The Weekly View

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Dear St. Luke Community,

This Sunday is Pentecost. It’s the day we call the birthday of the church. It’s the day we celebrate the ways the spirit connects us as people of God. And so it seems it will be a great day to make it a party by combining Zoom worship with Sausalito Presbyterian Church and my good friend, the Rev. Paul Mowry.

Paul and I will both preach a shorter sermon and the format may change just slightly as he will introduce our church to some of the traditions of his church and we will do the same for them. There will be more faces to look at and breakout sessions after worship. Please wear or decorate with orange and red as we give thanks to God for the blessing that is the connectional Spirit sustaining us always.

See you Sunday on Zoom,

Nicole

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Dear St. Luke Community,

This was one of those weeks that reminded me of just how great Bible Study is. In fact, Beth called me after Bible Study to tell me it was the best it had ever been. And the reason? Because the pastor went into Bible Study with no enthusiasm around the scriptures and instead relied on the wisdom of the group to lead her. The discussion that took place was filled with insight, meaning and humor. 

So what did we decide for Sunday? Seems this Sunday you’re going to hear about the Devil! That’s something we just never do in Mainline Protestant churches in Marin county and I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into. At this point, all I can think of is Flip Wilson’s old routine, “The Devil made me do it!”

I plan on enjoying the next few days thinking about the concept of the little red being with horns and a pitchfork. But I also look forward to naming some of the ways that the concept of a force, whether outside of us or within us, tries to convince us that we’re not worthy of love or forgiveness. I suppose this force could work in the other direction as well, convincing us that we’re above reproach. This is going to be fun. 

See You Sunday,
Nicole

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Dear St. Luke Community,

When my daughter Charlotte was little, we had a ritual where she would say “I love you,” and I would answer, “I love you more;” and she would reply, “Can’t be possible.” And then we would laugh as I would try to up her again by saying something about her understanding how very possible it is when she’s older and maybe has children of her own. 
 
This is how this Sunday’s scripture reads (John 14:15-25), with Jesus beginning with “If you love me, then you’ll keep my commandments,” which if you remember are to love God and love others. So we could understand this scripture as a kind of love letter. If you love me, then love me by loving others. And then Jesus ups the ante by saying, by promising the gift of the spirit and reminding us of how he lives inside of us and us in him. It’s an endless, almost embarrassing display of love, until we, like Charlotte used to say, “This can’t be possible.” But it is. 
 
And these days, for most of us in our community, we’ve been given the gift of time to reflect on the gifts of our life, like shelter and food.  But we’ve also been given spiritual gifts, like the indwelling of the spirit through Christ, who lives inside of us and with us intimately, like a partner who knows and sees us beneath the surface and loves us even more because of it.
 
Let us all be mindful in our prayers, praying that those who feel most alone during this pandemic may find that intimate love present in their lives, whether through Christ or family, stranger or happenstance. May we all take the power of our own spirits to be used by God as an advocate for those who are in need.
 
See you Sunday on Zoom.
 
With love in Christ,
Nicole