THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, May 30, 2021, Trinity Sunday, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com.
Dear Pilgrims of the Holy Trinity,
This weekend we celebrate three events in our lives, two secular and one sacred. The secular one is Memorial Day weekend, in which on Monday, May 31, we honor and remember those who served their country in one of the military services. US flags will adorn many gravesites this weekend as a reminder of those who served.
On another note, this weekend is the unofficial first day of summer, even though the calendar says we are now in late spring, and summer comes later in June. Nevertheless, we are all ready for summer.
It is also a holy Sunday. One of the last if not the last “official holy days” until we come towards All Hallow’s Eve, aka Halloween. This is Trinity Sunday, which always follows Pentecost. Trinity Sunday is based upon John 3:1-17 and Romans 8:12-17. I’ll focus upon the Romans passage this Sunday, in which Paul writes about God’s household of faith. The idea behind Trinity Sunday is a celebration of our Triune God. Religious scholar Stephen Prothero calls Christianity a “mushy, squishy monotheism,” unlike those who are Jewish and Muslim, who practice a radical monotheism, believing in one God. Period. We believe in one God but in three Persons, “blessed Trinity” (or so goes the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”) There is God, the Creator of all things seen and unseen. There is Jesus, God’s son, or as some would say God’s Holy Child, sent to us by God. God with us. And then there is the Holy Spirit, or as many of learned as the Holy Ghost, or Spirit, in which referring to the Holy Spirit as “she” would be quite right, in terms of biblical interpretations. As one Anglican priest constantly reminds me, the Triune God is a perfect example of Christian community, a model of which we, as The Community of Pilgrims, can aim to model ourselves after. Each person in the Trinity plays a role and function in how we understand and know God. Join us this Sunday as we explore the Trinity in the Household of God.
** A big shout out to all who participated in our clothes drive for SnowCap. And a big thanks to Kathy for organizing it, and Kathy and Shu for taking the clothes over today to SnowCap. Bravo and brava, and THANKS!
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Events!
May 30, Trinity Sunday, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
June 6, Gather and Devotion and Holy Communion on Zoom.
June 13, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
June 20, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· Linda's granddaughter Eliza and her friend as they continue their drive down to Occidental College in LA.
· Linda's good friend Lynne who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and has started treatment.
· Christine Tilton and her son Victor. Christine had to make the decision to remove lift support for her son who had been hospitalized after a drug overdose.
· Brett's friend Martin Collie who is dying of cancer.
· Caroline who is dying of cancer
· Thanksgiving that eight states have already reached President Biden's goal of vaccinating 70% of American adults with at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by July 4 and prayers for other countries to get the vaccine out to citizens.
· Peaceful protests on the anniversary of George Floyd's death, May 25th.
· Safe travels for Ron returning from Indiana on Tuesday.
· Happy Birthday to Kathy on May 30.
· A two-state solution in the Palestinian conflict.
· Relief in Latin America where millions of Venezuelan people have left their country and migrated to Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, and other parts of the world.
· Celebrations for Luke and Dayna who are getting married in September.
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Poem
Trinity Sunday, by Malcolm Guite
In the Beginning, not in time or space,
But in the quick before both space and time,
In Life, in Love, in co-inherent Grace,
In three in one and one in three, in rhyme,
In music, in the whole creation story,
In His own image, His imagination,
The Triune Poet makes us for His glory,
And makes us each the other’s inspiration.
He calls us out of darkness, chaos, chance,
To improvise a music of our own,
To sing the chord that calls us to the dance,
Three notes resounding from a single tone,
To sing the End in whom we all begin;
Our God beyond, beside us and within.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.