Mainstreeter Blast January 14, 2021

Pastor's Sabbath Days: Pastor Kelly: Tuesday Pastor Kristy: Friday Days to Reach Pastor's Pastor Kelly: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Pastor Kristy: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Our scripture lesson for this week is Psalm 139: Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting. Emily Adams offered a beautiful chanted version of this Psalm which we posted our sites yesterday. It takes courage to search our own thoughts, to root out the ways biases have seeped into our thinking. It takes the assurance that God is present with us in the work, calling us, in fact, to be known. That God "hems me in behind and before, and lays your hand upon me." Like a thunder shirt for an frightened dog, or a weighted blanket for an anxious child, like compression garments for athletes, God's pressing in on us can provide the support we need to examine ourselves and our world. Laura Everett of the Mass Council of Churches reminded us this week that the well-worn "Serenity Prayer" from 12-step recovery asks, "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can." But when the Rev. Reinhold Niebuhr first wrote the prayer in the early 1940s for churches in Massachusetts and then later for a book of devotions for those in the Armed Services, the lines were in reverse. "Give us courage to change what must be altered," was followed by the serenity to "accept what cannot be helped." In the midst of war and internal conflict in his day, Niebuhr prayed for the courage to do the right thing, and only after that, for serenity. Your ministerial staff stands ready to listen and support you in these trying times when the threat of violence at the State Capitol and in our nation's Capitol remains. Reach out to myself or Kristy, Emily or Karrie. Karrie has been working with the youth to create prayer bowls to remind us of how God holds our lives and they are beautiful. Set aside a prayer bowl in your house and fill it with your concerns. May the wisdom of Psalm 139, whether chanted or whispered, be our prayer this week for courage, assurance and change. pastor kelly Click Here for Sunday Bulletin January 17, 2021 Click Here for Psalm 139 Chant by Emily Adams  .The Vestry Class will resume on Zoom at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 24th, led by Pastor Kristy   In the series "Uppity Women of the Bible," self-described Bible Nerd, Pastor and Hebrew Bible professor, the Rev., Dr. Lisa Michele Wolf, shares her knowledge of Ruth, the beloved woman in Song of Songs, Esther and Judith.  Several weeks will be devoted to each woman.  Video segments will be followed by moderated discussion to accommodate the Zoom format.  Please look for the event and Zoom link on the Main Street UMC Facebook page.  While no pre-work is required, beginning to read or listen to the book of Ruth is recommended so that you understand the video presentations.  This class is appropriate for youth and adults.  Bring your curiosity and enthusiasm!  It will be good to be together again. Worship Visuals: God is Holding Your Life  On our altar for this series is a globe in God's hand, cupped hands and praying hands.  If you think about it, we are God's hands in the world and God uses us to do all kinds of things for each other including folding them in prayer. The handprint banners draped across the altar were made the weekend of our church's 150th celebration in 2018.  Adults and children in attendance that Sunday had the opportunity to "paint" their hands and press them on the banners.  In other years, children made the banner above the altar with handprints in the shape of a heart as well as the Helping Hands banner on the side wall by the piano.  Congratulations to the Brown Family! Kelly and Matt welcomed baby Gavin Ian Brown Wednesday morning. Our love goes out to them, big brother Malcolm and grandparents Jim and Mavis Pyle. At Home Prayer Bowls   Our Epiphany 7 week worship series is entitled "God is Holding Your Life - A Journey of Assurance for the New Year".  If you don't have a regular at-home prayer practice, this is the perfect time to start.  Designate a bowl or plate to use to collect prayers throughout the season.  To quote Marcia McFee, Director of the Worship Design Studio, "When we 'hold one another in prayer,' or 'hold space' for loved ones who are experiencing difficult emotions and challenging experiences, we are co-creating a holy space with room for grace and acceptance of what is. An image of cupped hands placed at the bottom of the prayer bowl can serve as a reminder that God holds this space for us."   You may choose to print out the attached page with a line drawing of cupped hands.  Color them if you want to, cut out and simply place in the bottom of the bowl.  Easy Peasy!  Or you can trace one of your hands on a piece of paper, cut out two and tape to the outside as if holding the bowl.  For those of you who are Pinterest fans, you can find all sorts of suggestions for making plaster casts of a hand, marker hand tracings on plastic plates, the sky is the limit.  John and Laura Graudons may want to reshare the photo of the plaster cast they made of their hands on their anniversary.  Very Cool!  We will be anxious to see all the creative ideas you have.

Mainstreet United Methodist Church · PO Box 1517 · Nashua, NH 03061-1517 · USA

FW: Mainstreeter Blast January 7, 2021

Pastor's Sabbath Days: Pastor Kelly: Tuesday Pastor Kristy: Friday Days to Reach Pastor's Pastor Kelly: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Pastor Kristy: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday     At the end of 2020 and beginning of the year, I posted a watchnight sermon by Bishop LaTrelle Easterling of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the UMC, in part because I desperately hoped in this new year for a renewed energy to recognize and address the deep divisions in this Nation, the inequalities in our systems and the lingering racism written into our foundation. Many have named the pandemic of white supremacy as something we must work to overcome and, sadly, it won't be as easy as getting vaccinated.  So I started a social media campaign with a hashtag (theme) for 2021 calling on our better selves to work on a renewed vision of democracy that makes equality for all a central value (see Isabel Wilkerson's book "Caste" for brilliant analysis and articulation of this vision). I had planned for regular posts with reflections this January with a prayer for a New Year, Renewed Vision.  Given last night's armed attack on the Capitol perhaps I was naive to think we could call on one another to be civil to each other in our disagreement, but I stand by my faith in proclaiming hope. Thank you for joining us in prayer yesterday for our Capitol, whether from home or in the sanctuary, as we've done at other critical moments in our nation's history. Here's a snippet from Bishop Easterling's post last night, calling us again to our better angels so that ALL may experience this country's promise. "It is tempting to call for peace, for order and unity. And while we do need to reclaim the peace, we can only do so while speaking the truth of today's horror. It is time to name our reality, to name the deep divisions and hatred being played out in the Senate chamber and throughout the People's House. It is another watershed moment; a time to raise our voices to heaven and take stock of who we, as Americans, have become.   This alarming occupation and violence at the U.S. Capitol are symptomatic of the vitriol and poison that now infects our culture. It disheartens. The rioters who climbed the steps and walls of the Capitol sought to overturn the law, a fair election, and justice, and claimed their motivation was to defend God and their freedoms. They waved banners emblazoned with the words, "Jesus Saves," but this is not what Emmanuel came to earth to embody. This is a perversion of the Gospel. This should drive all of us to our knees.   Since March, I have shared messages with you as we live through this liminal time of two pandemics. Today, the chasm of this in-between time grows deeper. As a church, we are called to profound and fervent prayer - prayer that will shake foundations and usher in a new age; prayer that will transform hearts and a nation; prayer that reminds us of what Christ has called us to be beyond partisan divides. I call on each of you to transcend fear and to resist the temptation to seek the reassurance of easy answers. Followers of Jesus Christ must prophetically embody, in word and deed, the precepts, practices and promises of the Gospel message. It is a message of love, but a love that speaks truth and stands against immorality.   As a church, as Christians, we must condemn all the forces that led to the unprecedented insurrection today - forces of hate, of white supremacy, of distorted self-interest, and abuse of power." We will continue to fall on our knees, invite deeper understanding of the divisions, seek transformation of our own hearts and work to usher in a new age. In to this anxious time, let's be the church of hope not fear, kindness not ugliness, justice not hate. -Pastor Kelly      Worship Visuals: God is Holding Your Life  On our altar for this series is a globe in God's hand, cupped hands and praying hands.  If you think about it, we are God's hands in the world and God uses us to do all kinds of things for each other including folding them in prayer. The handprint banners draped across the altar were made the weekend of our church's 150th celebration in 2018.  Adults and children in attendance that Sunday had the opportunity to "paint" their hands and press them on the banners.  In other years, children made the banner above the altar with handprints in the shape of a heart as well as the Helping Hands banner on the side wall by the piano.    Click here for Sunday Bulletin January 10, 2021   At Home Prayer Bowls   Our Epiphany 7 week worship series is entitled "God is Holding Your Life - A Journey of Assurance for the New Year".  If you don't have a regular at-home prayer practice, this is the perfect time to start.  Designate a bowl or plate to use to collect prayers throughout the season.  To quote Marcia McFee, Director of the Worship Design Studio, "When we 'hold one another in prayer,' or 'hold space' for loved ones who are experiencing difficult emotions and challenging experiences, we are co-creating a holy space with room for grace and acceptance of what is. An image of cupped hands placed at the bottom of the prayer bowl can serve as a reminder that God holds this space for us."   You may choose to print out the attached page with a line drawing of cupped hands.  Color them if you want to, cut out and simply place in the bottom of the bowl.  Easy Peasy!  Or you can trace one of your hands on a piece of paper, cut out two and tape to the outside as if holding the bowl.  For those of you who are Pinterest fans, you can find all sorts of suggestions for making plaster casts of a hand, marker hand tracings on plastic plates, the sky is the limit.  John and Laura Graudons may want to reshare the photo of the plaster cast they made of their hands on their anniversary.  Very Cool!  We will be anxious to see all the creative ideas you have.

Mainstreet United Methodist Church · PO Box 1517 · Nashua, NH 03061-1517 · USA

Worship and Communion January 3, 2021

Pastor's Sabbath Days: Pastor Kelly: Tuesday Pastor Kristy: Friday Days to Reach Pastor's Pastor Kelly: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Pastor Kristy: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday   **Please Note: Communion for this Sunday, January 3rd is at 8:30 a.m. in the Church Garden.  The 10:30 a.m. Worship service is on-line - Facebook.   How do you prepare for 2021? Many of us can't put 2020 in our rear-view mirror quickly enough. But how do we want to enter the new year. For John Wesley, this was a spiritual question. And he addressed his questions and his longings, his prayer and his hopes in a Covenant Service. Also called a Watch Night Service (and there are several larger congregations offering great versions for you to experience!) The first celebration of the Covenant Service in the Methodist movement was in 1753. Wesley found the service rich and meaningful. I do find in this liminal time between the switch of the calendar year, there is a "remarkable blessing." There is preparation expected, in the review of the past year, in examining what is missing, what is needed, who I want to be in the new year. It's a spiritual discipline. This year, it may require a special vision and imagination to see what we've discovered this year we want to hold onto when all the energy will be on "returning to normal." Our Epiphany service on January 3 will focus on the scriptures that invite us to "return another way" with elements from Covenant Service. Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants. Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him. Christ has many services to be done. Some are more easy and honorable, others are more difficult and disgraceful. Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, others are contrary to both. In some we may please Christ and please ourselves. But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ. –from Wesley's Covenant Renewal Service   It is a hybrid Sunday that holds a great deal of meaning. It's a Journey Sunday where we'll be discussing Home By Another Route. In the Wesley tradition, it's the time of Covenant Renewal. It is the Second Sunday after Christmas, the Sunday three days after New Year, and three days before Epiphany, and, in the old song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" it is the ninth day – the day when the "gift" is nine people dancing. So we invite you to come to this table of … one star for following, bread and cup for sharing, three days of New Year at least four still-traveling camels, and many, many hopes for the world. Come to this table, even if you want to be laying everything down because you are so weary of being fearful, isolated or essential to everyone but you. Come to this table if you are swimming in Zoom, virtual education, financial risk, or grief. Come to this table if you milked all the joy from Christmas – enough to carry you into 2021 … or not nearly enough. Come to this table, if you have stopped dancing, even though you are carrying many gifts, or you need to be healed by watching for the dance in snowflake or pohutukawa* in friend or stranger, in the old story of another path home, and the warm bread and sweet cup shared right now. (* Te Reo Māori: pōhutukawa, known as Aotearoa / New Zealand Christmas tree, is a coastal evergreen which blooms with bright red clusters of flowers in December and January.) We invite you to join us for Holy Communion on Jan 3. If you would like the elements of Holy Communion brought to you at your home, please let Pastor Kelly know, she'll be happy to arrange it.   Click here for Sunday Bulletin January 3, 2021

Mainstreet United Methodist Church · PO Box 1517 · Nashua, NH 03061-1517 · USA

Mainstreeter Blast December 30, 2020

Pastor's Sabbath Days: Pastor Kelly: Tuesday Pastor Kristy: Friday Days to Reach Pastor's Pastor Kelly: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Pastor Kristy: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday   How do you prepare for 2021? Many of us can't put 2020 in our rear-view mirror quickly enough. But how do we want to enter the new year. For John Wesley, this was a spiritual question. And he addressed his questions and his longings, his prayer and his hopes in a Covenant Service. Also called a Watch Night Service (and there are several larger congregations offering great versions for you to experience!) The first celebration of the Covenant Service in the Methodist movement was in 1753. Wesley found the service rich and meaningful. I do find in this liminal time between the switch of the calendar year, there is a "remarkable blessing." There is preparation expected, in the review of the past year, in examining what is missing, what is needed, who I want to be in the new year. It's a spiritual discipline. This year, it may require a special vision and imagination to see what we've discovered this year we want to hold onto when all the energy will be on "returning to normal." Our Epiphany service on January 3 will focus on the scriptures that invite us to "return another way" with elements from Covenant Service. Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants. Give yourselves to him, that you may belong to him. Christ has many services to be done. Some are more easy and honorable, others are more difficult and disgraceful. Some are suitable to our inclinations and interests, others are contrary to both. In some we may please Christ and please ourselves. But then there are other works where we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. It is necessary, therefore, that we consider what it means to be a servant of Christ. –from Wesley's Covenant Renewal Service   It is a hybrid Sunday that holds a great deal of meaning. It's a Journey Sunday where we'll be discussing Home By Another Route. In the Wesley tradition, it's the time of Covenant Renewal. It is the Second Sunday after Christmas, the Sunday three days after New Year, and three days before Epiphany, and, in the old song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" it is the ninth day – the day when the "gift" is nine people dancing. So we invite you to come to this table of … one star for following, bread and cup for sharing, three days of New Year at least four still-traveling camels, and many, many hopes for the world. Come to this table, even if you want to be laying everything down because you are so weary of being fearful, isolated or essential to everyone but you. Come to this table if you are swimming in Zoom, virtual education, financial risk, or grief. Come to this table if you milked all the joy from Christmas – enough to carry you into 2021 … or not nearly enough. Come to this table, if you have stopped dancing, even though you are carrying many gifts, or you need to be healed by watching for the dance in snowflake or pohutukawa* in friend or stranger, in the old story of another path home, and the warm bread and sweet cup shared right now. (* Te Reo Māori: pōhutukawa, known as Aotearoa / New Zealand Christmas tree, is a coastal evergreen which blooms with bright red clusters of flowers in December and January.) We invite you to join us for Holy Communion on Jan 3. If you would like the elements of Holy Communion brought to you at your home, please let Pastor Kelly know, she'll be happy to arrange it.   Click here for Sunday Bulletin January 3, 2021

Mainstreet United Methodist Church · PO Box 1517 · Nashua, NH 03061-1517 · USA