SSPC Weekly Newsletter - June 6, 2024

June 6, 2024

The same dream, really a light nightmare, about getting ready to preach a sermon but never having the time or the materials needed to prepare, continues to haunt me. Something always gets in the way: I can’t find my computer to type it up, I forget to look at the clock and don’t even have enough “last minute” time to get it done, or I wrote it out but then lost it. Even when I wake up and realize it’s a bad dream, when I go back to sleep, I’m back in it with another chapter.

Whatever my subconscious is telling me, I take it to mean that I (we) never have enough time to say what we really want to say to those we love. I’ve often experienced this while sitting at the side of those who are near death. Many confess wishing they had more time to say to loved ones what they really felt: How much they loved them; How sorry they are for those times they acted like a jerk; How much they wish they had been less judgmental and more present with loved ones when fully alive and well.

Still, some things, maybe many things, are too deeply personal and intimate to express while present with those we love. We need always try and should always strive, in the right circumstances, to do our best with the limited emotional and linguistic tools we have to work with. But in the end, the things that truly matter, like love, joy, truth, forgiveness, and gratitude, are best just lived out.

As I come to the end of my time with you (June 30), wanting to express my love, joy, and gratitude for your willingness to accept Anita and me into your lovely and good church; please understand that try as I may, I can’t find the right words. Even if I could, like my nightmare, I wouldn’t be able to get them in order. So, we’ll have to live it out, in and through the loving, connecting, Holy Spirit of God in Jesus Christ, for the next four Sundays… and even longer as Anita and I hope to stay connected in worship with you from time to time.

Gratefully,

Steve

Musical Notes

Try Something New! This group in the church has a lot of fun around the region trying new things and visiting new places. When it comes to worship, we tend to stick to the familiar. Even our youth want to keep the service the same when they do Youth Sunday. It is comforting to have the same songs, the same order of worship, and the same people in leadership because we know what to expect. When we started renovations and the pandemic struck, everything was new to us. The sanctuary was in the social hall, and then we were at home watching online. We have since experienced many changes in leadership in worship and worship order. Let’s try something new to us! We have already changed the Gloria Patri to a favorite “Glory to God, Whose Goodness Shines on Me” page 582. Let’s try a “new to us” Doxology this Sunday – “Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow” page 609 (some of the words are different, but the tune is familiar to you – All Creatures of Our God and King) P.S. I’ll need your feedback!

The Chancel Choir will sing “A Celtic Praise Song” by Joseph Martin. Harlan Hambright will play percussion for us, mainly an Irish drum called a “Bohdran.”

On Father’s Day, the choir will sing “Lord, I Believe” by Larry Shackley, a song that recalls the Apostles Creed, a statement of faith. Katelyn Silva, a former student of mine and now a graduate of Emmanuel College with a degree in voice, and I will sing “Pie Jesu” from Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Requiem. This is by special request.

Members of the music program travel to Montreat Conference Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina for the annual Worship and Music Conference at the end of June. We look forward to telling you all about it when we return. Stay tuned to the newsletter for plans for the rest of the summer!

Love & Gratitude, Rhonda

Happenings & Events

VIEW ALL SSPC RECURRING EVENTS

CHANCEL FLOWER DEDICATIONS

Chancel Flower Donations: There are a few spaces available in July through October to donate Chancel flowers. This is a beautiful opportunity to honor or remember friends and family. Please visit the bulletin board outside of the social hall or email Donna Purdy at

donna@sspres.org.

SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL

ECCLESIASTES

Engaging with God

Life is a gift, but it rarely turns out how we expect. We’re convinced things like wealth, power, fame, and control will give us meaning and lead us to a flourishing life—but sometimes, life lets us down. So where do we go when the unexpected throws us a curveball? Where do we turn when things are going great but we still feel empty? Let us turn to God's word in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

The name Ecclesiastes comes from the root word ekklesia, which is Greek for “assembly” or “church.” Ecclesiastes means “the speaker to the assembly.” In this ten-session video series, pastor Jonathan "JP" Pokluda takes us through the book of Ecclesiastes and shows us that we are not alone in our search for meaning. And as we gather this summer during Sunday School, we are reminded "there is a time for Everything, and God makes everything beautiful in its time."

Join us each Sunday, June through August (No SS July 7) at 9am in the Social Hall.

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KIDZ & YOUTH

HAPPENING NOW

NEW LIBRARY DISPLAY

Are you looking for interesting summer reading? Stop by the library so you can look at the new display on the carousel. We have selected books from our shelves and added new books to help explain how the Bible came to be. Do you know who wrote the Bible or who translated many versions into many languages? How old is the Bible? Who printed the first Bible? Are all Bibles the same?

Some of the newest books include these titles: “Illustrated Bible Geography,” “ The Great Code,” “Who Wrote the Bible,” and “The Murderous History of Bible Translations.” Each book has fascinating content that helps fill in the blanks of Bible history.