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Dear MRC Family,

Pentecost blessings to you, beloved of God. I pray you are keeping cool in this extremely dangerous heat.

This Sunday begins our Summer Sermon Series for July from the SALT Project — Summer Days: A Companion to Mary Oliver’s ‘Devotions.’ Here is a description of the devotional:

Summer is the season of sticky fingers and bare feet, porch swings and fireflies, sandy beach towels, open hydrants, or just a lazy, lovely day in the park. In all of these ways and more, at its best, summertime taps into the deep, ancient practice of rest and restoration, echoing the joyful, sacred rhythms of sabbath.

Mary Oliver’s poetry can help us connect with this dimension of the season, savoring its delights, valuing its treasures, and reveling in what she calls summer’s “luminous sprawl of gifts.” Think of that sprawl as a sabbath for the year as a whole: not the resurrections of spring or the harvests of autumn, but the joyful, restful moments in between. Moments we all are made for. (SALT Project)

Sabbath — it is what was made for us. As Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for humans, and not humans for the sabbath.” Since this is true, the question remains — why don’t we observe/take sabbath more often?

In this teeter-totter world where we are constantly bombarded with the frenzy of a 24 hour news cycle, the onslaught of social media, and told that being over-busy is a sign of a “productive, good citizen,” I’m inviting us to a space to slow down, pause, and observe sabbath. Why do you think our bodies, minds, and souls crave uninterrupted rest and stillness? Perhaps because sabbath is not just a good idea or suggestion; rather, it’s been built into us as a commandment. (Did you know the one commandment that takes up the most space and gets the most description in the Ten Commandments is the call to keep and remember the sabbath?) In using this devotional, my prayer for us is by listening to the ancient, sacred, in-dwelling rhythm of sabbath, we will connect more with God; we will pay attention to what really matters. And beloved, I can tell you that is not our phones, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media platform. I am also praying that by observing sabbath, whether it is for a day, an hour, or 15 minutes, we will begin to answer Mary Oliver’s question at the end of her poem, “The Summer Day,” Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Jamie and I started to answer Oliver’s question by going out early this morning to Mount Mitchell Overlook and Popamora Point to observe the tall ships. It was lovely — salt air and water, hazy sunshine, majestic ships. A break from our routine in order to just be, observe, listen.

Come, worship, and observe sabbath this Sixth Sunday after Pentecost at 10:30AM. Tom will lead us in our hymns and sing the Prelude “Even If” and the Anthem “Reason I Sing.” I am preaching from Genesis 1.31–2.3 and Exodus 20.8-11 and my sermon title is Your One Wild & Precious Life. Also, we will gather at the Lord’s table of grace and partake of the bread of life and the cup of blessing. After worship, come downstairs to the Lower Auditorium for coffee and conversation before you head out for summer fun.

If you are unable to be in person for worship, we will be streaming live on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@mrcafabulouschurchoflove1611. And if you are one of our many followers on Facebook, subscribers on YouTube, or you worship with us online, please consider donating to the ministries of MRC at www.mrchurch.us/give. Thank you for your generosity!

Beloved, if you are not on our church email list and wish to receive our Summer Sermon Series devotional, please email me at pastortrishmrc@gmail.com. Note — it’s also family friendly! May you start today practicing sabbath —  a time for periodic idleness (that is, refraining from work) for the sake of cultivating a sense of blessedness, of neighborliness, of generosity and joy. In a word, rest. (SALT Project)

 

With gratitude for the privilege of being your pastor and the holy call of loving you,

Pastor Trish

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