Welcome to Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
An Open & Affirming Congregation
I’m thinking ORANGES AND GRAZING. I’m committed to take off the COVID 10 I’ve put on by refocusing my diet and eating more oranges (fruit) and doing less GRAZING! And there is a bit of pressure to get it done.

Here’s what I mean; oranges are raised to produce juice. That’s their function. How do you get juice out of an orange? Answer: you squeeze it! That means putting pressure on it. We should expect to be squeezed to get some things done.

Even God puts some pressure on us in order to get juice from us.
Squeezing a new routine in these days is a challenge with all the changes we have already have had to make. I get squeezed by God to write up articles for the newsletter, sermons, devotionals, meetings, Zooms, etc.

To accomplish these things I graze old newsletters I have written, devotionals I subscribe to, look at posts by colleagues and the UCC. I’m just glad sometimes there is some juice to be squeezed out!

Grazing. If we don’t graze there won’t be any juice to be squeezed out of us. By grazing I mean the consistent wholesale taking in and absorbing material and thinking about it. It’s rolling over in one’s mind all sorts of questions that may have no apparent relation to anything you’re doing. You’re just grazing and packing things in your mind.

Then, BANG! God brings a situation into your life where pressure is applied and out comes this juice you never knew you had! Like a blast about oranges and grazing. Sometimes “ya gotta dig to find something in the dirt”… Colossians 3:16; “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.”

That’s grazing just for the joy of grazing, not grazing with some particular end in view. It’s filling yourself up with the Word of God for the love of God, not for a particular argument you want to make or a question you want to answer or anything else.

Happy grazing and squeezing!
 
RB


I have been deeply inspired by the phone contacts I’ve been able to make as we stand back from physical contact. Thank you for spending some time on the phone. Your strength and courage is inspiring me.

I’m dedicating this short essay by Douglas Pagels entitled “A little morale booster” to one of our friends who is persisting through a long and challenging illness – and, in fact, to all of us who are persisting in many ways.

“You’re really something, do you know that? And in spite of whatever may happen in your day, you are going to stay that way: trying and giving and living life in the best way you know how. So keep your spirits up, and keep things in perspective. It’s going to be okay.

“You’ve made it through difficult things before, right? Right. And you always land on your feet. Maybe not dancing; maybe not always sure about what to do next…

“But you always manage to figure things out. Especially when you’re able to keep your sense of humor and not lose your smile. If you really think about it, you’ll realize that you are a very strong individual. Someone who may not have all the answers, but who is at least willing to hope and try and believe.

“You can see your way through just about anything; it all depends on how you look at it. And when people look at you they see someone who really is…pretty amazing.”
 
Blessings to you all. We’ll be together sometime soon.

Take care,
Rev. John
Prayer Requests

This Sunday's worship service is going to be recorded on Thursday, July 2 if you have any prayers requests, please email Rev. Bill (revbill819@gmail.com) by Thursday morning.
Thank you!
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
We are looking for volunteers to work on our various Boards .  If you are interested in becoming part of the Church Council, Diaconate, Trustees, Christian Education, PCCP, or Mission Committees, please contact Nancy Von Stackleburg ( nsvonstack@gmail.com  ) or Rosemary McGreevy ( r.mcgreevy@comcast.net
Summer Worship
Summer Sunday Services (via Facebook) will move to
9:30 am starting this Sunday, July 5th .
You can still watch the service at your convenience, at later time.
NEW CHURCH POLICIES

If you need to come into the church for any church business during the week, please use the front doors of the church. This allows the side and back doors to be used by PCCP.

If you need handicap access, please call the office before you arrive and we will meet you at the side entrance.

All visitors must wear a mask.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping us all safe and healthy!