At the risk of sounding way more like Eeyore than I actually feel, I do want to let you know what a downer it was to see so few folks at worship last Sunday as we began the fall program. I'm not sure what happened; all I know is that we did not "hit the ground running."
That's a shame, because we really do have a lot of great things planned for fall, and they will only work as well as we, together, make them work. As Woody Allen observed, 90 percent of life is just showing up. The other ten percent only works when we do show up.
With that in mind, I want to share here, and below, several things that are on our fall list of possibilities. Please, please, please let me know if you would like to be part of any of these.
We begin, as always, in worship. This Sunday we will feature a "dialogue sermon," and you will be the dialogue partner. Obviously, this will only work if you show up. You can make the experience all the richer by checking out these readings in advance:
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1;
1 Timothy 2:1-7; and
Luke 16:1-13. What questions do these texts raise for you? Bring them to worship Sunday morning and we'll wrestle with them together.
Second, during coffee time following worship the worship planning team will meet. If you have thoughts on worship (and you do), please join the group for its conversation. The best and most compelling parts of our worship during the past two years have come out of this small group's discussions of what we do together on Sunday morning. Please come and bring your own ideas because we need them. Our collective best in worship is what we owe to God, and we can only bring our best if each of us brings it.
Third, plan to join our sisters and brothers from other progressive Presbyterian congregations at a
workshop on worship for the progressive church, Sunday, September 25, at 5:00 p.m. at Takoma Park Presbyterian.
Finally, I am really not Eeyorish, but I do know that we are at our best when we all show up. Indeed, I am feeling rather more like Pooh:
"'Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were
underneath it?' 'Supposing it didn't,' said Pooh. After careful thought
Piglet was comforted by this."
So, take heart, no tree has fallen on us.
peace,
The session-led "parties with a purpose" have begun and are already bearing fruit. You may have noticed some additional announcements in worship concerning the origins or purposes of hymns and anthems. This comes in direct response to conversation in one of the groups.