our church office at 631-727-2621 if you would like your child to join. Sunday School is held during church services at 10:00.
Bible Study: Bible Study is held on Fridays from 10:00am - 11:00 am. Call the church office for the information. 631-727-2621 You can also join us on Zoom. All are welcome.
Thrift Shop: The thrift shop hours are Tuesday and Thursday 10-2 and Saturday 9-1. Clothing, knickknacks, and other small household items are accepted. No furniture or children's clothing. Please bring your donations only when we are open. Thank you for your support.
If you would like to join us on Zoom, please follow the link
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86897065711?
pwd=a0FZcDg5MnRqKz-JMQXRLVzIBTGZFQT09 to start or join a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 850 1493 9172
Pass code: 727262
Fourth Sunday of Easter
A Service of the Word
April 26, 2026 ✦ 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Prelude in g minor BWV 558 J.S. Bach
(Once the music begins we ask that you would please maintain respectful silence)
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship, we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: How awesome to gather before God!
We are here to celebrate with wide-eyed wonder.
Many: The God of all worlds is with us.
Praise God for this season of Easter.
One: Praise God for all the signs of new life.
Praise God for all we can do together.
Many: Praise God for the life and ministry of Jesus.
Praise God for all who share that ministry today.
One: Christ came to offer us abundant life.
We are here today to reclaim that gift.
ALL: We gather in the name of Jesus Christ.
We want to follow in the steps of Jesus.
*HYMN: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us No. 252
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
Let us hear your voice today, O Shepherd. Call our names and claim us as your own. Lead us beside still waters and restore our souls. Comfort those who suffer pain and loss. Assure all who are afraid. Lead us in right paths for your name’s sake. We have known your goodness and mercy in so many times and places. We open ourselves now to receive these gifts again. Unlock within us the barriers that keep us from recognizing and appreciating all the evidence of your love that surrounds us. Amen.
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
Anne Stevens Memorial Service: On Saturday, May 16th, there will
be a Memorial Service in loving memory of Anne Stevens. It will be
held at 11:30 am at the Westhampton Cemetery, Station Road
(third entrance). It will be followed by a luncheon at the Rattoballi
home, 115 Beach Road, Westhampton Beach.
RSVP James Stevens, 631-680-2567.
CHILDREN’S TIME
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
…God, beyond our knowing, yet revealed so personally in Jesus Christ, help us to embrace the abundant life you have offered us. May we follow the example of Jesus, risking abuse and suffering for the sake of your children, trusting in your abiding care for each one of us until all join in praising you with mutual goodwill and joy….
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is
the kingdom, the power, the glory, now and forever.
Amen.
OFFERING: Let Us Walk In Peace Patsy Ford Simms
* DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Acts 2:42-47 NT Page 104
❖ Psalm 23 HYMNAL Page 633
❖ 1 Peter 2:19-25 NT Page 206
❖ John 10:1-10 NT Page 90
SERMON: “Consider the Gateway”
In Scripture, there are moments when God does not merely describe what God does— but God provides us with names for God’s very self. The Holy One steps into our language and offers a profound holy pronouncement that begins with the great “I am.” These are the moments when the Creator meets the creature, the Eternal meets the time-bound, the One-who-was-and-is-and-is-to-come meets the one who is trying to make it through another rough week.
At the burning bush, Moses asked for God’s name—because a name is what you call on when you are frightened, what you hold onto when you are sent into something bigger than you. And God answered with the mystery of very self. “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Not “I was.” Not “I will be.” But “I AM.” God is not trapped in yesterday or postponed until tomorrow. He is present, sufficient, and faithful right now. Of course, in Hebrew the “I am” translates to YAHWEH.
When we come to the Gospel of John, we hear Jesus taking those same words upon His lips but adds to them. Again and again He says, “I am”—not as a mere teacher describing a helpful method, but as the Lord revealing a saving reality. “I am the bread of life.” “I am the light of the world.” “I am the good shepherd.” “I am the resurrection and the life.” “I am the true vine.” Each statement is a doorway into grace: food for the hungry soul, light for the confused traveler, care for the vulnerable, life for those who grieve, strength for those who are weary.
As today we also have the 23rd Psalm, which many of us learned begins with “The Lord is my Shepherd,” the easy route would be to provide yet another sermon on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. But if you’ve been in church a while, and I know many of you have, that particular illustration is rather stale. You’d likely just give it, the “yeah, been there, heard that.”
So rather than focus on the good shepherd stuff, I’m changing things up, as we get the rather odd “I am” saying that is often overlooked or unmentioned because it just seems rather odd. Jesus says, “I am the gate.” A gate. A point of entry. A place of decision. A boundary you must cross.
Jesus speaks this word in John 10, using an image his listeners would recognize immediately: the sheepfold. In many villages, sheep were gathered at night into an enclosed space—protected from predators, theft, and wandering.
So when Jesus says, “I am the gate for the sheep”, he is not offering a decorative metaphor. He is making a claim about access and safety, about belonging and life. About opportunity, that even may be disguised as loss. The gate is where the flock is named and known. The gate is where danger is refused and life is received.
Yet to think beyond the gate as a boundary, the gate – or specifically gateway is a passage. A gateway is a threshold where one world ends and another begins.
Most of us can point to “gateway moments”—times when life could not go back to the way it was. A diagnosis. A loss. A move. A child leaving home. A marriage beginning—or ending. These moments feel like standing in a doorway with wind behind you and unknown in front of you. You can freeze there. You can run back. Or you can step forward. And the good news is this: Jesus does not shout directions from the other side. He stands at the opening. He is the gate. He is the gateway. He meets you in the in-between.
And this is where many of us hesitate: we want the comfort of the fold without the courage of the crossing. We want protection, but not transformation. We want Jesus close enough to help us sleep, but not close enough to change the way we live.
Sometimes the doorway we must cross is not circumstantial but internal. The gateway might be moving from secrecy to honesty, from bitterness to forgiveness, from consuming to serving, from “I can handle it” to “Lord, I need You.” For some, the threshold is learning to receive love without the need to perfect it. For others, it is letting go of control and admitting that the pace you’ve been running is not faithfulness -- it’s fear dressed up as productivity.
Jesus meets us at those inward doorways too, and he does not shame us for trembling. He simply says, “Follow me,” and promises pasture on the other side.
Across cultures and centuries, people have marked thresholds with signs. We carve dates over doorframes. We hang wreaths. We post “No Trespassing.” We place crosses, mezuzahs, protective sayings, family names. A gateway feels important because it is where change happens—where strangers become guests, where wilderness becomes home, where the unknown becomes the next chapter. And because gateways matter, we instinctively want guidance and protection at the crossing.
So consider the gateway. Not only the one in the text, but the one in your own life right now. What threshold are you standing at? What decision is asking for your courage? What grief is asking for your honesty? What relationship is asking for healing? We often pray for God to change the circumstances around us, when the Spirit is quietly asking us to step through the opening God has already provided.
A pause and prayer may well be needed. The pause to consider the crossing. A pause to review the past: the learning and the joys, the victories and the sorrows, everything that has led you to the gateway moments. We let go of the past weights, that which hold us back and release it. Then the simple prayer we do well to offer at these moments as we turn a new page is “Jesus, be my gate.” And Jesus will lead you out and welcome you back to a place of safety, of true salvation.
*HYMN: God Is My Shepherd No. 479
*BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel.
Lead us back if we should stray.
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: BWV 556 J.S. Bach
Third Sunday of Easter
A Service of the Word
April 19, 2026 ✦ 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Allemande from English Suite No. 2 J.S. Bach
(Once the music begins we ask that you would please maintain respectful silence)
*CHORAL INTROIT:
We are here this day to share God's love;
We have come with burdens and cares,
For within this place, we are bound as one
In this fellowship, we share.
*CALL TO WORSHIP:
One: God has called us together for this time of worship.
God is listening to our thoughts and to our speaking.
Many: God inclines an ear to us and hears us.
God knows us better than we know ourselves.
One: Let us open our hearts to the One who gives us life.
Let us set our faith and hope in God.
Many: In one another’s presence, we renew our vows.
Together we offer our thanksgiving sacrifice.
One: God’s promises to us are ancient and ever new.
God is with us here and on all the roads we travel.
ALL: Together we lift our voices in songs of praise.
This is a day to do the works of God.
*HYMN: Joy Dawned Again on Easter Day No. 241
https://youtu.be/IAvYNiK4IlA
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION
Wondrous God, present with us when we do not know it, valuing us when we do not care for ourselves, planting in us the seed of your word even when the soil of our hearts is hard and unyielding, open our eyes to recognize you here. May we sense your presence next to us. May we hear your voice. May we know your touch. May we see you in one another and in the beauty all around us. May your reality emerge deep inside each life, transforming our thoughts and deeds and our relationship with one another. Amen.
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
Joint Meeting: On Sunday, April 26, we will be having a Joint Meeting immediately after service in the Fellowship Hall.
Friday Bible Studies: Please join us in person or via zoom on Fridays
for our Adult Bible Study Classes. Fridays 10:00-11:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
CHILDREN’S TIME
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer
…God of love and judgment, who made Jesus both Sovereign and Messiah, and who welcomed us into your family through the waters of baptism, we seek once again to know the risen Christ in our midst and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, that we might be obedient to your truth and genuine in our love for one another. May the new birth provided by your living and enduring word send us forth today as deeply committed messengers of good news…..
❖ Silent Prayer
❖ Lord's Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive
us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is
the kingdom, the power, the glory, now and forever.
Amen.
OFFERING: The Artist Craig Courtney
* DOXOLOGY AND BLESSING OF GIFTS:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, you heavenly host:
Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ Acts 2:14a, 36-41 NT Page 103
❖ Psalm 116 HYMNAL Page 699
❖ 1 Peter 1:17-23 NT Page 205
❖ Luke 24:13-35 NT Page 78
SERMON: “Give It a Minute”
Have you ever noticed that once you thought you were done and over with a challenge, the universe or at least the human condition, apparently with God's permission, sends you more of the same? For me, it’s been the test of patience.
My mom was the queen of patience. My dad was not. I’m decidedly more like my dad in that regard.
Ah, patience. We live in a world that often promises instant – or at least quick --gratification, such as faster internet without needing to wait for things to load, instant messaging, and instant meals via the microwave. Maybe we learn to wait for a few seconds but true patience, of waiting hours, days or even weeks doesn’t really get much practice, and when we need it, it’s a bit rusty. Admittedly, I’m suffering from some of that rust these days.
In the lesson we read from Acts, it seems that immediately following Peter’s sermon three thousand people were baptized. Now there definitely had to be some waiting involved. Some probably hesitated, wondering how cold the water in that river was, or asking themselves “Should I really do this? Is what they say really believable?” The amazing thing about God’s grace is that it doesn’t rush anyone. There’s room for people who act fast and for those who need more time. Peter’s message shows us that change can happen instantly, but it can also take a while. Faith isn’t one-size-fits-all, and that’s totally okay. Sometimes, God’s advice to us is simply, “Give it a minute.”
Yet the bigger “Give it a minutes comes with the gospel lesson. Two disciples are walking to Emmaus after Jesus’s resurrection. They’re confused and sad, talking about what just happened, likely trying still to process all the morning events. And then Jesus shows up, but somehow, they don’t manage to recognize him until quite a while has past.
This story certainly brings a few lessons in patience. Jesus doesn’t show up with a host of heavenly angels or any great flash of light. He just appears like another journeyer and asks about their discussion. In my read Cleopas’ retort was certainly less than patient: "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” As if to say, “how inattentive have you been?!”
Mind you, in my read, Jesus’ response to them after hearing their account was considerably less that patient, too: "Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!”
One lesson is that, perhaps, even as we occasionally need a minute to process things, we would do well to be a little more patient with others who seem a bit slow on the uptake. I’d like to think I’m better at that, but I know well, I’m not always as patient as I should be. I am glad that my German friends are… as I struggle to remember a word I had long-ago learned. Rather than “Wait a minute,” they taught me that they just use “moment.” Seems like the older we get, the more we need the “moment.”
Another lesson is that sometimes, we have to wait for understanding to come long after the journey has begun. Being patient isn’t just sitting around, it’s active, hopeful, and thoughtful. Like those disciples, we need to give our faith, doubts, and prayers some room to grow, trusting God’s timing.
Waiting is part of being human, but it’s often less than easy. Think about being stuck in traffic. I’m thinking not all of us simply stay calm and patiently wait. Admittedly, I tend to continually check the GPS for some hope of movement or at least some explanation of what’s going on. Or when waiting for an important email, how often and how quickly after the last do we check again. I’m definitely guilty of that as this house hunting adventure has taught me. And I’m still doing it, even as I wait for a contract to be sent our way.
Yet, it does come back to faith. Faith is kind of like baking bread. If you peek too soon, it stays flat; but if you wait, you get something delicious. Maybe you’re waiting for healing, reconciliation, or guidance. Maybe you’re hoping God will show up at your table. Sometimes answers come quickly, but more often, we just need to “give it a minute.”
In “Great Expectations,” Charles Dickens shows how Pip is always waiting and hoping for a better future, but it rarely shows up as fast as he wants. Pip, like all of us, figures out that the best things in life—love, forgiveness, understanding—take patience. Homer’s “Odyssey” is about Odysseus’s ten-year journey home. It’s tough, but he learns a lot along the way, and in the end, it’s worth it. Sometimes, it’s the journey that teaches us the most.
Leo Tolstoy once said, “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” That’s particularly true with spareribs or any slow roast. Sometimes, in life and faith, the best results happen when we let things simmer and unfold on their own.
“Give it a minute.” Perhaps we can learn to wait with hope, not frustration. In Acts, some people were quick to respond; others took their time. On the road to Emmaus, the big reveal happened after a long walk. In our lives, answers might not come right away, but God is always there—walking with us, listening, and eventually sharing a meal.
Patience. We’re called to be patient with each other and patient with God, even as God is patient with us. We learn not all of life walks as at the same pace. There are some things that are definitely slower to develop than we’d like them to be. It’s not that the hope won’t be realized, it just that it’ll take a bit more time than we desired.
Remember, God is on your side. God answers prayer. Trust, wait, give thanks, and know that patience isn’t easy, but good things do come to those who wait.
*HYMN: Open My Eyes, That I May See
https://youtu.be/GDceaG7kFQA
*BENEDICTION
CHORAL BENEDICTION:
May the light of God shine on us today.
May the light of God shine on us today.
May it show us where to travel.
Lead us back if we should stray.
May the light of God shine on us today.
POSTLUDE: Basse de Tierce Lambert Chaumont
We're biblical, traditional, yet progressive.
We honor and take pride in our
Congregational roots.
We covenant with one another and with God,
as revealed
in Jesus Christ through the illumination of
the Holy Spirit.
We endeavor to walk humbly with God and
strive for justice and peace.
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 56.7
We are an open and affirming congregation in which all persons regardless of race, ethnic background, economic status, gender, age, or personal ability, are equally affirmed into membership, leadership and employment
and joyfully welcomed.
Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary is in the office Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary is in the office Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Worship on Sundays at 10:00am.
No matter who you are or where you are in life's journey, you are welcome here.
103 1st Street, Riverhead, New York 11901, United States
Open today | 09:00 am – 12:00 pm |
Our church office is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am-12:00. Church services are held on Sunday at 10:00am, and coffee hour in the fellowship hall following the worship service. Sunday School will be held at 10:00 am. (To run concurrent with our worship service)
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