Jan. 2006

Touchstone - January 2006

Follow any of the sidebar links to read Touchstone updates from past months.

January 25, 2006

The Gospel lesson for this Sunday is Mark 1:21-28 - a snapshot of Jesus teaching in Capernaum. While Jesus teaches, an unclean spirit cries out against him; Jesus commands the spirit out of the person, and when the person is dis-possessed, the crowd is amazed at Jesus' authority to do such a thing.

Clearly this is not our typical experience of teaching in church, or preaching, or anything else. We normally do not experience unclean spirits, possession or anything of the sort. But we should be careful not to dismiss this story in Mark as fantastic. Clearly many of us have had some experience of God that we would describe as a religious experience - a feeling, a physical event or change that we attribute to God's presence rather than some other cause. And many of us may have experienced the presence of evil in our lives at one time or another - something that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, something other than a scary movie.

In part this story is about resistance - crowds, Jews, even followers of Jesus who don't believe what he teaches about God. I often think that I would have been a skeptic, too...Jesus was likely a rather angry, strident prophet who railed against the occupation of his homeland by the Romans and took his fellow Jews to task for compromising parts of their faith to survive under Roman rule. Yet in this brief story persons are converted to belief by the consequences of Jesus' actions. His ability to teach and heal overwhelm the skepticism and doubt of others - his work and his spirit have an undeniable force.

Come join us for worship this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in the Chapel. We will reflect together on what our own resistance is to believing in God and in Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ. After worship everyone is invited to attend a Housing Forum, where our Co-Pastors and members of the Housing Committee will explain a proposal to close the Equity Sharing Agreement between the church and co-pastors, with the co-pastors returning the church's initial investment in the house and a portion of the earned equity since 1998. This proposal will then be presented at our Winter Business Meeting for consideration by the congregation. On Sunday, February 5th, we have our Winter Business Meeting from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the Parlors. The youth of the church will sell lunch to raise money for their trip to the Western Regional Youth Event in Colorado this summer, so food will be available! Be a part of the workings of the church as we hear reports, vote on new Ministry and Council members, vote on the Housing Proposal and vote on a Church Budget for 2006.

Call the church office if you have questions at (626) 795-0696.

Rev. John H. Pomeroy

January 20, 2006

The scripture lesson for this Sunday comes from the book of Jonah, a slight book that is tucked in between the prophets Obadiah and Amos. You can find it near the end of the Old Testament. The book is only four chapters long and is a tale about a "recalcitrant prophet" who sulks and disobeys God. Don't you like him already? Written in the 4th-5th century before Christ, it explores the themes of God's call, our reluctance, God wooing, and our repentance. It is a lively story full of storms at sea, whales, sackcloths and ashes! I invite you to read it in preparation for worship on Sunday and to ponder how God is calling you to go and share God's all-embracing love to others.

Upcoming events at the First Congregation Church of Pasadena (UCC):

This Sunday, Jan. 22nd, we have a Budget Forum planned after worship to inform you about how 2005 wrapped up financially and to look ahead at the proposed budget for 2006. Please join us to hear about how your money is being put to great use for God's church this Sunday at 11:30. Save the date of Sunday Feb. 5th for our Winter Business Meeting where the budget and other items will be voted on.

Also, on Sunday evening, we are hosting the Doane College Choir for a concert in our sanctuary at 7:30 p.m. We hosted them about five years ago and were treated to a wonderful evening of music from this UCC-affiliated college. Please plan to attend this concert. Also, we are hosting a number of the Doane College students in our homes after the concert for just one night. If you can help Andy out with the final couple of students, please let him know Sunday morning.

On Monday Feb. 20th the Progressive Christians Uniting will host their Annual Dinner at the University Club of Pasadena. This evening will highlight the speaker Barry Lynn on the topic of "Preaching with Conviction, Acting with Courage." Rev. George Regas will offer a response and Episcopal Bishop Jon Bruno will also be honored at this event. Our guest preacher Peter Laarman mentioned this wonderful dinner at his forum last week. A group from our church is planning to attend. If you would like to join us, please pick up a registration form from our church office and return it by Feb. 6th. The cost of the evening is $65 and our church can defray some of the costs if necessary (the student price is $25 for full-time students). Please speak to one of the pastors about this.

January 11, 2006

This Sunday we celebrate Just Peace Sunday - a tradition begun by our denomination and continued by our congregation, even after the national staff decided to combine the celebration and offering with Neighbors In Need - one of our five UCC offerings. Our congregation has been a Just Peace Church for nineteen years, showing our commitment to justice in our community and in our world, and teaching others how justice and peace are requirements for each other! Rev. Peter Laarman, Executive Director of Progressive Christians Uniting will be our guest for the morning, offering a sermon and a Forum after worship on what we as a church can do to "wage peace." Come and join us in the chapel - worship begins at 10:00 a.m. and the Forum will be in the parlors from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

On Monday we celebrate the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last year, when listening to recordings of sermons he delivered before his death, I was struck by the sheer energy in his voice. His passion for peace and for justice was palpable in each sentence and with each illustration. King had experienced first hand the pain of poverty, the tragedy of war, the ugly hatred of racism - yet his faith only blossomed with the experience of speaking out about these experiences and urging all those who would listen to address the human struggle and suffering in our country. How many times King must have wearied of the resistance he and others faced - yet the force of his compassion and his beliefs carried him forward.

Do we share King's passion for justice? Or are we overwhelmed by the needs of our community and our country. His is a crucial witness for us - a constant reminder that nothing is impossible with God - no struggle or tragedy is too great if we ask for God's strength and powerful healing. This weekend is a good time for each of us to test our own commitment to justice and to claim where we are in the journey toward peace and freedom for all. We are called by God to be peacemakers - come and join us in worship and our Adult Forum this Sunday as we discover what that means for our church now.

Rev. John H. Pomeroy

January 4, 2006

The New Year is one place where our secular calendar and the church year are at cross purposes. In our culture and society, we are beginning new desk calendars, preparing tax returns, finding that our health insurance deductibles are starting from scratch - we may even use the change in the date to make a fresh start with cleaning our house or starting a new personal project.

In the church year we are skipping ahead from the birth of Jesus and the story of Epiphany to the baptism of Jesus. Baptism represents a new beginning, like a new year, but that is where the similarities end. Baptism is about religious experience - a sacrament, an outward sign of an inward and invisible grace. Baptism is a symbol of our relationship with God, where we invite God - sometimes reluctantly, to make us whole. The images are plentiful, but the most striking picture is that of drowning our sins! We are submerged in God's love, cleansing with water all that harms or interferes with our development as faithful people.

What if we don't feel the Holy Spirit these days? Instead of refreshed, we may feel buried by the post-holiday demands of the New Year. Come and join us for worship this Sunday January 8th in the Chapel and listen as we hear in scripture about how the baptism of the Spirit works. The text is Acts 19:1-7 and my sermon is entitled "Finding the Spirit."

This Friday, January 6th, the Women's Spirituality Group is having an Epiphany Party at Ann Appley's home - call the church office (626) 795-0696 for more information. In two weeks we are hosting the Doane College Choir on January 22nd for a concert here in the afternoon. We need housing for the choir the night of January 22nd - please contact the church office as soon as possible if you can take in a choir member that Sunday evening. This is a wonderful group of college students from a UCC related school in Crete, Nebraska who have come to share their music with us. Help us to welcome them in two weeks!

Rev. John H. Pomeroy