In the Church of Scotland, this past week has seen our General Assembly take place in Edinburgh, a week long flurry of debates, deliberations and determination.
During the week, we commemorated the decision of the Assembly 50 years ago to permit women to be ordained to Ministry of word and Sacrament. It was a week, as you might imagine, of highs and lows, of soaring hope and crushing disappointment, a week when, however the church, as an institution, struggles, we are reminded of our call to serve an unfathomable God, whose love and mercy and wisdom knows no end, a God who is Holy, Holy, Holy!
This Trinity Sunday, how will you preach the good news of that God? Will you be attempting to “explain” the Trinity? Will you be sharing stories of the week just gone, of the glimpses you have seen of God in crowds and in individuals? Will you be celebrating with the folk you are called to serve or mourning with them, or both?
There is discussion of this week’s RCL texts here.
We’d love to hear how you are proclaiming the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in your peculiar context this week. Join us and share in the comments your joys and struggles. Your opening phrase might be the one that just helps another to get started or to wrap things up! So share what you have and ask for what you need as we fulfil our calling to preach the word this week.
Liz Crumlish is a Church of Scotland Minister currently working on a National Renewal Project in Scotland. A Board Member of RevGalBlogPals, one of the instigators of Spill the Beans and contributor to There’s a Woman in the Pulpit, Liz blogs at journalling.
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tomorrow i am doing Pentecost part 2, we will hear parts of Psalm 104 from last week’s RCL and Philippians 4 from last week’s NL. Also a baptism at the first service.
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Pentecost part 2
for the next four weeks i am not preaching, We have guest preachers all looking at what it means to be church.
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Great to have two goes at Pentecost. Hope you get to enjoy some of the time freed up by not preaching over the next few weeks,Patti.
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10pm here and I am just about finishing – late for me. I have a baptism of a much loved baby in our congregation and am talking a little about my week at the Church of Scotland General Assembly and a little about the trinity. It will be a special service with a lovely church family. And who knew I would be quoting reports from the General Assembly in a sermon! That’s a first for me.
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I went with Romans this time, focusing on our adoption as co-heirs with Christ. We all need to belong to something! https://pastorsings.com/2018/05/26/the-spirit-of-adoption-sermon-on-romans-812-17-trinity-b/ Now I’m off to a graduation party and looking forward to a visit from younger son and his bride tomorrow afternoon. We had a very full house for our commmunity breakfast today, which surprised some because in the US this is the holiday weekend when many folks head out of town to their lake homes. Hope half of them show up in worship tomorrow!
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Apparently the croutons I made for the dinner salad tonight were the ‘best ever’, but so far I have not been able to work the same magic on a sermon for tomorrow. Almost 7 here and we are trying to get the girls to bed a little early, praying that the Holy Spirit will stop by for a visit and some inspiration.
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We’ve had a full day: a walk with the puppy (aka a “run real fast and then stop and sniff and then run real fast and then stop and rest” rather than a real walk); then some significant tree trimming; then some recuperating (it’s in the high 90’s F here today); then supper. Now it’s time to get busy on this sermon.
I’m going with the Gospel of John, and starting with the funny banana story from the RCL post this week. I think I’ll end up somewhere with the idea of “God is bananas to offer us such grace in eternal life.” At some point while putting the bulletin together, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” seemed like an inspired choice for a hymn, so I’m going to have to figure out how to work that in, too.
Last week was a busy and fun Sunday, so I’m anticipating that tomorrow will be low-energy, comparatively speaking.
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Liz, I am so glad I got to meet you in Edinburgh this past week during General Assembly! My hubby and I watched and photographed the march as you all came up the hill to the Mound. I was so happy for you!
Just finished my sermon, with a postscript explaining that most of it was written before we left for Scotland, and adding some thoughts after events in the United States in the last two weeks (another school shooting, unfortunately). Title: “In the Year that King Uzziah Died.” I reference a blog post by Dr. Maria Dixon Hill (The View from Dixon Hill) from Dec. 21, 2016 titled “In the year that Hillary lost, I saw the Lord.” The sermon is about working for justice and speaking out to people who don’t want to hear about it (read the verse AFTER the lectionary passage ends with “Here am I, send me”). Not much about the Trinity in here, but I’m okay with that. I’m pleased with the way the sermon turned out. The small African American church where I preach two Sundays a month won’t have a big attendance tomorrow as it’s a holiday weekend and we’re probably going to get a lot of rain from a tropical storm, although we won’t get the storm. But where two or three are gathered…
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Great to meet you too, Kathy – and love that you were part of the celebrations! Blessings on your re-entry.
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So–I’m doing a first person narrative as Saint Nicholas, telling the story of how he allegedly slapped Arias at the Council of Nicea because he was so upset about Arias’s heresy and so passionate in his belief about God the Father and God the Son being One from and for all eternity. It seemed like a good idea at the beginning of the week; now I’m not so sure–but it’s in the bulletin, so I’m committed….
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so many things sound like a good idea at the beginning of the week…
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On Thursday, I wrote the email blurb that goes out to our parishioners. It’s always a trick to figure out what this Saturday sermon-writer is going to say on Thursday about the upcoming Sunday! This is what I wrote for tomorrow:
The first Sunday after Pentecost, our prayers and scripture focus on the doctrine of the Trinity. We will not resolve the intellectual puzzle of God’s Being in our worship together! However, we will celebrate God as the One who exists as community and invites us to join in the dance of divine love. Together, we will listen for Love’s melody and look for ways to follow its rhythms throughout our daily lives.
It works still. I’ll be focusing in on the “dance of love” that is always giving/receiving/creating/inviting, and how we are born into Its (the Triune God’s) presence and stumble our way into our own participation with God. Using Nicodemus as an example of someone who tiptoed towards the dance in darkness (John 3), then spoke up for Jesus in John 7, then helped Joseph of A give Jesus a proper burial in ch. 19.
It lacks a landing place. I think I’ll create a sermon map instead of a manuscript for tomorrow– something about the dance needs to be script-less.
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