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Dear Members, Friends, Siblings, All,

“We welcome glad Easter when Jesus arose!” And we look forward to welcoming you for worship on Resurrection Sunday in the sanctuary or online. It’s always like a family reunion in the best possible way.

This Holy Week has been wonderful at Central, beginning on Palm Sunday. We know these stories, of course, but they reveal newness each time we hear and tell them. You’d think by now there is no more to say. Somehow, there is. The mystery of this season–everything I cannot explain or understand fully–is what I like best about the space between Ash Wednesday and the Season of Easter.

The Maundy Thursday service inspired us to look deeper within. Our Good Friday service should make the journey to the Cross come alive, and we will take time to honor the grief that surrounds us. For Holy Saturday, you may find the two poems here to be helpful in your devotions between today and Sunday. I have.

Easter Sunday will be a day of rejoicing as we greet the resurrected Christ and each other. We’ll look for you in worship online or somewhere around this place. Until then, grace to you and peace. Also, love and hugs.

Rev. Liz

Dear Members, Friends, Siblings, All,

I can’t help it. This piece still has me stunned and rooted to the floor. So, I must share it. It’s from the UCC Daily Devotionals this past week. If you don’t get them, you’re missing a treat. www.ucc.org/daily-devotional/

Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday. Rev. Thomas will be away, and we’ve been left in charge! On our best behavior, of course. We will have our fourth Lenten Lunch following worship—where does the time go?—and we’re uncovering Central’s “imaginal discs” (see below). One Great Hour of Sharing is this Sunday. That’s in our DNA, too. Please make your plans to give as generously as you can.

See you on Sunday and be seen streaming. We’ll be looking forward to it. Love and hugs,

Rev. Liz

Imaginal

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV)

Come Easter, much will be made of butterflies. The inching, munching caterpillar transforming into the bright, soaring butterfly is just too good a resurrection metaphor for some of us to pass on.

Something you may not know: once the caterpillar hangs itself up, a grand drama plays out. If the caterpillar itself can’t imagine the butterfly it will become, its cells sure can. As soon as the chrysalis closes, tiny structures called imaginal discs (that’s really what they’re called!) form in its body. Inside these discs are the genome of the butterfly, largely separate from the genome of the caterpillar. As such, the caterpillar’s body sees them as invaders. Its immune system attacks and kills them. But the genetic image of the butterfly will not be denied. The imaginal discs keep coming.

Eventually, the caterpillar’s immune system becomes overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. By then, the struggle has basically liquefied the caterpillar’s body. The imaginal discs then use the caterpillar soup to build a butterfly.

Maintaining homeostasis is often the way to go. It’s usually the best way to survive. Fighting unto liquefication can seem preferable to changing. But what if the thing you’re fighting is the seed of a great transformation?

What if the thing you’re attacking so hard is the image of what you were always meant to become?

Prayer

I may not be able to imagine my future, but I know you already have. When the image of you that you’ve implanted inside me makes itself known, help me to not fight too hard. Amen.

Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas.

A Pastoral Note on the End of the 2024 Election Season

All Saints Sunday | November 3, 2024

Dear Ones,

We continue to hear from many of you about your anxieties for the end of our election season. As a “swing state,” we have been blanketed by advertisements and commercials, inundated by phone calls and text messages, and visited by the major candidates more times than some of us would like to count.

Our state’s flurry of political activity has made clear that our country and culture are very divided right now. These divisions may be felt in our neighborhoods, rec leagues, jobs, schools, churches, and even our families. People from all parts of the political spectrum view this particular election as life or death.

It is okay for your heart to feel heavy. For your mind to be exhausted. And for you to feel the weight of your anxieties in this election. It is okay to be overwhelmed. 

As we write this letter, there are poll workers in Vancouver, Washington who are painstakingly combing through burnt ballots, in the hopes that they will be able to identify persons whose right to vote was almost stolen from them.

Here in Georgia, our courts and our state election officials are working hard to counter misinformation and foreign threats. 

All across the country, there are thousands of people knocking on doors, calling and texting folks, organizing rides to the polls, and more in support of their party and candidates.

This is the work of democracy. May we protect it. 

May we also acknowledge that our faith in God is(and should be) greater than our faith in any candidate, party, or platform. Existing in the already and not yet is hard. Believing in a bright and wonderful end while living through difficult times is not easy. And yet…

Whether our preferred candidates or parties win or lose on Tuesday, God’s call for the world remains the same:

Do Justice. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly with God. 

That’s what the Lord requires of us. May we accept that obligation.

While there is great significance attached to Election Day, ultimately the work of our democracy and faith doesn’t rest on one day alone.

Each day, we are given opportunities to bend more towards justice and mercy, to reject cynicism and fear, and to sow seeds of love.

It’s that kind of work that builds a more just world for all. That work is carried out by ordinary people who dare to believe that we have a stake in the work of God and Christ.

Tuesday may be a day of jubilation or deep lament. While we pray for peace, violence is not out of the question. Although we hope to know the election results quickly and confidently, it may take several days before the results are clear.

In the in-between times, please take care of yourself. If you need to turn off the tv or radio, log out of Facebook or Twitter, or ignore a text from that one friend who keeps trying to engage in a debate… do that.

Go for a walk. Break bread with friends. Take a nap. Read a book. Sing a song. Pray.

May God grant us peace and calm in the days ahead. May we have the courage to face whatever challenges may come with the strength of our faith and the teachings of our tradition.

Even in our bleakest moments, there is room for hope. Resurrection is just around the corner.

If this election is life or death, remember that death does not have the last word.

If you haven’t yet voted, and you’re able to do so, please exercise that privilege on Tuesday.

You can visit the GA My Voter Page to find your polling precinct.

Our Sanctuary will be open on Tuesday from 9am – 4pm. If you would like to come and light a candle or sit in our worship space, you’re more than welcome to do so.

If you missed or want to rewatch our Faith & Democracy or All Saints services, you can watch them here: Recent Services

Praying for a more just world for all,

Rev. Liz and Rev. Thomas