At the Table

Life on the Downslope

barrpres1 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:30:26 +0000

Sermon by Rev. Patrick Notley
February 19, 2012
2 Kings 2:1-12, Mark 9:2-9

So down the mountain we must come, like the disciples, like Elisha, like all who have come before us and who will come after us, we must come down from the pinnacle and re-engage in our lives on the downslope where our great vision and clarity meet the reality of the world.

To read Rev. Notley’s sermon, go to the pdf file: 02-19-2012 — Life on the Downslope

Men Who Cook poster link

barrpres1 — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:13:51 +0000

BPC events coming this spring!

barrpres1 — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:41:16 +0000

Tuesday, February 21: Men Who Cook
Wednesday, February 22: Ash Wednesday, service at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 4: Celebrate the Gifts of Women Sunday, with Rev. Elizabeth Barnum, Barrington Congregational Church (USS)
Sunday, April 1: Palm/Passion Sunday
Thursday, April 5: Maundy Thursday Worship and Communion at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 6: Ecumenical Good Friday Worship Service at 12:00 noon
Sunday, April 8: Easter Sunday
Sunday, April 29: TAP-IN Extra Sunday
Saturday, May 5: Church Spring Cleanup, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Lent for Everyone: Wednesday evening study

barrpres1 — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:21:09 +0000

This year’s Lenten Study will use the book, Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B. Written by New Testament Scholar N. T. Wright, this book has been described as “a gentle guide through the Lenten season, from Ash Wednesday through the week after Easter.” Each day in this Lenten season will have Wright’s own translation of the Gospel of Mark plus a brief reflection and prayer. By the conclusion of the book readers will have traveled through the entirety of Mark. Our studies will happen on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., starting on February 29 and concluding on March 4. On each of these six Wednesdays we will look at several of the Biblical passages and reflections from the previous week as we seek new understanding on what this journey to Jerusalem and the cross continues to mean for us in this day and age. If you signed up for a book, we’ll let you know as soon as they come in. Price of the book including shipping is $12.00.

BPC Chancel Choir music videos!

barrpres1 — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:17:52 +0000

Yes, the BPC Chancel Choir now has a Vimeo music channel, and you can tune in! Click the links to hear our choir sing these beautiful hymns:
How Lovely Are the Messengers (Mendelssohn)
Gloria of the Bells (Peloquin)

For the Glory of God

barrpres1 — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:35:17 +0000

Sermon by Rev. Patrick Notley
February 12, 2012
I Corinthians 10:1-11:1

The presenting issue that has again come to the fore is about what one is allowed to eat and in what circumstances one is allowed to eat.

To read Rev. Notley’s sermon, go to the pdf file: 02-12-2012 — For the Glory of God

In Service to the Gospel

barrpres1 — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:38:10 +0000

Sermon by Rev. Patrick Notley
February 5, 2012
I Corinthians 9:15-27

Likening them to athletes training for the Isthmian Games that would soon commence just down the road from Corinth, Paul calls on the Corinthian community of faith to show as much perseverance and self control in their lives as do the athletes.

To read Rev. Notley’s sermon, go to the pdf file: 02-05-2012 — In Service to the Gospel

A Model of Freedom

barrpres1 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:59:21 +0000

Sermon by Rev. Patrick Notley
January 29, 2012
I Corinthians 9:1-15

As you will recall from last week, the primary issue was and continues to be what it means to be free in Christ, what this freedom that is being claimed by the Corinthian Christians is all about.

To read Rev. Notley’s sermon, go to the pdf file: 01-29-2012 — A Model of Freedom

Seeing the Sacred in the Everyday

barrpres1 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:00:01 +0000

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child - our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
Thich Nhat Hanh

The beyond is not what is infinitely remote, but what is nearest at hand.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We came to look for the sacred
On a Saturday in Rehoboth
So we had to exercise
Our eyes and ears and all our senses
Especially the extra ones that have no name
We had to wait

We talked
About the holy and the ordinary
The transcendent and the commonplace
The consecrated and the everyday
We talked
About the irruption of the sacred into the world
And the mark it makes on what we believe is real
We came to look for the sacred

We walked out
Into the world of color
And light and sound
That sharp smell of pine
Geese calling across the lake
To see if we could capture it
To see if it would show itself

We were equipped
We had cameras! We had camera phones!
We walked out and looked around
Everything was there

The rain stopped
The sun came out
The creation opened
Here is what we saw

To Know or to Be Known

barrpres1 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:23:07 +0000

Sermon by Rev. Patrick Notley
January 22, 2012
I Corinthians 8:1-13

So the test is not what you know personally and what feels right to you personally, rather it is how you in your life and actions help to build up all in the community of faith in such a way as to make it possible for all to come to understand more fully that it is not about what one knows about God that is most important but that one knows that they are known and loved by God.

To read Rev. Notley’s sermon, go to the pdf file: 01-22-2012 — To Know or To Be Known