Good day siblings in Christ,
Thank you to all the well wishes and good words. Last week was joyful. Thank you so much for the support the last few years too.
This week is Pentecost Sunday. There is a tradition to wear red on this day. It is a Sunday where we celebrate the coming of the Spirit.
Croton Fest is on June 4 and Our Saviour will once again have a space there. We are looking for volunteers who can set up, some who can be in the booth, and some who can tear down. This year, we will raffle a quilt and all the funds will go toward helping the soup kitchen at Pastor Arden Strasser’s church in Manhattan. It is a church located around the corner from Port Authority in NYC and has been giving soup to those who have been bussed up from other states as a political stunt. The people come in hungry, malnourished, and often without adequate clothing. The soup is often the first meal they get after the ordeal. Pastor Strasser was an interim at our church 7 years ago.
On June 11, there is a gathering at Temple Israel at 2 p.m. to honor a speech given by Lorraine Hansberry. At the time the speech centered on anti-racism and voting rights for African Americans. Houses of Worship signed on as a support group and pledged help for African Americans during this time. Our Saviour was one of those congregations. The hope is the pastor and members of the congregation would be present at the gathering to recommit to these promises. I will be present and a special sermon will be given on that date. If you are around, I would love to have members representing us there as well.
Council, after reviewing all the feedback we got from the RIC survey, felt we are of one mind when it comes to being a Reconciling in Christ (affirming and welcoming) congregation. As stated Sunday, we have essentially been acting this way for the last three years, so it is time to make it official. On Sundays June 11 and 18, everyone will have an opportunity to vote yes or no to becoming a Reconciling in Christ congregation. Our welcome statement is in line (after 1 tweak), we are already working on anti-racism, and we are already affirming and welcoming to the 2SLGBTQIA community. It is time to become public with it. I have more details in the newsletter this month about what would change and what wouldn’t change.
Pastor Johnson