Scriptures:  John 15:9-17, Psalm 98

Speaker:  Rev. H. Linn Finger

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Scriptures:  John 15:1-9, Acts 8:26-40

Speaker:  Steven L. Burleson

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On Friday, June 1, at 6 PM, the HCUCC-Harris youth group will be hosting its last fundraiser for the UCC’s National Youth Event. The fundraiser will include an evening of games, line-dancing, and a chili cook-off at HCUCC-Harris. Events will kick off with games and a bounce house for the younger kids.

Around 7 PM, we will have a chili dinner. Everyone is encouraged to whip-up their best chili for our judges to taste. Prizes will be awarded for Best Chili and Best Vegetarian Chili, so bring your “A” game!

Following the dinner, Robbie Furr will lead us in a night of line-dancing!

A highlight of the service for all of us will be having our Youth Pastor, Steven Burleson preach for us! He will be preaching from John 15:1-8 and using Wendell Berry’s poem “A Spiritual Journey.” Steven has done a great job of working with our students this year and helping create connections and relationships with each of them. Many of our musically gifted students will also be providing special music for us. You won’t want to miss this celebration of gifts on Sunday!

Another wonderful Spring gift coming our way will be the workshop “WRITING THE SACRED” led by Ray McGinnis. I met Ray last summer on my sabbatical in his home territory of Vancouver at a writing workshop he hosted. He has many fans and friends in UCC circles and in the south so he will be headed through Charlotte and sharing his gifts and leadership with us in his Psalm-writing Workshop on May 19!

Registration begins at 9:30; the workshop is from 10 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. with Lunch included. Pre-registration $35, at the door $40, (Scholarships ARE available – so plan to come!) Information or sign up, contact Dawn in the office, 704-599-9810 or hcuccoffice@aol.com.
Grateful for God’s gifts, Nancy

Within three miles of our home, the landscape has changed markedly and remarkably as the last leg of I-485 undergoes construction. When I first saw plans for this last five mile section, I wondered how engineers would handle traffic flow when construction crossed under or over an existing street. In one instance, I now know: a lengthy detour has been created. It is a traffic nightmare. If we venture forth between 4-7:00 p.m. and head south or east, we need to find alternate routes to avoid the bumper-to-bumper congestion! A detour will still get one to a desired destination but not via the way one thought and not in the time frame one imagined. All that said, detours are necessary for good work to be done. And that is the point I would like to have us consider.

Back in the 1970′s, the realm of interpersonal communication was influenced by a movement best described by the phrase “let it all hang out.” Good communication was supposed to skip niceties and even ignore sensitivity. Unflinching honesty and uncensored speech rose as the new norms. Each was supposed to enhance effective communication, enabling folk to get to the point faster. In retrospect, it created a vast sea of persons with hurt feelings and gave sad legitimacy to verbal bullies. Thankfully, like all fads, it died a quiet death. If it left any redeeming legacy, it is this: It is not always the wisest course to hit things head on. Sometimes a detour is the most sensible course to take.

The Gospels tell us that following the execution of John the Baptist, believed by many to be Jesus’ cousin, Jesus fled from the southern kingdom of Judea and returned to the relative safety of northern kingdom of Galilee. He had feared for his life. His relationship with John could have lead to his own arrest and possible death.

Jesus took a life-path detour. It was a wise one. He was no coward, as later events would show. But he had work to do and a mission to fulfill. A premature death would have served no purpose. Wisdom dictated a strategic withdrawal to a safer place. There plans could be made and resources gathered. Then, when the right moment presented itself, Jesus and his followers could launch their life-transforming endeavor without interference from those who had John put to death. And they is precisely what they did.

Sometimes we forge ahead despite the obstacles in our way. At other times, however, it is prudent to temporarily back away from them, take stock of our strengths and emerging possibilities, note where potential lies, discover a different way to accomplish our dreams, and resume the journey when the time is right. Life’s detours-not always a bad thing. They can help us get to where we want to be.

Scriptures:  John 10:11-18, Acts 4:5-12

Speaker:  Nancy Ellett Allison, Ph. D.

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Scriptures:  Mark 16:1-8

Speaker:  Stephen F. Garvey

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Scriptures:  John 20:19-23, Philippians 1:1-11

Speaker:  Nancy Ellett Allison, Ph. D.

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“Seven months ago, a little church on Sharon Road tottered on the edge of extinction. On Easter Sunday, rebirth, that same church teemed with new faces, new energy and a stronger grip on its future.

But first, something had to die.”

Follow this link to read the entire story at the Charlotte Observer website.

Charlotte Observer

Scriptures:  Mark 16:1-8, 1 Corinthians 15:42-55

Speaker:  Nancy Ellett Allison, Ph. D.

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