We Belong Together

 This week, we've been working on getting tee-shirts for Feed My Starving Children - so many choices: designs, colors, sizes, 100% cotton or 50/50? And then, there's the pricing and order size, etc. But, one thing is certain, when we get our tee-shirts, don them and march in the Ithaca Festival Parade, all of the onlookers will know that we're a group - we belong together, we're a family of folks who want to make a difference!

Tee-shirts have become a universal sign of belonging. They may indicate you belong to the same family, like the folks in this photo, or to the same sports team. They may show you belong with others who care about a cause, like working to end breast cancer or to save the earth. They may even show you belong to a group who likes the same beer.

On Sunday, we'll ponder the baptism of Jesus and we'll commission all of the people in our church who have committed to providing us with leadership over the coming year. I'm sure John didn't give Jesus a tee-shirt after his baptism and we won't be giving out tee-shirts on Sunday. But, we will have water - the sign of our belonging to God and to each other. Water is the sign of our love. The old camp song says, "They'll know we are Christians by our love," not by our tee-shirts. Ohhh, down the road, we may have fabulous FCC tee-shirts, but in the end, it's our loving that indicates we belong to the family of Christ.

Come to worship on Sunday. You won't be given a tee-shirt, but you will certainly know you belong!
Blessings, Laura Lee


Scriptures for Sunday:
+Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
*Mark 1:9-15

Extremists for Love

In April of 1963, eight white Alabama clergymen wrote a statement to "strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these (civil rights) demonstrations." "We do not believe that these days of new hope are days when extreme measures are justified in Birmingham." Click here to read the full letter.

In response, Martin Luther King, Jr. composed his Letter from Birmingham Jail, a profoundly compelling challenge to white Christians. It includes oft-quoted lines like, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and "There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair." Where the white clergymen argue against "extreme measures," King calls us to be extremists for love and justice. "Was not Jesus an extremist for love?" "Was not Amos an extremist for justice?"

This Sunday, we'll celebrate the baptism of Jesus, an extremist for love, by remembering our own baptism and baptizing little Brandon Andree. And we'll look at the prophetic life and ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. through the lens of baptism, the Christian sacrament that affirms that every human being is precious to God. I hope you'll join us for a time of worship and reflection as we seek to be extremists for love.

Scriptures for Sunday:
Mark 1:4-11
Ephesians 4:1-6

Blessings,
Manda