THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, June 12, 2022, Trinity Sunday. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Note the time change. Contact me if you need a link. 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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Dear Community of Pilgrims,
Greetings this morning from the City of Roses! For those who are far away from Portland, June is a time for roses, and everything related to roses, in the Rose City. This weekend is the “climax” of sorts for the celebration of roses, with the Rose Parade and the Rose City Dragon Boat Festival in downtown Portland. Now, may the weather cooperate…
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, in which the focus is on the first, paradigmatic, and perfect, understanding or example of a communal perspective of God, and thus of a community of faith. God as a holy/wholly community. The Scriptural focus is John 16:12-15, in which Jesus explicitly names and calls out the relationship of the Trinity. As religious scholar Steve Prothero observes, Christianity is not a radical monotheistic faith, belief in one God, like our Jewish and Muslim siblings. Christianity has a mushier understanding of God in three Persons, “blessed Trinity,” more like the Hindu tradition. There is God, the mother/father and creator of all things, or as Jesus says, “All that the Father has is mine” (v. 15). In other words, Jesus and God are one and the same. Then there is Jesus Christ, the only son/child of God, who is explaining the relationship of the Trinity. Then there is the Spirit “of truth, who will guide you into all the truth; for the Spirit will not speak on the Spirit’s own, but will speak whatever the Spirit hears,” namely from God the creator. God in three persons. What is interesting in this passage is the very first line, in which Jesus says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (v. 15). What this line reminds us all is that we are always growing in the faith, maturing, in which, when we are ready to hear or receive some of the insights God in Christ has about life, the Spirit will let us know. So, on this Trinity Sunday, let us celebrate the first and eternal community of faith, and become more like it, every day of our lives.
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The Community of Pilgrims will celebrate our five-year anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022! Mark this in your calendars. More details will be coming. This is a big anniversary for the Community of Pilgrims, and we look forward to celebrating it with one another, and with the world around us as we continue to serve and love God and serve and love our neighbors in creative and meaningful ways.
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Events!
June 12, Trinity Sunday! 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.
June 19, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
June 26, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
July 3, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
We pray to the Creator of all creation:
Prayers of thanksgiving for
· Lorinda is grateful for the kindness of so many people.
· Medical treatments that can slow the spread of disease and can manage pain.
· Vaccines and treatments for Covid-19. It is not over yet.
· The Community of Pilgrims beginning our fifth year together and all the people and experiences we have shared along the way.
Prayers of concern:
· Roxanne's daughter-in-law Nicole whose father has cancer and she is managing his care and care for her family.
· For students at the University of Oregon and other colleges studying hard for final exams.
· Linda’s, Nina’s, and Colleen’s overall health.
· Brett's former wife's family following the death of her father, Jim Webb.
· Families who have lost members.
· Sarah's mother who is now in hospice.
· Chuck's sister-in-law who recently died at age 98.
· Hal and Anna Lou Lee who died and their memorial service will be held June 16.
· Christian's sister Yarrow and our friend Linda who are both battling cancer.
· Peace in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Ukraine. Thankful to PBS for sharing news of the world.
· Victims of racial discrimination and victims of other unjust treatment because of their ethnicity, age, sex, or disability.
· Victims of gun violence and their families.
· Protection of women's reproductive rights as a major Supreme Court decision is due soon.
· The tragedy of the war in Ukraine for both Ukraine and Russia.
God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen
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Poem
Poured Into Our Hearts, by Jan Richardson
Lie a cup
Like a chalice
Like a basin
Like a bowl
When the Spirit comes
Let it find our heart
Like this
Shaped like something
That knows how to receive
What is given
That knows how to hold
What comes to fill
That knows how to gather itself
Around what arrives as
Unbidden
Unsought
Unmeasured
Love.
Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander