Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Sunday May 13

This Sunday is Mother's Day. We will honor and celebrate our mothers in worship. For some, this is a bittersweet time. I know it is for me. My mother died a few years ago. I wish I could talk to her again. There is a liturgical piece in The Pattern of Our Days (from Iona, a monastic community in Ireland) that says it well:

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
loved words and loving--
reminds us of a God
who is always there,
like a mother with a young child,
knowing our needs,
catching us when we fall,
comforting, bearing, cradling, dancing, and caressing.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
words of encouragement
in moments of desolation
and loneliness;
words passed down from mother to daughter,
not in cold print but warm with faith.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
now you are dying--
is it hard to let go?
For so long you have been there
to catch, to carry, and to care
Listen, love, I want you to know
that I can cope:
first your faith nurtured me,
and your strength,
but now I have found my own.
Let go.
Into God's hands I commend your spirit;
Underneath are the everlasting arms.

Momma, into God's hands I commend your spirit. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Amen.

Our study for this Sunday is Moving Forward in Sanctification. The subject of sanctification is important to us Methodists. Well, it was important to Wesley, and it should be important to us today, but it often is not. It might be good to read the background material and the Scriptures ahead of time. The worship bulletin is here.

May the life of God be in you today and may the peace of God be with you today. Amen.

Good CD


I am currently listening to this CD: Top 25 Vineyard UK Praise and Worship Songs. It has a great variety of music and I have always liked Vineyard music and it's live worship feel. I saw it at Gospel Supplies where I was able to listen to some samples, but I bought it used on Amazon.com for a MUCH lower price.
I have been burned so many times by CD reviews that I always listen to samples first. You can usually listen on Amazon. I credit Rob Resetar with this idea.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Senior Night

Every year we have a big celebration in the Catalina youth group for our seniors. Last night may have been the best ever. To see the video about the seniors, go here.