What’s Going on at the Church
“Weighing Truth and Life”
More food for thought, from John Pavlovitz…
Jesus was a progressive. He came with a bold clear vision that pulled disparate people together in interdependent community. He started an underground movement of people of the street, not a top-down theocracy of wealth and privilege. He announced that a new kingdom had come; a counterintuitive way of living and being in the world marked by goodness and empathy. Jesus’ message to the religious elite was warning that new wine can’t be held in old, dried-up, brittle wineskin minds: that something beautiful had come to burst from the rigid lifeless container that could no longer hold it.
Jesus was a heretic. He claimed to be divinity arriving not in political or military power but in quiet gentleness, a humble servant who in humility would get low to lift others. He came in paradox as the God who would wash feet. He was scandalous because he declared that God was not just the God of the temple but of the gutter as well – that the beggars and the priests were of equal worth. Jesus not only declared that all lives matter, but he simply lived in such a way that proved they did. He spent so many of his days among the rabble; touching lepers, dining with prostitutes, lounging with pariahs, which challenged the perspectives of the privileged. It’s how he made the self-righteous squirm, and protest, and condemn.
Jesus was woke. He declared us all responsible for our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, even our enemies. His followers created interdependent communities where each was accountable to the other. He was a maker of peace, a lover of all; a homeless, dark-skinned Jewish rabbi who said that love of wealth would make it almost impossible to really see God. Jesus was heretical to the religious folks who had drifted so far from the essence of God that they were oblivious to it when he was in their midst. Goodness and decency had become unrecognizable to them. They were so lulled by the comfort and power of their privilege, that they forgot their call to sacrificial love for the least
.It is this bold, unapologetic activist heart of Jesus that caused him the greatest pushback, and ultimately his execution. Today, conservatives would label him a member of the radical left, woke mob, meriting cancellation. The job of revealing the character of God and the nature of love is once again in the hands of the heretics, sinners, and unlikely mercy-givers. God is once again moving in the world, coming in ways that look like heresy to the religious, which is exactly as it was two thousand years ago. It will be a movement of the outsiders who together will recover the sacred art of giving a damn. They will open their hands and they will give and heal and help in ways that alter the planet and that look like what God is supposed to look like.
There is much to be outraged about in these days, so let yourself be outraged and let it be catalytic. Yes, cultivate compassion and respect for all people, but when you need to, bravely face an offensive world and risk offending it. In the face of extreme hatred, be an extremist of love who will not be silenced.
Blessing and Peace, Ed
Healing Service, October 25th
Elder Sue posted this on our social media on Sunday. What a beautiful way to aid in the healing process for those dealing with, or who have dealt with, this dreadful disease.
Today we held a healing service for all touched by cancer in our celebration of Pink October in the City of Rahway. We dropped stones representing all our griefs into a bowl of cleansing water. And we each took a heart-shaped stone with us to remember letting go of our griefs.
Looking to donate to our thrift sales?
If you have any furniture to donate, please take a photo of what you have and send the photos to office@1stpresrahway.org. At this time, we’re not accepting clothes or shoes.
Members usually work on Wednesday’s for our sales from 10:30 am -1:30 pm. If that’s not a convenient time for you to drop off donations, other arrangements can be made. Please email the church office and your request will be forwarded to the “sales crew” so they can respond to your inquiry.
As always, thank you to all who donate. Our sales have been a great success this year because of you!
Important Message from the USRC Board of Directors:
Please read these guidelines about Squier Hall and the formation of the USRC Board of Directors, who will be overseeing the groups meeting in Squier.
As part of the guidelines, please use this form if you have any concerns so that they can be addressed.
Interested in Getting Involved?
We have a lot of different ways for you to get involved – short-term projects, one-time opportunities, working with our livestream technology on Sundays, plus much more. Click on the button below to see what we have on our ‘volunteer wish list’. As more opportunities become available, we will be sure to update our listings.