July 14

Thank You to the Regathering Committee
In late Summer 2020,  the Regathering Committee came together as Union Christian Church (DOC) sought possibilities for getting together regularly and safely, especially for worship.  The Regathering Committee guided the development of Outdoor Worship and has helped the congregation navigate reopening the church to the congregation and the community. 

The Regathering Committee has recommended our facility be considered fully open and available for use by groups in the congregation and community, as it was pre-COVID; we are excited to be sharing our facilities with the community once more.  Union remains cognizant of COVID in our community and are asking groups using the church to do so as well.  The Regathering Committee will remain intact but does not currently anticipate meeting unless called together in response to a COVID concern.  Pastor Alan and Peter Cook will continue to monitor pandemic conditions in the community. 

I don't know if we can say a big enough "THANK YOU" to the Regathering Committee for all they have done.  Their work, commitment, and leadership has been an example of God's life-giving presence in the world.  It has, indeed, been a gospel light held high. 

Thank you, Regathering Committee, for everything!
 
Reverend Alan Cloar, 
on behalf of Union Christian Church (DOC)

Regathering Committee

JR Beckwith, Julian Beckwith, Patti Clark, Alan Cloar, Peter Cook, Angie Eades, Earl Elsner, Holly Green, Alan Hickerson, Patsy Orr, and Gary Wall 

July 7

The Books of Samuel, Uniting the Children of Israel with David

As we spend the next several weeks with David in worship, I will offer at least a couple of articles offering some basic background to Samuel. This week, I thought I would share a general outline. Samuel was composed as one book, that was divided in "later publications" because of size. The books of Samuel carry us from the time of the Judges, when Israel is being led by tribal leaders through the establishment of a dynastic kingship under Saul, and then David. It begins with the story of the birth of Samuel, the prophet, and takes us through the rebellion of David's son, Absalom.

There is a lot that happens. Through the majority of these stories, God is in the background, rather than the forefront. Still, God is there; God is active.

Here is the bird's eye view of the books of Samuel:

1. Samuel is chosen as God's Prophet The story begins with Samuel's mother, Hannah, and the birth of Samuel, followed by his apprenticeship under Eli. (1 Samuel 1:1 - 4:1)

2. The Philistines and God's Covenant Chest The Covenant Chest is captured by the Philistines, and returned. (1 Samuel 4:1 - 7:2)

3. Samuel Leads Israel (1 Samuel 7:2-17)

4. Saul Becomes Israel's First King Samuel acquiesces to Israel's clamoring for a king, Saul is chosen, and finally acclaimed. (1 Samuel 8:1-12:25)

5. Saul's Battles, Saul is rejected by Samuel Saul has early success, but also displays bad judgment, and lack of trust in God. (1 Samuel 13:1 - 15:35)

6. David, the Future King David Is Chosen as the future king, spends time in the royal court, and flees. (1 Samuel 16:1-31:13)

7. David Becomes King We follow the story from Saul's death until David captures the Jebusite city that is renamed Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 1:1 - 5:10)

8. David Consolidates the Kingdom This section details David's Kingdom and it's relationships with neighboring kingdoms. (2 Samuel 5:11-8:18)

9. David's Family and Sins In this section, the holy history of Israel pulls know punches regarding the, sometimes devastating, humanity of David and those around him. (2 Samuel 9:1-20:26)

10. Concluding Traditions about David Here we find a collection of stories that have not been already incorporated into the Book of Samuel. (2 Samuel 21:1-24:25)

Already, this year, we have shared the story of David desiring to build the Temple from section 8, when we first came back into the sanctuary. We remembered God selecting David through Samuel from Section 6, to begin our "David" series. Last week, we skipped forward to David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, also from Section 8, because it seemed a better selection for July 4th than the story of David and Goliath. We will backup to the story of David and Goliath in worship this Sunday, also from Section 6. Frankly, I'm not sure what this sermon will look like. I covet your prayers for Godly wisdom between now and then. In the following weeks, we will continue with stories from the last three sections of this outline.  

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

June 30

Celebrating our Hopes
This year, July 4th falls on Sunday. Many of us will have an opportunity for a long weekend, perhaps to travel, or gather with family for the first time in quite a while. Whatever your plans, I wish you a joyful holiday weekend.

Our story for Sunday will be the story of the Ark being brought to David’s new capital of Jerusalem. In this passage we see glimpses of the twelve tribes working to bind themselves into a “unified people,” a “unified nation.” Even in this relatively small landscape, they have different patterns daily life, different demands for sustenance in each of their particular corners of the holy land. They have, even in these relatively few generations, different traditions and practices. They are a diverse (and stiff-necked) people. They sound a bit like us sometimes.

We will also see in this passage, that David can be mistake prone and hot-headed. Can’t we all? And yet, they celebrate. They do not celebrate their perfections, but their hopes, and trust in God’s providence. I pray as we celebrate July 4th this weekend, we celebrate our hopes for this sprawling, unique nation and all who live within its bounds. I pray we celebrate the best of our Declaration’s and Constitution’s vision, in order always, to “form a more perfect union.” And may we work, always, to bring those hopes and visions into being as a Christ-shaped among our manifold and sundry neighbors.

See you Sunday!
Pastor Alan

June 23

Dear Church,

Over the next several weeks in worship, we will be sharing the story of David. Specifically, we will remember the following stories:

• God demanding Samuel continue to look for the future king of the children of Israel, until they finally bring the boy David in from the fields.

• David brings the Ark to Jerusalem

• The story of David and Goliath

• David is anointed king

• Nathan confronting David with Bathsheba and the death of Uriah

• The story of Absalom's rebellion

The lectionary readings for this summer contain several more stories of David. We are going to miss some of them. David is one of the most important characters in the Hebrew Bible. I am grateful the lectionary offers us this opportunity to spend this time with David during his high's and his lows.
See you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

June 16

The Fear of Miracles
Mark 4:35-41

Do you think the disciples were more frightened before the stilling of the storm or after?
The answer should be “the storm” of course. It was a great windstorm” and “the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.” The disciples were frightened for their lives. But the scripture ends, saying, “They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Dr. David Lose once shared a couple of thoughts from the book Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. In the opening pages of that story, Reuben Land, the narrator, tells of the apparent miracle by which his father saved his life when he had just been born. He then reflects on how often we tend to domesticate miracles, using the word to describe all manner of things that merit our attention and appreciation but that are not, finally, truly miraculous.

“Real miracles bother people, like strange sudden pains unknown in medical literature. It’s true: They rebut every rule all we good citizens take comfort in. Lazarus obeying orders and climbing up out of the grave — now there’s a miracle, and you can bet it upset a lot of folks who were standing around at the time”

Later in the book, Reuben quotes his sister, saying, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed.”

I wonder if this is, perhaps, an unrecognized part of the disciples fear, the fear of being changed.
And make no mistake, Jesus is asking the disciples to change. In this very moment he is drawing them from the familiar territory of Capernaum to the strange and foreign land of the Garasenes. And he is moving them from being fishermen to disciples. And he is preparing them to welcome a kingdom so very different from the one they’d either expected or wanted.

The change they are facing is real, and hard, and inevitable, and all of this becomes crystal clear as they realize the one who is asking them to change has mastery over the wind and see and is, indeed, the Holy One of God.

What is the change we fear? Not the kind of change we anticipate and plan for. And not even the kind of change that is unexpected and can seem life-threatening. No, I mean the kind of change that happens when we are encountered by the living God and realize that life will never be the same again. See you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

June 2

Let Evening Come
As we close the school year and anticipate the change of pace we will experience for a while afterwards, I offer you this poem as a regular evening blessing. It reminds me of the Margaret Wise Brown classic, Good Night Moon. I "discovered" it at the SALT website. May this poem bring you evening peace that helps you receive God's blessing.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

Let Evening Come
Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.
Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.
Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.
Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.
To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.
Let it come, as it will, and don’t
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come.

+ Jane Kenyon

May 26

Trinity

This Sunday of the Christian year is commonly designated as Trinity Sunday. And so, let me share with you a brief musing on the Trinity by the writer and preacher, Frederick Buechner. As is often the case, he has given us poetry written as prose. He says a lot in just a few words. I just wish he didn’t demand that we re-study formal grammar to fully get it. I hope the quick “verb definitions” help. It is a great reading to sit with as a devotional one morning. I hope you enjoy.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

"The doctrine of the Trinity is an assertion that, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, there is only one God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit mean that the mystery beyond us, the mystery among us, and the mystery within us are all the same mystery.

Thus the Trinity is a way of saying something about us and the way we experience God. The Trinity is also a way of saying something about God and the way God is within himself, i.e., God does not need the Creation in order to have something to love because within himself love happens. In other words, the love God is, is love not as a noun but as a verb. This verb is reflexive (a verb that reflects back on the subject, God) as well as transitive (a verb that act on anything, even us).

If the idea of God as both Three and One seems far-fetched and obfuscating, look in the mirror someday. There is (a) the interior life known only to yourself and those you choose to communicate it to (the Father). There is (b) the visible face which in some measure reflects that inner life (the Son). And there is (c) the invisible power you have in order to communicate that interior life in such a way that others do not merely know about it, but know it in the sense of its becoming part of who they are (the Holy Spirit). Yet what you are looking at in the mirror is clearly and indivisibly the one and only You."

— Frederick Buechner

May 12

“The World I Live In” by Mary Oliver

I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of
reasons and proofs.
The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that. And anyway,
what’s wrong with Maybe?

You wouldn’t believe what once or
twice I have seen. I’ll just
tell you this:
only if there are angels in your head will you
ever, possibly, see one.

+ Mary Oliver

I have always been a very analytically minded person, someone who wanted to know the why and the how behind the what, someone who would be thinking, “prove it.” We learn a lot that way.

Somewhere along the way, I also learned to ask the question Mary Oliver is pointing to in this poem, “I wonder if that was God?”

Sometimes it is nice to celebrate without needing to explain. And when we finally do explain, my guess is, we will find life no less holy or miraculous.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

May 5

The Spirit of Mother's Day

During the 19th century, women's peace groups in the United States tried to establish holidays and regular activities in favor of peace and against war. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War.

Even before then, in 1858 Ann Jarvis had organized Mother's Day Work Clubs in several Appalachian communities of what would become West Virginia during the Civil War. These clubs began initiatives to provide assistance and education to families, raising money to buy medicine and hire help for families impacted by tuberculosis and other health issues, and developing programs for milk inspection. During the Civil War, they fed and clothed soldiers stationed in the area, both Union and Confederate, and nursed soldiers during typhoid and measles outbreaks. Following the war, Ann organized a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day", the purpose of which was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War." She wanted to expand these into an annual memorial for mothers.

There were several observances of Mother's Days in different parts of the country throughout the 1870's & 1880's. Julia Ward Howe, author of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," led a "Mother's Day for Peace" anti-war observance throughout the 1870's. In these celebrations, mothers all around the world would work towards world peace.

Mother's Day was officially proclaimed a national holiday in 1914, asking us to remember those mothers who had lost sons in war. Through the years we have, appropriately, I think, expanded those we celebrate on Mother's Day to include our own mothers, and those who have shared God's mothering love with those around them in all of the different ways we might imagine. I believe acknowledging and encouraging that active mothering love of God in one another hearkens back to the spirit of Ann Jarvis' Mother's Day Work Clubs, and Julia Ward Howe's "Mother's Day for Peace," and so many others like them through the years. When we remember and celebrate those (especially women) who have cared for and shaped us this Sunday, and when we join them in caring for and shaping other's, all of God's children all year long, we are living the spirit of Mother's Day, indeed.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

April 28

Dear Church,

Over the next several weeks (perhaps consecutively) I would like to share with you Rev. Eric Law's framework of Holy Currencies as an exploration of missional ministry. Union Christian Church is a "missional" church. In other words, Union wants to make a difference in the life of the community, as well as the life of the congregation and its members. Holy Currencies arose out of Eric's research and work with congregations to be both "missional" and "sustainable" around the time of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Holy Currencies framework focuses on six currencies including 1)Time and Place, 2)Gracious Leadership, 3)Relationship, 4)Truth, 5)Wellness, and 6)Money.

While thinking and talking about these currencies, Eric would encourage always to remember:

• Currents Flow

• Currencies are meant to be exchanged

We are most engaged in God's missional work when we exchanging those currencies we have in abundance for those currencies that are most needed in our community and/or church. I will share a quick definition of those six holy currencies below. I see each of these currencies present in Union Christian Church (DOC). As you read through them, here are a few questions to think about along side of them. We will continue to ask these questions as we look at each of these currencies.

• Where do you see this currency in Union Christian Church (DOC)?

• Do we, as a congregation, have an abundance of this currency?

• Do we, as a congregation, need a bit more of this currency?

• Who in our congregation or community does have an abundance of this currency?

• Who, in our congregation or community, could use more of this currency?

Holy Currencies from Eric Law and the Kaleidoscope Institute

• Time and Place - Time of church leaders (paid and volunteer) offered to church and ministry. Properties owned by church and ministry and/or properties from which church and ministry operate.

• Gracious Leadership - ability to create "gracious" environments where mutually respectful relationships and discernment of truth may be shared together by drastically different people, within and beyond the congregation.

• Relationship - all of mutually respectful connections within and beyond the church, possessed by leaders and members of the congregation and its ministries

• Truth - ability to hear and articulate, individually and together, inclusive and healing truth.

• Wellness - being physically, socially, economically, ecologically, and spiritually healthy, individually and together in our church, ministry, neighborhood, creation and everywhere in between.

• Money - anything generally accepted as a means of payment or to have a measure of value.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

April 14

Pentecost is Coming!

Now at that time there were a lot of delegates gathered in Atlanta, religious people from countries all over the world. So when they heard this great noise, they all came running together. And then they heard these folks talking to each one of them in their own native tongue, and were they excited! Amazed and astounded no end, they said, “Look, aren’t all these speakers Americans? Then how is it that each of us is hearing it in his own native tongue— French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Burmese, Hebrew, Swedish, Afrikaans, Hindi— in our own languages we are hearing them tell of God’s mighty doings.” Everybody was dumfounded and puzzled, saying one to another, “What’s the meaning of this?” But others sneered, “They’re tanked up on white lightning.”
from Happenings [Acts] 2:5-13 Cotton Patch Gospel - Clarence Jordan

Pentecost is coming!  And some may become concerned that we are tanked up on white lightning.  In truth, we are excited by the resurrection life we have received through Jesus, and we want to celebrate that resurrection life with our DOC brothers and sisters in Northeast Georgia.  Therefore, on Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd, we will be gathering for a joint outdoor worship service with several of our sister churches in Winder, GA.

This dream was first imagined at the very beginning of 2020.  Before planning could begin in earnest, we were overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Now, as we begin to imagine a post-pandemic world, the dream of gathering together as a larger church has re-emerged.  

Come with us, to the lawn of First Christian Church Winder, for a Pentecost celebration at 11:00 AM on Sunday, May 23rd.  

There are many details yet to be finalized, but here are a few I can share with you today.

• The Service will be outside, observing pandemic protocols comparable to our own Sunday morning service.

• The service will include leadership from each congregation in attendance (at least 4 congregations including FCC Lawrenceville, FCC Winder, FCC Watkinsville & Union CC).

• There will be "car worship" spaces for those who need them, and radio broadcast of the service. Good parking spaces are limited and the lawn is large, so bring your chairs and some shade.

• We will provide alternative opportunities to participate for those unable to be there in person through live-streaming and/or recording of the service.

We are excited to share this joint worship opportunity together.  Let's show out, Union Christian Church!  Let's be the biggest congregation present!  May God bless our gathering, and share in our excitement to be together this Pentecost!

Grace and Peace, 
Pastor Alan

April 7

There Was Not a Needy Person Among Them

"Now a single heart and soul was in the body of believers. Not one of them considered his property to be private, but all things were shared by them. With mighty power the apostles were giving the evidence of Jesus’ aliveness, and upon them all was a spirit of abounding goodwill. You know, there wasn’t a person in the group in need. For owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds and placing them at the disposal of the apostles. Distribution was then made to everyone on the basis of his need."
Acts 4:32-35, The Cotton Patch Gospel: The Complete Collection, Clarence Jordan

During the Easter Season we will be drawing our scripture readings from The Acts of the Apostles. At first read, this narrative seems unbelievable. It appears to be pure fantasy, foolishness some might call it. It tells the story of a world, a community that is very hard to imagine. But, as Paul reminds us in First Corinthians, "God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom." The image depicted in these few verses from Acts, is a picture of God's radical hospitality fully alive in the church community.

Clarence Jordan, author of the Cotton Patch Gospels, along with his wife, Florence, and Martin and Mabel England (former American Baptist Missionaries) established an interracial Christian farming community in Southwest Georgia in 1942. They named it Koinonia, or "Communion" Farm. They bound themselves to the equality of all persons, rejection of violence, ecological stewardship, and common ownership of possessions. They went largely unnoticed, crazy church people, until their commitments to equality and economic justice began to be reflected beyond their 440 acre farm, for example, in the civil rights movement. Through the 1950's and 60's they endured stifling economic boycotts and repeated violence including several bombings. Fools indeed.

Koinonia Farm is still there today, as an intentional Christian community, committed to those same Christian values.

The Season of Easter is a time to celebrate the new, eternal life offered through Jesus the Christ, here and now, not just somewhere-someday. It is also a time that we are called to live fully into God's Infinite Love, Healing Grace, and Radical Hospitality. I am sure, more than anything else, the Koinonia residents have been called various kinds of fools.

"God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom." 1 Corinthians 1:25a

May we give thanks for communities like Koinonia, showing us even today, that Christ is alive, at work among us, and continually calling us into holy, Christlike community.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

March 31

His Steadfast Endures Forever, Psalm 118:29

I would encourage you to read Mark 14:22-42 Thursday or Friday. These verses carry us from the Disciple’s Passover meal to Jesus’ arrest. While doing so, I would encourage you to focus on the hinge, the one sentence that holds together the two events: “When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (verse 26).

At first glance, this sentence seems unremarkable. It is preceded by Jesus’ last supper and his institution of the Lord’s Supper. It is followed by his betrayal by one disciple and the desertion by all the rest. And what did they do in between? They sang the hymn.

We know what that hymn was. Jesus and his disciples were celebrating the Passover. The Passover meal begins with singing Psalms 113 and 114. It ends with singing Psalms 115, 116, 117, and 118. The closing hymn was Psalm 118. This Psalm concludes with verse 29, “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

These words carry Jesus, and I believe the disciples as well, through the events of the next three days, and beyond them into the confusion that follows their discovery of the empty tomb. Whatever the Romans have done to Jesus, whatever our own Kind Herod and the Temple Leaders have done to Jesus, whatever the crowds have done to Jesus, we remember and hold onto each day, “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

All that follows that Passover meal is dependent on faith in this truth.

Jesus, knowing what he was doing and what was going to be done to him, sang bravely and boldly, “His steadfast love endures forever.” In the weeks to come, finally, the disciples will emerge to proclaim God’s Good News through Jesus the Christ remembering, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

As we walk through the days of darkness we encounter as the church, leading to Easter Sunday, I encourage you to remember and repeat “His steadfast love endures forever.” When you face your own dark days and do not know where to turn, I encourage you to remember and repeat, to claim as your mantra, “His steadfast love endures forever.” May it be for us, even now, God’s flickering candle that can never be extinguished.

“When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” I invite you to reread all of Psalm 118, especially the final verse, the last thing Jesus sang before his arrest, and crucifixion “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” There is our Savior.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

March 24

Proclaiming Kingship (Subverted and Redefined by God)
Mark 11:1-11

All of the Gospels, Mark included, go to great pains to make sure we all understand Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah, regardless of our religious tradition and education or lack thereof in the first century Roman Empire. Jewish expectations of the Messiah, perhaps especially in this time period, included the expectation of God's anointed King returning in these last days to defeat God's enemies, and restore God's people - even creation itself - to a state of everlasting peace.

The gospels lean into symbols of this historic Jerusalem kingship. But they also reinterpret it, just as the prophets have often tended to lean into historic memories and symbols, and reinterpret them to help us refocus on God's nature, God's expectations, and God's call in a particular time and place.

And so, Mark shows us Jesus arriving in Jerusalem in great fanfare as the "Anointed One." The ground is ceremoniously covered with cloaks, calling to mind the coronation of King Jehu of Israel once upon a time (2 Kings 9:13). Branches are waved, echoing the reconquering of Jerusalem from the Greeks by Simon Maccabeus (1 Maccabees 13:51). What kind of army will God summon to install Jesus as the end-time king? But Jesus knows, as does the gospel writer that this path doesn't lead to the palace throne. Instead it leads to just another cross bringing punishment and death. It's not that Jesus was born to die, or that God sent Jesus to die. Jesus knows that his unbridled approach to human wholeness is too disruptive, offensive, too dangerous for those in power.

Jesus chooses death because toning down God’s healing love—to avoid death—is not an option for the Messiah. Being the anointed sovereign is not about subduing God's creation. God's law is not about destroying that which is broken. Jesus can only love at full speed. And Jesus knows that this same love will overcome death itself (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 12:18-27; 14:28). Jesus arrives as creation's Messiah, the Anointed One, but this is not your normal power-wielding, army-raising king.

Even Jesus riding the colt boldly declares clear, sovereign authority, fully redefined. Zechariah 9:9 celebrates the coming of the triumphant King, riding on a donkey, a colt. The Roman governor will be arriving in Jerusalem for Passover, on a mighty war horse, leading the invincible Roman Legion, to make sure the Judeans don't forget who is in charge in their holiday enthusiasm. Entering on a colt, appropriate for God's Anointed One, reminds us of God's expectation of humble, servant leadership.

God does not raise up leaders to conquer peoples and land, or enforce cultural conformity or religious doctrine. Jesus came to restore broken humanity to its divinely created wholeness. That is the kind of king Mark calls us to follow. That is kind of healing work we are called to lead. That is the kind of kingdom Jesus calls us to help create and enter.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

March 17

Preparing for Holy Week

How time flies. Holy Week and Easter are fast approaching. We continue to listen to Mark's story of Jesus and the disciples, as they enter Jerusalem. As we hear these stories, we remember God's call to keep our face turned toward God, embrace one another as children of God and embrace creation as belonging to God. In these passages we also hear God's judgment on the ways we so often discount and trod on one another when we sit in seats of power, whether those powerful seats be religious seats, societal seats or governing seats.

As we enter into Holy Week, we will remember this story through several special services.

On Palm Sunday, March 28th, we will remember Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, recalling the vision of a shepherding kingdom providing abundance for all inhabitants, in contrast to an imperialism extracting all it can find. We will join the crowds greeting Jesus with palms at our 11:00 AM Service.

On Maundy Thursday & Holy Friday, we will remember the Lord’s Supper and the gathering darkness leading to crucifixion. Outdoor Communion and Tennabrae Stations will be available on a “come and go” basis. The Lord’s Table reminds us that we are welcomed, a place has already been set for us whenever we may arrive at the table. It reminds us to always make room for others, and remember Christ is always among us. We pray the Tennabrae Stations will keep us mindful of the shadows of death present in our community and own lives as we remain isolated in sin, in need of God’s healing. There will be a worship leader present for communion on Thursday from 12:00 PM until 7:00 PM.

Easter morning we will celebrate the promise of eternal life for us and all of creation, here and now, always and everywhere as we discover the empty tomb, and encounter the risen Christ. Our invitation into new life will begin with a prayer watch at 6:45 AM leading into our Sunrise Service at 7:15. Our 11:00 Worship service will be followed by an Easter Egg hunt.

Join us throughout Holy Week as we remember, together, God’s continued call to faithfulness, Jesus’ offer of healing and the daily presence of Christ with us, even in our deepest brokenness. May we always seek to keep our face turned toward God, seeking healing and wholeness for one another, for ourselves, and for all God’s Creation.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

March 10

O God of Second Chances
by Tricia Brennan

Oh god of second chances,
help us to let go of all that does not serve us well.
We who are full of goals and plans and resolutions,
help us to know that our worth is not tied to success or even effort.
We regret our mistakes or wonder about the road not taken.
Help us to accept our unvarnished selves.
We are, after all, but humble creatures
who strive and fall and get up and keep going.
Help us to see our glory even in our bumblings,
and to know that every year, every day, every moment is a gift
to which the proper response is Hello! I am here! I am grateful!
May your spaciousness fill us and bless us, make us brave and keep us safe. Amen.

Cheryl and I got to have dinner with a friend we don’t often see this week. It was wonderful. We talked about everything under the sun. Talking about the people we love and know best, we got to talking about perfectionists tendencies.

I have perfectionists tendencies. There was a time when it would be hard for me to complete almost anything, because I wasn’t doing it well enough. I am still often slow because what I have in front of me is not good enough yet. It is not perfect according to me. (I might also be a relatively poor judge of perfection.)

It has been my experience, that a fear of not being perfect, at least not in the way we want to be, is common among congregations. The expectation of perfection from ourselves, from others, or from the church, can prevent us from celebrating God’s presence, and getting on with God’s work. The season of Lent, when we are particularly reflective and repentant, is a good time to remember that God does not seek perfection from us, but faithfulness. God is already with us and among us offering love, grace and hospitality. God is calling us forward as partners with friends and neighbors, new and old, familiar and strange, to offer love, grace and hospitality, always and everywhere. Doing so does not require perfection from anyone. All it requires is openness. Church is that simple, and sometimes that complicated.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

March 3

God’s Tenants

This Sunday we will read Mark 12:1-12, A Parable of the Tenants and the Landowner. Talitha Arnold reminds us “This is a dangerous story. For centuries, Jesus’ last parable in Mark’s Gospel has been one of the Christian texts used to justify all manner of prejudice and violence, particularly against Jews, but also against persons of other faiths, and even other Christians labeled as heretics. Commonly titled the “Parable of the Wicked Tenants,” the story could as easily be named for “The Vengeful Landowner” who retaliates for his son’s death by annihilating the tenants.”

Is this who we expect to be? Is this who we understand God to be? No, of course not. In response, both Thomas Jefferson and Leo Tolstoy left this story out of their self edited Bibles. But a version of this parable is in all 3 synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). We cannot ignore this parable, or the violence it has been used to justify. We must deal with it. We will begin by remembering Jesus is once again using hyperbole in Mark’s gospel. We encountered the same technique in last week’s story of “The Rich Man.” Even earlier, in chapter 9, Jesus tells us to remove hands and eyes if they cause us to sin. We don’t take those statements literally.

Perhaps, then, the first lesson to draw from this parable is quite simple. Violence will not lead to victory. It will only lead to more violence and death. What, then, shall we do? Martin Luther King Jr. has some thoughts for us, in his poetic prose.
“It is not enough to say, ‘We must not wage war.’ It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but on the positive affirmation of peace…. We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody that is far superior to the discords of war. Somehow we must transform the dynamics of the world power struggle from the negative nuclear arms race which no one can win to a positive contest to harness man’s [sic] creative genius for the purpose of making peace and prosperity a reality for all of the nations of the world. In short, we must shift the arms race into a ‘peace race.’ If we have the will and determination to mount such a peace offensive, we will unlock hitherto tightly sealed doors of hope and transform our imminent cosmic elegy into a psalm of creative fulfillment.”

Remember, holy people, the vineyard is God’s, and we have been invited to help bring it fully to life. We can and should engage in a “Peace Race” at every layer of our community, local, state, national and international. That begins with embracing the life we find, and tending to its needs. What a beautiful dwelling place God has shared with us. What a holy calling God has given us.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

Resource: “Feasting on the Gospels - Mark: A Feasting on the Word Commentary” Mark 12:1-12

February 24

Hello Church,

Week of Compassion is the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Christian Church. I have heard about Union's generous donations to Week of Compassion in the past, especially during a particularly active hurricane season a few years back. I hope that you will continue to support Week of Compassion as they continue the mission, most recently in Texas.

In addition to providing support for congregations and households that sustained damage in Texas--primarily from burst pipes and flooding--Week of Compassion is providing ministry grants for Disciples congregations as they serve their neighbors. Our churches across multiple regions are working to provide warming shelters, food assistance, and essential supplies to those in urgent need.

Rev. Virzola Law, Senior Minister of Northway Christian Church in Dallas, shares: “The DFW area is not built for this extreme weather. Yet with the resources of so many--like Week of Compassion and our neighbors--we were able show up and provide the basics. Shelter for some; water for others; food for many. Blankets for warmth. And even a shoulder (with a mask on). The distance was closed because so much love continues to be unmasked. Christ and Community have bridged the gaps in amazing ways as we continue to move through this time… We are stronger together as the body of Christ, and Week of Compassion makes that possible.”

Union will continue to receive the Week of Compassion Special Offering throughout the month of February. You can give to the offering through your regular means of giving, including online!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

February 17

Hello Church,

I hope you have had an opportunity to participate in our Ash Wednesday Service as Lent begins today.

We have our daily prayer cards available on Facebook and our website. You may pick a set up in the church kitchen if you would like to do so.

Those prayer cards offer daily readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, as well as a short daily prayer. Many churches in our community and throughout the world follow this lectionary. We have been using these readings for Sunday Worship all through Epiphany. This year, the lectionary focuses on the Gospel of Mark. Throughout the season of Lent, however, the lectionary’s Sunday readings include several passages from other gospels. During worship, we will instead continue with readings from the Gospel of Mark.

Our overall theme for the season of Lent will be “Dawning Discipleship - Love Draws Us to Jerusalem.” We will continue reading from the Gospel of Mark. In this gospel, following the Transfiguration, Jesus has turned his face toward Jerusalem. Our Lenten readings will focus on what it means to be a disciple, what it means to live and proclaim God’s Kingdom, here and now.

This week’s reading is Mark 10:17-31. The Common English Bible calls the story “A Rich Man’s Question.” Join us Sunday, as the disciples, and the crowds who gather to hear Jesus, are invited to reexamine our priorities.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan

February 10

Dear Church,
The Season of Lent is quickly approaching. Ash Wednesday is one week from today (February 17th) to be exact. This Sunday will be Transfiguration Sunday. It marks the end of Epiphany with a spectacular revelation of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. It opens the door and points in the direction toward Ash Wednesday and Lent, the road to Jerusalem, crucifixion, and resurrection. They are, indeed, fast approaching. It is time to get ready.

This year we are going to share Ash Wednesday a little differently. As we continue to face the dangers of COVID-19, we will not gather in person to receive ashes on our foreheads as a mark of penitence. This year we will pre-record our Ash Wednesday Service. It will be available when you wake up on that morning. Rather than using ashes to remember our mortality, we will use the dirt into which we were born, and which brings forth God's fruit to nourish us throughout our lives. Between now and next Wednesday, take some time to collect a bowl of God's good earth for Ash Wednesday. Collect enough to run your fingers through during the service. Plan to keep it in a prominent place of daily gathering, living, or prayer in your home throughout the season of Lent.

After a bit of conversation and consideration, we will not be adding a Bible Study to the Lenten calendar this year. During the season of Lent, this year, we will be sharing daily prayers and scripture readings adapted from the Revised Common Lectionary. There will be several readings. You are invited to read any or all of them. The readings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are meant to prepare us for the upcoming Sunday readings. The passages on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are meant for continued reflection following Sunday's reading.

You may find these daily prayers in several places. They will be posted, daily, on Facebook. They will also be available on our website. You should receive an email each week with links to the readings on the website. We will also be handing out a set of prayer cards each week, when you arrive for Sunday morning worship. We are expecting to hand out at least one set per household. If you would like more, don't hesitate to ask, we will have extra. If you want to find them online and keep your home "clutter free," don't feel like you have to take one.

Lent is a season of penitence and reflection. It is also a season of hope. Crucifixion, and the desertion of God by creation that it represents looms over us during these weeks. At the same time we know, and are called to remember, especially every Sabbath Sunday, that the story of "God with us" does not end at the cross. It continues into the new, never-ending life of resurrection. May we continue to live the examined life of the spirit this Lent. In so doing may we live in the hope of new life we see peeking over the horizon, drawing us always toward God and neighbor, those familiar and those not yet known.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan