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Speaker: Rev. CJ Valenti

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Sometimes it feels like we wait for a lifetime for God to hear us, see us, acknowledge us. Today we hear we are in good company – a woman who hemorrhages for 12 years seeks healing from Jesus at the same time as a desperate father for a dying daughter. With our loving God, we can come with our laments, our questions and our pain. 

Accompanying Scripture:
Mark 5:21-43, Psalm 30, Lamentations 3:22-33

Good News
Good News
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
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Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Through the storms of life, in Job’s trials and in the disciples’ seasick panic, God’s promise is not that we will be airlifted out of troubles but that God is with us. God proclaims to the chaos and to us – Peace! Be still.

Accompanying Scripture:
Mark 4:35-41, Psalm 107, Job 38: 1-11

Good News
Good News
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
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Third Sunday after Pentecost

In the midst of conflict and shame, the messiness of life and relationships are lifted up in these texts. No matter how entangled we become, with God there is always steadfast love and forgiveness.

Accompanying Scripture:
Psalm 130, Genesis 3:8-15, Mark 3:20-35

Good News
Good News
Third Sunday after Pentecost
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Second Sunday after Pentecost

This Sunday our texts are about sabbath. Rest is meant for the welfare of all. In our gospel story, Jesus reminds us that well intentioned laws might need to be broken from time to time in order to make space for God’s wide love. 

Accompanying Scripture:
Psalm 81:1-10, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Mark 2:23-3:6 

Good News
Good News
Second Sunday after Pentecost
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Day of Pentecost

Fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the birthday of the church! Crossing all boundaries that would separate us, the Spirit brings the wideness of God’s mercy to places we least expect it—to a crowd of strangers of different lands and tongues, to a valley of deeply dry bones and to our messy hearts. Today we celebrate the incredible gifts of the Holy Spirit in our midst: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in God’s presence. Amen!

Accompanying Scripture:
Psalm 104:24-35, 35b, Ezekiel 37:1-14 

Good News
Good News
Day of Pentecost
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Sixth Sunday of Easter

On this sixth Sunday of Easter as we bring worms with us to church, we celebrate spring and our connection with God’s good earth. Being a person of faith is not just something we do on Sundays, but it is something that follows us out into the real world – as we wash dishes, as we are a kind neighbor or friend, as we care for the smallest living things among us, even the worms. Signs of resurrection and new life are indeed all around us – Alleluia!

Accompanying Scripture:
Jeremiah 29:4-7, Psalm 98, John 15 

Good News
Good News
Sixth Sunday of Easter
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Third Sunday of Easter

On this third Sunday of Easter, we are filled with images of real life – joyful hearts, peaceful sleep and eating together. In this season of Easter we celebrate we are proclaimed beloved children of God for this is who we are. Resurrection sometimes shows up in the most mundane simple things. 

Accompanying Scripture:
John 3:1-7, Psalm 4, Luke 24:36b-48 

Good News
Good News
Third Sunday of Easter
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Second Sunday of Easter

The season of Easter continues as we get a glimpse of the early church in Acts, how they shared everything and everyone had what they needed. In the gospel, we encounter how the risen Jesus greets the frightened disciples behind locked doors. He meets Thomas’s doubts and proclaims a word of peace. In this season, we celebrate how resurrection shows up in the most unlikely of places. Alleluia! Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Accompanying Scripture:
Acts 4:32-35, Psalm 133, John 20:19-31

Good News
Good News
Second Sunday of Easter
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Resurrection of our Lord

Christ is risen! Jesus is alive, and God has swallowed up death forever. With Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, we may feel astonished and confused, unsure of what to make of the empty tomb. But this is why we gather: to proclaim, witness, praise, and affirm the liberating reality of Christ’s death and resurrection. In word and feast, we celebrate God’s unending love, and depart to share this good news with all the world. Alleluia! Christ is Risen. Christ is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Accompanying Scripture:
Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24, Mark 16:1-8-35

Good News
Good News
Resurrection of our Lord
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Maundy Thursday

On this night we begin the Three Days during which we participate once again in the saving power of Jesus’ passing over from death into life. The Maundy Thursday service includes the words of Jesus’ new commandment (mandatum, from which Maundy comes) to love one another. On this night in which Jesus was handed over to death we gather around the Lord’s supper. At the service’s conclusion the altar area will be stripped as a sign of Jesus’ abandonment.

Accompanying Scripture:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Good News
Good News
Maundy Thursday
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