Wednesday, July 25, 2007

weekly letter

July 25, 2007
 
Greetings to all!
 
We had the pleasure of celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism last Sunday as it was administered to Amelia Rose Prewitt.  In his recently published book, Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, reflects on the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and what those sacraments suggest about the church.
 
     The church is the community of those who have been immersed in Jesus' life, overwhelmed by it.  Those who are baptized have disappeared under the surface of Christ's love and reappeared as different people.  The waters close over their heads, and then, like the old world rising out of watery chaos in the first chapter of the Bible, out comes a new world.  So when the church baptizes people, it says what it is and what sort of life its people live.  Baptism is an event in which the "sharing between holy people" (communion of saints) comes to light and we see what the church really is, a community in which  people are constantly being brought into new life by being given a new relationship with God and each other.
     It is also the community of those who are invited to eat with Jesus.  Just as, in his earthly life, Jesus expressed his promise to create a new people of God by sharing meals with unlikely people, and just as, after the resurrection, he shares food with his disciples as he recalls them to their task, so it is with the whole church.  We are in the church because we have been invited, not because we have earned our place.  And when the church gathers to eat and drink with Jesus in Holy Communion, the church once again says who and what it is.  In baptism and Holy Communion, the nature of the church is laid bare for us.  What is the church? It is simply those who have been immersed in, soaked in the life of Jesus, and who have been invited to eat with him and pray to the Father with him...
(as found in The Christian Century)
Preaching in late July and early August includes...
     *the Rev. Dr. John Cavendish, Walnut Hill Church Pastor Emeritus, on Sunday, July 29.
     *the Rev. Dr. David Sharrard, Lexington Theological Seminary and Walnut Hill member, on Sunday, August 5.
     *the Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison, Lexington Theological Seminary, on Sunday, August 12.
Services each Sunday begin at 11am, with refreshments following in Trinity Hall.  The Sacrament of Holy Communion will be administered on Sunday, August 5.
 
Our Sunday Morning Bible Study gatherings will be dismissed for the next three Sundays.  Look for our Sunday morning Bible Study conversations to resume on Sunday, August 19, 10am.
 
The Men's Coffee gathering will be held at its regular day and time on Saturday, August 4, 8am, at Paneras on Richmond Road.  Feel free to stop by for as long or short a time as your schedule allows.  No rsvp required.
 
Tutors Needed - The Athens Chilesburg Elementary School is working with the Carnegie Center to start an after school tutoring program. Program organizers intend to recruit volunteers to provide tutoring services to their students at no cost.  They will be offering tutoring on Tuesday's from 3:00-5:00 pm.  You will be hearing more about this program in August. In the meantime, consider if it might be an opportunity for you to serve as a volunteer tutor. 
 
In the Community - Perhaps you have heard of "the community garden movement", an initiative toward providing fresh, healthy, local, affordable and sustainable food supplies. The Lexington Community Garden Tour, Thursday, August 2will provide an opportunity to get a close up view of the emerging community garden movement in Lexington and learn how to create backyard gardens, school gardens, church gardens, community gardens and more. This enjoyable bus tour will travel around the city and stop at several community gardens. At the conclusion of the tour will be lunch and information on community gardening. Registration begins at 8:30am at La Roca United Methodist Church (1015 N. Limestone).  The tour will begin promptly at 9am, ending at Noon.  Advance reservations are required.  For more information or to make a reservation contact Jim Embry at 859-312-7024, jgembr0@cs.com, or www.sustainlex.org.
 
Thanks, news, etc...
     *Thanks to Angela Hurley, Marie Masters, Clyde Mauldin, Mary Lee Snyder who worked together to provide our refreshments after worship last Sunday.
     *We celebrate with Bill and Stephanie Prewitt on the occasion of the Baptism of their daughter, Amelia Rose Prewitt.
     *The Weekly Letter will be "on holiday" for next couple weeks.  Look for your next weekly letter on or around August 15.
 
Peace to all.
 
Mike Ward

No comments: