Sunday July 26, 2026

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

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• An Introduction to Godly Play
• Church School @ Christ Church Needham
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Highlights


• Next Campfire Compline is this Sunday July 26

Dear Church School Friends,

Sometimes when I talk about the Parables we have in our Godly Play room, I mention my great fondness for the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price/the Great Pearl. You may be wracking your brain a bit right now trying to remember that one. If so, you're not alone.

The Parable of the Great Pearl is one of the stories we'll hear this Sunday – and it takes up one sentence, two if we're being generous since it contains a semicolon.

This is common with Parables. Jesus wasn't using extra words here. Parables are economical with language, especially relative to the amount of mystery they contain.

Two weeks ago, Nick spoke in his sermon about how we typically try to extract that one meaning from a Parable, even though they aren't really singular in that fashion. Patty, Diane, and I get to experience this multiplicity first hand any time we open up a Parable in the circle.

I've been given FIVE whole Parables this coming Sunday, but I won't be trying to tell you what any of them mean in particular. If you're desperate for answers of that sort, well, I'm happy to hand you a gold parable box and wish you luck!

Mustard Seed - Rain for Roots ft. Ellie Holcomb

Yes, in addition to the Great Pearl, this Sunday's Gospel *also* contains the Parable of the Mustard Seed – and I think I've delighted over the book The Marvelous Mustard Seed more than once here, so let's switch things up!

Instead, I offer for your music repertoire, a little tune about God's power as manifest in the Mustard Seed that grows so large and offers a home to all the birds of the air. This song reminds us that: 

If you held a mustard seed in your hand

You’d see that it was tiny, like a grain of sand

But Jesus says that even when our faith is small

Nothing is impossible for Him at all

Nothing is impossible for Him at all.

I've often observed that the Parable of the Mustard Seed is a favorite work among children and I think the power and possibility of that tiny seed is resonant. Of the many meanings held in this parable, one offers up the child as the Mustard Seed who can do great things, too. May we stand back, observe, and witness those great things!

This Summer we're reprising Campfire Compline – s'mores making and night prayer – at 7pm on the last Sunday of each month:


• Sunday July 26 - This Sunday!
• Sunday August 30

Note: We'll gather for Campfire Compline near the entrance to the Memorial Garden at the front of the church this summer, rather than back by the patio.

Additionally, on the second Sunday of each month, we'll offer Popsicles & Praise during Lemonade Hour. This program will use picture books and other resources to learn more about favorite hymns and spirituals. I've been collecting picture book versions of hymns for ages and it's the perfect time to get them out and sing some songs together.

• Sunday August 9

Sunday July 26:

• Bird Preaching!
• Campfire Compline @ 7pm by the Memorial Garden
  
  Did You Know: Watching a campfire makes our minds more open and creative? The random shapes and lack of pattern in the flames force our brains to let go of prediction and be present with the moment!

Sunday August 9:

• Popsicles & Praise

Sunday August 30:

• Campfire Compline @ 7pm by the Memorial Garden

Sunday September 13:

• Church School Registration – Blessing of the Backpacks

Sunday September 20:

• Church School Begins!

Christ Episcopal Church

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