This Sunday - We continue in the season of Lent, this being the third Sunday. Our gospel reading brings us to Luke 13:1-9 in which Jesus answers difficult questions related to theodicy. "What is that, you ask?" Good question! In short, it discusses the "problem of evil" or why bad things happen to good people. Come Sunday to find out more! You can find Sunday's readings in the Ashes to Fire book or by clicking here. Alabaster Offering - February is Alabaster Offering month in the Church of the Nazarene, but because of the blizzard and our retreat we will extend our Alabaster Offering by a week! Bring your Alabaster offering in this Sunday March 3, including alabaster boxes, spare change, or any other monetary donations. The entire proceeds of the Alabaster Offering go to the building of churches and facilities to support the work of the church throughout the world.
Guatemala Partnership - There will be a meeting this Sunday, March 3rd at 2:00 PM at the chapel. Spanish Word of the Week - 'oracion', which meansprayer NED Day of Prayer - There is a special prayer event on Saturday happening across the New England District Church of the Nazarene. Members of all of our churches in five different states will be gathering at eight locations to pray, fellowship, and receive communion together. All the locations will be connected via video conferencing. Our closest location is the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene in Quincy, but click here to see all of the locations. It should be a great time of prayer, fellowship, and communion. If you have any questions, email Pastor Jeremy.
Continue to pray for Ryan Ardrey who came home today from the hospital, but has quite a road in front of him after multiple seizures and rigorous medication.
Continue to pray for Stephen Gerber (Doug's father) as he fights a serious infection at Brigham and Women's hospital and also just learned that his HLH has now crossed into his central nervous system.
Other Reminders:
Sunday, March 3rd
Gathering to Worship (9:30 AM) Sunday School (10:30 AM~) Partnership Meeting (2:00 PM) Monday, March 4th
Board Meeting (6:30 PM) Wednesday, March 6th
Community Dinner (6:00 PM)
Bible Study (7:00 PM)
Use our online calendar for these and other dates/events as well as our other online sites below! (If you would like to add the church calendar to your Google Calendar, just search for "communication@northst.org" where it says "Add a friend's calendar".)
This Sunday - Our fifth annual Community Retreat was stupendous last weekend. Thanks for everyone's contributions in a variety of ways. We've already made the deposit for next year, so put the dates on your calendar now (Feb. 14-17, 2014). And don't forget our special sabbatical-culminating retreat on Labor Day Weekend. But back to the present... They say a storm is a-comin' again this Sunday. As usual, I will be at the chapel for worship, but take good care in choosing to drive or not. Our challenge continues to be parking. We'll send out an update by Sunday morning if it is an issue. Either way, I will be preaching on these lectionary passages. We still have a couple of Ashes to Fire books available. Let me know if you'd like one. In addition to worship on Sunday, see below... - Pastor Jeremy
Ktizo Gallery Showing: Pieceful Stitching by Charlie - Join us for our public showing of Charlie DiSante's quilting and stitching work! We'll share some coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and light snacks. There are already several pieces of Charlie's work hanging in the gallery area, but she will have others the day of the showing this Sunday, February 24th at 4:00 pm. In the case that we do have to cancel, we have a snow date set for next Sunday (March 3).
Alabaster Offering - February is Alabaster Offering month in the Church of the Nazarene, but because of the blizzard and our retreat we will extend our Alabaster Offering by a week! Bring your Alabaster offering on the 24th or March 3, including your alabaster boxes, spare change, or any other monetary donations. The entire proceeds of the Alabaster Offering go to the building of churches and facilities to support the work of the church throughout the world.
Spanish Word of the Week - edredon, which meansquilt Missionary Books/CDs - If you have any of the missionary books and/or CDs, bring them back into the church again so that others can read them!
Gathering to Worship (9:30 AM) Sunday School (10:30 AM~) Ktizo Showing: Pieceful Stitchings by Charlie (4:00 PM)
Wednesday, February 27th
Community Dinner (6:00 PM)
Bible Study (7:00 PM) ____________________________________________________
Use our online calendar for these and other dates/events as well as our other online sites below! (If you would like to add the church calendar to your Google Calendar, just search for "communication@northst.org" where it says "Add a friend's calendar".)
February 14, 2013 This Sunday - With the fifth annual North Street Community Retreat being this weekend, there will be no gathering in Hingham at the chapel. If you are going up for the retreat, there are some new instructions/FAQs here. If you are unable to go for the whole weekend, but would like to join us for Sunday morning worship (10:30 AM) and even lunch and/or dinner, please do! (Let Pastor Jeremy know that you're coming.) Directions are here.
Ashes to Fire - We had a good Ash Wednesday service last night. The recording of a few words that Pastor Jeremy shared are online on our recordings page.
Today is Day 2 in our Ashes to Fire devotional books. For the e-book readers out there, the book is available on Amazon for Kindle. There are other resources on the Ashes to Fire website.
Alabaster Offering- Don't forget that this month is Alabaster Offering month in the Church of the Nazarene! Bring your Alabaster offering on the 24th including your alabaster boxes, spare change, or any other monetary donations. The entire proceeds of the Alabaster Offering go to the building of churches and facilities to support the work of the church throughout the world.
Spanish Word of the Week - nieve, which meanssnow. Missionary Books/CDs - If you have any of the missionary books and/or CDs, bring them back into the church again so that others can read them!
Ktizo Gallery Showing: Pieceful Stitching by Charlie - Join us for our public showing of Charlie DiSante's quilting and stitching work! We'll share some coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and light snacks. There are already several pieces of Charlie's work hanging in the gallery area, but she will have others the day of the showing on Sunday February 24th at 4:00 pm.
Gathering to Worship (10:30 AM) up at Windsor Hills Campground Wednesday, February 20th
Community Dinner (6:00 PM)
Bible Study (7:00 PM) ____________________________________________________
Use our online calendar for these and other dates/events as well as our other online sites below! (If you would like to add the church calendar to your Google Calendar, just search for "communication@northst.org" where it says "Add a friend's calendar".)
It's been a few years since we've had a Sunday with enough snow to keep people away, so for many of you, this is your first experience with "North Street @ Your Street". What you will find below is a short order of worship that you can walk through in your home either by yourself or with family. Listen to the songs on the videos (my apologies if you have to endure a commercial at the beginning of a video) and read the passages and know that even though we're physically separate today, we are yet together in Christ. This might take about 20-25 minutes.
While the Body of Christ is her best in worship when together, what a blessing it is to have technology to "keep us together" every great once in a while through things such as this.
(If some of these videos are not showing up in your email, you may alternatively visit our North St. News page instead.)
Praying,
Pastor Jeremy
___________________________________________
Greetings in Christ!
The Lord be with you.
The Collect-Prayer for this Last Sunday after Epiphany: O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that
we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be
strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his
likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Song: Breathe
Our psalm during this series: Psalm 92 (from The Message): A Sabbath Song
What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks,
to sing an anthem to you, the High God!
To announce your love each daybreak,
sing your faithful presence all through the night,
Accompanied by dulcimer and harp,
the full-bodied music of strings.
You made me so happy, God
I saw your work and I shouted for joy.
How magnificent your work, God!
How profound your thoughts!
Dullards never notice what you do;
fools never do get it.
When the wicked popped up like weeds
and all the evil men and women took over,
You mowed them down,
finished them off once and for all.
You, God, are High and Eternal.
Look at your enemies, God!
Look at your enemies—ruined!
Scattered to the winds, all those hirelings of evil!
But you’ve made me strong as a charging bison,
you’ve honored me with a festive parade.
The sight of my critics going down is still fresh,
the rout of my malicious detractors.
My ears are filled with the sounds of promise:
“Good people will prosper like palm trees,
Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;
transplanted to God’s courtyard,
They’ll grow tall in the presence of God,
lithe and green, virile still in old age.”
Such witnesses to upright God!
My Mountain, my huge, holy Mountain!
[pause for reflection]
A Song: The Love of God
A reading from the Gospel: Matthew 6:25-34
‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
[pause for reflection]
A Word from Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor on Sabbath:
Snowstorms are like a forced sabbath. With all that humans can do today to control and predict and "know," a blizzard, while predictable with technology, cannot be stopped by engineering, technology, or any other will of humanity. While annoying at the least and deadly at the worst, storms can serve for us as a reminder that we are...human.
As we enter into Lent this week, it seems an appropriate reminder.
[pause for reflection]
Benediction - Take to the World
And finally, our weekly song of benediction. Some very nice girl used it to make a video with memories from her trip to Kenya, but you can just listen instead of watching if you'd like.
"Go in his grace and peace...you are [already] dispersed."
___________________________________________
We do have a special gathering of worship this week on Wednesday. Be sure to join us for our Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 PM. Hope to see you then!
This Sunday - This is our sixth and final week in our series, Sabbath.I hope you can come as it'll be a different kind of Sunday for us with the kids singing for us, a special reading, and a storylike sermon. If you have not heard any of the sermons in this series, you can hear them on our recordings page.
***A NOTE ON THE WEATHER - You might have heard that there may be a bit of snow this weekend. Most often, since I live next door, I show up at the chapel anyway. As always, you are encouraged to take into account your own comfortability in driving on the roads. In addition, if the government asks us to stay off the roads, we should do our best to do so for the safety of all. Stay tuned! - Pastor Jeremy
Alabaster Offering- Don't forget that this month is Alabaster Offering month in the Church of the Nazarene! Bring your Alabaster offering any Sunday this month including your alabaster boxes, spare change, or any other monetary donations. The entire proceeds of the Alabaster Offering go to the building of churches and facilities to support the work of the church throughout the world.
Spanish Word of the Week - miercoles, which meansWednesday.
Lent and Easter - Lent begins in less than a week. Our Annual Ash Wednesday service will be at 7:00 on February 13, just prior to our retreat. We are returning to an emphasis we went through two years ago, but with a brand new book: Ashes to Fire. The daily devotional books are $10 each. Email Christina Duncan if you would like one and you can put the money for them in an offering box (be sure to mark it!). The readings begin on February 13 and we will hand out the devotional books at our Ash Wednesday service.
Community Retreat - Our fifth annual community retreat is just a week away! At the moment we have 42 adults and 13 children signed up, but there's room for you! All the fine details are here on the church's website. If you would like to go, please email Pastor Jeremy ASAP. We are again practicing Acts 2 principles in "sharing the cost." We want all who want to go to be able to. This year, the retreat is on the first weekend of Lent. As such, it makes a great way to make a great start on our Lenten and Easter emphases. (Also, just a reminder there will be no worship gathering in Hingham on Sunday February 17th. Even if you can't come up for the whole retreat, you are welcome to join us on Sunday in NH. Directions are here and let Pastor Jeremy know that you are coming.)
Missionary Books/CDs - If you have any of the missionary books and/or CDs, bring them back into the church again so that others can read them!
Ktizo Gallery Showing: Pieceful Stiching by Charlie Join us for our public showing of Charlie DiSante's quilting and stitching work! We'll share some coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and light snacks. There are already several pieces of Charlie's work hanging in the gallery area, but she will have others the day of the showing. Sunday February 24th at 4pm
Use our online calendar for these and other dates/events as well as our other online sites below! (If you would like to add the church calendar to your Google Calendar, just search for "communication@northst.org" where it says "Add a friend's calendar".)
February 28, 2013
