Bread and More Soup Kitchen continues to serve a free to-go meal every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:15.
Bread and More Soup Kitchen continues to serve a free to-go meal every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:15.
PLEASE NOTE: CHURCH SERVICES RESUMED IN THE SANCTUARY BEGINNING OCTOBER 18 AT 10AM. PLEASE WEAR A MASK AND SOCIAL DISTANCE. ALL ARE WELCOME.
OCTOBER 25, 2020
Today is the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, October 25. It's a very autumnal day here in the Northeast, complete with leaves falling from well-colored trees. There is much beauty to behold. God is all around.
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together:
Call to Worship:
Gather together to hear stories of faith and courage.
Listen for the ways God has acted among us.
Our ancestors in the faith listened for God’s word.
All praise and thanks to our still-speaking God.
They dared to believe God’s promises.
Leaders like Moses and Paul saw evidence of God’s work.
They believed they were face-to-face with God’s truth.
They looked beyond the present moment.
They lived for dreams not yet realized.
Many felt God’s love in knowing Jesus.
They experienced a new relationship with neighbors.
We have come seeking community centered in Christ.
We want to feel God’s presence as we worship.
Opening Prayer:
Good and Gracious God, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the earth was formed, long before there were people on this planet, you were fashioning life in its myriad forms. Out of the billions of years you have been creating, our lives have come to this moment of meeting. We stand in awe before you, amazed to discover that you care about us. We thank you for this time, and for your Holy Spirit that surrounds us. We praise you, O God, for your glory. We thank you for your long love for us and for our kin and we give you thanks for this new day and opportunities to refocus and get things right.
O, God, we want our lives to count for something. Show us how to fit into your plans. Lead us to do what you have us do, and help us to honor and respect one another. Speak you words of grace and truth to us and grant us the resolve we need to do what we know is right and true and just. Grace us with eyes to see the goodness that you have set before us, and rescue us from the pessimism and doubt that clouds our souls. Bless us in this time of worship, and comfort our hearts. It is in Jesus' Name we gather and we pray. Amen.
Hymn: "Beautiful Day" (Jamie Grace)
Our Scripture Lessons: (attached)
Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Psalm 90.1-6; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-46
Reflection: <Lift up the best of>
For the first time in our history, we have many days of in-person voting. The days have begun with long lines as hundred wait to cast their votes. These days come amid the pandemic that surrounds us and that is still claiming hundreds of lives each day throughout our country. These days come amid rancorous speech and a steep political divide. These voting days come on the heels of Black Lives Matter protests and in the middle of a contentious Supreme Court disagreement. This is sure to be an election with far-reaching consequences and one with potential to further escalate the divisions that we've seen between us and among us.
Sad news and negative political campaigning has captured the air waves and print media. Regardless of which way things go, there is likely still going to be large swaths of people who are unhappy. Neither you nor I are likely to see all the candidates we'd like to win come out on top. Not all the decisions that are made are going to be those we are content with. But that is democracy. We don't always see eye to eye with our spouses. It's unrealistic to think that we'll always see eye to eye with any elected politician. And yet I do believe that regardless of outcomes there is still a way to bring people together again, to feel that we are again united, but it's going to take some doing.
It's not always easy to see the good, but there is always good to be seen. Regardless of the streams of our days, of the hardships of our journeys, there is still good to be lifted up and thanks to be offered.
I know some people who really aren't all that fond of the Old Testament. Some would be just fine with the decision to eliminate it all together from our Bibles and to reclassify Christian Scripture as the New Testament only. But such would make for a big loss. There are important lessons and wonderful accounts of great ancestors of our faith in the Old Testament. There is prose and poetry to move the soul, and an emergent theology that is vital to our faith.
Even for the haters, there is much good to be lifted up. If any were to consider the "best of" the Old Testament, the list would likely be longer than they first imaged. Certainly Moses would be on that list. Our first lesson today sums up his life's work, his remarkable value in a few short sentences: "Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel." The accounts of the miracle of Passover, the crossing into freedom from slavery, of manna from heaven and water from the rock, of giving the people the 10 commandment, the struggle with faith in times of doubt, these are all bedrock accounts of our faith.
The Book of Psalms, too, with its rich poetry, lofty images and pithy expressions -- "Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations," "The Lord is my shepherd," "Make a joyful noise to the Lord" -- has added much to our faith and understanding of our God who cares for us.
It just takes a little digging, a bit of thought, to find the best of, but one has to be willing to do so.
It's easier, for most of us anyway, to the list the "best of" in the New Testament. Jesus, with the miracle birth story of Christmas, the healing accounts and feeding accounts, and Easter's glorious resurrection, would be at the top. But so too would many of his teachings, perhaps first and foremost would be his summary of the law and the prophets, the Golden Rule: "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." That perhaps is the best of "the best of."
Paul, with his many lessons of compassion and suffering, of inclusion and union, would also have to be on the list. It was Paul who opened up the Church to all. And there are, of course, many more gems, many more faithful accounts and heroes of our tradition of faith that could find their way on our lists. It just takes some thought, some careful consideration.
This same strategy of looking to the best of, of lifting up the good, can be applied in most all of life. But when it comes to politics, to voting results and decisions that come down to us from Washington that we don't agree with, it may well take more effort. It'll likely be hard to get past some of the negative political ads, to overlook some of the blatant failures or shortcomings of some who will be elected. Yet there is good to be found. Feel what you may about Trump or Biden, about Zeldin or Goroff, about Laura Jens-Smith or Jodi Giglio, there is good to be found in all. The challenge is to look deeply and with a faithful eye that strives deeply to find the good in all the children of God. There is some good that can and has come out of their leadership, but we must be willing to see it.
If we're sincere about wanting to find peace in our days, if we're sincere about trying to love all our neighbors as ourselves, if we're sincere about striving to find union in diversity and healing in broken times, we have to be willing to look to the "best of" and to lift it up. We have to trust God, again and again, and even trust the power of God to work through each other and our nation, to restore the harmony we need and to bring the healing that all of us long for. Look to the good, lift up the "best of," give thanks, and be blessed by God.
Prayer:
Eternal God, whose wisdom defies our limited insights, and whose commandments are from everlasting to everlasting, open our hearts and souls and minds to your love that surrounds us and seeks a dwelling place in us. Help us to regard ourselves as your valuable children and accord the same care and concern to others as we would, at our best, lavish on ourselves. May our lives honor you and display the power of your love to the world.
Gracious God, heal us we pray. Heal our nation and our world from the pandemic that holds us captive. Guide, bless, and strengthen the healers, the researchers, the rescue workers and all those who labor in the peril so that they may be best enabled to bring health and wholeness to us all. Bless your people, O God, especially in these election days, with wisdom and insight to put in place your agents of care and compassion that will do much to lead us where you would have us go.
Holy One, we pray for peace. We pray for an end to all rancor and division, an end to the violence of our days, an end to the prejudices that separate us from those you love and care for. Grace us with your peace, in our schools, in our communities, throughout our nation and our world. Help us to work together and to build one another up in love.
We pray for our world that is coming into being. Guide us in ways that respect the earth and each other. Look after our children and all the new ones that are coming into being in these days of darkness and trouble.
We pray for the hungry and the homeless, for the lost and wandering, for the addicted and recovering, for the anxious and battered and bereaved. Bless them with angels of compassion and concern, of guidance and wisdom, in their midst, and grant them the strength and insight they need to bring about genuine change for the better. Strengthen, O God, our resolve, to make ourselves and our world better and more reflective of your love for us all.
We pray for ourselves, our families and friends. Rescue, heal, protect and encourage us all. Dear God, you know the concerns of our own hearts. Hear our prayers and answer them, those we bring to you aloud and those we lift to you in silence. We pray for the many on our prayer list, bless them and heal them. Bless us all, O God, and grant us your saving presence in our midst. We ask these things in Jesus' Name who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father who art in heaven...."
Hymn: "Give Me Your Eyes" (Brandon Heath)
https://youtu.be/P5AkNqLuVgY
Benediction:
May our God and the righteous and pure Spirit of our ancestors in faith, bless you and strengthen you. May God grace you with eyes to see and ears to see the holiness around you. May God long guide you in ways of grace and peace. Amen and amen.
October 11, 2020
Today is the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 11. It's the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend, and it would usually be our Riverhead Country Fair Day, but again, this year is different. Nonetheless, here's hoping your holiday weekend is going well and filled the blessings of our God.
We open our hearts to the presence of God and worship together:
Call to Worship:
Praise the Lord, God's steadfast love endures forever.
Come away from the valleys of misplaced loyalty.
Come, seeking to meet the God of all worlds.
Come to praise God and give thanks.
Be reminded once again that God’s steadfast love endures forever.
We pause with a time of worship that our faith might be strengthened.
We seek the strength to live by all we profess.
God’s awesome deeds saved our ancestors.
Surely God’s steadfast love continues with us.
God continues to deliver us in times of distress.
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
We rejoice that God is near and available to us.
We hear God welcoming us to this time of prayer.
Praise the Lord, God's steadfast love endures forever.
Opening Prayer:
Good and Gracious God, you have invited and welcomed us to this time of worship. We give you thanks for your ready availability and your love that draws us in. You draw us away from the idols we create to take your place. In prayer, we sense that there is nothing in life that can substitute for a vital relationship with you. But we are only dimly aware of who you are. All the mysteries of the universe are in your hands, yet you have made yourself known among the people of this earth. We catch glimpses of your work among us and are amazed. Help us to genuinely sense the nearness of your presence today. Help us to stand firm in the faith.
Loving one, you know the situations of our days and the concerns of our hearts. We look to you to speak a word of truth and love to us. Bless us with the insights we need to push ahead with grace and peace. Be with us in this time, settle our nerves, and enable us to be faithful followers and people who do right by you, ourselves and our neighbors. It is in Jesus' Name we gather and we pray. Amen.
Hymn: "Spirit of the Living God"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK-O5nfL1Mo
Our Scripture Lessons: (attached)
Exodus 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14
Reflection:
Frankly, I've long found Jesus' parable about the wedding which we read today to be a bit harsh. Mind you, I fully understand that it speaks of the new converts to Christianity and the violent treatment they received from the leading Jews of the day, those who were first invited. But it's the conclusion of it that troubles us, especially with our 21st century mindsets. To be thrown into the outer darkness of suffering and death certainly seems to be very harsh treatment for not having a robe. We think, well, maybe he didn't have a wedding robe to wear. Yet Biblical scholars note a tradition that the host of such a party provided dressy clothes for those who needed them. So if someone had shown up without the right clothes, the king's’ servants would have offered him a chance to change. Yet apparently, this one didn't bother to take the time to or make the effort to get donned in the proper robe. Perhaps he thought it wasn't needed, that he could get away without one. Maybe it was uncomfortable, too hot, and caused his glasses to fog up.
The robe is meant to tickle our thought processes...to get us to consider what it really means, and what we need to truly be chosen. Theologically, the robe is the grace of Christ. It's the grace of Christ that is readily available for all and freely given. The robe of Jesus' salvation is what gets us in and keeps us in.
But we can also take the lesson out of the theological world and apply the lesson to our world, even to our pandemic days. These days the robe is like the mask we wear. Without it, we don't get into the store or restaurant. Of course, there are many who think that such isn't needed, that they can get on just fine without one. But that is just testing the boundaries to see what one can get away with. And that puts everyone in more danger than necessary.
I am quite certain that who infected others of late didn't mean to do it. They just didn't know they were carriers. Then, in a gathering with many a non-mask wearer, the infection spread. This has happened in several places of late, from Jewish Orthodox services in Brooklyn and Queens to the White House. We should know enough by now to keep such from happening, but it's a matter of testing the boundaries. The more and more we do such stuff, the longer the virus will be with us.
It seems the early Jews in Moses day also faced a similar issue. They wanted more than the restrictions of the newly given commandments were allowing them to have. Moses was delayed, so maybe, they thought, he was just wrong all along. They wanted their idols, tangible objects to see and hold onto that would give them a greater sense of who they were. They with the golden calf decided to test the boundaries to get what they wanted, there and then. They pushed ahead with their desires, with their need to placate their urge for a greater sense of being. Fortunately, for them, it didn't prove to be their end, but they sure came close. If it weren't for Moses, they definitely would have met a fate similar to the unchosen guest.
It's too often we continue to see such behavior. The addict gives up the main addiction but then pushes the boundaries with other substances to placate or escape, and it gets them into trouble as the boundary continues to be pushed until it ends up crossing over.
Here at church, we'll move into our sanctuary again for the first time since March. It won't be like it used to be. Like the Jews of old, we too have been given new directives, new rules to follow. Inside, closed-air environments, are riskier than outside. You will be asked to respect the rules, to not test the boundaries. The back of the pews are marked with blue tape. One piece indicates that one person sits in that spot, and two for two. For the most part, two people of the same household that want to sit together are asked to sit in the middle of the longer pews. It's not rocket science; I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're asked, of course, to wear masks and to keep your distance from each other. And of course, if not feeling well, you're asked to stay home. If you have announcements to make, you're asked to give them to me prior to service, so I can announce them from the pulpit. I'll send the plan for reopening out this week.
Our aim is for best practices. We'll wonder, can't we do more, can't we test the boundaries more? We could, but boundary testing leads to danger and we're aiming to do better than that. As has been shown time and time again, it just takes one infected person to jeopardize many.
Boundaries. Life is full of them. We need to recognize our own and honor them. We need to recognize the comfort level of others and respect them, too.
I'll conclude with Paul's good words, and with the hope we can all take them to heart:
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Be blessed by God. Amen.
Prayer:
Loving and merciful God, you have long blessed us with fine leaders and guideposts for our journey, and we are thankful. We're thankful for the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters who have helped us on our way. We are thankful for teachers and mentors, for pastors and guidance counselors, and wise colleagues who have all shared their knowledge with us, to help us discover the best within us. Bless them all, and help them guide your people on your way.
We pray for the many who have lost their way, for those who have turned to idols or sought to placate desire in dangerous ways. We pray for the addicted and depressed, for the lonely and afraid, we pray for those whose need is great and whose resources are scarce. Holy one, help the helpless and confused, the poor and the destitute.
Lord in your mercy, help those who lead us. Grace them with ears to hear your words of life and love, and guide them to be best enabled to direct and protect us. We ask that you would place angels in our path to lift us up when we are low, and who bring us comfort in our suffering.
We pray, O God, for the homeless and the hungry, the battered and bereaved, the new unemployed and those who see no clear way out of their dark places. We pray for those who are suffering through nature's storms and raging fires. Bless them with eyes to see your light of hope, with the resolve they need to turn things around, and with angels in their paths.
We pray for ourselves each one. Bless us all in our sore and broken places. Comfort our hearts and ease our burdens. Be with our families and our friends, and nurture and protect them with your blessing of love, of peace, and of well-being.
Dear God, you know the concerns of our own hearts. Hear our prayers and answer them, those we bring to you aloud and those we lift to you in silence. We pray for the many on our prayer list, bless them and heal them. Bless us all, O God, and grant us your saving presence in our midst. We ask these things in Jesus' Name who taught us to pray saying, "Our Father who art in heaven...."
Hymn: "O for a World"
Benediction:
May our God, the Good Shepherd and Savior of our souls, long bless you with the guidance and care that you need, may God enable your heart and hands to a blessing to others, and may God long keep you in a sustaining embrace of faith. Be blessed by God. Amen and amen.
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.
All activities are currently suspended. Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary, Henza is in the office most Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
All activities are currently suspended. Our church office is open for phone calls at 631-727-2621. Pastor Sean will return your calls. Our secretary, Henza is in the office most Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Please join us for 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 | 10:00 am – 11:30 am |
Our church office is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am-12:00. Church services are held on Sunday at 10:00am followed by coffee hour in the fellowship hall. Sunday School is held at 10:00 am.
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