| Budget Vote for TBC Fiscal Year 2024-25 |
There were no suggestions for changes to the FY 2024-25 Budget so you may now vote on the budget. Voting opens on June 14, and will end on June 26, 2024. Major financial expenditures like these budgets require at least 50 votes. Click here for a copy of the TBC Budget.
Click Here to vote electronically. Paper Ballots will also be available in the back of the Sanctuary.
Please remember, you need to be a member of TBC to vote and you may only vote once.
Over the course of these last two months, we’ve seen God at work specifically through:
– the deepening of relationships
– growing unity among leadership
– the offering and receiving of caregiving in our fellowship
– and the blessing of renewed hope
The list below offers a roadmap of opportunities for us to continue to gather, serve, and grow together. As it relates to your participation, we encourage you to pray for God’s guidance in your faithful “yeses” and “nos” alike. Which of these events might offer you the most joy and/or sustenance in the season ahead? Are there a handful of events God might be calling you to prioritize? Which events do you need to skip in order to be faithful to a calling God has already placed on your heart? Let’s commit to remain open to the holy nudges and assume the best in one another’s decision-making.
Every time two or more are gathered, God brings opportunity for thriving and growth in community. You are a blessing to those of us that have found a home at Tabernacle and a key part of the unfolding blessing we are called to be in the larger community. Steady on, Church……steady on!
OCTOBER
Saturday, October 21 – Community Ministry
Saturday, October 28 – Leadership Retreat with Mark Tidsworth (consultant)
Sunday, October 29 – Congregational Meeting with Mark Tidsworth (consultant), Sunday, October 29 – 8:00-8:30 PM – Way S’nah Htoo’s Baptism Service
NOVEMBER
Saturday, November 4 – Community Ministry
Saturday, November 4 – B&G meeting with Carson Dean (consultant)
Saturday, November 4 – Remember to move clock back an hour prior to going to bed (Daylight Saving Time ends)
Sunday, November 5 – All Saints Sunday
Sunday, November 5 – Quarterly Business Meeting (after worship), including initial report from B&G’s work with consultant.
November 10-12 Youth Group to CBF Virginia Retreat at Eagle Eyrie
Sunday, November 12 – Informal Fellowship on the church portico (after worship)
Sunday November 12 – TBC hosting Rachel Pierce’s Ordination Service (3 p.m) Monday November 13 – Book Club Discussion on “Caste” by Isabell Wilkerson
Monday, Nov. 13 – 15 – Annual BGAV General Assembly Meeting at Bon Air Baptist Church Saturday, November 18 – Community Ministry
Sunday, November 19 – Church-wide breakfast in the Fellowship Hall
November 20 – 24 – Mission Team to Metro Baptist Church, NY
Tuesday, November 21 – Tabernacle and Pine Street Baptist Churches join FBC Richmond for a Thanksgiving Dinner and Worship Service
DECEMBER
Saturday, December 2- Community Ministry
Sunday, December 3 – First Sunday of Advent
Sunday, December 10 – Children & Youth Christmas Parties Thursday, December 14- TCCC Christmas Pageant Friday, December 15 – packing of Christmas baskets
Saturday, December 16 – Christmas Basket Ministry (morning) + Bruton Parish Concert in Williamsburg (evening)
Sunday, December 17 – Sanctuary Choir will share their Bruton Parish Concert Music during worship. Following worship, we will celebrate with Terry Witt, as she is retiring from the staff after 25 years of service, in the Fellowship Hall
Sunday, Decembber 17 – Voting for the TCCC Assistant Director closes at 2 PM.
Sunday, December 17 – Annual Christmas in the Fan Concert
Sunday, December 24 – Christmas Eve Service
SUMMER 2024
June 12-15 – Older Children to Passport Kids Camp
June 30 to July 5 – Youth Group to Passport Choices at Converse College
Stay Posted:
Details each of these events will be shared in the upcoming weeks, via TabWeekly, the webpage, and church calendar.
In light of last week’s headline, World Health Organization declaring an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency
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All humans long for stability. Throughout time, Societies have built structures to protect stability. Call it covid, call it chaos, there’s been a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. Rigid structures don’t tend to fare well when the ground starts shaking. No structure is meant to last forever and yet when history circles back around we’re surprised by its arrival. Anything we carve or build out of rock, bricks, steel, or glass, eventually falls. Travel to Greece, Rome, the site of the former World Trade Center in NYC, or, (dare I say it) down a long stretch of Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va, historical structures eventually and always buckle under the pressure of the passage of time.
Most any group of people that find themselves finally tasting the “good life” naturally want to build a structure that can maintain, expand, and protect that way of life (aka stability). Think about the destructive cycles that spin chaos into the world from there. If building, maintaining, expanding, and protecting our “good life” requires the diminishing, disqualifying or destruction of the lives of others, expect chaos and prepare to choke on the dust of fallen idols, fortresses, and structures.
I believe God is refashioning us, not only out of the dust of our fallen idols, fortresses, and structures, but also out of the dust being stirred up by the beautiful feet of those walking beside “God with Us”
There’s a moment in the Bible when the disciples of Jesus find themselves awestruck by the Temple structure,“Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what a wonderful structure!” Jesus responds, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” The temple is supposed to be the most stable place on earth, the one place where God’s finger touches the world, therefore the one place chaos can’t possibly exist.
Later in the story, those that arrested Jesus justify their actions based on the audacity of Jesus bringing chaos, the equivalent of kryptonite, into the temple. He doesn’t help his case when he predicts the temple’s destruction or in claiming he will rebuild the temple in three days. To add insult to injury, he claims the new Temple won’t be confined by geography or any other lines we might draw in the sand. No-one-corner of the world will be able to claim this One as their own. This One, is meant to travel. This One is a throwback to the original design. Anyone with institutional memory might call him “Tabernacle”, but most of his followers call him Savior.
Church, I know we’re all longing for stability, it’s natural to do so, especially in our grieving. I want you to know that I join you in deep grieving. So much more, I want you to know that we worship a God that brings order out of Chaos.
Any version of life, built upon a structure that diminishes the potential for thriving in the lives of others, cannot be attributed to the goodness of God.
YHWH didn’t fashion us out of metaphorical dust, breathe air into our lungs, and put us on our feet, only for us to create our own versions of the “good life”. Any version of life, built upon a structure that diminishes the potential for thriving in the lives of others, cannot be attributed to the goodness of God. Any version of the “good life” that leads someone into isolation, separation, or even relational annihilation is a cheap counterfeit. God is good…all of the time. The good life Christ offers is the real deal….the Way, the Truth, and The Life. Walk in the knowledge that we follow a Savior that can take all of the fallenness, brokenness, and complexities of the stories of the past and present, all of the unintentional chaos we’ve unleashed into the world, and somehow bring profound goodness through it. Know that God can, and will, make ALL things for good.
As we move out of this global pandemic, it will be critical for us to understand that it’s not our job to rebuild our temples. God already did that, three days after his son was crucified. The news gets even better. The resurrected Savior is inviting us to tabernacle with him right smack into the middle of the chaos. He’s inviting us to join the search party for those who have stumbled into, or were pushed into, lostness and loneliness. He’s inviting us to join him in the reclamation of the abandoned, to participate in the healing of the brokenhearted, and even in the resuscitation of the hearts of the presumed “righteous”.
In this very moment, I believe God is refashioning us, not only out of the dust of our fallen idols, fortresses, and structures, but also out of the dust being stirred up by the beautiful feet of those walking beside “God with Us”. It’s an invitation to breathe again. It’s an invitation to life again. It’s the invitation of a lifetime!
Rev. Sterling W. Severns, Pastor
To those who gave birth this year to their first child — we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year–we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stain–we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment—we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms–we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children–we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children–we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year–we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother–we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood–we are better for having you in our midst
To those who have had abortions–we remember you on this day
To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children–we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be
To those who stepparent–we walk with you on these complex paths
To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren, yet that dream is not to be–we grieve with you
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year–we grieve and rejoice with you
To those who placed children up for adoption–we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising–we anticipate with you
This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.
Written by Amy Young
*** CONNECTION CARD: Click here to let us know you were present with us in worship, to ask a question, or share a prayer concern.
IT’S TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY! FEB 19 @ 11 AM (EST)We hope you’ll make plans to join us for this morning’s worship service. We will conclude the season of light celebrating the Transfiguration of Jesus. We will conclude the worship service in a circle of candlelight, turning our attention to the Lenten journey ahead.
During the invitation hymn, those participating virtually will be encouraged to log out of the livestream AND immediately log into the zoom link below. This will allow our virtual participants, each holding candles, to be visually seen alongside those in the physical sanctuary. It only would make sense to do this if you’re comfortable turning on your zoom camera to be seen in the circle of candlelight. If you’d rather not be seen, it’s best to just stay in the livestream.
1) Login into this zoom link when prompted:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3425677717?pwd=eTBUWW9vSkx5OHpEZjVhOHdyUHc0UT09
Meeting ID: 342 567 7717
Passcode: 909439
2) Turn on your camera so that you and your UNLIT candle can be seen on the monitor in the Sanctuary.
3) Be sure your microphone is muted.
4) You’ll be prompted to light your candle, when those in the physical room are lighting theirs.
In decades past, previous generations at Tabernacle set aside time, often full weeks or weekends, to come together purposefully and expectantly. Long ago, these gatherings were called revivals and more recently spiritual renewal weekends.
Though the format of those gatherings have changed, the longings and expectations of each generation, including our generation, have not wavered. For almost 150 years our local congregation has come together, often in our most vulnerable chapters of communal life, to express our yearning for revival, to pray for inspirited vision, to petition God to give us unity in the (re)discovery of purpose and call.
The weekend of January 13-15, 2023, our generation will come together, in both the physical church building and in our virtual acre. Mark Tidsworth, our facilitator, will help us explore the challenges and opportunities standing before the Universal Church and guide our local church in prayerful discernment/dialogue.
We will introduce three questions as an invitation into discernment.
What might God do, in and through us, if we were to shift away from __________________ and move toward _________________?
On Friday night, Mark will provide a format we’ll use for capturing our insights and we’ll continue to gather and glean throughout the entire weekend. This, plus the insights generated during multiple small group discussions, will be funneled to church leadership after this weekend. In turn, the leaders will determine how we can effectively continue to discern together as a congregation.
The Holy Spirit is prompting our old church to embrace a new day in this new world we’re all living in and we offer our praise to God for what we’re about to see and hear. Tabernacle, yet again, Christ is on the move, and, yet again, the revived, renewed, and re-missioned Church is called to follow.
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Retreat Schedule:
Friday, January 13 6-9 pm (dinner provided)
Saturday, January 14, 9-12 pm 12-12:45 (lunch provided), 12:45 – 3 pm
Sunday, January 15, 9 – 10:30 am + worship
Cost:
There is no registration fee. However, we do ask that each participant bring a pack of bottled waters or canned beverages + a sweet/salty snack to share.
Childcare:
Whereas, we won’t be able to provide a nursery on-site, we can help offset some of the expense of baby sitting in your homes and possibly identify babysitters.
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The decision to postpone tonight’s zoom mtg. is based on updated information our lay leadership received this morning. Thanks for your flexibility and also for helping us put the word out to your classes, committees, teams, and small groups.
We’ll reschedule the meeting after we’ve explored the info we’ve just received.
Video specifically mentions two sign-up links. Please RSVP ASAP
1) Youth Night – this Friday, September 13
2) This Sunday’s lunch. (Sept 18)
“What would the church look like if everyone in the church used their God-given gifts and talents to equip the rest of the church in such a way that the entire church became more like Jesus?” For if the whole church looked and lived more like Jesus, how much more would our neighborhoods and cities look more like heaven?
– JR Woodard
The Pastoral Staff has been hard at work in preparing to equip the church in this next season of life together. Early this week, we’ll share the details of what the church can expect. This document will serve as a primer in better understanding why we’re beginning “here” and what to expect from each space we’re creating. Our goal is to prompt each one of us to take a deeper step in our walk with Christ; we make the road by walking.
It’s all about equipping the people of the Church to be more like Jesus in a world that needs the love of Jesus. Christian discipleship is about calling others to join us in practicing a way of life in which we embody (flesh out) the life of Jesus in the context of the world as we journey to fulfill God’s mission together.
Explore the primary tool we’re using to develop three unique spaces of belonging in Fall 2022.
Explore our fall programming guide
Short on time? Here’s a snapshot of what to expect this fall
* Adapted from Jr Woodard's Creating a Missional Culture: Equipping the Church for the Sake of the World
This report was submitted back in June from Donna and the Building and Grounds Committee. Since it was a large and costly project, we thought for those of you who may have missed it the first time around, we would bring it back to the top of the posts so you can have a chance to read it again.
It’s been an exciting month of activity around our buildings for the month of May and into early June. You may not notice unless you look hard or unless you are spending time in the choir area or Blue Room! The members of the Building & Grounds Committee thought you would like to see just how hard folks have been working for needed repairs and renovations, thanks to our partnerships with local experts. Old World Masonry Restoration, Vassars Services and Jeter Flooring all did an excellent job for us!
To read the full report which includes pictures of the project, click here.
Many thanks to Vincent, Donna and the Building & Grounds Committee.
This is the budget from the Finance Committee for everyone’s review. Click here to access the budget. There was a zoom call this past Sunday evening at 7 PM for anyone that wanted to ask questions or add input before the Finance Committee submitted the final budget today. If you missed that meeting but would like to view it, click here for the recording of the 7 PM meeting from Sunday, June 5.
The timeline for the budget will be as follows:
Beginning June 8 – please review the budget. If you have any questions please reach out to Margaret Ailes, Jim Soyars, or Dan Herman our Finance Committee members.June 22– Online voting begins for the Budget – Click here to vote electronically. June 26- Paper Ballot in Worship and Vote Closes at 3 PM.
The TCCC Budget can be reviewed by clicking here.
We’re anticipating a wonderful season of re-connection and welcome. Now is the time to get ready for company.
TECHIES
Reset a wifi enable deadbolt and connect to TBC wifi.Deadline – February 15
PEOPLE THAT LOVE SORTING AND MATCHING OFFICE SUPPLIES AND/OR ORGANIZING CABINETS
It’s well past time for us to pull everything out of the cabinets in our copy machine room and the supply closet just around the corner. We need 2-3 folks to tackle this. Probably would take a day of working together or two half days? Deadline – February 15
SPREADSHEET PEOPLE…..
* Enter data related to worship attendance over multiple years into a spreadsheet AND create some charts that help us track trends. * Gather some specific content from annual Book of Reports, enter said content into a spreadsheet. Deadline – FEBRUARY 28
PEOPLE THAT LOVE SANDING, PAINTING, and REFINISHING*
We’ve got a small handful of wooden tables and desks that need to get freshened up. No presumptions as to how many you’d knock out. Just let us know what you’re up for and we’ll assume others will do the same. Deadline – FEBRUARY 28
KEY MASTERS…..*
We’re looking for a curious sleuth to go through random keys, attempt to identify matching locks AND/OR label and re-organize our current keys. Deadline – MARCH 1
Interested parties…..please contact pastor@tbcrichmond.org. Sterling will connect you to the appropriate coordinator and we’ll take it from there.
Stay posted as lots of other opportunities will be posted in the week(s) ahead.
| Please RSVP For Wednesday Night Meal |
(Revamped) Dinner Church on Wednesday Night
We hope you’ll make plans to join us for Dinner Church on Wednesday, January 25. Please note the second iteration of this new ministry model is slightly different from the original:
5:30 – 6 p.m.
Early arrivers will help prepare the physical space
6 – 7 p.m.
Break break and explore faith (older children – Senior Adult)
* Preschool – 1st Grade will eat and participate in a different space.
7 p.m.
Parents and children head home. Others may do the same or opt to help clean-up and enjoy unstructured fellowship.
7:15 – 8:15 p.m.
Those with a desire to delve deeper into the conversation are invited to gather in the Sanctuary with our pastor.
Hope you’ll make plans to join us on Wednesday, February 1. Please CLICK HERE to RSVP so we can plan for dinner. Please RSVP by 7:00 PM Monday, January 30.
***If you would like to attend and bring your own meal, please feel free to do so.***
The cost for the meal will be $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children and youth with a maximum of $20 per family. We will accept cash, check (made payable to Tabernacle Baptist Church), scan the QR Code or Credit/Debit card.
The past few days have felt heavy. Between the news cycle and the looming presidential debate, it’s hard to ignore the way tension creeps into our hearts. There’s a pressure that builds, a simmering frustration, and it doesn’t take much—a comment from a family member, a dismissive remark in a conversation—for that tension to spill over. I’ve felt it myself. It’s easy to snap back, shut down, or get defensive. These knee-jerk reactions often define us in ways we don’t intend—people may no longer see us as someone willing to listen or seek understanding. When our righteous anger shifts into self-righteousness, we can lose sight of the healing God is calling us to offer the world. But that doesn’t mean we’ve missed our chance. God’s grace meets us, not in perfection but in our efforts to return, pause, and try again. Each pause, no matter how difficult, is an invitation to step back into the work of healing—work we’re never disqualified from, no matter how many times we need to begin again.
This past Sunday, just before the benediction, I encouraged you to join me in practicing the Sacred Pause. It’s the space between what happens to us and how we respond. Lately, I find myself leaning into that space and discovering surprising freedom. When life throws us off balance, the Sacred Pause helps us stop reacting and start responding. As I mentioned, “Sometimes, after the pause, the response might be exactly what you originally wanted to say or do. The difference is that now your response comes from a place of peace and thoughtfulness, not frustration.” In that brief pause, we rediscover the freedom Christ offers us—not just from unhealthy reactions, but from the need to respond impulsively to every situation with anger or fear. Click here to learn how to practice the Sacred Pause.
Many great religious traditions embrace the importance of creating space between action and reaction. In moments when we feel overwhelmed by emotions, finding that space is critical to breaking the cycle of impulsive reactions. This pause allows us to reconnect with God and listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I’ve been inspired by the broader wisdom found in the work of Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, whose profound reflections on human resilience and choice offer insight for anyone navigating difficult emotional experiences. Frankl wrote:
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Viktor Frankl
Frankl’s words resonate deeply with the Christian practice of the Sacred Pause. It’s in that pause that we make room for the Holy Spirit to guide us, allowing God’s voice to rise above the noise of our emotions. When we slow down and invite God into that space, we can respond not from fear or anger, but from a place centered in love, grace, and wisdom.
This practice reflects the liberation Paul speaks of in his letter to the Romans, where he encourages the early church to live in the freedom of Christ’s love rather than remain bound by division and conflict. And, in those moments where we struggle or fall short, we remember that God’s grace is always present, drawing us back into that space of transformation. Explore how you can incorporate the Sacred Pause into your daily life.
We live in a world brimming with tension, frustration, and conflict. In our own church life, we’ve felt it too—whether it’s during a difficult conversation in a business meeting or while serving in Community Ministry when impatience gets the better of someone. Perhaps you’ve encountered it on the road, stuck behind the guy with the offensive bumper sticker, or while watching a political talk show where contempt seems to be the driving force. These moments test our capacity to live out the love and grace we’re called to embody.
But here’s the good news: we’re growing together. Every time we lean into the Sacred Pause, we take one step closer to healing ourselves and the world around us. The Sacred Pause begins with us—giving God the space to transform our hearts. In that pause, we not only stop our own unhealthy reactions but also make room for others to be seen, heard, and transformed. When people feel understood, they too are invited into their own pause, to reconsider, and begin again. We may not always get it right the first time or even the second, but the love of God, always present and always at work, gives us the space to try again. And as we grow together in our faith, we get to participate in God’s healing project—a project that is grounded in love, grace, and reconciliation.
Together, as a church community, we have the privilege of being instruments of healing in a world that so desperately needs it. Let’s keep growing, keep pausing, and keep discovering the ways God is leading us to love more deeply, to listen more closely, and to heal more faithfully.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Sterling W. Severns, Pastor
God has used many voices to help me grow in my faith, and Arthur Brooks has been one of them. If you’re interested in exploring more about the power of the pause, I encourage you to watch or listen to the conversation between Simon Sinek and Arthur Brooks at the 92nd Street Y, where they discuss the importance of pausing before reacting. You can find the interview here or listen to the podcast here.
John Gottman’s Four Horsemen—criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling—are harmful patterns that damage relationships, often arising when we react out of intense emotions. You can learn more about these patterns here.
As described in the article, “Sacred Pause & the Path to Freedom”, the Sacred Pause offers us the freedom that Christ gives—not just from unhealthy reactions, but from the need to respond impulsively in anger or fear. Begin your day by reflecting on the freedom found in Christ’s love and the grace available when we pause, listen, and invite God into our responses.
When you feel emotional or overwhelmed, practice the Sacred Pause by following these steps:
At the end of the day, take a few moments to reflect on your experiences with the Sacred Pause and consider these questions:
As the article beautifully states, “God’s grace meets us, not in perfection but in our efforts to return, pause, and try again.” Every time we pause, whether we succeed or fall short, we are offered the chance to begin again. No impulsive reaction, no matter how intense, disqualifies us from God’s work of healing and transformation. Each new day, each new moment, is an opportunity to pause, respond, and grow.
For more insights on the power of the Sacred Pause, you can explore these helpful resources:
Sacred Pause & the Path to Freedom”: Discover how the Sacred Pause can help us break free from impulsive reactions.
Arthur Brooks in Conversation with Simon Sinek at the 92nd Street Y: Brooks and Sinek discuss the importance of pausing before reacting and how this practice fosters empathy and understanding.
Viktor Frankl’s Reflections: Explore Frankl’s insight on the space between stimulus and response, where our growth and freedom lie.
John Gottman’s Four Horsemen: Learn more about the damaging patterns that arise from reactive, emotionally charged behavior.
I’ve always had a thing for trees. Ask me about the places I’ve lived, and eventually, I’ll tell you about a tree I loved. One tree, in particular, stood sentinel over the home where we raised our children on the northside of Richmond, Virginia. Perhaps it’s my favorite.
We welcomed the shade it provided over three-quarters of the house for three-quarters of almost every year we lived there. In autumn, it blazed a shade of yellow that I’ll struggle to describe for the rest of my days. That tree was a constant presence during a time when everything else in our lives spun in constant motion.
I remember a contractor once telling me that the tree’s canopy probably cut our electric bill in half. Our old house, with its century-old glass windows and lack of insulation, was far from energy efficient, and money was really tight back then. At the time, I was simply grateful for the way the tree’s shade eased some of the financial burden. These days, gratitude sparks more imagination. I place the tree in a circle, of innumerable angel investors, funding diapers-in-bulk, gymnastics classes, car repairs, Lego sets, rare getaways with Laura, and so much more.
So many of our children’s birthday parties took place under that tree. Candles on cakes marked another year around the sun, while tree rings recorded the passage of time. The vast majority of the first decade of sermons I preached were written and memorized beneath its branches. The pressure of weekly deadlines at the pulpit was difficult for me, an insecure writer. I suppose the sheer size and longevity of the tree helped put things into perspective.
And then there were those autumn days. The kids would disappear into gigantic piles we’d just raked together, emerging with pieces of leaves tangled in their hair. I love that tree for so many reasons.
The early diagnosis came as an afterthought from someone in passing, “Your tree looks like it’s struggling.” Soon thereafter the arborist delivered the blow, “Your tree is dead and needs to come down.” The second expert was more direct: “Take it down before it crushes your house or hurts a child.”
It took some time to absorb, and even more time to wrestle with the guilt. It took less than two hours to take down a tree that had taken 200 years to grow. Memories of it always evoke sadness and gratitude for me.
In the first half of my life, in those years we were raising our children, I would have attempted to deny or eradicate the sadness. But here’s the thing, I’m discovering the gift of embracing the hard stuff, because it appears that this is where we eventually find the best stuff.
It’s “joy coming in the morning”
It’s “Friday, but Sunday’s coming”
It’s “there’s a crack in everything, that’s where the light gets in”
It’s “inconsolable longing”
It’s “the worst thing is never the last thing”
It’s the wisdom of the every-day saints gone before us.
It’s the suffering servant walking beside us.
It’s the path to peace which, in the gift of time, transforms us into peacemakers.
The day the tree was felled, a clearing appeared in the very place the canopy once stood. I didn’t see it then. I see it now.
The rain came down, sunlight shone through, and the soil, nourished in the very place where that old tree, and the others before it, once towered over, absorbed the gift, and, in the gift of time, the seedling grew.
Lucy Maud Montgomery says, “I am sure I could not have been more than four years old when I first consciously took note of the trees that watched over me.”
Take note, friends. God watches over all of us. Yes, many of us knew it before but now, after what we’ve been through and what some are going through, we will know this gladness more fully and be grateful for it. For all of it.
May the peace of Christ be with you.
Rev. Sterling W. Severns
Pastor
Announcement: Please Vote for an Elevator Control Panel Upgrade
Since the beginning of this year, the Building & Grounds Committee has continued its efforts in developing its 5-year strategic plan. One of the priority items in that plan is what we need to do and when we need to do anything related to our elevator. Researching turned out to be a very good idea from a planning ahead perspective. We learned a lot of new information that has led the Administrative Board and Buildings and Grounds Committee to adjust our timeline for the Elevator Project.
Recommendation from the Building & Grounds Committee and the TBC Administrative Board:
We recommend moving forward with only the replacement of the obsolete control panel for our elevator as a proactive measure to minimize the downtime needed for this upgrade. After consideration of three proposals, we recommend accepting the proposal from Metro Elevator, whose proposal seems to be the best in terms of price and customer service. The quoted price for the control panel upgrade is $58,300.
Background Information
The elevator is currently operating well and has passed all inspections. One of the vendors who evaluated our elevator indicated that a full modernization is not needed at this time, thinking we could wait several years. That gives us time to raise money for the full upgrade.
Your votes for this elevator control panel upgrade will begin on June 30th. Immediately after your approval for this project at the end of the church vote on July 14th, the B&G Committee will begin negotiations for scheduling this work. Our hope is to get this work completed for our fall church activities. To Vote electronically CLICK HERE.
Please do not hesitate to direct your questions to Donna Soyars at soundsidedfs@gmail.com.
Standing in the stairway, welcoming a neighbor into the building, our conversation follows a familiar path. “How is your family? You know I’m always going to ask you that because I know your family is important,” they say. This neighbor, despite their own complex family history and solitude living situation, consistently takes the time to ask about my loved ones. There is nothing unusually deep or unique about the conversation, yet it yields empathy and compassion. It’s the moment I see the best of my neighbor.
This is when I recognize Christ in my neighbors face. It’s this moment where we are genuinely caring for each other, that I see a more complete picture of my neighbor. This pushes me towards deeper empathy and understanding.
Holy moments happen all the time. They unfold in normal conversation, with the participants leaving knowing they were on holy ground. They don’t depend on your ability to fix or assist, but rather on simply being present and authentically engaging with others.
Amidst the holy moments on Saturday mornings, we offer a hot meal, food and clothes. Food might be the “why” that brings people into the building but it should not trump getting to know our neighbors. When we look at our neighbors with love, we see the best parts of them—we see Jesus. Come and see.
-April
Saturday, May 18, 7:30 – 11:15 a.m. We would love for you to join us on Saturday morning. There is an opportunity for everyone: signing in neighbors, cooking breakfast, assisting neighbors with shopping, restocking, organizing clothes, loading cars and of course the best opportunity of all— enjoying time with neighbors around the table.
Please sign up and let the team know you are coming!
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Written by Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark
“Have no anxiety about anything,” Paul writes to the Philippians. In one sense it is like telling a woman with a bad head cold not to sniffle and sneeze so much or a lame man to stop dragging his feet. Or maybe it is more like telling a wino to lay off the booze or a compulsive gambler to stay away from the track.
Is anxiety a disease or an addiction? Perhaps it is something of both. Partly, perhaps, because you can’t help it, and partly because for some dark reason you choose not to help it, you torment yourself with detailed visions of the worst that can possibly happen. The nagging headache turns out to be a malignant brain tumor. When your teenage son fails to get off the plane you’ve gone to meet, you see his picture being tacked up in the post office among the missing and his disappearance never accounted for. As the latest mid-East crisis boils, you wait for the TV game show to be interrupted by a special bulletin to the effect that major cities all over the country are being evacuated in anticipation of nuclear attack. If Woody Allen were to play your part on the screen, you would roll in the aisles with the rest of them, but you’re not so much as cracking a smile at the screen inside your own head.
Does the terrible fear of disaster conceal an even more terrible hankering for it? Do the accelerated pulse and the knot in the stomach mean that, beneath whatever their immediate cause, you are acting out some ancient and unresolved drama of childhood? Since the worst things that happen are apt to be the things you don’t see coming, do you think there is a kind of magic whereby, if you only can see them coming, you will be able somehow to prevent them from happening? Who knows the answer? In addition to Novocain and indoor plumbing, one of the few advantages of living in the twentieth century is the existence of psychotherapists, and if you can locate a good one, maybe one day you will manage to dig up an answer that helps.
But answer or no answer, the worst things will happen at last even so. “All life is suffering” says the first and truest of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, by which he means that sorrow, loss, death await us all and everybody we love. Yet “the Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything,” Paul writes, who was evidently in prison at the time and with good reason to be anxious about everything, “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
He does not deny that the worst things will happen finally to all of us, as indeed he must have had a strong suspicion they were soon to happen to him. He does not try to minimize them. He does not try to explain them away as God’s will or God’s judgment or God’s method of testing our spiritual fiber. He simply tells the Philippians that in spite of them even in the thick of them they are to keep in constant touch with the One who unimaginably transcends the worst things as he also unimaginably transcends the best.
“In everything,” Paul says, they are to keep on praying. Come Hell or high water, they are to keep on asking, keep on thanking, above all keep on making themselves known. He does not promise them that as a result they will be delivered from the worst things any more than Jesus himself was delivered from them. What he promises them instead is that “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The worst things will surely happen no matter what that is to be understood but beyond all our power to understand, he writes, we will have peace both in heart and in mind. We are as sure to be in trouble as the sparks fly upward, but we will also be “in Christ,” as he puts it. Ultimately not even sorrow, loss, death can get at us there.
That is the sense in which he dares say without risk of occasioning ironic laughter, “Have no anxiety about anything.” Or, as he puts it a few lines earlier, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, Rejoice!”
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a season of deep reflection on human frailty and brokenness. It’s a season of honest and hopeful repentance. On this day, a cross of ash is gently placed on one’s forehead, accompanied by the solemn reminder, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
We invite you to join us for a portion of the day on February 14th to take part in the observance of Ash Wednesday.
11 AM – 5:30 PM The sanctuary will be open You may choose to simply receive ashes only, or stay a little longer for meditation and prayer.
5:30-6:20 PM Join us for pancake dinner. (Suggested Donation of $5 per Person)
6:30-7:15 PM Join us for a communal Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary. The service will include music, readings, a reflection and the imposition of ashes.
 Annual Business this Sunday, February 4, 2024. Special Edition: The annual meeting will be held on Sunday, February 4, after Worship. We hope you will join us. Lunch will be served for those attending in person. 2023 Book of Reports We are also making available the 2024 Church Clerk’s Report so that we can officially vote in one new member of the church making them eligible to vote on several important matters during the meeting. Please click here for the Report. Virtual participants can join the meeting via zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89176786037?pwd=SG12ZFMzOEE1d25ZRkdaNjFqR1VLUT09 Meeting ID: 891 7678 6037 Passcode: 045385 |
