 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ~2 Corinthians 13:11 If you rush to the end of this blessing, you can too easily find you’ve arrived at an empty promise: live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. Peace is not an accident, nor is it an absence of conflict. It comes by way of justice. And as long as justice is denied, as long as our most vulnerable siblings are threatened, peace will be delayed. “Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another…” The apostle charts the way to peace here. It is filled with active verbs, with activity. It does not stand still. So let us together, in agreement, listening to this Word, move forward through worship and through thoughtful, intentional action. “The moving walkway of discrimination, prejudice and bigotry favors the racist and standing still places one in this jurisdiction of hatred.” So says Jason Campbell. Faith is not passive. It moves. It acts. It amends. It recreates. Enter into worship. Readings: Genesis 1:1-2:4a † Psalm 8 † 2 Corinthians 13:11-12 † Matthew 28:16-20 About the Art: Sun and Moon, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57384 [retrieved May 16, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sun_and_Moon,_Nagy_Imre_Community_Centre,_2016_Csepel-Csillagtelep.jpg.
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 Cast all your anxiety on God, because God cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering… ~1 Peter 5:7-9 Anxiety can be understood as the state of being alert to all the wrong things—a constant state of concern on what might happen…around the next corner, over the next week, in the next generation. Not everything is a lion. The wonder of these scriptures is how, even as they were written in another time with different circumstances, they continue to capture the human experience, and the hope we have as we look to the skies and the stars. Or maybe we don’t even have to look that far. The Celtic Christians of Ireland believed the distance between heaven and earth was thin. It started “one foot above your head.” To help them remember, they built large stone crosses right in the middle of fields where they worked. What helps us to be steadfast, to attend to what deserves our attention and our concern, not just what demands it? Enter into worship. Readings: Acts 1:6-14 † Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 † 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 † John 17:1-11 About the Art: Whelan, Brian, 1957-. In the Beginning, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57418 [retrieved May 9, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iin_the_beginning_34x28_by_Brian_Whelan.jpg - photographed by Wendy Roseberry with permission from Brian Whelan.
 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way...” ~Acts 17:22 Paul is paying attention. He’s gone carefully through the city, eyes open, observant, curious, full of respect. He takes his hearers seriously—their ways of being, their religious symbols, their commitments—as he shares with them in their way his own understanding of how earth tangles with heaven. We all have a story, after all, a set of experiences and influences, elders who have shaped and inspired us, stories and traditions that help us find meaning and purpose. We come to the Bible and to our faith with our personal histories, our unique understanding of love and the astonishing human experience. You have a story. I have a story. Our neighbor across the street and that beautiful, nonverbal soul that visits us on a Bridge Ministry Sunday has a story that helps to complete our own story, to fill out what is missing within us, to correct, to name what is false of the gods we construct, to fill in what is unknown of the Holy we seek. “I will not leave you orphaned,” Jesus tells his disciples in John, on the eve of his death. Indeed, we are not orphaned, we are no longer strangers, we are filled with faith; we are surrounded by a company of care. Enter into worship. Readings: Acts 17:22-31 † Psalm 66 † 1 Peter 3:13-22 † John 14:15-21 About the Art:: Hands, all together, from a youth fellowship day sponsored by Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church, Decatur, GA, 2007. From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55247 [retrieved May 8, 2023]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/apmethodist/1678695596/.
 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my [Abba’s] house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” ~John 14:1-3 Trouble and togetherness. Belief and belonging. We are never promised that things will go easy for us. Indeed, if things are too easy, we may need to check our privilege, to scrutinize what we may have done to ensure our safety and security at the expense of others. But in the context of a troubled time, John’s gospel reaches out again and again to remind not only those early disciples, but us as well that we are in this together, and God is with us in the midst. Even locked doors and hearts cannot keep our Abba at bay! This Sunday is one that so easily invites us to remember and re-member this truth. Our siblings with Bridge Ministry join us Sunday as we gather around food and fellowship, wonder and worship—a perfect elixir for any troubled heart. In order to accommodate our Bridge Ministry community siblings, this Sunday only, worship begins at 11:00am. Join us. There is a place for you here. Enter into worship. Readings: Acts 7:55-60 † Psalm 31 † 1 Peter 2:2-10 † John 14:1-14 About the Art: Andō, Tadao, 1941-. Interior of the Church of the Light, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55848 [retrieved May 2, 2023]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Church_of_Light.JPG.
 Then he said to Thomas…, “Do not doubt but believe.” ~John 24:27b Why do you doubt? Check that. There is no word for doubt in this story of Thomas and the other disciples. The word is faith (pistis), actually no faith (apistis) in Jesus’ charge. Better: why do you not believe? It is an important question in many forms and certainly why Thomas shows up every year on the second Sunday of Eastertide. Say it this way: Don’t friends believe their friends? Don’t we believe the story of those we know and trust, even when it may be distant from our own experiences? Shouldn’t we? But there is tension to be held here. Shouldn’t we also be honest, vulnerable, and courageous with where we are in our own stories? Doubt, after all, is not the opposite of faith(apistis). Certainty is a closer counterpart. Here’s a cognate: Bonhoeffer said, “There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture, and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security.” Daring and courage, the strength that comes from being a part of something larger than yourself. Here is blessing that endures, new life in this Eastertide. Or as Jesus says it in John, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Enter into worship. Readings: Acts 2:14a, 22-32 † Psalm 16 † 1 Peter 1:3-9 † John 20:19-31 About the Art:: LeCompte, Rowan and Irene LeCompte. Christ shows himself to Thomas, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54879 [retrieved April 9, 2023]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryannsolari/5119341372/.
 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. ~John 20:18 Mary, the tower of faith, who seems not to have faltered, marvels at this astonishing turn. Who would think that such a turn could be possible? Do we? In this moment of loss, in this era of embittered and embattled sides, this season of denial and disappointment, this time of trials and tribulations, in this season of isolation could we really imagine something new? And yet, you feel it, don’t you? You sense something emerging. Something growing. Sprouts of possibility. We are becoming awake. All it takes is a word. Marvel. Enter into worship. Readings: Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6 † Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 † Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43 † Matthew 28:1-10 or John 20:1-18 About the Art: Photo (detail) and card design by Barbara Anderson. This is an image of a series of cards produced for Lent, 2023, this theme based on resources from Scott Anderson.
 ‘He has been raised from the dead, and see, he is on to Galilee ahead of you; there you all will see him.’ This is my message for you.” – Matthew 28:7 Rejoice heavenly powers! —Exsultet For three days Esther fasted and Judith kept vigil, the exiles came home from Jerusalem and the Hebrews marched to the bitter waters of Marah. For three days darkness afflicted the Egyptians, Hezekiah lay mortally ill, Jonah was entombed in the belly of a fish. And Saul who became Paul waited three days in blindness before he saw. To say it differently, in all these stories God makes God’s home with us, God settles into the neighborhood, as The Message so familiarly says it. It means that God wrestled with Jacob and talked with Adam and Eve and Hagar. It means Jesus knew a guy who had a donkey, a woman who was a pillar of the community and of faith. He knew someone with an upper room and a Pharisee that was just waiting to brave.He knew sickness and he knew death. He nurtured relationships in the neighborhood and saw earth tangle with heaven as it does every day and in every moment, every bush ablaze, whether we notice or not. He feasted and marched. He protested and built bridges. He made friends and allies. He laughed and he cried. He lived like he died that something new (and older than the hills) might come of it. This night, of all nights, is a night to notice…and maybe to be just a little more brave for doing so. Enter into worship[i]. Easter Vigil: Genesis 1:1–2, 26–27; 2:1–4 † Daniel (LXX) 3:52–60 † Genesis 21:2, 8–21 † Psalm 27:5–7, 10–14 † Genesis 21:2, 8–21 † Psalm 27:5–7, 10–14 † Exodus 14:26–29; 15:20–21 † Exodus 15:1–3, 11, 13, 17–18 † Joshua 2:1–14; 6:15–17, 22–23 † Wisdom 5:1–5; 6:6–7 † Judges 4:1–10, 23 † Judges 5:1, 4–7, 12, 24, 31 † 2 Kings 11:1–4, 10–12 † Psalm 9:1–2, 7–11, 13–14 † Judith 8:9–10, 32–34; 13:3–14, 17–18 † Judith 16:1–6, 13 † Acts 16:13–15 † Matthew 28:1–10 [ii] [i] Easter Tree. Received in personal email. Origin uncertain. [ii] Gafney, Wilda C.. A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church (pp. 241-259). Church Publishing Incorporated. Kindle Edition.  Holy God, Holy and mighty, Holy immortal One, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy and mighty, Holy immortal One, have mercy on us. —Solemn Intercessions Our Three Days service continues tonight at the cross. Good Friday is a day where we give ourselves to the suffering and injustice of the world, and of us. The church prays for the world—the whole world. It is a day where we take a close look at suffering and power—its use and misuse and we pray. We pray, and we remember that God with us—the immanuel—remains with us through the worst that the world, and the worst that we, can do. God with us—the immanuel—remains with us and loves us in death, even as in life. Readings: Psalm 22 † Hebrews 12:1–4 † Luke 22:14–23:56[i] Enter into worship. About the Art: Wesley, Frank, 1923-2002. Peter's Denial, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59181 [retrieved April 4, 2023]. Original source: Estate of Frank Wesley, http://www.frankwesleyart.com/main_page.htm. [i] Gafney, Wilda C.. A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church (pp. 220-231). Church Publishing Incorporated. Kindle Edition.  I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. --John 13:34 Three holy days enfold us now in gathering friends and breaking bread, in cross and font and life renewed: in Christ, God’s first-born from the dead. The mystery hid from ages past is here revealed in word and sign, for Jesus’ story is our own: new life through death is God’s design. Christ lifted high upon the tree, before you every knee shall bend and every tongue in praise proclaim: “You are the Holy One. Amen.” Enter into worship. Readings, Maundy Thursday: Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14 † Psalm 116:1–2, 12-19 † 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 † John 13:1-17, 31b-35 About the Art: Swanson, John August. Washing of the Feet II, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58580 [retrieved April 6, 2023]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.  It was a different kind of day. Crowds gathered. Palms and coats spread. Something, someone disruptive was coming and nothing would be the same by week’s end, or ever. The whole city was involved. It turns out Jesus had a guy (or a woman) or two he could count on—for a donkey, of all things, or an upper room—a vast network of disciples and partners and allies spilling out of the story! And resistance. For those of us who find great comfort and meaning in the cycle of stories the church year brings Palm Sunday or Palm-Passion Sunday ranks up there for its knitting together of energy and splendor and pathos. And for its disruption. What does it mean to belong to something like this story in this day given what we know and what we don’t? How might we map the experience, name it? What would others say about it that might teach and expand our knowing? The St. Andrew Learning group has found many of our questions and much of our curiosity organized around this notion of belonging. And we want to learn from you. We want to explore together. Where do we feel connected? What does it feel like? Sound like? Smell like? Look like? How do you know when you belong? When do you feel excluded or like you don’t have a place? This Sunday we hope you will join us for something just a little different—a conversation together, an opportunity for reflection and curiosity. We will not worship in our normal pattern, but the elements of our worship will still be present.
We will start at our usual 10:00am time but plan to stay just a little longer, until noon. We will gather around tables and good conversation hosted by our learning group, including Karla Kallberg, Raiden Kallberg, Melet Whinston, Jill Jones, Bob Seel, Julie Kae Sigars, Maggie Breen and Scott Anderson. If you can’t be physically present you can still join us on Zoom. Here’s the link. Your voices may be some of the most important. Readings: Matthew 21:1-11 † Psalm 118 † Isaiah 50:4-9a † Psalm 31:9-16 † Philippians 2:5-11 † Matthew 27:11-54 About the Art: Knitted swatch by Jake Shirey. Card design by Barbara Anderson. This is an image from a series of cards produced for Lent, 2023, this theme based on resources from Scott Anderson. We are so grateful to be gathering in person. If you can't join us, you can watch the service in real-time. Join us in person or, this Sunday only, join us on Zoom (link above) live Sunday morning, 10:00am.
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