Weekly Update
Bethesda UCC

April 19, 2023


Easter Season Worship


Sunday, April 23rd

Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24: 13-35

Moderator James Smith preaching


Sunday, April 30th

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Crossroads Service

Scripture TBD


Sunday, May 7th

Fifth Sunday of Easter

John 14:1-14

Abiding with Jesus


Sunday, May 14th

Sixth Sunday of Easter

John 14:15-21

Jesus promises the Spirit


Sunday, May 21

Ascension Sunday

Crossroads Service

John 17:1-11


Sunday, May 28th

Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-21


Zoom options are available for all worship services.


Church Transition Process

We are now in the Identity phase of our transition process. Two identity meetings will be held - one in April and one in May.

Everyone is encouraged to participate!


Saturday, April 29th

1pm - 3pm

BUCC Fellowship Hall

Identity Meeting


Saturday, May 20th

Time and Location TBD

Identity Follow up Meeting


Both meetings are in-person meetings.

If you are unable to attend in person there will be opportunities to send your thoughts via email and participate in the two Crossroads worship services on the Sundays after these meetings.





Last Sunday's Worship


2nd Sunday of Easter

Seeing is Believing


Sunday, we looked at the passage we all know as the one about "doubting Thomas." (More about that below in my message). One of the interesting things about this passage is that it is actually TWO resurrection appearances by Jesus. The first is to the disciples without Thomas, the second to the disciples with the addition to Thomas.

Of note, is that it is still "the first day of the week" - in other words, it's still Easter day! The disciples are locked away in fear. Even though Mary told them that very day that she had seen the resurrected Jesus, they continue to hide. There is no rejoicing yet. It is not until Jesus appears to them that they recognize that what Mary said must be true. THEN they rejoice.

Jesus, who had declared himself the DOOR, appears to them, in spite of the locked doors to where they hide. He immediately says "Peace be with you!" This is typical of what we call an Epiphany - when God or God's messenger speaks to humans. We saw this happen when the angel spoke to Mary and to the shepherds in the birth narrative.

So, Jesus greets them, shows them his wounds, and then he breathes the Holy Spirit into them. This is John's (the gospel writer) Pentecost moment. Unlike the story in Acts, where the fire and wind rush around and come down on the disciples, here the transfer of Spirit is a much more intimate scene. Both stories show us that the disciples were enabled to "go out" by the indwelling of the Spirit.

This is the same Holy Spirit that enables us to "go out" and do Christ's work in the world. This is the Spirit that enlivens us, gives us passion, and enables us to love our neighbors.

During this Easter season, let's try to love our neighbors a bit more. As I read about the incidents of innocent people being shot as they knock on the wrong door or turn their car around int he wrong driveway, I have to think that we need to remember what it means to be neighborly. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit renews our ability to care for and love oneanother.

Pastor's Message

"Doubting" Thomas: The Label That Has Lasted 2,000+ Years

Poor Thomas! We all know Thomas for one single thing - doubt. We forget that Thomas shows up in other parts of the gospel. I would imagine if he were here, he would exclaim - "I'm more than just "doubting Thomas!" But that is what we remember - that one experience where Thomas said he wouldn't believe unless he saw the wounds on Jesus' hands and side.

Descriptions or labels have staying power. Not all are negative. Years ago, Metro Weekly magazine wrote a feature article about me and labeled me "Jill the Baptist." That label has stuck! It is an accurate description of at least part of my identity.

We call Thomas a doubter because of one memorable experience of him. So, the question for us as a congregation is how do people describe us, based on their experience of us? Do we get described in a certain way? Do we get labeled? What do we do if that description does not match what we think we should be described as?

As Jim Smith is beginning to think about his message Sunday, he and I were emailing back and forth and I brought up the concept of brand image and brand identity. Brand identity is what we WANT our identity to be. For BUCC that may be labels like "justice loving," "welcoming," "safe," "caring," "friendly." Brand image is what people experience. Do folks who visit, those in our neighborhood, our users, our nursery school parents, the organizations around us, experience our justice, welcome, safety, care, and friendliness? Do we communicate this to folks? Do our actions demonstrate these qualities?

One of the things we will do during out Identity Intensive (the month of May!) is to find out the answer to some of this. In Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do people say I am?" Then Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do YOU say I am?" We too will be asking these questions. First, we'll ask the community who they say we are. Then we will ask ourselves - who do WE say we are. Do you think there will be some similarity in the answers?

The Identity phase of our transition is the one of the most important phases of the transition process. It is where we do the hard work of looking at ourselves and our community and figuring out from a variety of pieces of data who BUCC is and who we want to be in the future. All the work after that depends on the work we do during the identity phase.

Some folks have told me, "We've done this before!" Some have shared a frustration that sometimes things didn't move forward after all the "who are we" discussions. I promise you that we will move forward with this. The congregation will get all reports of the brainstorming. We will give those who are not able to come to in-person meetings an opportunity to contribute to the process. All the data collected will be shared with everyone. And then we will move forward. That is part of my job, and frankly, it is part of my calling to this work.

I'm excited about what we will find when we start talking to our community. Martha and Jim have already done an interview so they can share expectations on conducting the interviews with our community members. What they found out is already interesting! And don't worry, if you don't want to actually talk to people, there are opportunities to just walk/drive and observe. There are roles for everyone in our Identity phase!

And just to recap where we are in the process - Spring is Identity. During the summer a small group will look at the minutia of governance. Then in the fall we will begin moving toward making some broad decisions and working on broad goals. Goals will move us toward decisions on the future and lay the groundwork on what you will communicate in your search for a settled pastor.

These is an exciting season for BUCC!


Blessings,

Pastor Jill

 

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