Looking into the lectionary - Breaking unification commission news

October 27, 2024 Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost  Jeremiah 31:7-9 I arrived in Aberdeen, Scotland, retrieved my luggage, and waited for the person from the college who was supposed to pick me up. I waited and I waited and I waited. It was about an hour later when I realized my mistake. I had misread the time of my arrival in Aberdeen due to Scotland’s use of military or 24-hour time. So, if my ride had come to get me, she had left the airport long ago. I was alone, 16 hours into my travel, and in a foreign country. I was not thinking clearly due to fatigue and unfamiliar with the customs or how to arrange my own transportation. It was the most alone and unwelcome I think I have ever felt. Perhaps you know the feeling. Maybe it was a time you took a wrong turn on a trip and became utterly lost. Maybe it was when you sat for the first time in a new class in a new school and didn’t know a soul. Maybe it was when your mom or your dad or your husband or your wife walked out the door carrying a suitcase and never came back. Maybe it was when you sat in an exam room wondering when the doctor would come back with your test results. Maybe it was when you stood because you couldn’t sit any longer, in a hospital waiting room while someone you loved underwent surgery. Maybe it was when you walked into your house three days after the funeral of your spouse, your family and friends had gone home, and you realized there was no one there to greet you. Or perhaps you are busy all day with children, longing for even one word of adult conversation. Perhaps you check social media a hundred times a day hoping to see something to make you smile but end up feeling more alone despite your thousands of “friends.” Maybe your children are teenagers, and they don’t talk to you much anymore. You don’t seem to get together with other parents anymore either. Or maybe you are a teenager, and you know the other side of that story — everyone else at school seems happy, but you’re not. Bullies used to have to insult you to your face. Now texts and posts flood your account 24 hours a day. You can’t tell mom and dad because they are so busy, and they won’t understand. Yes, loneliness is pervasive in our world today. But before we dwell there too long, we need to hear some good news. ... Read the rest of the commentary on the website. Thanks to this week's writer Matthew A. Rich. Order of worship for October 27, 2024, by Matthew A. Rich The Rev. Jihyun Oh named leader of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s interim unified organization from the Unification Commission On practicing silence (October 27, 2024) by Samantha Coggins Black Mountain Presbyterian shines bright in the darkness by Fred McCormick Want the worship resources for October 20, 2024? You can find them here. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... What baseball can teach the church about faithful change Can the church embrace change without losing its core identity? Matthew Rich looks at MLB for inspiration. In a new film, 12 pastors take a leap of faith — hoping friendship can overcome their divides Inspired by Mr. Rogers' timeless question, ‘Won’t you be my neighbor?,’ pastors come together in a new film to explore if friendship and faith can bridge polarization in an increasingly divided world. —  Bob Smietana Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Well-Being Based on their experiences of Native American cultures and U.S. churches, the authors offer guidance for anyone “seeking a better way of living in this troubled world ... a way that Indigenous people have known about from time immemorial.” — Brent Anderson Reformation Sunday resources for Oct. 27 Presbyterian Historical Society highlights the remarkable contributions of a Protestant reformer, Argula von Grumbach. —  Emily Enders Odom Presbyterian Publishing Corporation receives a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. PPC will use the grant to develop ‘Worship for the Whole People of God,’ helping congregations to engage children in intergenerational worship and prayer. — PPC A prayer for Reformation Sunday Chris Currie offers a prayer that names the complex legacy of our church. A litany for Reformation Sunday Composed of excerpts from the creeds, catechisms and confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), this litany has been compiled by Susan Carter Wiggins. Revelation: Professing Christ Today In a world that frequently promotes hatred, hostility and division, discover Revelation’s call to embody God’s grace, generosity and forgiveness. A new Fresh Outlook study. Pre-order the Outlook's daily Advent devotional today! In a world dominated by binary thinking – light vs. dark, good vs. evil – this Advent devotional challenges us to see beyond familiar binaries and embrace the complex, natural patterns of God in the world.