I will not let thee go, till I thy name, thy nature know.
(Jacob wrestles)
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Dear eFirsters:
Greetings from
Annual Conference
in Boise, Idaho, where I am surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses including those from our faith community:
Pastor Adam
,
Charlotte
and
Lee Sutton,
Donna Haines
, my husband
Brian,
and
Jessie Cummins
.. soon to be
Pastor
Jessie!
Last night
Jessie
Cummins was
commissioned
(the first official sacramental step on the ordination process).
And today
my retirement
is recognized.
It really is an
Elijah/Elisha moment
.
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It's Going to be a Glorious and Full Sunday!
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This Sunday
is so rich! Brian and I will careen out of here tomorrow morning in order to be present in worship with you on this my
penultimate
Sunday (
Pastor
Adam
will be passing us up I'm sure!).
On Sunday our children will be blessed with the Godly Play ministry. Director
Kay Graham
wants parents to know:
This week we will read a story about a boy who must leave his home and find another. He brings with him a teacup full of earth from the place where he grew up, and sets off to sea. Some days, the journey is peaceful, and the skies are cloudless and bright. Some days, storms threaten to overturn his boat. And some days, the smallest amount of hope grows into something glorious. At last, the boy finds land, but it doesn't feel complete . . . until another traveler joins him, bearing the seed to build a new home." It is a perfect story for discussing all of life’s toughest challenges and transitions—a big move, a divorce, changes in our church, long-distance separation, or even the current refugee crisis—in a way that’s reassuring and inspiring.
Please invite your children to bring an item from home
that is special to them and helps them to feel safe. We will set aside time at the end of our story to share our special item and tell the group why it is special to us.
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Analaura
Betancourt Penaloza will play the piano prelude
Sonatina in C Op. 36 No.1
.
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The scripture is Jacob wresting the Angel, found in
Gen. 32: 22-31
r
ead it here.
Charles Wesley
wrote one of my favorite hymns based on this very passage
:
O, Come thou Traveler Unknown
.
In it the speaker/Jacob keeps asking
the question
of the entity he is wrestling with:
But who, I ask thee,
who art thou?
Tell me thy name,
and tell me now!
Finally in the last verses (there are 14 verses in the original), he comes to the conclusion:
Thy nature and thy name is Love!
The hymn is # 387. (To listen to this hymn tune,
watch here
.)
For the full text of the 14 verses
go here
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As you ponder your own life of faith, and
this story of Jacob,
where have you wrestled with God? What has been the
lasting limp
that reminds you of that encounter?
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In worship we will both sing and read
Psalm 42
together, and
Shira Fadeley
will play
As the Deer
on the handbells. The choir’s anthem will then echo Psalm 42 in
Like as the Hart.
To read
The Message
’s paraphrase of Psalm 42,
read here
.
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In this worship season of
Transition,
we have someone each week from the congregation offer a
Prayer for These Times.
This week,
Karen Love Baisinger
will offer prayer for us.
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Our final hymn,
Eternal God Transcending Time
, comes from the last published United Methodist songbook:
Worship & Song
. Here is the first verse:
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Eternal God transcending time, yet mindful of the fears, the hopes,
the questions raised for us by ever changing years;
so guide us through our pilgrim days that we may find a home
where justice truth, and mercy meet, fulfilled in your shalom.
The choir will sing a second contemporary anthem, which has become a favorite as we’ve practiced it:
What the Lord Has Done In Me
.
You can
hear a version
here
(though I humbly think our choir’s rendition is better!).
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I look forward to being in worship with you on Sunday.
Enjoy these photos from Annual Conference!
On the journey with you,
Rev. Pamela
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This will be the last worship service I share with our organist and music director
Julia Brown
.
As someone who has grown up with both majestic and humble organs throughout my life, education, and ministry, Julia is the best I’ve had the privilege to hear in worship.
Her grasp and passion for excellence in music and worship has taught me much. Her ability to make creative connections between music and liturgy has been fun and inspirational.
So, this service’s postlude will be the last I get to hear Julia. She will play:
Psalm 19
(“The heavens declare the glory of God”), by Benedetto Marcello.
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