The 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, June 13, 2021: This Sunday’s Service
The 2nd Sunday after Pentecost, June 6, 2021: Last Sunday’s Service
To the People of Good Shepherd: Letters from Father Terry
Worship Resources: Previous Sermons and Music Messages
New Hymns: For Fr. Terry’s complete list of on-line hymns: click on New Music.
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SONG: “ Generations” | By Sara Groves, on Conversations (2005) ( Spotify, Youtube) . The opening verses recall the spiritual inheritance we have from our primordial ancestors, which we in turn contribute to. As she insists, there’s no blaming other people for our own participation in this legacy of sin.
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I can taste the fruit of Eve
I’m aware of sickness, death and disease
The results of our choices are vast
Eve was the first but she wasn’t the lastAnd if I were honest with myself
Had I been standing at that tree
My mouth and my hands would be covered with fruit
Things I shouldn’t know and things I shouldn’t see… |
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“SONG: “ The Fall” by Gungor, on Ghosts Upon the Earth (2011) ( Youtube, Spotify). “The Fall” is in the same vein, including all humanity in the fall of Adam and Eve:
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The fall, the fall, oh God, the fall of man
The fruit is found in every eye and every hand
Nothing, there is nothing yet, in truest form
We walk like ghosts upon the earth; the ground, it groansHow long, how long will you wait?
How long, how long till you save us all, save us all?Turn your face to me, turn your face to me
Turn your face to me, turn your face to meThe light, the light, the morning light is gone
And all that’s left is fragile breath and failing lungs
The night, the night, the guiding night has come
Uniting lover with his bride, more precious than the dawnHow long, how long must we wait?Turn your face to me, turn your face to me
Turn your face to me, turn your face to me |
Because of the music behind “Turn your face to me”—soft and smooth, consonant, calm not frantic like the rest—one can imagine this refrain as being spoken by God, which opens up to a dialogue—the humans lament their fall, asking how long they must wait for salvation, and God gently responds: it’s available now, just turn your face to me.
The idea of “ghosts upon the earth” is inspired by C. S. Lewis’s allegorical novel The Great Divorce, in which a group of travelers from a “grey town” are taken by bus to heaven, a land that proves to be far more solid, more real, than even the travelers’ own bodies. “Sometimes it seems like the most real thing is what we can see and experience with our senses around us—this life, the tangible,” Michael Gungor said. “Ideas like love, like God, these things sometimes feel more disconnected and ethereal, like that’s the ghostly realm. But what if that’s wrong and God and love is actually what is most real, and we are more like ghosts walking upon the earth, hoping to become more real?”
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Latest Weekly Announcements: June 10, 2021
Adult Christian Formation on-line course: The History of the Church in England.
Tuesday Morning Prayer: Cancelled for June 15th. Service resumes on June 22nd at 8:30 a.m. in the sanctuary (See Service Times for more information.)
Ladies’ Summer Book Club: Join us on Thursday June 17th as we discuss a work of fiction “The Book of Longings” by Sue Monk Kidd. This book, set in first century Galilee, proves controversial due to the characterization of Jesus as a young man within the narrative. The focus of our book discussion will center on women’s voices in this time, place, and culture. We will gather at a member’s home at 6:00 pm for a light supper and discussion. Bring a dish to share. (For more information, see the weekly e-mail Announcements or contact the Church Office.)
Men’s Bible Study: Weekly Fri. meeting at 7:00 a.m. on the back porch or, on the first Fri. of the month, at Eat 66 (See Men’s Bible Study or contact the Church Office.)
St. Monica’s Guild: Current project – Children’s Service Guide Bags (See St. Monica’s Guild.)
Prayer Requests: Contact the Church Office.
Memorial Flowers: Contact the Church Office or a member of the Altar Guild.
Activities of our Diocese and neighbor churches: Nearby Opportunities
