CHPC
Hymn: "Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness"
mjules, I thought you would appreciate the Refrain:Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free. Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.I really liked the Communion Invitation:
This table is open to all who confess Jesus as the Christ and seek to follow Christ's way. Come to this sacred table not because you must, but because you may. Come not because you are fulfilled, but because in your emptiness you stand in need of God's mercy and assurance. Come not to express an opinion or to make a statement about anything, but to seek a presence and to pray for a spirit.CWM
Come to this table, then, sisters and brothers, as you are. It is spread for you and for me that we might again know that God has come to us, shared our common lot, and invited us to join the people of God's new creation.
The guest preacher was a friend of Tiffany's from seminary, and she preached on Matthew 18:1-5, 10-18 (uncharacteristically, not the day's lectionary text). The second portion includes dealing with conflict within the church, and includes the line, "If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." When it was read before the sermon, I was very uncomfortable. However, when BK (the guest preacher) repeated the line during her sermon I realized the punchline: How did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors? He reached out to them, ate with them, etc.
Tiffany opened the Prayers of the People by saying that it was easy to lose sight of the good that there was in General Conference, so let's start out with Prayers of Joy. Sean said that frequently people would be talking with him about non-GLBT issues and as soon as he identified himself as being from Cambridge Welcoming Ministries, they would have this moment of visible relief like, "Oh of course you're opposed to the death penalty" (or whatever). Will immediately pointed me out and how I would have a problem with assumptions. ♥
