February 15, 2023 Antoinette Richardson
Using the Follow Me curriculum during the Education Hour on Sunday mornings (9:15-10:15 AM), we welcome you to join us by Zoom.
The following is a brief description: We forgive because God first forgives us. When we forgive one another, we participate in God’s way of being in the world. At its root, the word forgiveness draws on a Greek word meaning “to let go.” When we forgive one another, we let go of anger over wrong; we let go of a desire for getting even; we let go of the burdens of shame and guilt. To forgive is not to forget; it is an active decision to not live in the past and to build toward a future. Forgiveness does not deny the realities of sin: betrayal, violence, anger, and jealousy. It ensures that wrongs do not have the last word. The final word in forgiveness is God’s grace, available to those who seek to forgive and to move beyond separation and brokenness toward restored relationships with God and one another.
There is an Adult Reflection guide available for pick up in the office. The cost is $9.00 for those who want to contribute to its cost.
A second option for a Lenten study is the class titled -Discovering the Beloved Community in the Gospel of Matthew. This class is already in progress by Zoom on Sunday mornings from 9:15-10:15. Each session is an independent exploration. It is not too late to join. The class would be glad to have you join it.
If you wish to join, please register here: https://fhc.breezechms.com/form/448ccd.
November 18, 2018 Peg Weissbrod
Thirty years ago, I led a youth group mission trip to Washington D.C. We spent the days in neighborhoods of such poverty, blight and segregation that it was comparable to being in Haiti. But in D.C. these neighborhoods were no more than a mile away from the Capitol building where Congress determined where the money went. And, these streets are not really very far from Embassy Row with its mansions and clubs that catered to those of wealth and power. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: #MeToo, 1 Samuel 2: 1-10, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Czeslaw Milosz, defiance, Gabriel Marcel, Hannah, Hebrews 10: 23-25, hope, I Am A Man, Mark 13: 1-8, Mirtri Raheb, optimism, William Carlos WilliamsJuly 1, 2018 Peg Weissbrod
One evening last week Lisa Vahey told this story at the meeting of those who volunteer their time to be with Leonor, Adan and Louis Mario as they live with us in Sanctuary. She shared with us that often she takes Adan (who is four) to the Stone Oven on Lee for a cookie. So Adan and Lisa enter Stone Oven and apparently there are two tables filled with Forest Hill members and Adan goes right up and says hello, starts working the crowd as only he can. He knows people that Lisa doesn’t. And as she completed this story she became choked up and said: “Adan feels at home in this world, he feels welcomed!” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, anchor, biblical justification, biblical truths, borders, children, community, compassion, divine intention, Dr. Martin Luther King, due process, hope, imagination, Immigration Task Force, Isaiah, justice, oppression, reconciliation, separation, shore, status quo, the alien, the marginalized, the oppressed, the outcast, the poor, welcomeDecember 10, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
There was once a young preacher who was given this advice: If, in the middle of your sermon, you forget your train of thought, just step back, pound the podium, and repeat the title of the sermon – and that will get you back on track! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: acting, action, advent, beloved, Christmas, comfort, community, dis-ease, discomfort, ease, fear, hope, Isaiah 40:1-11, love, Mark 1:1-8, Right in Your Lap, tension, waitingDecember 3, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
Happy New Year! I bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? But you know today’s the first day of the new worship year. Indeed, the church calendar begins in Advent and runs through the year until Christ the King Sunday, or the celebration of the rule of Christ which we marked last week. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: advent, Advent 1, communion, community, faith community, First Sunday in Advent, Happy New Year, hope, liturgical year, Mark 13: 24-37, Parker Palmer, Stay Awake, suffering, support, tensionOctober 29, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
Welcome to Reformation Sunday. Yes, about every 500 years or so, the church gets all shook up and resettled and so here we are: 500 years ago, Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic priest, put up his “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” (better known as his 95 theses) on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church door and transformed the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: abundance, Amazing Grace, becoming the Beloved Community, covenant, history, hope, James Weldon Johnson, Jeremiah 31, Martin Luther, past present and future, Reformation, Romans 3, trustMarch 26, 2017 Peg Weissbrod
This is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture. Before reality TV and “The Bachelor” (or Bachelorette), God hands the rose to David! Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1 Samuel 16, anointing, David, grief, hope, love, moving on, outward appearances, Saul, The Bachelorette, the chosen one, trustDecember 11, 2016 Peg Weissbrod
Happy Gaudete Sunday! Today is the third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin imperative for “Rejoice!” You may notice that the Garretts lit a pink candle on the Advent wreath as well as the purple candles from weeks one and two. That pink candle symbolizes joy and so I say to you, “Rejoice!” Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: advent, hope, Luke 1, magnificat, Mary, Philippians 4, rejoice, tensionNovember 27, 2016 Peg Weissbrod
As you know, today is the First Sunday of Advent. Throughout Advent we prepare for the coming of Jesus. When we talk about preparing for Jesus it’s a little confusing, even for those of us who have been a part of the church for a long time. During Advent we prepare for the birth of Jesus. But as some people have wisely pointed out–wasn’t Jesus born last year? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: advent, communion, curious, hope, incarnation, keep watch, mystery, prepare, ready, Romans 13, surprise, waiting, watchful, witnessJune 5, 2016 Peg Weissbrod
I don’t doubt for a moment that Jesus brought the son of the widow of Nain back to life. Jesus was reported to be a wonder worker, a healer – and the gospels relate several occasions when Jesus brought a dead person back to life. After all, our Christian faith’s foundation is resurrection. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Back in Business, change the world, communion, community, compassion, criticism, cynicism, hope, life-giving, Luke 7, mission, no commitment, power, prophetic, resurrection, truth
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