April 14, 2023
Pastor’s Reflections – April 14, 2023
I hope you're enjoying this little taste of summer we have in NH today. What a treat!!!
I'm writing to drop you a line today for a few reasons; to give you some info on opportunities to get involved at NCC and also just to say hi and remind you that YOU are a beloved child of God. I hope you remember this always, especially on the hard days when you don't feel loveable or loved at all. If today is one of those hard days, please let me know how I can pray for you, it is such an honor to me to be able to pray for YOU.
TONIGHT!!!! April 14th 6:30 PM Game Night in the NCC Fellowship Hall!
Join in for a few games, prizes, and lots of FUN!!!!
Looking forward to Sunday Services:
This Sunday we're starting a new worship series called Rise Up, (perfect for Eastertide, huh?). Over the next fifty or so days, we will focus on opportunities that we have to "elevate" our understanding and experience of our faith in God; our love of and connection to the risen Christ, and our opportunity to live as Easter people. We'll work on answering some of the questions of our faith together:
April 16: What does it mean for us to believe in the Risen Christ?
April 23: What does it mean to be saved?
April 30: What is the relationship of faith to suffering?
May 7: What does it mean to offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice?
May 14: What does it mean to love unconditionally? Isn't this perfect for Mother's Day?
May 21: What do we mean when we speak of the heavenly banquet?
May 28: What does it mean to trust the Holy Spirit working through us?
I am excited to jump into these topics and work on answering these questions with all of you, and these are not easy questions!
Tuesday Grief Support Group: Every Tuesday at 1PM in the NCC Lounge
Led by MaryAnna Purello, this group creates a safe space for people experiencing loss to share and connect, remembering that we're never alone.
Tuesday Have a Little Faith Book Group: May 2nd at 2PM in the NCC Lounge
We're starting a new book, Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom, (Tuesdays with Morrie). If you'd like to join in, get the book, read to page 103, and meet up in the NCC Lounge to connect about it in an informal gathering to share, learn, and grow in our faith together. On May 2nd the group will decide how often to meet and continue discussion on this book, (usually in an every-other-week format on Tuesday at 2PM).
Below is a summary of the book: What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together?
In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a story of an eight-year journey between two worlds - two men, two faiths, two communities - that will inspire readers everywhere. Albom's book begins with an unusual request: an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy. Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he'd left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor--a reformed drug dealer and convict--who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.
Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different people employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat. Albom and the two men of God explore issues such as how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers, and histories are different, Albom begins to recognize a striking unity between the two worlds--and indeed, between beliefs everywhere. In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor's wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the rabbi's last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.
Scripture Chat Every Wednesday at 2PM
Led by Pastor Patty, this group meets each week to reflect on the scripture passages that will be shared in the upcoming Sunday worship services. There is no study or pre-work needed, you don’t even need your own bible, we have plenty to share! You can join in person in the pastor’s study or by using video call and this link: https://meet.google.com/xhf-nsux-xzr
I hope to see you soon; whether at church on Sunday, in the NCC Pantry on Thursday from 12-6PM, in the Thrift Shop Mon – Sat 10AM – 2PM and Thursday until 6PM, or at another event during the week. May God bless you and keep you until we see one another again.
With Peace and Love,
Pastor Patty
