This Sunday we celebrate Palm Sunday… however, our Scripture reading from the Gospel of Luke is missing the palms. I learned this week that palm branches are only specified in one of the Gospels (John 12:12-13, for those who are curious). Instead of palms, Luke says that the crowd spread their cloaks on the road. 

Considering the differences between palms and cloaks, my mind turned to Southington Community Services and their current coat drive for Operation Stay Warm. Signs of spring are all around us, yet generous volunteers are already planning ahead for next winter! If you have an extra coat in your closet, please consider bringing it to church on Palm Sunday, April 13. We have a collection bin in Memorial Hall for Operation Stay Warm. The collection is ongoing through the end of April.

Palm Sunday is a turning point in Lent. As we remember the events of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, we know that they ultimately lead us to the cross. No matter how our Lenten journey has gone, let’s join together in worship this Sunday and prepare our hearts and minds for Holy Week ahead.

I have always liked Zacchaeus, this man of short stature who wants to see Jesus so badly that he climbs a sycamore tree.  Standing a little shy of five feet four inches, I’ve been at the back of the crowd at the parade.  I know what it’s like not to be able to reach the cereal box on the top shelf of the pantry.  My last church, South Church in New Britain, has this huge, high pulpit that towers over the congregation.  I had to stand on a little box just to see out of it.  I felt like a little man in a great big box.  Yes, I feel Zacchaeus’ pain.

Yet, after his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus feels as tall as the center for the UConn basketball team.  What changed him?  I will explore that question on Sunday as we consider what is in between righteousness and mercy.

When something tragic happens, we look for a reason.  We begin to examine our lives, inspecting our recent behavior, our eating or drinking habits, or the language we use, desperately searching for some reason to explain what has happened in our lives.  It occurs to me when I find myself in such a situation that what I really want is control over the chaos of life.  If I could figure out what I did to cause things to go berserk, I could change it, and the chaos, with its attendant pain, would go away.

When Jesus is asked about these things, about why bad things happen to good people, he doesn’t offer platitudes—he tells a story, a story about a fig tree.  We will read that parable on Sunday morning and see if it helps us make sense of things.  

I am thrilled to welcome Amy Webb to the pulpit of First Congregational Church this Sunday.  Amy is a faithful member of our church who has often offered beautiful music for our worship services.  She is also part of the committee that coordinates our WISE (welcoming, inclusive, supportive, engaged) ministry that focuses on including those facing mental health challenges in our ministries.  Amy recently earned her Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology and is a Member in Discernment with the Central CT Association of the Southern New England Conference.  Ask her what that means!

 Amy will be offering a sermon on the stories about being lost that we find in Luke 15.

A controversy has arisen in the home of Martha and Mary, and they try to get Jesus involved—well, I guess they do get Jesus involved—but I think his answer is more about focus than it is about domestic responsibility.  I think the real point of the story is Jesus’ answer to Martha.  Only one thing is needed, Jesus says.  And that will be our question on Sunday morning.  What one thing do we really need?  I hope you will join me as we try to sort that out.

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,

A beautiful day for a neighbor.

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

It’s the simplest question of all, and for more than thirty years, Fred Rogers began his wonderful children’s show on PBS with that simple question—

Won’t you please?

Please won’t you be my neighbor?

Now that Jesus has “set his face to go to Jerusalem,” he encounters many people along the way, and he tells lots and lots of stories.  This week, we will read about a lawyer who approaches Jesus with a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus, as he often frustratingly does, turns the question back to the lawyer. “What is written in the law?  What does it say there?”  And the lawyer answers correctly.  “Love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself.”  “You’re right!” Jesus proclaims.  But the lawyer has another question: “Who is my neighbor?” prompting Jesus to tell one of his most beloved parables, a story we know as the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  

That is the question we will explore on Sunday morning, the question Mr. Rogers raised centuries later…

A visionary, organizer, and queer femme faith leader, Rev. Dr. Chris brings a powerful message of TRANSfiguration (Luke 9:28-36, 37-43a).

Rev. Dr. Chris S. Davies is a Celtic spiritualist, Christ-follower, organizer, queer femme, visionary, pastor, and liturgist. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, she loves faith deeply, and is committed to finding ways to continue to bring the gospel into the world, past this generation and into those to follow. Chris attended Smith College for her undergrad work and Andover Newton for both a Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry, focusing on queering proclamation. She is passionate about justice and Jesus, works as the Executive Minister of Programs and Initiatives in the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ, where nearly 600 local churches are encouraged to join a new initiative: FindHopeNow.org; highlighting hope in their communities. Through SNEUCC, Chris also leads Project Proclaim: a compelling preaching initiative.

Come for the music, stay for the message, and leave inspired! 

It is not one of the most well-known stories in the Gospel of Luke, but it is one of my favorite stories. It is a story about love. Of course, there are other details—a sinful woman, a self-righteous religious man, a dinner, and a scandalous waste of expensive ointment. But at its core, this week’s scripture is a story about love. I hope you will come to worship this week to hear a love story. Because there is no greater love than God’s love for you.

Life had not turned out the way John the Baptist had expected.  I suppose many of us could tell that story. We have big plans and great expectations, but then things just don’t work out the way we expected.

I don’t know about you, but I like things to work out the way I expect.  I like to know what to expect—what’s waiting around the next corner.  But you and I know, in life, the next page is never revealed before it is turned.

This week, we read about John the Baptist, imprisoned by King Herod, wondering what Jesus, whom he baptized back in chapter three, is up to.  On Sunday morning, we will hear Jesus’ answer—it may not be what we expect.

During the three months that Pastor Laura will be away on sabbatical, I have invited some friends to preach at FCC.  This week, we welcome the Rev. Kathy Peters to the pulpit.  Kathy is no stranger to Southington.  She and her husband, Stanley, lived for many years in Plantsville. As she prepared for ministry at Yale Divinity School, Kathy was an active member of the Plantsville Congregational Church.  

Since finishing YDS, Kathy served as the Associate Pastor of the Spring Glen Church in Hamden, on the staff of the historic Connecticut Conference, and as the Pastor of the United Church of Chester.  Kathy and Stanley tried to retire to Florida but missed New England too much, so they returned to Connecticut this year and joined FCC.  I look forward to hearing from Kathy on Sunday!