This annual Green Sunday celebration infuses creation care into every element of the worship service; a crucial part of our church’s mission. Each year, Green Sunday focuses on a different theme, and this year the theme is how blessed we are to have pets and animals in our lives. In this service, we will meditate on how God gave us creatures to nurture and take care of, but also on how they are able to teach us new things about God’s unconditional love and the practice of joy in daily life.

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Christ is Risen! This is true every Sunday for us, but this is the Sunday where we celebrate and remember how we got to this place of resurrection and newness of life.

Today we ponder the stone rolled away. What is it that holds us back from this hope and joy? What are the stones blocking out way out of the tombs in our world? How will WE roll the stone away? What does the resurrection mean for us today?

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This service is our annual service remembering the events of Jesus’ last week of life before the cross. Each year, the focus is a little different, and this year we will consider Jesus’ time of agonizing prayer at Gethsemane. He wrestles mightily with what is about to happen to Him. He does not want to die or suffer this pain. He needs strength from God to continue to go forward. He also needed His friends to be there for Him and not turn away from His suffering or deny His pain. Sadly, they (and we) fall asleep. We have a hard time remaining truly present with people when they may be at their most vulnerable.

Somehow, even despite this terrible holy week, Jesus is unhurried. He is no longer trying to get anything done. His priorities narrow down to personal time with God and time with His people. Perhaps this will remind Him of who He is and who upholds Him. He will need it…

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The commandment to keep the sabbath is one that might not seem as important as the one about not murdering. But what, and who, suffers in our society when we value economic security over well-being?

As we give witness yet again to the story of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, proclaiming justice for the oppressed, we must also proclaim justice and peace… and rest… for the weary of this world. What systems of our time (“old wineskins”) need to “give it a rest” or be “put to rest” that are harming and oppressing “the least“ among us?

At the end of this series, what “Sabbath” practices have we experienced that made a difference in our quality of life, the quality of the planet, the quality of our time with, and love for, one another? Might we claim them as our “new wineskins” for not just Lent?

One last thing: today we are receiving the annual special offering called One Great Hour of Sharing, benefitting programs for the hungry and those affected by natural disasters. You can give online by going to our main page, clicking Give Now at the bottom, and designating whatever you choose next to “One Great Hour of Sharing”.

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For many of us in this modern, industrial, tech-savvy world, we have lost touch with the seasonality of life. We want what we want, when we want it. We come to believe that no time is off limits and the lines between busy and rest, work and play, have become increasingly blurred. How far are we from the rhythms and “pleasure of our toil?” What cost to ourselves, to our relationships, and to our planet is this frantic pace?

This week, we look at our sense of time and time scarcity. We consider how God views time, and how our faith may be inviting us to a more spacious and abundant approach to our busy lives.

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