You might not expect a minister to dislike a Bible story — but I really am disturbed by the Old Testament story of Abraham being instructed by God to sacrifice his son Isaac.  So this is a sermon of protest, I guess …

 My Least Favorite Story

Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13:1-5

One of the curious gifts of coming to faith as an adult was seriously encountering many of the stories in the bible for the first time. Some stories turned out to be full of meaning and delight for me – the story of Esther, for example, whose courage saved her people, or of the Syrophoenician woman who challenged Jesus when he tried to brush her off. Other stories, however, turned out to be horrifying; what Biblical Scholar Phyllis Trible [1984] called Texts of Terror.

Continue…

We had an accident with our pulpit Bible– the big one that we read out of every Sunday morning.  The shelf it was placed on during a funeral was underneath a leaking water container, and the book got soaked.  It was open — so Genesis 1 through Psalm 89 were particularly drenched.

Quick to the rescue came my friend and Carleton Librarian Carol Eyler.  With help from her colleagues, she located a service that will freeze dry (really!) the Bible to make sure that no mold develops and the pages stay flat (and not “cockled”– which is that wrinkly post-moist thing that paper does).  And she arranged to have it shipped — complete with dry ice to make sure it doesn’t get moldy — to the book hospital in Illinois.

So a big THANK YOU to our friends at Carleton for this bit of community service.  We’ll let you know when the Bible is back!

Due to the Memorial Service for Phyllis Clifford-Albers, which takes place on Tuesday, the Strawberry Festival has been postponed.  The new date is July 2 at 2:30 pm. 

 The guys are great players, but I enjoyed watching the Future Fighting Apostles at the game last night.  

If you haven’t been to a Fighting Apostles softball game this season you are missing a lot of fun.  Not only is it exciting to watch the guys play, it’s  fun to watch the fans.  It’s a great sense of community and a wonderful opportunity for some intergenerational fun. 

PS…They won the game last night:) 

These guys can hit:

    The Fighting Apostles used the entire field last Sunday to defeat Little Prairie 17-6.

    We hit them hard. We hit them soft. We hit the lines. We hit the gaps, and we even hit one off the fence, thanks to Doug Morris. But the point is we hit, and we hit, and we hit.

   In fact, three of our guys — Doug, Tristan Cox and Mike Schlottmann — each hit inside the park homeruns. Mike’s was notable not only for his well-stroked ball that rolled to the fence, but also for how artfully he tip-toed around the bases trying to avoid outrunning Dave Burton, the base-runner in front of him. It was like “me and my shadow” as they crossed home plate a split second apart.

    The defense was solid. Greg Muth turned in the play of the game. An outfielder who was asked to plug a hole at second base, Greg pounced on the first ball hit his way, scooped it up and came up throwing, delivering a strike to first base for the out.

   Those participating in the Church All-Star Game Challenge for the CAC will note the 17 runs scored. We’ve challenged folks to contribute one dollar for every run scored in last week’s game and in tonight’s contest against New Covenant. Check the website early next week to see how we did and let your conscience be your guide.

Submitted by Scott “Manager of the Year” Richardson

Sometimes stories in the Bible, especially from the Old Testament, seem harsh to our modern ears.  Still, there is something for us to learn from this tale of Hagar and Sarah.

Hagar and Sarah

Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17  Hagar and Sarah

This summer we are following the story of the Patriarchs of the faith: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as we do that, we are also following the Matriarchs of Israel: Sarah and Hagar, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah. They are an interesting bunch, these women of the ancient past. They often appear by wells or springs, particularly when they are about to become wives. They are often barren, but those who are to have children receive divinely sent annunciations of one kind or another. Some engage in trickery or deception to further the careers of their husbands or sons.

It is hard to know, from our modern perspective, just what to make of all of this.

Continue…

The United Church of Christ National Disaster Ministries is already offering help to the victims of Midwest Storms and flooding.

You can help by making a contribution — either through First UCC or online — to help with the expenses of rescue, clean-up, and rebuilding.

You can also volunteer to help — some opportunities have already been posted, and others will be announced soon.

And we can all support the victims, rescue workers, and volunteers with our prayers.

Sarah (whose story is told in book of Genesis) was an old woman when she learned she was going to have a son.  Reasonably enough, she laughed.  That got me to thinking about the theological meaning of laughter …

Laughter

Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7  and Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Do you know what happened when Sarah laughed? Well, yes, God noticed and asked Abraham about it, and Sarah denied it; it is a nice bit of dialogue between God and Sarah. But do you know what happened when Sarah laughed?

Continue…

All across the country, members of the United Church of Christ are working together on important issues of justice and peace.

A good way to join in this important work is to join the Justice and Peace Action Network (JPANet).  You’ll receive weekly Legislative Action Alerts, periodic JPANet news, and Biblical and liturgical material for interpreting issues and action.  You’ll find sample letters to send to decision makers, many of which you can send right online from JPANet.

The Justice and Peace Action Network is our grassroots advocacy network — a project that we support financially with our contributions to Our Church’s Wider Mission.  But to be effective, we also need to support it with our attention and action.

We are offering a series of informal “cottage” gatherings to chat informally with Pastor Sandy as a way of becoming better acquainted with her and other members of the congregation.

Wednesday June 25th 7 pm at home of Molly and Bill Woehrlin 302 Maple St

Tuesday July 1st 3 pm at home of Liz and Jerry Hankins 2004 Park Pointe Court

Saturday August 2nd 9:30 at home of Sarah and Matt Forster, especially welcoming young children, child care provided. 408 2nd St. East

We are asking you to “sign up” for a gathering by e-mailing or calling the church office (645-7532) or one of the hosts.

Do join us for a casual summer visit!

Apostles overcome elements, Methodists.

The Fighting Apostles’ “iron nine” ignored the waterlogged field and threatening skies to notch their fourth win of the season with an 8-4 victory over the Methodist Maroon.

We spotted the Methodists a four-run lead, but then held them scoreless over four innings. Meanwhile, we we put up eight runs. We broke through for four in the bottom of the third. Fred Pender’s sharp single up the middle drove in two runs to knot the score. We came back with three more in the fourth and an insurance run in the fifth to close it out.

Doug Morris was masterful on the mound, forcing an able Methodist team to hit balls with enough hang time that our beleaguered three-person outfield could navigate the tropical conditions in the outfield and track them down. Jacob Newman had a timely hit and played a solid third base.

Player of the game awards, however, must go to the valiant Mueller-Dahl boys. Logan was called off the disabled list and played despite a sprained wrist. Mark pulled a quad while running the bases and hobbled through the last four innings. We almost ran out of duct tape, keeping those two on the field.

Pastor Sandy was awarded the 2008 Leysath Award tonight at the UCC MN Annual Conference in St. Joseph.

The Leysath Award is given to a person who lifts up the role of women in ministry, provides new life in the church and community , and who continues to grow through further education. Rev. Dr. Karen Smith Sellers, our Conference Minister, made the presentation at tonight’s awards event. Smith Sellers cited Sandy’s exemplary service to the conference Committee on Minstry and her own congregation at First UCC, Northfield.

Congratulations Pastor Sandy on this well deserved honor.

Here we are at the UCC MN Conference Annual Meeting in St. Joseph, MN Pictured are Pastor Sandy, Jerry Hankins, and our own Bob Gregory-Bjorklund getting the party started.

I try to post my sermons here every week, but we missed some during March and April. 

You can find all the sermons since February 1 2008 by clicking on Sermons on the right hand side of this page. 

Here are the ones I just posted:

February 24, 2008   Water and Witness

March 2, 2008         Sticking with Your Story

March 23, 2008        Do Not Be Afraid

March 30, 2008        Book of Life

April 13, 2008          Awesome

April 27, 2008          If You Love Me