Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, May 31, at Walnut Hill Church...

TRINITY SUNDAY

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

The Trinity

We will engage some conversation around this central,

yet perplexing, tenet of the Christian religion.  Come,

enjoy a cup of coffee, join the conversation, or just 

listen in.

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - A Touch of Holiness

Text - Isaiah 6:1-8

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, May 27, 2015

Greetings to all!

This Sunday, May 31, is Trinity Sunday, an occasion to celebrate 

and explore that most mysterious, perplexing, and sometimes 

confounding doctrine of the Trinity, one God in Three Persons. In 

one of his journal entries, Thomas Merton reflects on the notion of 

the Trinity without ever using the word as he writes about the gift of 

the Holy Spirit in the practice of contemplation.

In [the Spirit] we are awakened to know the Father, because in the 

Spirit we are refashioned in the likeness of the Son.  It  is in this 

likeness that the Spirit will bring us at last to the clear vision of the 

invisible Father in the Son's glory, which will also be our glory.  

Meanwhile, it is the Spirit who awakens in our heart the faith and 

hope in which we cry for fulfillment and vision.  In this hope there 

is already a beginning, a "promise" of fulfillment.  This is our 

contemplation: the realization and "experience" of the life-giving 

Spirit in Whom the Father is present to us through the Son, our way, 

truth, and life.  The realization  that we are on our way, that because 

we are on our way we are in that Truth, which is the end and by 

which we are already fully and eternally alive.  Contemplation is

the loving sense of this life and this presence and this eternity.

(from The Intimate Merton)

The lectionary texts for Sunday, May 31, Trinity Sunday...

Isaiah 6:1-8

Romans 8:12-17

John 3:1-17

Sunday Conversations continue this Sun, May 31, 10am, in 

Trinity Hall.  Sunday Conversation topics from week to week 

include Bible study, theology, spirituality, and current events.  

Come enjoy a cup of coffee, join the conversation, or just listen 

in.

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

Sunday, May 31.  Use reply email to volunteer for this Sunday, 

or visit the online signup to host a Sunday later in the summer.

Wednesday Evenings Together will be returning in June 

(June 10, 17, 24), 6pm - 7:30pm.  All ages are invited to gather

 for a meal, program, and evening prayer.  This year's theme is 

"Abundance Orchard: Where Faith Grows and Hungry People 

Are Fed."  We will celebrate the abundance of God's world, and

explore ways to share that abundance with all.  Let us know of

your plans to attend via reply email or the sign up sheet in the

Sanctuary foyer.

SUMMER CAMPS:  The summer camp season is upon us. 

Walnut Hill children/youth have privilege to attend either of two 

camp programs:  Camp Burnamwood or Cathedral Domain .  

Visit their websites for program schedules and registration 

information.  Remember that Walnut Hill will pay 1/2 the cost of any 

Walnut Hill youth attending a Burnamwood or Domain program.

In the Community: Dr. Larry Kant, former professor at Lexington

Theological Seminary, will be offering a workshop titled, "Reading

the Bible Mystically," on Sunday, June 14.  Visit Mystic Scholar

or contact Dr. Kant ( dblk2@qx.net ) for more information.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

A Summer of Hospitality

Dear Walnut Hill Members and Friends:

The Memorial Day weekend signals the traditional beginning of the summer season.  I hope that your summer will include Sunday mornings at Walnut Hill for worship and fellowship.  With that in mind, this special email is being sent to invite you to visit Walnut Hill's online refreshment sign up sheet and to host one Sunday during the summer season.

Here is the link:   After Church Refreshments    

If you prefer, you can navigate to the sign up sheet via the Walnut Hill Church website,  www.walnuthillchurchky.org .  (click on "Links,"  then select "After Church Food Reservations")

The online sign-up sheet was created to make it convenient for persons to find and select a Sunday when they might host the after worship gathering.

When you get to the site, the process is quite simple:

*Select a Sunday that works for you, and click on "edit".

*Find your name in the dropdown box and select it

*If others are working with you, you can type their names in the "comments" box.

*Click "submit."

Once you have signed up, you will receive an email confirmation.  You will also receive an email during the week leading up to your Sunday.

By the way, if you do not see your name in the dropdown box, that simply means we did not have your email on file at the time the list was created.  Let us know, and we will update it.  In the meantime, you can sign up by selecting "new" in the dropdown box and typing your name in the comments section.

If you have any questions or problems using the online sign up, simply let us know by reply email.  Also, you can still sign up via the traditional sign up sheet in the Sanctuary foyer.

Let me take this opportunity to remind us all how important the after worship gathering is for our life together at Walnut Hill as it provides opportunity for us to make and deepen acquaintances and friendships.

Let me also say that the after worship refreshments need not be elaborate, just something simple to gather around for our fellowship.

Please take a moment to select a Sunday, so that we might all enjoy a Summer of Hospitality!

Thanks to all our hosts!

Peace,

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, May 24, at Walnut Hill Church...

THE DAY OF PENTECOST

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

"The Incommunicable Experience"

Sunday's conversation, prompted by the Memorial Day

holiday, will explore the challenge of trying to understand 

the experience of those who have been in combat.  We 

will view a brief video featuring journalist and author,

Sebastian Junger.  You may view the video in advance

at TedTalks .

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - Learning a New Language

Text -  Acts 2:1-21

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, May 20, 2015

Greetings to all!

This Sunday, May 24, is the Day of Pentecost, bringing

the season of Easter to completion and setting the

stage for the "ordinary time" of summer and fall.  Dorothy 

Bass comments...

For fifty days, it is Easter - more days, probably, than most

of us can sustain our joy.  Like the disciples after they

watched the Risen One ascend on the fortieth day, we

have returned to the city, to carry on with our lives.  It is

here that the gift that completes Easter finds us on the

Day of Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit arrives like a rushing

wind, and we understand that the love and strength of

God are not separate from us but dwell in our own hearts.  

Our lives are meant to embody these gifts of the Spirit and 

to share them with others.  This is a glorious perception 

but also a humbling one.  Those of us who kneel when we

pray begin to do so again.  The long season of Pentecost 

lies ahead; we are entering a time that the Catholic calendar 

calls "ordinary."  We will be nourished in the paschal mystery 

each Sunday, and with the help of the Holy Spirit we will 

seek to embody its mercy in our daily living.  As the months 

pass, however, we will become conscious again of our

yearning for the advent of Christ.

(from Receiving the Day)

The lectionary texts for Sunday, May 24, Pentecost...

Acts 2:1-21

Romans 8:22-27

John 15:26-27; 16:4-15

Sunday Conversations continue this Sun, May 24, 10am,

in Trinity Hall.  Our conversation focus for Sunday will be

prompted by "the incommunicable experience of war."  Come 

enjoy a cup of coffee, join the conversation, or just listen in.

Wednesday Evenings Together will be returning in

June (10, 17, 24), 6pm - 7:30pm.  All ages are invited to

gather for a meal, program, and evening prayer.  This

year's theme is "Abundance Orchard: Where Faith Grows

and Hungry People Are Fed."  Watch for more details.

SUMMER CAMPS:  The summer camp season is upon

us.  Walnut Hill children/youth have privilege to attend

either of two camp programs:  Camp Burnamwood or

Cathedral Domain .  Visit their websites for program

schedules and registration information.  Remember

that Walnut Hill will pay 1/2 the cost of any Walnut Hill

youth attending a Burnamwood or Domain program.

Nepal: As you might be aware, Walnut Hill has sent an 

initial $1,760 to Nepal via Church World Service to support

relief and rebuilding efforts after the recent earthquakes. 

Your donations continue to be welcome.  Make checks 

payable to Walnut Hill Church, designated "Nepal."  

Visit Nepal Appeal for more information regarding the 

Church World Service effort.

Cemetery Guidelines:  Copies of the recently revised 

"Rules and Regulations of the Walnut Hill Cemetery" 

are available in the foyer of the Sanctuary.

Thanks to all who helped to make last Sunday's 

potluck a delicious success!

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, May 17, at Walnut Hill Church...

SPRING POTLUCK!!

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Life Together

We will talk about our "life together" in the Church, its

ideals and realities, its possibilities and problems, its 

joys and disappointments,

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - The Two Ways

Text -  Psalm 1

The Rite of Confirmation

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children

SPRING POTLUCK, NOON, TRINITY HALL

Bring a side dish or salad and join us for this delicious

Walnut Hill tradition.  Meat and dessert will be provided.

Walnut Hill Church Weekly Letter

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Greetings to all!

In the midst of "Graduation Season," consider these thoughts

from the late Peter Gomes, former Minister of Harvard's 

Memorial Church and faculty member ay Harvard Divinity 

School.

Noble thoughts would appear to be far away from the minds

of this indulged and indulgent generation, yet many

conversations over recent years have told me otherwise.

More and more students are asking questions about the

moral use of their lives and their education, and about their

value, when value questions about education used to be

rigorously utilitarian.  "How much is my degree worth," the

students used to ask, "and how much will it get me of this

world's goods?" ... The value questions now, however, 

which were once tied to potential net worth, increasingly

have to do with matters of moral value, public and private

virtue, and a sense of a fit vocation for making a good life

and not just a good living.

(from The Good Life)

The lectionary texts for Sun, May 17, the 7th Sun of Easter

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Psalm 1

1 John 5:9-13

John 17:6-19

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, May 17,

10am, in Trinity Hall.  Our conversation for this Sunday

is titled, "Life Together," focusing on our life together in

the church.

THE SPRING POTLUCK is this Sunday, May 17, Noon.

Bring a salad or side dish and join us for this delicious

Walnut Hill tradition.  Meat and dessert will be provided.

SUMMER CAMPS:  The summer camp season is upon

us.  Walnut Hill children/youth have privilege to attend

either of two camp programs:  Camp Burnamwood or

Cathedral Domain .  Visit their websites for program

schedules and registration information.  Remember

that Walnut Hill will pay 1/2 the cost of any Walnut Hill

youth attending a Burnamwood or Domain program.

Thanks to all who helped make our recent EOS season

a full and meaningful one including small group hosts,

facilitators, and participants, as well as all those who joined

in Sunday morning worship and conversation sessions

over these past 6 weeks.  Watch for EOS to return in 

the fall.

Nepal suffered another damaging earthquake this week.  

Relief and rebuilding efforts continue.  As you might be 

aware, Walnut Hill is sending an initial $1,760 to the region 

via Church World Service.  Your donations continue to be 

welcome.  Make checks payable to Walnut Hill Church, 

designated "Nepal."  Visit Nepal Appeal for more information 

regarding the Church World Service effort.

Cemetery Guidelines:  Copies of the recently revised 

"Rules and Regulations of the Walnut Hill Cemetery" are 

available in the foyer of the Sanctuary.

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, May 10, at Walnut Hill Church...

THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTERTIDE

EXPLORING OUR SPIRITUALITY

"Experiencing the Risen Christ"

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

The Risen Christ Reality

We will explore the reality of the Risen Christ in the presence 

of death as experienced in one our nation's toughest places 

to live, inner city L.A., and how that reality might translate into

our own lives.  We will begin with some reflections from

Father Greg Boyle, founder of "Homeboy Industries" (L.A.).

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - Witnesses to the Resurrection

Text - Acts 1:1-11

The Sacrament of Baptism

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, May 6, 2015

Greetings to all!

During this EOS/Eastertide season we have been reflecting on the 

stories of Jesus' resurrection appearances.  In his sermon, "The Road to 

Emmaus," Frederick Beuchner observes the often ordinary nature of these 

appearances: in the cemetery garden, in an upstairs room, on the road 

to an obscure village, etc.  

The sacred moments, the moments of miracle, are often the every-

day moments, the moments which, if we do not look with more than

our eyes or listen with more than our ears, reveal only...the gardener, 

a stranger coming down the road behind us, a meal like any other 

meal.  But if we look with our hearts, if we listen with all of our being 

and imagination - if we live our lives not from vacation to vacation, 

from escape to escape, but from the miracle of one instant of our 

precious lives to the miracle of the next - what we may see is Jesus 

himself, what we may hear is the first faint sound of a voice somewhere 

deep within us saying that there is a purpose in this life, in our lives, 

whether we can understand it completely or not; and that this purpose 

follows behind us through all our doubting and being afraid, through 

all our indifference and boredom, to a moment when suddenly we 

know for sure that everything does make sense because everything is 

in the hands of God, one of whose names is forgiveness, another is love.  

This is what the stories about Jesus' coming back to life mean, because 

Jesus was the love of God, alive among us, and not all the cruelty and 

blindness of men could kill him.

(from The Magnificent Defeat)

The scripture lesson for Sunday, May 10, the 6th Sunday of Easter...

Acts 1:1-11

Sunday Conversations continue this Sunday, May 10, 10am, in

Trinity Hall.  This Sunday we will be wrapping up our conversations

around "Experiencing the Risen Christ."  Come enjoy a cup of coffee,

join the conversation, or just listen in.

THE SPRING POTLUCK will be held on Sunday, May 17, immediately

after morning worship.  Bring a salad or side dish, and join us for this 

delicious Walnut Hill tradition.  Meat and dessert will be provided.

NEPAL RELIEF - Thanks to the generosity of many folks, Walnut Hill

will be sending $1,760 to support relief and reconstruction efforts in

Nepal.  Walnut Hill's donation will be part of the Church World Service

response to this tradegy.  Visit Nepal Relief for more information on

how Walnut Hill's contribution will be used.

Exploring Our Spirituality (EOS) began on Easter Sunday. Our 

theme for this EOS season is "Experiencing the Risen Christ," 

focusing on the resurrection stories found in the New Testament.  

You may participate in EOS in any/all of the following ways:

*Sunday Conversations, 10am, Sunday mornings

*Morning Worship, 11am, Sunday mornings (visit 

Sunday sermons to hear recordings of EOS season sermons)

*EOS small groups, meeting on Sunday evenings,Tuesday 

evenings, and Thursday mornings (contact the church office, 

263-5304, for information about joining a small group)

*Individual study and reflection

A workbook is available for individual and small group use. 

Contact the church office (263-5304) for a paper copy, or visit

 EOS Workbook for the online version.

Calling All High School Graduates:  If you have a student in

your household graduating from high school this spring, please 

contact the church office by reply email or by phone, so that we 

might recognize his/her accomplishment on May 17.  Please 

do not assume we know.  Thanks!

Peace to all.

Mike Ward

Sunday at Walnut Hill Church

This Sunday, May 3, at Walnut Hill Church...

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Exploring our Spirituality

"Experiencing the Risen Christ"

Sunday Conversations, 10am, Trinity Hall

Signs of Resurrection

If resurrection is a reality, then where might we be seeing

its signs in our lives and in the world?  We will talk about

the signs of resurrection that we have seen, or not.

Morning Worship, 11am, Sanctuary

Sermon - Beyond Irony

Text - Luke 24:13-35

The Sacrament of Holy Communion

Nursery Care and Sunday School for Children

After Worship Gathering, Noon, Trinity Hall

All are invited to gather for refreshments and fellowship.