May 20, 2018 PENTECOST SUNDAY "THE VERY BREATH OF GOD"

A PENTECOST AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
In the beginning, the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters,
and brought the world into being.
That same Spirit breathes life into us.
The Spirit of God conceived a Messiah,
the Son and beloved One who would be the revelation of God’s steadfast love and mercy.
Throughout his life, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit.
When he died on the cross he commended his spirit into God’s keeping,
and God raised him from the dead.
This Spirit is THE VOICE that speaks to us in our present, moving ever onward
as the enlightened body of Christ into our future.
The Spirit teaches us to speak the language of salvation
and empowers us to tell the stories of Jesus and his love.
The Spirit compels us to be at our spiciest when things look bleak,
to be the light in someone’s darkness, and to dance even when we are weary.
The Spirit urges us to be resilient and steadfast in our witness,
while we have life and breath,
proclaiming the Good News to and for all!
Thanks be to God! Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Wondrous and surprising God, today we celebrate the coming of your Holy Spirit. John proclaimed that the Spirit was gifted to Jesus’s disciples on the day of the resurrection. Luke wrote that the Holy Spirit came crashing in like a might wind on the day of Pentecost causing the 120 remaining disciples of Jesus to speak in foreign languages. And growing up in the church, we are taught that on the day of our Baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We confess that we are not always attuned to that Spirit at work in us, but we believe that when we are in synch with the Spirit, we are fully connected with you. O, Lord, when our hearts are one with yours, we can do marvelous things in your name. Help us not to get downhearted or put off, when our work is delayed or sidetracked by the workings of the world. Set our eyes, hearts, and minds on the prize which is forever and always, your kingdom come, upon the earth. In the name of the Christ we pray. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
How many of you are drawn to high-spirited people? We hope what they have is catching. I confess I am not drawn to people who are chronically low-spirited, because that can also be contagious. When people’s good spirits are in evidence we want to bask in the glow of their good vibrations. Further we describe people as free spirits and kindred spirits, or possessed of a holiday spirit, a willing spirit, a carefree or blithe spirit, a spirit of adventure and a fighting spirit. But how often have you described a kindred spirit as “Holy Spirited?” Right here, right now own that we are Holy Spirited people, thoroughly and completely possessed of the promised Holy Spirit individually and corporately. Let us celebrate our Holy Spiritedness as the ushers come forward to receive your high-spirited gifts.

May 13, 2018 "THEIR PRAYERS FOR US"

AN EASTER AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe we are created in the image of God, male and female.
Believing that God’s will for us is goodwill, we follow in the footsteps of God’s beloved Son,
Jesus the Christ.
We believe Jesus lived to forgive, and showed us that by serving one another,
we are connected to the heart of God.
We believe we share Jesus’ mission to bind up and heal the broken hearted.
We believe that Jesus took the burden of our regrets and sorrows upon his own shoulders,
and bore them to the cross where they died with him.
Jesus was buried, but on the third day God raised him from the dead, as promised.
After Jesus’ resurrection, we believe God sent the Holy Spirit to empower Jesus’ followers.
The Holy Spirit was their ever-present advocate, counselor of truth, and companion.
We believe that same Spirit resides with us, interceding for us,
and empowering our work in the name of the Christ.
The Spirit reminds us daily to love God and one another as
the Christ loved us. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Loving and Generous Lord, today is the final Sunday of Eastertide, the day of Christ’s ascension to that heavenly seat at your right hand. Before his death and after his resurrection, the gospels tell us how Jesus prayed mightily for his disciples and the work that they would carry on his name. As we embrace our future open our eyes as you did the eyes of the first disciples. Let us see all of the new and glorious ways there are to serve you in this day and age. Because we have needed you in our lives, we believe others we meet along the WAY will need you as well. As we share stories of how we came to be your friends through Jesus, may those who are listening believe your friendship also belongs to them. All this we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
It was my mother who first quoted these verses from Hamlet: “To Thine own self be true.” I assumed she was telling me to be truthful, honest, and ethical, never being afraid to stick to my guns, to keep my own counsel, not follow the of the crowd. If I marched to a different drummer so be it. The full verses of Polonius to Laertes read: “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” I learned that this fatherly advice to be loyal to his own best interests first, and take care of others later, finds Laertes betraying his best friend. Contrary to modern day interpretation “To thine own self be true” was not written by Shakespeare as an ideal to be lauded or emulated. Judas was true to himself. Jesus taught us to put others before ourselves.

MAY 6, 2018 "A CHARGE TO KEEP"

AN EASTER AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We believe we are created in the image of God, male and female.
Believing that God’s will for us is goodwill, we follow in the footsteps of God’s beloved Son,
Jesus the Christ.
We believe Jesus lived to forgive, and showed us that by serving one another,
we are connected to the heart of God.
We believe we share Jesus’ mission to bind up and heal the broken hearted.
We believe that Jesus took the burden of our regrets and sorrows upon his own shoulders,
and bore them to the cross where they died with him.
Jesus was buried, but on the third day God raised him from the dead, as promised.
After Jesus’ resurrection, we believe God sent the Holy Spirit to empower Jesus’ followers.
The Holy Spirit was their ever-present advocate, counselor of truth, and companion.
We believe that same Spirit resides with us, interceding for us,
and empowering our work in the name of the Christ.
The Spirit reminds us daily to love God and one another as
the Christ loved us. Amen.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
O most glorious Creator, you are not only the master builder of the universe, but a doting, patient, and forgiving parent. Indeed, You surprise us by your immeasurable grace. Even when we think the very worst of ourselves, you work diligently to help us move beyond self-denigration. When we head out in the other direction thinking too much of ourselves, puffing ourselves up to great heights of entitlement, you open our eyes to the plight of those who have lost everything. You are always at work inspiring us to take that oh so, necessary step forward, prodding us to choose the smarter way, the compassionate way, the way of Jesus. Strengthen our resolve to be an even stronger, more open, ever more involved and welcoming body of Christ as we reach out to the community and the world around us. Let us bring glory to your name, O Lord, we pray in the name of the Christ. Amen.
INVITATION TO THE OFFERING
In anticipation of his death Jesus left humanity a will. He had no hard cash, property, blue-chip stocks or bonds to leave his disciples. He had nothing in the way of tangible assets to help his followers carry out their call to minister in his name. He hadn’t the wherewithal to build a Chrystal Cathedral in downtown Jerusalem. Nevertheless Jesus did leave a will, an ethical will, which he gave to his disciples for safekeeping. His words, his deeds, his encounters with people from all walks of life he left for us, a treasure to cherish. Much liked the servant in the parable of the talents who buried his one talent in order to return it to the master intact; not all of Jesus’ disciples shared what was left to them. Please help the church carry on sharing Jesus’ legacy of Love.

MAY 1, 2018 "WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS"

Offerings Off the Wall

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS?

When folks pass through the receiving line on Sunday, they ask me about my plans for retirement. "What are you planning to do?" I confess I have had all sorts of harebrained ideas, from almost buying a house in Costa Rica to planning a run for City Council. The Costa Rica house was cute, but I am not a surfer and with my history, it's not likely that I would be taking long walks on the beach in the hot sun. I do love the ocean, but that shore was surfing shore, not swimming shore. I realized I would have to lash a line to one of the palm trees high up on the shore, and attach it to my waste in order to pull myself out of that surf. Dick Clapp suggested I run for City Council, thinking I would be a good addition to Cathedral City's city council, but running for city council in a city where one is virtually unknown probably isn't the best use of one's resources and friends. I am such an unknown resident, I couldn't even get appointed to the Commission for Parks and Public Events, and there were only 2 applicants. At one time I thought about going to work in Guatemala. I went so far as to apply for the Director position of the Clinica Salud Y Paz on route 15, in Camanchaj, Guatemala. I didn't get it.

When it was determined by the Bishop that I would be retiring in 2018, there was the slightest hint from the Annual Conference that it would be nice if I decided to move away, and live someplace else, thus giving whoever the new pastor was an uncluttered path for pastoring the church. After a short visit to Tampa Bay in February of 2017, I gave some thought to moving to Florida when I retired, even looking at homes for sale in the Seminole area, near an aunt, a first cousin, a past sister-in-law, and an old high-school roommate. I thought living on the Gulf would be the perfect place. It is in February, but then I pondered hurricanes, humidity, and alligators.

I remember when my ministry at the First Christian Church in Hemet ended, people asked me if I was going to move back to the San Fernando Valley from whence I had come. But although I lived in Reseda for 11 years, served a church there, and worked at the same hospital for a decade, it was no more my home than Claremont, where I attended seminary, or Tucson, Arizona where I became a Christian and received my call to the ministry, or Popayan, Colombia where I taught nursing to vocational nursing students as a Peace Corps Volunteer, or Lawrence, Massachusetts where I worked for some months before joining the Peace Corps, or New York City where I studied nursing, or Poultney, Vermont, where I earned my AA in pre-nursing or West Newbury, Massachusetts the town my parents moved to when I was 16 years old.

In 1998, Hemet was home for the time being, the place where I had established my residence and friendships. I would find work and stay until the next thing came along. The next thing began in stages seven years later, and in 2007 I landed here in the desert. We had no idea I would be here for eleven years, but here is where I have established my residence and friendships. After living in a place for over a decade, packing up and moving elsewhere takes thought, decisiveness, a reason, time, effort, and planning. I am having a tough enough time clearing out my office.

Often people who are retiring decide to move closer to children and grandchildren they can spoil-rotten. But that isn't leaving or moving away so much as it is moving toward a renewed connection with family. Having never married or had children, there are no grandchildren calling out to have me close.

So my answer to the question, "What are your plans?" is "I haven't got the faintest idea." The next thing will make itself known, I am pretty sure of that. What you must know is this: on July first, even if I am living here in the desert, I am no longer your pastor. It is unethical for me to agree to marry you or bury you without the express invitation and/or permission of your new pastor. I will no longer be your spiritual counselor or guide and I won't be worshiping with you. However, I will always hold you ever so close in my heart, praying that your ministry in this community continues to flourish and grow. You are the best thing that has happened to me in my ministerial career!!


With buckets of love and endless blessings,

Rev. Amanda