SATURDAY 07 May 2022
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There’s no place like home . . . .
It’s good to be home. Even after a wonderful
vacation trip, it’s good to be back. Yes, our journey to the Smoky
Mountains was wonderful. You can’t beat visits to the Biltmore
Mansion, the Country Music Hall of Fame, or a ride on the Great Smoky
Mountain Railroad. It was all wonderful.
But to walk through that back door of your own
home and into that place where everything is in it’s designated place,
and you hear those familiar everyday sounds and smell those 16 South Street
smells, and then at last you cozy into your own bed . . . . well, let me
just say Dorothy was right: “There’s no place like home.”
Tomorrow our own homes will be on our minds as we
celebrate Mothers Day. We’ll remember the homes our mothers helped
make for us as we grew up, and, if you are a mom yourself, hopefully
you’ll receive heavy doses of accolades and praise for all you do.
I’ll be glad to be back to my “church home” where
we’ll make Mothers Day special by being together as a church
family. My sermon will not be taking the familiar route of focusing
only on human mothers, but rather I’ll be honoring something that is spiritually
much greater than that. Well, that doesn’t quite say it right, but
it’s complicated. It’ll take a whole sermon to explain. So I
hope you can join me as a church family as we honor the women in our
lives - and we'll honor God, who in Jesus’ words is like, “a mother hen
who gathers her chicks under her wings.” (See Luke 13: 34-35)
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Dave
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There’s no place like home . . . .
It’s good to be home. Even after a wonderful
vacation trip, it’s good to be back. Yes, our journey to the Smoky
Mountains was wonderful. You can’t beat visits to the Biltmore
Mansion, the Country Music Hall of Fame, or a ride on the Great Smoky
Mountain Railroad. It was all wonderful.
But to walk through that back door of your own
home and into that place where everything is in it’s designated place,
and you hear those familiar everyday sounds and smell those 16 South Street
smells, and then at last you cozy into your own bed . . . . well, let me
just say Dorothy was right: “There’s no place like home.”
Tomorrow our own homes will be on our minds as we
celebrate Mothers Day. We’ll remember the homes our mothers helped
make for us as we grew up, and, if you are a mom yourself, hopefully
you’ll receive heavy doses of accolades and praise for all you do.
I’ll be glad to be back to my “church home” where
we’ll make Mothers Day special by being together as a church
family. My sermon will not be taking the familiar route of focusing
only on human mothers, but rather I’ll be honoring something that is spiritually
much greater than that. Well, that doesn’t quite say it right, but
it’s complicated. It’ll take a whole sermon to explain. So I
hope you can join me as a church family as we honor the women in our
lives - and we'll honor God, who in Jesus’ words is like, “a mother hen
who gathers her chicks under her wings.” (See Luke 13: 34-35)
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Dave
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FRIDAY 22 April 2022 What a Day!
This past Easter Sunday was one of the finest moments I’ve had with URC. After a long hiatus from social gatherings, we had a wonderful Easter breakfast together. Thanks to the preparation of all the volunteers under Bonnie Bahanan’s leadership, everything was delicious and the decorations and favors were splendid.
Then there was the worship service . . . Wow!
The choir was stellar, the singing robust, and the pews were filled! (Someone reported that they counted over 50 worshipers.) We had visitors with us and more than a few of us had family and friends worshiping with them. Through it all, the joy and hope of the resurrection of our Lord was palpable. It was a wonderful day!
Now our life together continues. Here are a few bits and pieces about that:
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We received word from the Onesequathaw Reformed Church that they are having a special event on Thursday, the 28th of April at 7pm. They are showing a video of the musical “The Witness,” which features our own Chuck Phillips (the late husband of Cindy Phillips and brother of Belinda Phillips). This musical depicts the life of Christ as told by the Apostle Peter. There will be an Ice Cream Social following the performance.
- I will be away the next couple of Sundays. We are visiting family in Tennessee and North Carolina. Rusty Riley will preach on the 24th and our own Belinda Phillips will be preaching on May 1st. I will be back for Mothers Day which will include communion and a special coffee hour after the service.
- Very soon we will unveil our new web site. Al de Paz has done a wonderful job getting it started.
- Our prayers are with the Slingerlands. Don had a fall on the ice and broke bones in his foot. He just completed surgery (it was the same surgeon that operated on Sandy). That makes two Slingerlands with broken feet on the mend. As our prayer chain email said, “Isn’t this taking this togetherness thing too far?” Maybe, but still, we're praying for them both!
Many of you have shared that you’ll be praying for our safe travels. That’s much appreciated.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Dave
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