Dear friends,
A recent survey found that 2 of the most popular hobbies taken up by people during the pandemic were gardening and baking. My unscientific study of friends and family affirmed that, as it seemed that every other person I spoke with was baking bread or cultivating plants during their lockdown experience. It’s not that surprising, considering the therapeutic nature of each of these activities. There is something comforting about nurturing a plant from seed to flower, or completing the process of combining ingredients to create something nourishing to eat.
This week we begin a new sermon series entitled “Upside Down Faith: Parables With Punch” in which we will consider some of Jesus’ parables and what they have to say to us today. On Sunday, we’ll hear twin parables-that of the mustard seed and that of the leaven. We’ll be reading Matthew’s version of the parables, which you can find here.
As was his custom, Jesus used elements common to his listeners to illustrate what he wanted them to know. Gardening and baking were central activities in his time, as they are in ours, and these parables ask us to look at things familiar to us all with new eyes.
I hope you’ll join us for worship in person or online as we hear these parables and consider what they have to say to us about living faithfully today. Nikki will be preaching in the Chapel at 8:45 a.m., and we’ll gather in the Sanctuary at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and in the Fellowship Hall at 11:00 a.m.
Take care,
