Join us for Cn Tim Clayton's sermon: Jubilee, The Rhythms of God

During Easter Tide this season, we are trying to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and what it means to live in communion with God, with each other, and with the Creation around us. What it means for the Kingdom of Heaven to be here on Earth. The best image we have of this in the scripture is the Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Imagine a once in a lifetime reset. All your debts released, and all that you've lost restored. What would it be like to live with God in a Heaven and Earth come together as one way? It would be both a tangible and a spiritual reality.

Join us as Tim looks deeper at Jubilee.
Imagine that challenge that is troubling you being resolved. 
Imagine that debt that is overwhelming you being relieved.
Imagine that weight of worry being removed. 
The wonder and joy and peace that would be released. 

Imagine the reality of God, a steadying and close touch with this hope. 
Jubilee is meant to train the people for eternity. 
We need regular practices and rhythms to get into those spaces. A rhythm of God giving life as gift and as grace. 
Only one thing is needed, sitting and listening to Jesus. 
Taking the time to sit with Jesus regularly. To sit with one another regularly. To find those rhythms in our life to bring us peace and balance and hope. 
To live in the radical present. To bring that sabbath rest and trust into our daily lives. 

From our reading in Philippians 4:
 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Mother Wendy Dixon's sermon: Jubilee, The Loving Gaze of God

During Easter Tide this season, we are trying to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and what it means to live in communion with God, with each other, and with the Creation around us. What it means for the Kingdom of Heaven to be here on Earth. The best image we have of this in the scripture is the Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Imagine a once in a lifetime reset. All your debts released, and all that you've lost restored. What would it be like to live with God in a Heaven and Earth come together as one way? It would be both a tangible and a spiritual reality.

In this insightful sermon, Wendy reminds us what it means to be "seen" by our friends, our families and especially by God. This loving reminder that God sees each one of us and knows us and loves just as we are. That we are always in the "loving gaze of God."  This is how we can start to bring Jubilee into the world, into our homes, into our neighborhoods. How we can continue to see one another with that same "loving gaze of God."

From our reading from the Gospel of Mark chapter 5:

Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” 

...Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 

Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 

Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement...

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Mother Jen Keifer's sermon: The Resurrection - Jubilee Fulfilled
"...there will be no one in need among you."

During Easter Tide this season, we are trying to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and what it means to live in communion with God, with each other, and with the Creation around us. What it means for the Kingdom of Heaven to be here on Earth. The best image we have of this in the scripture is the Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Imagine a once in a lifetime reset. All your debts released, and all that you've lost restored. What would it be like to live with God in a Heaven and Earth come together as one way? It would be both a tangible and a spiritual reality.

In this timely sermon, Jen shares with us the insights into Jubilee and the story of the landowner in Matthew 20, while at the same time leading the "in person" parish through an activity to help come alongside one of our neighboring communities here on Boston's North Shore. 

From our reading in Deuteronomy 15:
If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, “The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,” and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt. Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land."

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Canon Tim Clayton's sermon: Jubilee, All of Our Hopes Realized

During Easter Tide this season, we are trying to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is, and what it means to live in communion with God, with each other, and with the Creation around us. What it means for the Kingdom of Heaven to be here on Earth. The best image we have of this in the scripture is the Jubilee, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

Imagine a once in a lifetime reset. All your debts released, and all that you've lost restored.
What would it be like to live with God in a Heaven and Earth come together as one way? It would be both a tangible and a spiritual reality.

From our reading in 1 Corinthians 15:
or this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
‘Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Canon Tim Clayton's sermon: Thomas, Touch, Connection, Kingdom, and Jubilee.

In a digital age with an epidemic of loneliness, to touch and be touched is fundamental to our well being. Touch is one of our unique senses.
You can see and not be seen, you can hear and not be heard, but you can't touch without being touched. Touch is central to healing, trauma recovery, and therapy.

How does this story relate to us in the light of the Hebrew teaching of Jubilee, the "sabbath of sabbaths". In this fascinating study, Tim leads us through the story of Thomas and the Leviticus teaching of "Jubilee". Not just the ideas of "what not to do" rather the gentle nudge of what "to do". What does a tangible Kingdom of Heaven look like, and what might this be?

from our reading today in the gospel of John 20.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Canon Tim Clayton's sermon: The Gardener and the First Apostle

In this unique Easter sermon, Tim looks at the story of the first Apostle. The one who stayed with him while he was on the cross, who waited and grieved outside his grave, and who was the first to speak with Jesus after He rose from the grave.

From our Reading in John 19 and 20:
Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Canon Tim Clayton's sermon: The Parable of the Sower

In this inspiring sermon, Tim looks at one of the classic parables of Jesus. In recent years some have defined this parable in moralistic ways. But is it a parable simply about morality? Or is it something that reaches deeper? What is Jesus trying to show us?

From our Reading in Matthew 13:
And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’

…“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Join us Holy Week and Easter Sunday at Crowell Chapel in Manchester by the Sea, details on our Events page: https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/events

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Mother Wendy Dixon's sermon: The Intersection of Our Hope and God's Heart

In this fascinating sermon, Wendy recounts the story from our gospel reading in Luke 17 and how it affects each of us in our own struggles and challenges we face. She draws us to find hope in the intersection of God's heart for our lives. God is with us. God is for us. God delights in us, and meets us at the intersection of our hope and his heart.

From our Reading in Luke 17:
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers met him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!

When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back, praising God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

Join us Holy Week and Easter Sunday in Manchester by the Sea, details on our Events page: https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/events

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Mother Jen Keifer's sermon: Worthy of Beauty,
Lavish Love Without Waste

In this thoughtful sermon, Jen takes a deeper look at the story from Matthew 26,
Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

How can we live into the beauty of the work of God without being pulled into "Empire like" thinking? Even in our best intentions we can sometimes be pulled into the logistics of Empire rather than the human image bearers that we are called to love and care for.

How can we close the gap between our effort and our impact?
How can we learn to live beyond a utilitarian worldview of statistics and into the power of unstoppable beauty and compassion for all of those in need within our families, friends, and communities? How can we live into extravagant care for the vulnerable and those in need?
Jen invites us to learn to see that we are all worthy of beauty and care, especially the least of these.

Perhaps part of the answer Jesus is showing us is here,
"She has done a beautiful thing, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

May we each have a fresh encounter with the Christ who poured himself out for us.

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
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May the Peace of God be with you today.

Join us for Cn Tim Clayton's sermon: Wonder Stories

Where does Jesus talk about "wonder"? Where does Jesus advocate for "wonder"?
He never uses the word, but it's in the way that Jesus interacts with children and advocates for children in all their beauty and fragility. In this insightful sermon, Tim leads us through the places we can find wonder though the days are challenging.

From our scripture readings in Isaiah:

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
 The Lord is the everlasting God,
     the Creator of the ends of the earth.
 He does not faint or grow weary;
     his understanding is unsearchable.
 He gives power to the faint,
     and strengthens the powerless.
 Even youths will faint and be weary,
     and the young will fall exhausted;
 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
     they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
 they shall run and not be weary,
     they shall walk and not faint.

And in the gospel of Matthew:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.

[and a little later…]

Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

Saturday Sunset Services at 4 pm
Join us in person in downtown Beverly, MA this season on Dane Street.
Details on our website services page.
https://www.trinitynorthshore.org/services

Connect with us at https://www.trinitynorthshore.org, 
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May the Peace of God be with you today.