April 26

It is Barbecue Week!  As you read this, we are gearing up to feed Oconee County with good, nourishing food for the 80th year in a row!  As we do each year, all ages will gather to work side-by-side on Friday and Saturday to prepare the feast.  Did you know that each year we begin early afternoon on Friday and work round the clock until Saturday at 6:00 pm?  If you haven’t signed up to help, just come on!  There is plenty of work for everyone.  We especially need people on Friday afternoon to prepare the pots and the fire and on Saturday to stir the hash. 

This Sunday, as is the pattern on Barbecue Sunday, we will not meet for Sunday School, but will gather in the Fellowship Hall for donuts at 10:00 and in the Sanctuary for worship at 11:00 - to remember a good weekend of work and fellowship, and to give thanks to God for all the gifts with which we are blessed.  We will be talking about the Emmaus Road story from Luke 24:13-35.  This is a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus that tells of two men who walk a long distance with him without recognizing who it is.  But, as he enters their home and “breaks bread” to eat with them, suddenly their eyes are opened. 

My prayer is that, like these men, as we “break bread” together at the Barbecue, that Jesus will appear to us; that we will know his presence in our midst; and that we will share the Good News of his love with all those that cross our paths.

Happy 80th Barbecue!

 -Pastor Jane

April 19

What a wonderful Holy Week – Maundy Thursday, Saturday’s Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday’s Sunrise Service, and 11:00 Worship.  I want to share with you some of the numbers for the weekend.  At the Easter Egg Hunt, we had 35 children, plus parents and other adults.  For the Sunrise Service, we had 43 in attendance, with 15 of them “unique” to that service.  And at our 11:00 service, we had 132 in attendance – some even sitting on the front pew because the sanctuary was so full. 

Mixed in among these numbers were 6 families at the Easter Egg Hunt that were new to Union.  We will be following up with them in the near future.  There were also 29 visitors in the 11:00 worship service, many who were extended family members, but some who were local guests to the service.  You can see from these numbers that we have a wonderful opportunity to share the good news of Jesus and the love of Union with some new people.  I encourage you to always keep an eye open for those you may not know, for those who need a smile and a welcoming spirit. 

I will be away this Sunday in North Carolina, celebrating the 2nd birthday of our granddaughter Annabelle on Saturday, and the dedication of her baby brother, Silas, on Sunday.  Our entire family will be there, as well as all of Josh’s family.  It should be a roaring good weekend!  In my absence, Ray Austin will be preaching.  I am so grateful for Ray’s generous spirit in filling the pulpit while I’m gone.  He will have a good word for you on Sunday and I hope you will be here to hear it.

The Barbecue is fast approaching and if you have not signed up to help, please do so by signing up on Sunday or by calling the church office.  We need everyone involved to make this the best Barbecue of the past 80 years!  Don’t forget – commemorative t shirts are available.

My prayers will be with you this weekend as you gather to worship.

 -Pastor Jane

April 12

This weekend will be marked by extremes.  Extreme emotion, extreme memories, extreme stories.  I hope you will take the time to move slowly through these days and the emotions they call forth.

For 40 days we have travelled through the season of Lent.  We have let silence and sacrifice guide our thoughts and our actions.  Now, we come to the holiest weekend of the Christian Year.  We will gather together on Thursday night at 6:30 pm for a Maundy Thursday/Tenebrae Service.  This is a service where we will retell the story of the last hours of Jesus’ life.  It is not a happy, joyous journey, but instead a very somber one.  I encourage you to come and hear the story once again, as we sit in silence together as the darkness overtakes the light.

We will live in that darkness through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and then awaken at dawn on Sunday morning.  You are invited to gather in the darkness at 6:30 am for our Easter Sunrise Service.  Just as the women did on the first Easter, we will meet in the darkness, only to hear the good news – Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!

And, then we will gather again for Easter Sunday worship at 11:00, where we will explore the topic, “Do Not Be Afraid of the Metaphor.” Let me also encourage you to bring blooming flowers from your yard and come a little early to help decorate the floral cross.  The new buds, signifying a new life, will remind us of the good news of the resurrection. 

Christ is risen. 
He is risen indeed!

 -Pastor Jane

April 5

Holy Week begins this Sunday - Palm Sunday.  This is a day of great joy and celebration, when we remember Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem, the cheers and adulation of the crowds, followed all too quickly by the darkness of the coming days.  As you prepare for worship on Sunday, let me encourage you to read the various renditions of this story from each of the gospels.  Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19.  Each one of the gospel writers gives a slightly different account.  Why is that?  It’s an interesting question and one we will explore on Sunday.

Let me also encourage you to begin your preparation for Maundy Thursday on April 13.  This is the day of Jesus’ betrayal, the day he shares a final meal with his disciples. It is an important night.  We will gather as a church family in a quiet candlelit sanctuary to remember, as Jesus begins to walk the final road to Calvary.  Our service will be filled with music, scripture and silence.  This is because it enables us to pause and reflect on the great sacrifice Jesus made for us. Invite your friends and family to join you.

I look forward to share this Holy Week with you.  My prayer is that God will speak to you in a new and specific way this week.

 -Pastor Jane

March 29

This Sunday in worship we will explore the story of Lazarus found in John 11. As you can imagine, this account is filled with a trove of details, any of which would make a sermon. Our focus this week will ask the question:  Why did Jesus wait two full days before going to Lazarus?  This is such a small detail that we could almost miss it.  Why did Jesus wait?

Have you ever felt that you are “on hold” with God?  None of us enjoy waiting, but when it seems that perhaps God doesn’t hear our prayers, or God just doesn’t care, or God is silent, what are we to think?  How do we live while waiting?

Author Jerome Daley has written a book entitled When God Waits: Making Sense of Divine Delays. From the opening words of praise for the book, written by friends and other authors, we read words that describe this time of waiting:

We experience the beauty, presence, and purpose of God in the waiting period and that God is just as amazing then as God is at any other time.

I hope you will join us on Sunday as we talk about the lessons we can learn and the great gifts we can receive as we wait.

 -Pastor Jane

March 22

This week's Midweek article will be a "smorgasbord" of good things happening at Union. 

We are at the midpoint of our Wednesday night Lenten Soup and Bible Study sessions and have had wonderful crowds, great soup and fellowship, and a stimulating study.  Plan to join us tonight as we examine the statement, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”  We meet at 5:45, beginning with a soup supper, followed by a time of Bible study and discussion. Invite a friend and join us this week.

Have you noticed the six cars that have begun parking in our parking lot this week?  We have a group of neighbors that van-pool to their out of town work every day, and we have offered for them to park in our church lot during the day and to have their van parked in the lot each evening.  If you happen to see them in the early morning or early evening, please give them a warm Union greeting.

Easter is coming soon – April 16 – and as we do each year, we will have a Spring Clean-Up Day prior to Easter.  We will meet on Saturday, April 1, at 9:00 am.  If you are a Disciples Men participant, plan to come after your breakfast meeting that morning.  We will primarily be working outside, so bring some work gloves and yard tools.  The more the merrier and the quicker the work.  Hope to see you there!

Speaking of Easter, do you have a friend, family member, or neighbor you would like to invite to worship with us that day?  Easter is the day that most people come to church and is a perfect time to invite someone.  Be thinking about who that might be.  Have you placed your Easter Cross in your yard yet?  What a beautiful reminder of this blessed season.

 -Pastor Jane

March 15

Do you think much about water?  For those of us who have it at the turn of a spigot, it is often an afterthought.  But, not so in many places around our globe.  Water is the source of life, and without it people, crops, animals, even countries, wither and die. 

This week in worship, we will be exploring the theme of water.  Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman in John 4 and the story of Moses calling water from the rock in Exodus 17 will guide us.  Let me invite you to spend some time in those two passages this week.  Hydration is an important part of a Boot Camp regimen.  How can we incorporate it in our lives this week? 

 -Pastor Jane

March 8

If you were not with us on Sunday, you missed the beginning of a new sermon series – Boot Camp For The Soul.  During these weeks of Lent, we are exploring what it might mean to pursue a change in our hearts and in our actions.  This week we will be talking about a complete reset.  We know that when we became a Christian, when we had our spiritual rebirth, we experienced a new start.  But, what happens when we find ourselves needing a restart – when our Christian life has become stale or nonexistent?  Perhaps our calling is to live again, day by day.

I would like to share with you the words of someone else – a blog entry from a web site, The Community of Jesus, an ecumenical Christian community located in Massachusetts. 

Always We Begin Again
April 9, 2014
By Renaissance Girl
 
It’s been right under my nose for years and it’s only just sunk in. I was caught by the final verse of Psalm 61 this morning: “Then I will ever sing in praise of your name and fulfill my vows day after day.”
 
Day after day. Not a one-shot deal, not a magic switch you flip and never have to think about again. I realize that’s what I look for — a one-time solution — setting my course and putting myself on auto-pilot.
 
But it’s not that simple, or maybe a better way to look at it is that it’s not that stagnant. Life with God — vowed life — is a “day after day” kind of living. Every morning when my feet hit the floor, I vow again. I say yes (with God’s grace) to starting the process and staying with it that day. And if…no, when…I fall, I plant my feet and begin again. It’s a more hopeful way to live than in some of the ways I’ve tried to strive. 
 
It reminded me this morning of that quote “Always we begin again.” I couldn’t remember where it came from, and was a little embarrassed to find it is in the Rule of St Benedict — the foundation of our vowed life and our own Rule. It’s been right here telling me I don’t have just one shot to get it right…..I have Day after Day!

 -Pastor Jane

March 1

I am writing this on Sunday afternoon, after a wonderful morning of worship.  After 6 weeks of sermons based on the Sermon on the Mount, today we HEARD the words of Jesus coming to us from that very same sermon.  His words are both good and hard, challenging and comforting – words we need to place in our hearts and carry with us every day.

Many of you came out of worship saying, “I liked your words today,” to which I responded, “Those weren’t my words, but the words of Jesus.”  Many of you also raised the question about the translation that was used.  Let me tell you a little about it.

The Message is a translation of the biblical texts by Eugene Peterson, written out of his lifetime of being a pastor.  He recognized that his calling as a pastor gave him a responsibility to get the word of God into the lives of the people with which he worked.  It was out of this urgency that The Message was born. 

Hear his words, “I lived in two language worlds, the world of the Bible and the world of today.  Out of necessity, I became a ‘translator,’ daily standing on the border between two worlds, getting the language of the Bible that God uses to create and save us, heal and bless us....into the language of today...”  On Sunday, you heard Jesus’ words in the “language of today.”

My prayer is that each day, we will read and hear God’s word, and that it will speak to our living as Christ followers.

 -Pastor Jane

February 22

Have you ever heard the voice of Jesus?  We might say that we hear his voice as we read scripture; we might say that we hear his voice as we watch little children at play, or take a walk in the woods; we might even say that we hear his voice through our grandparents or even through our own children.  But, have we actually HEARD the voice of Jesus?

This Sunday is the last Sunday before the season of Lent begins.  We have spent the weeks of Epiphany in the book of Matthew, specifically in the chapters that make up the Sermon on the Mount.  This Sunday, you will have the opportunity to HEAR the voice of Jesus from the mountaintop. While most of us enjoy reading and do it often, taking the time to listen is something that is often lost in our busy world.

In his book, Whistling in the Dark, Fredrick Buechner speaks of hearing in this way:
“A deaf man coming upon me listening would think that nothing of importance was going on.  But something of extraordinary importance is going on.  I am taking you more fully into myself than I can any other way.  Hearing you speak brings me by the most direct of all routes something of the innermost secret of who you are.”

My prayer is that we may all “take” Jesus more “fully into ourselves,” as we hear his words this Sunday and that we will be awakened to the “innermost secret” of who he is and what his call to each of us can mean.  I hope you will join us in worship, as Jesus speaks directly to us from the mountaintop. 

 -Pastor Jane

February 15

The beginning of Lent is only two weeks away.  As we approach this holy season, I would like to share with you a new opportunity that will be available, to help us share God’s love with our community. 

The cross is the most recognized symbol of Christianity.  During Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, many churches have large crosses displayed in their yards, with three different colors that represent the three elements of the season. You might remember that this is something we do each year at Union.  This year we would like to offer each church family the opportunity to have their own family cross to place in their yard.

These crosses will be small, “yard crosses,” about the height of a normal yard sign.  You will also receive three pieces of fabric – purple, black, and white – to drape your cross at the appropriate time.  An instruction sheet and short devotional to accompany the fabric changes will also be provided. 

This Sunday morning, a model cross will be available for you to see and there will be a sign-up sheet to indicate your interest.  This will help us know how many to make.  I am so grateful to the men who are creating the crosses and the women who are preparing the fabric.  My hope is that this small cross in your front yard will provide an opportunity for your neighbors to ask questions and for you to share the love of Christ to each of them.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we talk about that love – a love without limits.

 -Pastor Jane

February 8

On Monday and Tuesday of this week I had the privilege of attending the Self Preaching Lectures at my seminary in Atlanta – McAfee School of Theology.  This lecture series is named after Dr. William Self, long-time pastor in Atlanta.  Each year, a leading theologian and preacher is invited to deliver these lectures and over the past few years, I have heard a variety of excellent preachers/teachers.

This year, the speaker was Dr. Bill Leonard – one of my former professors, but more importantly a long-time family friend.  He is the founding Dean of Wake Forest School of Divinity and is recognized as a leading church historian.  It was from that background that he spoke of preaching in the Appalachian tradition.

I would like to share with you a quote that has stuck with me from one of his lectures.  “Theology you can’t sing, isn’t much theology at all.”  What did he mean?  Each week as we gather in worship, we sing together – hymns and praise songs.  It is possible to stand and never open your mouth, to mumble along with words, or to sing with gusto.  Each week as I look out into the congregation, I see all three!

We spend a great deal of time in worship, reading our Bibles and listening to sermons, with the hope that they will shed a new light on God’s word.  But, have you ever considered that when we sing together, we are singing our faith, singing our theology?  From the simple “Jesus loves me, this I know,” to “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”  AMEN! 

As we sing together each week, my prayer is that we will all be conscious of the words and the amazing theology that flows from them.  Thanks be to God!
our prayer.

 -Pastor Jane

February 1

For my daily walk with God, I use a resource called Sacred Ordinary Days.  It is based on the liturgical year, with scriptures offered each day that come from the Lectionary.  As many of you found as we read through the Bible last year, some Biblical passages can be unfamiliar.  But, in that unfamiliarity, I often find that God speaks to me in a new way.  The book also offers quotes - gleaned from authors, pastors, saints of the past - that call me back to God each day.

I would like to share one particular quote with you this week.  It is printed on a card and has a prominent place in my office, so that I can look at it multiple times per day.  When I am questioning for the hundredth time – why am I doing this particular task?  Or, what is it that God wants me to learn from my daily tasks, this quote speaks to me:

  Lord,
  I offer my prayer as my work...
  My work as my prayer.

As we all go through our day, may our daily prayers be our work; and may our work, no matter what it is, and how insignificant it may seem, be our prayer.

 -Pastor Jane

January 25

This week we continue in our study of the gospel of Matthew with the beginning words from the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew 5-7 contains the largest block of Jesus’ teachings in one place and over the next few weeks we will be delving deeply into what he said in these chapters.  This week, we begin with Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes. 

Many of you have asked me how Christians should respond to what has been going on in our country as a result of the election.  As you know, there are many different thoughts on how to answer that question.  Personally, I always turn directly to the words of Jesus for guidance.  As you prepare for Sunday, let me encourage you to read the Beatitudes and ponder what Jesus might be saying to you in response to your questions. 

Below you will find these Beatitudes written in child-friendly language, from www.flamecreativekids.blogspot.com.  This simple language speaks to me and I hope it will speak to you!

Blessed are those who are peaceful and try to stop others from fighting...God will call them sons and daughters.

Blessed are those who are kind and forgiving to others...they will be given the same.

Blessed are those who don’t show off but think of others first...they shall be given the earth.

Blessed are those who rely on God’s help...heaven is theirs.

Blessed are people who get in trouble for doing the right thing...God’s kingdom belongs to them.

Blessed are those who try to please God in what they do and think...they will be with God.

Blessed are those who want fairness...God will satisfy them.

Blessed are those who are sad and upset...God will comfort them.

-Pastor Jane

January 18

The Second Annual Chicken Brunswick Stew is just a week and a half away.  Just like last year, this is a joint venture with First Christian Winder.  Have you signed up to help?  There are available slots to work on both Friday and Saturday, so call the church office and Nickie will get you on the list. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your church family and also to meet people from our community.
 
Have you been selling tickets?  As of Sunday morning, there are only a little over 300 tickets out, but our goal is 600.  We need to get moving!  You can pick up your tickets during the week, at the church office, or on Sunday morning.  We need an accurate count by this Sunday, so we will know much stew to cook.
 
I look forward to seeing you this weekend as we cook and worship together!

January 11

As you come to worship this week, you will notice the words of meditation after communion come from Corrie ten Boom.  “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”  You may be asking yourself, “Who is Corrie ten Boom?”

Corrie ten Boom and her family were Christians, living in Haarlem, the Netherlands. During the Nazi occupation, they chose to live out their faith through peaceful resistance to the Nazis by active participation in the Dutch underground. They were hiding, feeding, and transporting Jews and underground members hunted by the Gestapo, out of the country. It is estimated they were able to save the lives of 800 Jews, in addition to protecting underground workers.

In 1944 they were betrayed and she and her family members were sent to concentration camps.  Three members of her family died in these camps, but Corrie survived and was released in December of that year.  These acts of heroism and sacrifice became the foundation for Corrie ten Boom's global writing and speaking career which began after she was released.

Throughout all she experienced, Corrie’s constant life theme spoke of the faithfulness of God – in every circumstance.  God’s Promise of Faithfulness will be our focus this Sunday as we continue in the series New Year, Same Promises.  I hope you will take time this week to read Psalm 40:1-11 - words from the Psalmist about God’s great faithfulness for us all.

January 4

It is a new year and with that comes a new sermon series.  For most of 2016, we walked our way chronologically through the scriptures.  As 2017 begins, we will focus more intentionally on particular sections of the Bible.  Beginning this Sunday, we will move back to the lectionary texts and dig deeper into the promises of God.  Many of us have made promises to ourselves this new year, just as we do at the start of every year.  I promise to spend more time with my family.  I promise to lose weight or eat more healthy food.  I promise to read my Bible every day.  I promise to exercise every day. 

The problem with our promises is that they often fade and things stay the same.  The good news for us is that God’s promises never change.  We can hold fast to that truth.  As we begin this new year, let’s spend time learning about and giving thanks for God’s unbreakable promises. 

This Sunday, the first promise – God’s Promise of a New Life from Matthew 3:13-17.  We will tell the story of the Baptism of Jesus and be reminded of the new life, promised to all of us through our own baptism. 

December 21

Christmas is here!!  We have walked together through the season of Advent, anticipating and waiting for the Messiah – the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  We began the season by coloring those names, so beautifully depicted on the display in the Gathering Space.  My hope and prayer is that these names have become more than just a name or title for you.  I pray that you have come away with a deeper understanding of who Jesus was, and with this new understanding your life has been changed. 

We have a wonderful opportunity this weekend – one that occurs very rarely.  On Saturday night, we will gather to sing the Christmas hymns and hear the story of the baby, born to save the world.  We will share in communion and sing Silent Night, as we light candles, a beautiful picture of the coming of The Light of the World.  I hope you will join us at 5:00 to share in this wonderful service.  Bring your extended family and experience it together.

Then, on Sunday morning, Christmas Day, we will gather at 11:00 to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child.  Why should you come to church on Christmas Day, when you could so easily stay in your pajamas??  Good question.  There is a blog (Worshiping With Children) I love to read that offers some reasons we need to gather on Sunday.  These reasons are focused toward children, but could apply to all of us.

• To hear the story read or told in an important way on the “day it happened”
• To be with a crowd telling the  story
• To sing the carols at least one more time 
• To create a context in which to discover the truth about Santa
• To create memories

I hope to see you Sunday.  Keep the kids in their pajamas and join us in your most festive Christmas sweater.  Christ is born!!!

December 14

It is the fourth Sunday of Advent – the Sunday we usually call “Christmas Sunday” because it is the last Sunday before Christmas.  This week we light the Candle of Love, signifying the great love given to us through Jesus.  In the midst of Christ’s love, we will look at the last of the four names of the Messiah – Prince of Peace.  It seems odd to be talking about peace, because we focused on peace the second Sunday of Advent.  But, can love and peace coexist?  Absolutely!!!

What is Peace?  Is it the absence of war, or could it be something different?  In the book of Matthew, Jesus describes the perfect juxtaposition of peace and love when he says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.  I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was a stranger and you invited me in.  I needed clothes and you clothed me.  I was sick and you looked after me.  I was in prison and you came to visit me.”  Peace is when we look into the eyes of those we meet and actually see them. It is only then that we can show Christ’s love.  How will we open our hearts today?

Hear these words from author Jan Richardson as you ponder upon these strange bedfellows of peace and love.

A Blessing Called Sanctuary

You hardly knew
how hungry you were
to be gathered in,
to receive the welcome
that invited you to enter
entirely—
nothing of you
found foreign or strange,
nothing of your life
that you were asked
to leave behind
or to carry in silence
or in shame.

Tentative steps
became settling in,
leaning into the blessing
that enfolded you,
taking your place
in the circle
that stunned you
with its unimagined grace.

You began to breathe again,
to move without fear,
to speak with abandon
the words you carried
in your bones,
that echoed in your being.

You learned to sing.

But the deal with this blessing
is that it will not leave you alone,
will not let you linger
in safety,
in stasis.

The time will come
when this blessing
will ask you to leave,
not because it has tired of you
but because it desires for you
to become the sanctuary
that you have found—
to speak your word
into the world,
to tell what you have heard
with your own ears,
seen with your own eyes,
known in your own heart:

that you are beloved,
precious child of God,
beautiful to behold,
and you are welcome
and more than welcome
here.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace

December 7

We are already halfway through Advent.  It seems hard to believe, doesn’t it?  This Sunday we will light the pink candle – the candle of Joy.  Have you ever taken a moment to think about what brings you joy?  I’m not talking about happiness, but deep-down, utter joy. 
 
I remember as a child, singing the chorus, I’ve Got the Joy.  Do you remember?  The words went like this:
               
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy – down in my heart.
         WHERE?  Down in my heart!
         WHERE?  Down in my heart!
         I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy – down in my heart.
         Down in my heart to stay.
 
         And I’m so happy, so very happy.
         I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.
         And I’m so happy, so very happy.
         I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart.
 
What brings you joy this Advent season?  I hope it goes beyond presents, Christmas trees, and pretty lights.  My prayer is that your joy comes from having “the love of Jesus in your heart.”

 -Pastor Jane