THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Aug. 22, 2021, Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 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.
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Greetings, Community of Pilgrims,
I am sitting outside on our side porch/patio area, having read and heard my share of the daily news. I’m not sure how much “news” we can take before we say to ourselves and anyone within hearing distance: “Enough is enough.” On the troubles in Afghanistan, we see pictures of pandemonium and yet are reminded of stories of bravery of translators and remember the history of how our nation got involved in that place so far away. It's a mixed bag. This morning, someone, in his pickup truck, drove up to one of the buildings in DC, and the Capitol Police were called to do what they vowed to do: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Again, a mixed bag of emotions and thoughts. I’m sitting surrounded by a beautiful garden that needs some serious trimming, while remembering that not too far away, in northern California and parts of the Pacific Northwest, fires blaze out of control. Mixed. Some days, we all need to sit back and get some perspective, context, take a breath, and get a sense how we all move forward together into the future, as a community of faith, into a world that is always changing, in which we are emissaries of the risen Christ, bringing grace, peace, justice, and love. Not so mixed. Just needed to breathe in, and breathe out, and remember who and whose we are.
This week’s sermon is based on one of the Psalms for pilgrims, Ps. 84. There is always the question in our lives, “Where the heck are we going as everyday pilgrims?” This Psalm says it best: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise” (vv. 1-4). Our target, our destination for our earthly pilgrimage is God. I love that even swallows find a home and nest in God’s “temple.” Throughout the week, we keep meeting people who are on a pilgrimage, seeking a place to “be church.” That’s what happens when we gather together on Sunday afternoon: we meet each other, and are church unto one another. Christ’s body. Christ’s Spirit. Sharing Christ’s mind, as part of the body of Christ. Join us this Sunday as we explore both this Pilgrim Psalm and our pilgrimage of faith.
** Reminder: On Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, we will gather together on Zoom and maybe (just maybe) in person if you are living in the Portland area, to celebrate our anniversary. We will be gathering via Zoom, thanks, in no part, to the presence of the Delta variant, which re-configures so much of the world in which we live. So here’s a task for you to consider: Think of one powerful memory or meaningful way, or comedic way, that being part of this growing, evolving, ever changing community of faith has touched your life, the life of others around you, or the world in which we live. For example, I still remember the night we re-poured pounds of rice into smaller bags for families who were in need of food in Portland. Now, your turn. We will share these memories on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. We will share Communion on that day as well, and a toast afterwards of your favorite libation.
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Events!
Aug. 22, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
Aug. 29, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
Sept. 5, Holy Holiday! (Labor Day Weekend)
Sept. 12, Celebrating the Fourth Anniversary of the Community of Pilgrims! 4 pm, Gather and Devotion and Holy Communion on Zoom! Huzzah!
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· Linda's brother Gary and thanksgiving he could attend his birthday party.
· A Happy Birthday to Linda.
· The people of Afghanistan and the surrounding area.
· Wisdom for political and military leaders, and those who work in non-profit programs in Afghanistan.
· Refugees from Afghanistan.
· Domestic terrorists and white nationalists.
· Our southern border.
· Minority communities in the US who are slow to get the COVID 19 vaccine.
· Roberta's friend Zeta who is still hospitalized.
· Thanksgiving for Karen's good visit to Yakima.
· Assistance for Marge Stockwell.
· Chuck's neighbor who is a recovering alcoholic and his wife Liz.
· Caring and supportive families.
· Firefighters in this area as well as California.
· Those living homeless and hungry on the streets of the world.
· Thanksgiving that vaccines are going up in hot spots in the US and hope more people get vaccinated quickly.
· People in Haiti which has suffered within a month not only an insurrection and unstable government but also an earthquake, an approaching tropical storm, low vaccine rate, and high COVID rate…
“God, in your love, attend our prayers…”
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Poem
St. Francis and the Sow, by Galway Kinnell
The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don’t flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the sheer blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
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Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.