Normal Time

Sometimes prayer is a ritual act. 

Today, many of us are greeted by a persistent grayness in the sky around us. The clouds are thick. The sun is hidden.  

Today, some of us feel a dreariness in our souls. 

Today, some of us hurt, but we’re not even sure why. 

And yet, today, there is hope, and it can be found in the simple act of lighting a candle. 

Our pastors reflect on the impact of the Supreme Court decision on June 24 and the worship service on June 26. Pastors Lori Bievenour and Dakota Roberts hold personal and professional values that make the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade problematic at best, devastating at worst. Both are exploring their own emotions and wrestling with how these developments affect their bodies, their futures, their relationships, their ministries. Lori & Dakota are available to process such realities with individuals and the wider community affiliated with St. Peter’s UCC, and they are committed to doing so with the Covenant of Welcome as their guide. 

St. Peter’s traditionally supports the Summer Camp, Back to School Program, and my personal favorite - Gifts to the Manger. I have been volunteering at Gifts to the Manger for 14 years now, my first year when I was 12. Now I am the Youth Group Leader and find immense joy in sharing my love for WUCC with members from St. Peter’s.

Gifts to the Manger provides an opportunity for parents/guardians from the community to come and shop at no cost for gifts for their kids for Christmas. Volunteers and donors provide toys, puzzles, games, dolls, and clothing that are available for registered families to receive. Prior to 2020, the experience was set up like a store where families came to shop.

We have an exciting announcement! A project that has been a dream and a plan and a project for many months, delayed by a pandemic, and yet important to the mission and story of St. Peter's UCC - we have opened our newly renovated bathrooms! We went from gendered and inaccessible bathrooms to fully accessible, fully open bathrooms.

And so, with a spirit of new beginnings and hopeful possibilities, I am offering you a brief musical reflection each Monday during Advent. This week, consider the carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” It’s one of my personal favorites and one that Mike Wicker sang with handbell accompaniment yesterday. “Emmanuel” means “God with us”, and for that very reason, this carol resonates deeply within my soul.