Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the title of a documentary describing the

efforts of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize co-winner, Leymah Gbowee, and 

the women's peace movement in Liberia.  We will view portions of the 

documentary and discuss whether Leymah might have been the woman 

Jesus had in mind when he told the parable of the "woman and the 

unjust judge." (Luke 18:1-8).

Children's Choir Practice, 10am, Trinity Hall

Children, through elementary age, are invited to gather for music practice

in preparation for their Christmas season presentation in December.

Morning Worship, 11 am, Sanctuary

Sermon: A Bitter Separation

Text:  Matthew 23:1-12

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children.

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

The Greatest Prayer, 4:30pm, the Wards' Home

All are invited to join our continuing study of the Lord's Prayer.  This 

week we focus on the petitions:  "Hallowed be thy name...

Thy kingdom come."  We might be surprised to discover what we

are requesting each Sunday when we speak the prayer together.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Greetings to all!

In her book, The Cup of Life, Joyce Rupp describes her discovery that all of 

life can be the setting for spiritual growth.

   I used to keep my spiritual life in a tight space and felt that my work, my 

social life, my relational joys and struggles actually kept me away from

God rather than teaching me and being sources of personal transformation

for me.  Now I see all of this differently.  I have come to believe that every

part of my life affects or influences my life with God.  The world I live in, with

its beauty and tragedy, with its creatures of all forms and shapes, is 

constantly offering me messages about who I am and who God is.  Everything 

and everyone teaches me about God, life, and myself.

   I try now to approach each person, event, creature, with two questions:

How are you my teacher?  What am I meant to learn?

The scripture lessons for Sunday, October 30:

Joshua 3:7-17

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Matthew 23:1-12

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, October 30, 10am, in Trinity

Hall.  Our conversation will focus around a video titled Pray The Devil Back

To Hell, the story of Leymah Gbowee (2011 Nobel Peace Prize co-winner) 

and the women's peace movement in Liberia.  What lessons might this 

women's movement offer for us?

The Children's Choir continues its practice sessions this Sunday, 10am,

in Trinity Hall.  All children (through elementary age) are invited to participate.

A Host(s) is needed for our after worship refreshments this Sunday, 

October 30.  Use reply email to volunteer for this Sunday, or check the

sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer for opportunities later in the fall.  

The Greatest Prayer study of the Lord's Prayer continues this Sunday,

4:30pm, at the home of Mike Ward (341 Albany Road).  All are invited. This 

Sunday's session focuses on the petitions "Hallowed be thy name...

Thy kingdom come."  We might be surprised to discover what we are asking 

each Sunday morning when we speak the Lord's Prayer together.

The Kentucky Council of Churches will gather for its 64th Annual Assembly, 

October 27-28, at Faith Baptist Church (116 Pocahontas Trail) in Georgetown.  

Among the Assembly events is an Ecumenical Worship Service, Thursday, 

7pm, at Faith Baptist Church, Georgetown.  The worship service is open to all.  

For more information regarding the Annual Assembly, check out the KCC website 

( www.kycouncilofchurches.org ).  Click the "Events" tab, then "assemblies."

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, October 23, at Walnut Hill Church...

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Reflections From Africa

Ellen Cornett will share images and remembrances from her recent trip to Kenya, 

part of a mission tour sponsored by Centenary United Methodist Church.  We will 

hear in Ellen's reflections the hospitable, hopeful, and joyful spirit to be found within 

and among many people in Africa.  Come and enjoy a cup of coffee, join the 

conversation, or just listen in.

Nursery care will be provided.

Children's Choir Practice, 10am, Trinity Hall

Children through elementary age are invited to gather for music practice in 

preparation for a Christmas season presentation in December.     

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon:  Seeing the Land

Text:  Deuteronomy 34:1-12

2011 Community Fund Grant presentation to Indian Summer Camp.

Nursery care and Sunday School for children.

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

The Greatest Prayer, 4:30pm, at the home of Mike Ward

A four-session study of the Lord's Prayer.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Greetings to all!

This Sunday begins a four week study of the Lord's Prayer (see article below).

The prayer's traditional wording is so familiar that we often do not hear it.  In

his book, Sermon on the Mount, Clarence Jordan offers his Cabbage

Patch Version of the Lord's Prayer and a few remarks about the prayer's

significance.

Father of us, O Spiritual One,

Your Name be truly honored.

Your kingdom spread, your will prevail

Through earth, as through the heavens.

Sustaining bread grant us each day.

Forgive our debts as we forgive

The debts of all who cannot pay.

And from confusion keep us clear;

Deliver us from evil's sway.

Fifty-three simple words (fifty-seven in the Greek), yet their influence on the

world has been immeasurable!  This prayer has been upon the lips of more

people than any other bit of the world's greatest literature.  No doubt Jesus

lavished great thought upon it, for in the Greek it is in the form of a poem,

having definite rhyme and meter.  In every respect it is a spiritual gem,

polished, and brought to high luster by the Master himself.  It is not the 

"Lord's Prayer," but our prayer which the Lord gave us.

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, October 23:

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Matthew 22:34-46

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, October 23, 10am, in Trinity Hall

as Ellen Cornett shares with us her recent experience traveling to Kenya as part 

of a mission team sponsored by Centenary United Methodist Church.   

The Children's Choir begins its practice sessions this Sunday, October 23,

10am, in Trinity Hall.  All children through elementary age are invited to 

participate as the choir looks toward a Christmas season presentation.

Contact Nell Horman for more information regarding the Children's Choir.

The Greatest Prayer is the title of a four-session study of the Lord's Prayer

beginning this Sunday, October 23, 4:30 - 6:00pm, at the home of Mike and Barb

Ward (341 Albany Road).  The study is based on the book, The Greatest

Prayer, by John Dominic Crossan.

The Reading Camp of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington will hold its 

2nd Annual "Fruits of the Vine" brunch and wine tasting on November 5, 11am,

at the Acres of Land Winery in Madison County.  Tickets are $50/person, and

proceeds support the Reading Camp ministry in Lexington, eastern Kentucky,

and around the world.  For more information regarding Reading Camp and the

Fruits of the Vine event, see www.readingcamprocks.org .

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, October 16, at Walnut Hill Church...

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

The Great Feast

Using several animated and quasi-historical videos, we will explore

the interpretations, possible meanings, and various views of God

expressed in Jesus' parable of The Great Feast as told in three

different gospels.  The question for us will be:  Given our understanding

of God, how might we tell this ancient story in our time?

(Nursery care available by request.  Please call the church office,

263-5304, to request nursery care.)

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon:  They Went Away Amazed!

Text:  Matthew 22:15-22

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children.

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Greetings to all!

From our family relationships often arise both our greatest joys and our 

greatest anxieties, especially in regard to those loved ones who live their lives

beyond our immediate reach.  We rejoice in news of their accomplishments and 

good fortune; we grieve their losses; we worry about them in their struggles.

Consider this prayer for loved ones away from us, around which may be added 

our own particular joys, sorrows, or concerns.

Almighty God, we commend to your goodness

all who are near and dear to us,

wherever they may be today.

Watch over them;

provide for them;

bless them in body and soul;

at last bring them and us

into the perfect and eternal joy of heaven;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

(Henry Van Dyke, as found in the Book of Common Worship)

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, October 16...

   Exodus 33:12-23

   1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

   Matthew 22:15-22

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, October 16, as we focus on

Jesus' story of The Great Feast.  Good stories are made to be told, heard,

and told again.  So how might we tell the story of The Great Feast today?

Host Needed - A host(s) is needed for our refreshments this Sunday, October

16.  Use reply email to volunteer for this Sunday, or check the sign up sheet 

in the Sanctuary foyer to host a Sunday later in the fall.

The Greatest Prayer is the title of a four-session study of the Lord's Prayer to

be held on Sunday afternoon's (Oct 23 & 30, Nov 6 & 13), 4:30 - 6:00pm at the 

home of Mike and Barb Ward (341 Albany Rd).  Use reply email to sign up

and/or reserve a copy of the study book, The Greatest Prayer, by John 

Dominic Crossan.  Study books may also be purchased individually, including

electronic versions. 

Men's Coffee - Walnut Hill men are invited to gather for coffee and conversation

each Saturday morning, 8am, at Panera's on Richmond Road.  Feel free to

stop by for as long or short a time as your schedule allows.  No rsvp required.

The Kentucky Council of Churches will hold its 64th Annual Assembly,

October 27 - 28, at Faith Baptist Church in Georgetown.  This year's theme,

"Who Is My Neighbor?", will focus on immigration policy, issues, and ministry.

Look for program pamphlets in the Sanctuary foyer or check out the KCC

website,   www.kycouncilofchurches.org (click the "Events" tab).

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday At Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, October 9, at Walnut Hill Church...

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Reflections by Parker Palmer

We will explore the thought and work of Parker Palmer, Quaker author and

teacher.  Through a series of brief videos including "The Myth of the 

Individual", "The Wisdom of the Heart", "Inner Authority", "The Soul", "The

Tragic Gap", and "Worst Enemies", Palmer will challenge our ideas and

open us to a conversation about what really matters in life.

(Nursery care is available upon request.  Use reply email or call the church

office, 263-5304, to request nursery care.)

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon:  The Great Banquet

Text:  Matthew 22:1-14

Grant presentation to the YMCA of Central Kentucky

Nursery care and Sunday School for children.

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Greetings to all!

"The Lord's Prayer" is perhaps the most familiar of all religious verses.  We can

speak it in our sleep, and perhaps we are "asleep" most of the time when we

speak it.  But what if, as John Dominic Crossan suggests, "The Lord's Prayer

is...both a revolutionary manifesto and a hymn of hope"?  If so, in speaking the

prayer, we might be "asking" for much more than we imagine.  As Crossan 

describes it, the vision of the Lord's Prayer...

...derives from the common experience of a well-run home, household, or

family farm.  If you walked into one, how would you judge the householder?

Are the fields well tended?  Are the animals properly provisioned?  Are the 

buildings adequately maintained?  Are the children and dependents well fed,

clothed, and sheltered?  Are the sick given special care?  Are responsibilities

and returns apportioned fairly?  Do all have enough?  Especially that:  Do all

have enough?  Or, to the contrary, do some have far too little while others 

have far too much?

It is that vision of the well-run household...that the biblical tradition applies to

God.  God is the Householder of the world house, and all those preceding 

questions must be repeated on a global and cosmic scale.  Do all God's 

children have enough?  If not - and the biblical answer is "not" - how must 

things change here below so that all God's people have a fair, equitable, and

just proportion of God's world?  The Lord's Prayer proclaims that necessary

change as both revolutionary manifesto and hymn of hope.

(from The Greatest Prayer)

The Scripture lessons for Sunday, October 9...

   Exodus 32:1-14

   Philippians 4:1-9

   Matthew 22:1-14

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, October 9, 10am, in Trinity

Hall.  This Sunday's conversation will focus on the reflections of author and

educator Parker Palmer.  Come enjoy a cup of coffee, join the conversation,

or just listen in.

Calling all Acolytes - This Sunday, October 9, immediately after worship will

be a brief, hands on, training for young people (particularly older elementary

age children) who are interested in serving as acoloytes.  This training will

last no longer than 30 minutes, and will be repeated on Sunday, October 16.

Host Needed - A host(s) is needed for our afterworship refreshments this 

Sunday, October 9.  Use reply email to volunteer for this Sunday, or check

the sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer to sign up for a Sunday later in the

fall.

The Greatest Prayer is the title of a 4-session study of the Lord's Prayer to

be held on Sunday evenings (Oct 23 & 30, Nov 6 & 13), 4:30 - 6:00pm, at the 

home of Mike & Barb Ward.  Use reply email to sign up and/or to reserve a 

copy of the study book, The Greatest Prayer, by John Dominic Crossan.  Study

books may also be purchased individually, including electronic versions.

In the Community:  Please Don't Call Me Homeless...I Don't Call You Homed

will be presented on Tuesday, October 11, 7:30pm, at the KY Theater (Main

Street).  The production is written and performed by men and women who

have experienced homelessness in Lexington.  Admission is free with seating

on a first come-first seated basis. Donations to the Catholic Action Center will

be accepted.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward