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Beloved:
First of all some church news - Janet Delong is in Indianapolis to be with her mom who was taken to the hospital for breathing difficulty. She asks for our prayers. I may join her there later depending on her mom’s condition. Also, I spoke with Jen this morning and she is doing very well. She isn’t needing pain meds and is resting well. She is ever so grateful for the quilt made for her by so many UBC friends. A little wind came up and I got pelted by lots of crunchy, icy snow shaken off the trees out front of church as I came in church this morning. I escaped uninjured but muttering again about the indecency of this weather. It’s Easter time after all ~ at least we think it ought be. But not yet. Easter is beyond the pass we must travel these next six days; conspiracy, betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and the grave are stations through the pass. There is no other route to Easter. So maybe icy, slippery, freezing, blowing, wet, muddy, scary conditions are the exact right weather for these days. Wunderground.com is predicting 59 degrees for Sunday. Mostly I hope for sunshine - but sunlight or clouds - resurrection is a given, as it our celebration. I pray we shall be together for worship this week. Good Friday Service begins at 7:30 p.m. Easter Feast is at 9:30 am in the sanctuary followed by Celebration Worship at 10:45. I look forward to being together. peace & prayers, pastor annette
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Beloved:
Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, riding a young donkey while the crowds wave palm branches and shout, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Pharisees watching want Jesus to tell his people to hush. “I tell you, if these were silent the very stones would shout out,” Jesus says. I definitely would have been thinking with the Pharisees. I’m a rules follower, a guardian according to one of my husband’s personality trait inventories, at least with rules meant to keep people safe.. Where the speed limit is 60, I drive 60 and am extremely exasperated with drivers going 70 and 80. The same toward skateboarders at the library and people who walk in the running lane at the Y. The city was filling with Jews arriving for Passover and extra troops to keep things orderly. Watching the crowds fanning and worshipping Jesus like a conquering king, the Pharisees no doubt scanned the distance for Roman soldiers, sent to break up the crowd, stop an uprising before it gained any traction. The Pharisees wanted peace with Rome and they begged the Galilean preacher to shush the crowd before anyone got hurt, or killed. Yep, I’d definitely have been just like those Pharisees, calculating risk against gain and knowing for sure no good thing would come from the antics of that Galilean. He was playing a deadly game and putting innocent people and the city itself in terrible danger. I’d have begged him to stop too, for the love of peace. For the love of peace he didn’t stop. For people whose peace was rooted in fear he didn’t stop. He proceeded into the city and into his mission, surrounded by people who would soon shout for his death and he still didn’t stop, thankfully. Thankfully he knew the end of the story, how it would turn out for the whole fickle lot of us. I look forward to sharing Holy Week with you. ~ peace & prayers, pastor annette PS - on a whole different subject, I made this for supper last night and it was de-lish! Easy, fast and yummy. Thought I would share it with you. Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup 2 tbsp Olive Oil 1 Onion, minced 1 Bell pepper, diced 2 cans tomato soup 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable) 4-5 fresh tomatoes (or canned) 1/2 tbsp salt 1 tbsp italian seasoning 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped 20 oz pkg refrigerated cheese tortellini 1 pint half & half handful of spinach leaves, torn shredded parmesan for topping In dutch oven, saute onion, garlic and peppers in olive oil until almost translucent. Add chicken broth, tomato soup, fresh tomatoes, seasoning, sundried tomatoes and heat until boiling. Add tortellini, reduce heat and cook until almost tender, about 12 minutes. Add half and half and bring back to a bubbly, cook 10-15 more minutes. Reduce to low Beloved:
The chicks are growing and growing! The 3 week olds; Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy have more feathers than down. Every day is like a bad hair day for them. The 2 week olds; Celie, Shug and Sophia have feathered wings and strut around like old timers now that the 1 week olds; Nettie, Corrine and Tashi have arrived. They’ve made friends with the dogs but still go silent when the cat is nearby. They sleep in a big pile, hiding their heads in each others’ wings. They love to look at themselves in my iphone when I take pictures (see Shug in the the third pic below). We went outside for a few minutes on Saturday, their very first time outdoors. At first they didn’t know what to do, kept lifting their feet off the grass like they’d stepped in bubble gum. The little ones wanted none of it and huddled by their cardboard box. The olders got brave and wandered further, then ran around a bit before Cody chased them back to the box. He’s a bird dog after all. I like to open the cage and set the little ones on the floor. At first they run underneath to hide. The older ones come to the opening and chirp but they are big enough to jump so I don’t lift them. If I sit quietly long enough, they will hop up onto my sock feet, walk up my legs, step into my hands and even sit on my arms and shoulders. They especially like to get on Emily’s shoulders and hide in her hair. Of course it reminds me of the St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. He said, "Not to hurt the creatures brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them wherever they require it." Lots of gardens contain statues of St. Francis, birds and rabbits and squirrels nesting in his arms. I wonder if his contemporaries thought he was slightly odd - no doubt because I worry people think I am odd, sitting in my sock feet with chickens on my shoulders while other ministers are doing very important work; like social justice and papal conclaves. I can’t explain why it is that holding a chicken and studying her beautiful legs leaves me more faithful, more confident in God’s control over the details of the universe and our lives - but it does. I can’t explain how it is that the gentle kindness of a 95 pound bird dog toward and a 6 ounce chick gives me hope for creation - but it does. Most of all I can’t explain why God would call someone like me to preach the gospel in times like these, but apparently God has and in the mystery of divine things somehow these then little chicks figure into the plan. I pray these end of winter days are treating you gently. peace & prayers, pastor annette |
I write a Tuesday morning devotional to members and friends of UBC. It is also posted here.
Enjoy! Pastor Annette Copyright
Everything on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons license, which gives you permission to copy freely, provided that you attribute the work to me, that you use the work for non-commercial purposes, and that you do not produce derivative works. Archives
July 2022
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