Month: September 2021

What’s Up with Pastor Tod 9-24-21

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 9-24-21

This past Sunday First Church and South Church had our first in person sharing service. The service began with a prelude from Rick Handville and Chris Lavigne, a welcome from Deacon Chris Saunders, children’s moment with Sarah Pradhan, Scripture reading, and a Scripture reflection by Rev. Denny Moon. We sang “We Are Dreaming,” a song written by Rev. Moon based on our theme for the fall season, “Dreaming Together.” We shared a time of prayer. Then we divided into 8 mixed groups of First Church and South Church people, who responded to the question, “What difference might we make together, if we take seriously that God IS in this place, that is greater than what we could do separately?” After twenty minutes we regathered in the worship space to hear what the groups had talked about. 

Here is what I heard. “What could we do together that we couldn’t do apart?”

  • We will have more options, opportunities, and greater effectiveness as a church. We will be able to offer stronger programs that are more appealing to families.
  • We will model convergence in a world that’s diverging.
  • Larger music program.
  • Flip the question: “What could we not do better together?” More people will mean a greater diversity of views, which could lead to conflict. Nevertheless, conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. More divergent views can contribute to better decision making.
  • We will provide a moral compass for the town by ensuring that there is a UCC presence in Granby in the future.
  • We will have a greater amount of energy.
  • An encouragement to dwell not on what we’re losing, rather, we can focus on what we’re gaining.
  • Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. Otherwise, we’re in an echo chamber.

These are a sample of the comments based on the notes I took at the meeting. Overall it was a positive experience. We did have a Zoom option for those who didn’t feel comfortable gathering in person; however, no one used it. I’m grateful for everyone who worked so hard to make this complex event successful. Great work, team!

Worship Resource: Genesis 15

God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, you call us to leave behind the familiar and venture into the unknown. You called our ancestor Abraham to leave his home and family in Ur and follow your call to a land that his descendants would inherit. Generations later one of those descendants named Jesus would leave the safety of his father’s carpenter shop to lead a movement that would challenge the authority of Rome. Like his ancestor Abraham, Jesus dreamed God’s dream of peace and justice for all. Give us a new dream for a new day. Amen.

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 9-3-21

What’s Up with Pastor Todd 9-3-21

Scripture tells us that when the great Israelite king Solomon, son of David, was a boy, God appeared to him in a dream and offered him his heart’s desire. Rejecting power and wealth Solomon instead asked for wisdom. One of Solomon’s wise sayings is, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18, King James Version). The Hebrew word that the KJV translates as “perish” literally means “let go, neglect, uncover.” The NRSV translates, “Where there is no prophecy, the people ‘cast off restraint.’”

Here’s how I put it together in my mind: Prophecy and vision refer to God’s dream for us as people. We find this dream in many forms in the Bible.

Isaiah 25:6-7, for example:

  “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,

of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 

7 And he will destroy on this mountain

the shroud that is cast over all peoples,

the sheet that is spread over all nations;

he will swallow up death forever.”

Or Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Without this prophecy or vision of God’s dream for us as God’s people we lose our identity as a community set apart for God’s service. Without a sacred calling, what’s the point of being a church? Without a purpose, the people “perish.” Without a vision, the people “cast off restraint.” If God’s dream doesn’t hold us together, we are “uncovered, neglected, let go” to find our own way in the world without any guiding principle.

It was no surprise that God communicated to Solomon in a dream. In the Bible dreams are one of the primary ways God talks to people. That’s why our fall worship theme for First Church and South Church is “Dreaming Together.” Together we are opening our hearts and minds to God’s vision–God’s “dream,” if you will–for us as a united UCC presence in Granby. Without this vision, without this dream, without a divine word (another name for “prophecy”), we risk losing our way in a confusing world of competing claims on our lives. 

I’m encouraged by what I’m hearing from our working groups. It sounds like the coaching is going well and a vision is emerging. The opposite of “perish” is “flourish.” With patience God will bless us with a vision in which our uniting congregations flourish.