We are an open and affirming member of the United Church of Christ and no matter who you are or where you are in life's journey, you are welcome here. Contact the Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Murray at 631-727-2621 for more information.
Announcements:
The May/ June Beacon Light is now available.
The Alley Cat Thrift Shop is open Tuesdays and Thursdays 10-2 and Saturdays 9- Donations only accepted when the shop is open. Volunteers always welcome.
There will be no Sunday School during the Summer. Please call our church office for information.
Congratulations to Pastor Murray for receiving the President's Award from the Riverhead Rotary Club for his dedication and loyal service.
If you would like to join us on Zoom , please follow the link
Join Zoom Meeting:
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pwd=a0FZcDg5MnRqKz-JMQXRLVzIBTGZFQT09 to start or join a scheduled Zoom meeting.
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Passcode: 7272621
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
A Service of the Word
July 21, 2024 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Prelude Ravel
(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: Come away and rest for a while.
Leave behind your busyness to be fully present to God.
Many: We have come for relief from life’s turmoil.
God gathers us as a shepherd gathers the sheep.
One: God’s steadfast love surrounds us here.
We are reminded of God’s enduring faithfulness.
Many: This is God’s house, and we are God’s children.
God invites us to feel at home in this place.
One: We have a covenant with our creator.
This is a time for renewal of our promises.
ALL: God calls for righteousness and justice.
God offers us goodness and mercy all of our days.
*HYMN: Let Me Enter God’s Own Dwelling No. 67
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
…Wonderful Creator, you come to us with power and gentleness, strength and compassion, peace and joy. We come to you with hope and hopelessness, love and heartbreak, thanksgiving and lament. You fortify us as we go on our journey, assured of your presence and renewed by your love. Give us rest in our coming and our going. Give us joy in ministering in your name. May our worship restore our soul as we dwell in your presence….
CHILDREN’S TIME
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS:
Church Barbeque: We’re planning on some summertime fun after church Sunday August 4th. The hot dogs and hamburgers will be supplied, but you’re invited to bring a side to share.
Please see the sign-up sheet on the kitchen door.
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer:
…Healing God, whose touch we have sought and known, and whose compassion has surrounded us like a Good Sheperd’s care for wandering sheep, we give you thanks and praise. We pray that you would again show us the dimensions of health and wholeness that can restore us to faithful and abundant life. We pray to discover your fullness anew that we may always walk in the surety of your love for us…
❖ 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 & OFFERTORY:
You’ll Never Walk Alone (R&H) Soloist: Marion Stark
*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:
❖ 2 Samuel 7:1-14a OT Page 261
❖ Psalm 89:20-37 HYMNAL Page 678
❖ Ephesians 2:11-22 NT Page 170
❖ Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 NT Page 34
SERMON: “In Search of the Holy Places”
Given that you’re in church this day, I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that you’ve given some thought about God, about holy places and holy times. The hope and the prayer is that when we come to church, or seek out the holy even in other settings, we will be touched by the Holy One, blessed, filled, moved by the Spirit. The question then for our quest is where can God best be found?
The immediate answer, perhaps, is that God is best found on the holiest place – or even places -- on earth.What are those exceptional holy places? The faithful of different traditions will have different answers. For some, the quest must lead to Jerusalem. But Jerusalem is a big city, and certainly the airport or hotel is not going to do it. For others, the quest leads to Mecca. But Mecca, in Saudia Arabia, is another big city, and so again the search must be better pinpointed. For yet others, India, Japan, Cambodia, Bhutan, or even Italy (specifically Rome) are the countries to visit in search of the holy. Seemingly regardless of the country, seeking out what is considered by many as the holiest place will lead to a large church, temple or shrine. For example, there’s the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, the Great Mosque of Mecca, in Saudi
Arabia, the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh in Acre, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India (Sikhism), and the Ise Grand Shrine in Japan (Shintoism) among others. Building a house, a shrine or temple, for the Holy One of the Holy Place always seems to come to mind for generations of our civilization.
Consequently, it comes as no surprise that for David, in our first lesson, the holiest place for God was not a tent of meeting, regardless of how nice or big that tent was, but in a temple built with the lovely cedars of Lebanon. And so, he seeks to construct one. But the word that comes is not that such is a bad idea, but that David wouldn’t be the one the one to construct it. That task would fall to his
offspring. (The informed reader knows that to be Solomon.)Yet even if we could zoom back in time and visit that eventual cedar temple that Solomon built, I
imagine we’d run into the same problems as we do for the other sites that I’ve named. Even though our search for the holiest place on earth can be pinpointed to a specific wonder of a construction, once therethe visit most often results in a bit of a letdown. We discover that the holy place is not one in which we can find ourselves even remotely alone with God, but instead it’s crowded with tourists. There are lines, and noise, cameras, and roped-off sections. All too often the search results in visiting something more
like a museum than a place of enlightenment and rich blessing.
In our Gospel lesson, the search for the holy did not land the people in any temple or museum. The crowds who sought the blessings knew to go where Jesus could be found. They went into the villages, cities and farms, and spread mats about, even in marketplaces. That’s a very different look from the holy sites previously mentioned. Yet is that where we’d best find the Holy One today?If we were to take our lead from Paul, we’d have even more of conundrum on our hands. As Paul writes
to the gentiles-by-birth of Ephesus, he doesn’t point to any human construction, but rather to a spiritual one build by God: He speaks of the faithful, the uncircumcised included, as being “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” And Paul continues to assert that in Christ “the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in
the Lord in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”
Hmmm. So what do we do with all of that in our search for the Holy? Where can God best be found by us?Although some will assert, and rightly so, that God can be found in a field, on a beach, or in a garden, the question is: Is that where you are best blessed by the Holy? Is that where you feel most connected to the Divine? Have you turned that beach or bench, or any of your places, into your holiest place on the
earth you know?If you really think about it, the quest for the Holy doesn’t have to involve a long plane ride or a grueling hike up a long path to a shrine of other lands. The holiest place for us may, and I think even likely is, right here where we are. It’s in the sanctuary we know where the rays of the sun stream through old
stained-glass windows, where organ notes calm the soul, and soloists surround us with blessing. It’s in the pews, gathered with the faithful about, where calm and sincere prayers are offered, and even silence speaks the Word. It’s the holy place, the holiest place, of our days of our journeys, a place to return to
where God can always be found.Take time and open your heart to blessing that is, not in a cathedral or massive temple of streaming tourists and shuffling, but here in the humble and gentle setting of a sanctuary without gilded glitter or
exceptional opulence. For rather than discovering a treat for the eyes, there’s a treat for the soul to be found in the gentle blessing of the sanctuary’s spiritual warmth on a Sunday morning that solves the quest for the Holy. The Holy is here. Be blessed by God.
*HYMN: Shall We Gather at the River No. 597
https://youtu.be/v1qnjd23YQM
*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: Granada Albeniz
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
A Service of the Word
July 14, 2024 10am
OPENING WORDS:
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together.
PRELUDE: Melody Smith
(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: Blessed be the God and parent of our Savior Jesus Christ!
Thank God for every spiritual blessing.
Many: May the glory of God be known in this place!
May God’s peace dwell in this and every land!
One: Who shall ascend the hill to reach for God?
Who shall stand in God’s holy place?
Many: Those who have clean and pure hearts,
Those who are not false or deceitful.
One: God speaks peace to those who are faithful.
Lift up your heads and hearts to God.
ALL: We have come to hear the word of truth.
We turn to God, eager to receive salvation.
*HYMN: For the Beauty of the Earth No. 28
https://youtu.be/3pO7MIiICG0
WELCOME
PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
…Ruler of all worlds, whose glory surrounds our unseeing eyes, our muffled hearing and dulled
emotions, come and awaken us to the mystery of your Word and will. Whisper anew to our hearts with
a word of renewal and transformation. Touch us with your healing grace and comfort all the broken hearted. Let your Spirit move among us so we may recognize your presence in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Help us to respond to your goodness with genuine praise….
CHILDREN’S TIME
PASSING OF THE PEACE
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
A TIME OF PRAYER:
❖ Pastoral Prayer:
…Good and gracious, most holy God, you are the giver of life amide the hatred and cruelty that continues to plague our world. Help and all to hear your voice and accept your leading. Equip us with your goodness and grace that we may be more caring, compassionate and considerate of
those around us. Embrace us, O God, in your care….
❖ 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: Pastorale Purvis
*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.
LITANY OF HEALING:
Together we lift our prayers to you, O God of love and healing.
God, our Father and Mother in Heaven, you breathe life into
your whole Creation.
Help us breathe deeply of your peace and presence.
God the Son, you give us yourself to make our joy complete.
Help us move in concert with your life-giving motion.
God the Holy Spirit, you move through our lives in unexpected ways
Help us surrender our fear, pain, and grief to you.
Holy Trinity, One God, accept our thanks and praise for all the blessings
of this life, especially for those blessings that our present circumstances make difficult to see.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
Shed the light of your healing love on all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit,
that they may find new wholeness illumined by your grace.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
Knit together in your love all whose relationships have frayed,
that they may find reconciliation and new beginnings.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
Bless all who work to improve the health of others, that they may bring hope, care, wisdom, and skill to all they
serve.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
Hold in the palm of your hand all who are near death and all who care for them,
that they may know the peace that passes all understanding.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
You are the Lord whose promises never cease.
You are the Lord whose presence never fails.
Gracious God, you are close to us no matter how far we feel from you.
Draw us into the very heart of your grace and help us to live into the truth
that nothing in all creation can separate us from your love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
❖ 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19 OT Page 260
❖ Psalm 24 HYMNAL Page 634
❖ Ephesians 1:3-14 NT Page 169
❖ Mark 6:14-29 NT Page 35
SERMON: “Side-stepping the Soul-dimmers”
“Hey honey, I cleaned the windows”
“Well, that’s something. But what about the sills and those frames? Did you not notice them?”
“Surprise. I made diner for us.”
“Potatoes? You made potatoes? You do realize I’m on a diet, don’t you?”
Soul-dimmers. They come in many shapes and sizes, and the readings even feature some others. It’s a good thing we have the lovely middle lesson from Paul’s hand as the other two readings offer less than a wonderful picture of the goodness of our world and society. Paul has some genuinely good news, including a look at God “who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.” He writes of our redemption, forgiveness, and the riches of God’s grace “that he lavished on us.” And there’s good hope and praise in there, too. It’s all nice nice. That’s the kind of stuff to make the soul bright.
On the other hand, the other two readings give us a sad look at some of the ugliest aspects of humanity. Specifically, both our Old Testament lesson and our Gospel lesson feature woman who rather than illustrate for us sacred virtues, such as understanding, forgiveness, love, kindness or peace, speak and act selfishly, without any regard for the wellbeing of others, and in the case of Herodias, the mother, she acts downright wickedly. These are clearly bitter women with unfortunate histories who apparently were never taught, or at least never learned, how a faithful and loving child of God should behave.
We begin with our reading from 2 Samuel. With God’s help, David won battles over the Philistines; but in one battle, the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. While it was in their hands, they suffered a plague which they blamed on the Ark, and so returned it to Israel. It stayed for a time in the house of Abinadab in Baale-judah, but then David and his people brought the ark in a festal procession to Jerusalem.
He dances with all his might before the Lord, leading the people in celebration. David himself offers sacrifices to the Lord, burnt offerings, and offerings of well-being. He blesses the people and feeds them, meat and raisin cakes. This was a big day. Everyone is bright and cheery. Nice, nice.
But then there’s Michal, the daughter of the dead king Saul and now one of David’s wives, who wasn’t having any of it. She stayed in the house and just looked on with derision at David and all of the festivities. And when David returned to bless his household, she came out to meet David and offered snide comments
from a bitter heart. Rather than praising the new king for his generosity or faithfulness unto the Lord, she calls him vulgar and arrogant, self-honoring. Our gospel lesson features not one but two troubled women, namely both Herodias (King Herod Antipas’
wife) and her daughter. After dancing and pleasing the king so much she gets to ask for whatever she wants, the daughter asks her mother for advice. Her mother was still harboring a grudge against John the Baptist whom the king was holding in prison. John had rebuked the king for taking her, his brother’s wife, the very same Herodias, as his own. Rather than tell her daughter to ask for something truly magnanimous
from the king, Herodias has her daughter ask for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. That’s just dark.
If we’re to learn through history, we must consider where any fix might be. Granted that Michal had it rough. She lived at a time when women were treated like chattel and eventually David would take her as one of his queens, and that in front of her weeping and devoted husband. As one of the wives of the king, something she never sought to be, she was apparently unhappy. But still, it could be worse. After all,
David was king, and we have good reason to believe that those in the king’s household live comfortably and there’s nothing in our Biblical texts that suggests she was at all mistreated. But still in her eyes, it’s not what she wanted. Even when there is cause for rejoicing, she remains tucked away with all her bitterness and loathing, and makes the situation considerable worse. Acceptance and learning to live anew, in a new place with a new role, would have done much to help Michal adjust her bitterness. Rather than remaining solitary and joyless, she could have entered in the
celebration, put her best foot forward, and perhaps even ending up as a favorite wife. Yet this is not a choice she makes, and consequently the image of her we are offered is that of a woman bound by her loathing, bitter and empty. Her negative outlook on life was likely long seen by others. Yet apparently no one tried to help her out of
it. David, most of all, could have done much to sidestep that bitterness by countering it with compassionate understanding and helped her to embrace some of the good stuff that Paul talks about. But for her, hope and praise is yet far off. And as for Herodias and her daughter, come on. There was plenty of room for correction there. The daughter could have questioned her mom after mom tells her to ask for a man’s head on a platter. At the very least, the daughter could have said, “Mom, what the hell is wrong with you?” But there was none of that. And once the request is made, certainly King Herod could have easily sidestepped that. He could have used it as a good teaching moment and present a lesson in good parenting. But instead, Herod, who
esteemed John, was too concerned about what it would look like if he didn’t honor the request and so just goes along with it. That’s yet another seriously bad choice and one that was obviously influenced by a principal soul-dimmer.
In the face of soul-dimmers, we have the choice: we can just let them run with their perpetual negativity or we can seek to help them out of it. The negative can be countered with, “So what’s good?” “What are you thankful for?” Or even with humor: “You’re right Michal, that pirouette was definitely off.” The head, really? Your hostess skills are really going to need to some finetuning.”
The biggest hope is for us to find that which illumines our souls and helps us shine so that our hope, our rejoicing, can be shared and work to lift others out of their darkness. Just as negativity can be contagious, positivity can work that way too. And focusing on the good, the praiseworthy, and the hopeful is the dance step we all need as we sidestep the soul dimmers.
*HYMN: This Is a Day of New Beginnings #417
https://youtu.be/cqORaqZtC9w
*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: Fantasy Bach