 Stanley
Congregational Church  A different kind of church - progressive, thoughtful, inclusive, democratic.
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| Reverend Shawn Garvey | ||
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Our Sunday Worship begins at 10:00 a.m. (During the summer months we worship in our air-conditioned chapel, located between the sanctuary and the Church School building.) We hope you'll join us, and we invite you to stay for Coffee Hour afterwards. Child care is available each week throughout the year for infants through age 2. Children age 3 through 8th grade attend the first part of Worship, after which they may leave to attend Church School. Ramp access is available into the sanctuary and into the Parish Hall. A sound system for the hearing impaired is available in the sanctuary; ask an usher for help. Coffee Hour is a continuation of our Worship, downstairs in the Parish Hall. We invite you to join us there! Rev. Shawn Garvey, Summer 2008 I can remember people saying it to my dad, and I’ve had people in every church I’ve served say it to me around this time of year: “I’m sorry you won’t see us for a while,” “I feel bad that I won’t be around a lot over the summer,” or some variation of the phrase. Let me say emphatically – stop it! Please!! Now that I have your attention, let me elaborate a bit…. If we go to the scriptures, and specifically to the Gospels, we find many instances where Jesus went off alone into the wilderness to pray or just be by himself. Why? Because he often knew that he needed some time to rest, to recuperate and collect his energy again before going back to his work. In Matthew’s 8th chapter, as great crowds are following him, he goes all the way to the other side of the sea, and he remarks that “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (8:20) In Matthew 14:13, after Jesus hears of the death of John the Baptist we are told that he “withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” Not soon thereafter, after feeding the 5,000 he goes up a mountain by himself to pray (Matthew 14:23). I could give more examples from the other Gospels, too, but you get the point. Jesus knew when he needed to get away, and there is a lesson there about the value and necessity of giving ourselves Sabbath. Most of us don’t give ourselves Sunday as a true and genuine Sabbath day. I know for me, my days off aren’t really “off” at all; they are spent doing all of the other things that I don’t have time to do the rest of the week. They are far from restful! I’m sure the same is true for you. True Sabbath seems hard to come by, and for the majority of us summer is the time when we can carve out some much-needed Sabbath for ourselves and our families. We need these times, as they serve great purpose in replenishing our tired minds, bodies and spirits. If we don’t do this we begin to tire, to withdraw, to be less-inspired, and not be as fully present as we are capable of being. The times of enjoyment, of relaxation and of fellowship with family and friends we might only get to see during these few months are invaluable; to us and for us in order to keep doing all that we do the rest of our year. Particularly here at Stanley where so many of us are so busy doing so many things, a time away to do something for ourselves so we might better be able to do all that we do is something that Jesus models for us. So please, don’t feel guilty about going away. Don’t apologize for needing to take a Sabbath. When you are around, it is always a delight to see you at Stanley on Sunday mornings or during the week. But I also delight in thinking of all of you enjoying yourselves in places of beauty, celebration and relaxation. It makes coming together again in September all that more spirited and energetic as we’ve spent our time up on our mountaintops, away from the crowds, receiving the gift of Sabbath and replenishing our wearied and worried minds and bodies. Jesus did it and never apologized for it, and so can (and should) you! Have a blessed and joyful summer. Peace, Shawn |
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with questions about Stanley Congregational Church, United Church of
Christ, |