First Congregational Church
The Day the Earth Shook
Gratitude for the average days.
(Posted April 5, 2024)
Just as I sat down to write this week’s E tidings, my house swayed, and the sizable roar of the earthquake that hit this morning set our dog barking and running through the house. Frankly, since we’ve just come through the dark readings of Lent and Good Friday, and since we are on the edge of a near total eclipse of the sun, the following text flowed into my mind:
Isaiah 13:-9-11; 13
See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless…
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.
Lessons From an Earthquake
It’s ironic, isn’t it, that it takes a major geological event to get us to realize that we all share this fragile earth, and it shakes the privileged and the poor alike. Isn’t it strange that it takes an earthquake to shift our focus away from countries shaking with war and politicians lobbing hatred at one another, and over to our common experience of a quaking world?
Wisdom From an Earthquake
There’s a lesson in today, and some wisdom in Isaiah’s words. We need to stop taking an average day with just the usual challenges for granted. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to start every day in gratitude for the possibility it might just be an average day:
A day where we can bestow our respect for the other on those we meet.
A day when we might have the opportunity to share some of the bountiful blessings we’ve been given with some people who live without them.
Shaken Awake
Does it really take an earthquake for God to shake us awake to the possibilities that are standing right in front of us every day?
When we gather this Sunday and share bread and the fruit of the vine, I hope you will find a few moments to be with us and thank God for all the average days we’ve been gifted.
The Mystery of Belief … or Un-Belief
Why didn’t the apostles believe it was Jesus?
(Posted April 11, 2024)
“When you look at paintings from the Renaissance, have you ever wondered why the artists show Adam and Eve having belly buttons?“ - Anonymous
In the process of thumbing our way through the Bible, we’re bound to encounter some real mysteries along the way. Some examples:
While Eve gets the solo blame for the original sin of eating that forbidden fruit, was Eve really to blame for Adam creating his own bite?
After sailing that gigantic Ark full of animals on the waters of the flood for 40 days, who got stuck with the cleanup?
Finally, If Jesus always uplifted women and even chose them to be the first witnesses to the Resurrection, why did the apostles refuse to believe them when they ran back to them with the news?
Three ‘Mysterious’ Stories from the Bible
It's that last mystery that we want explore the most this Sunday. The Gospel writer Luke gives us three separate stories that all occur on the action-packed day we call Resurrection Day.
First, in Luke’s version of Easter, it’s the three women who return to Jesus’ tomb that morning, with spices to help prepare his body for long term burial. When they enter the empty tomb, they are greeted by an Angel, who tells them that Jesus has risen, and then they run back to the apostles to tell them, all of them hiding from the authorities.
The second story is that of two travelers the very same day who end up walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and suddenly realizing who their companion really is. They run back to the apostles to tell them.
And the last is the best. Jesus appears in a flash in the room where the apostles are hiding, and their reaction is to think he is a ghost!
Explore the Mystery
As the old hymn goes, O What a Morning! There is so much to explore in these stories, including the role of women in Jesus’ life and later in the church. Why are women treated as untrustworthy, and how has this echoed down through church practices?
We will take a fascinating look at some of these questions when we meet this Sunday. We will also be treated to the music of Music Minister Jim Moriarty and our Chancel Choir, as the Easter stories continue.
Please join us.
The Good Shepherd’s Earth Day
Follow Jesus’ Lead.
(Posted April 19, 2024)
On this weekend when we spend time with Jesus as he refers to himself as The Good Shepherd, we realize that he’s calling to us to follow his lead and to be good shepherds of our earth. I spent part of the morning dreaming of the herbs and vegetables I’ll plant in my tiny garden. Then I found this beautiful poem by Katherine Riegel. I thought I’d share it to inspire your “good shepherding” of the earth this Spring.
What I Would Like to Grow in My Garden
by Katherine Riegel
Peonies, heavy and pink as ’80s bridesmaid dresses
and scented just the same. Sweet pea,
because I like clashing smells and the car
I drove in college was named that: a pea-green
Datsun with a tendency to backfire.
Sugar snap peas, which I might as well
call memory bites for how they taste like
being fourteen and still mourning the horse farm
I had been uprooted from at ten.
Also: sage, mint, and thyme—the clocks
of summer—and watermelon and blue lobelia.
Lavender for the bees and because I hate
all fake lavender smells. Tomatoes to cut
and place on toasted bread for BLTs, with or without
the b and the l. I’d like, too, to plant
the sweet alyssum that smells like honey and peace,
and for it to bloom even when it’s hot,
and also lilies, so I have something left
to look at when the rabbits come.
They always come. They are
always hungry. And I think I am done
protecting one sweet thing from another.
Information
First Congregational Church
164 Deer Hill Ave.
Danbury, CT 06810
Est. 1696
Phone: (203) 744-6177
Email: office@danburychurch.org
Office Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thursday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday Closed
Thrift Shop Hours:
Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Sunday Worship:
Sunday 10:00 a.m.–11 a.m.