Winter 2023
Volume 14, Issue 1
View more photos from church events via our website: upcbgm.org/programs-and-events/photo-gallery
Our worship services are livestreamed on our YouTube channel: upcbgm.org/youtube
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View more photos from church events via our website: upcbgm.org/programs-and-events/photo-gallery
Our worship services are livestreamed on our YouTube channel: upcbgm.org/youtube
Congregational Meeting to Renew Congregational Covenant with the Pastors
Congregational Meeting to Renew Congregational Covenant with the Pastors
Sunday, February 5, 11:15am, in person or on Zoom
Sunday, February 5, 11:15am, in person or on Zoom
On Sunday, February 5, at 11:15am, there will be a meeting of the Congregation and Corporation to present the budget for the 2023 year and to renew the congregational covenant with the pastors by voting to support their terms of call. This meeting will be hybrid, immediately following the worship service, in the sanctuary and in the Zoom room, upcbgm.org/zoom or via phone call +1-646-558-8656, Meeting ID 865 274 8433.
“Terms of call” is the PC(USA) language for what, in the business community, is called a “compensation package”. Recognizing that God’s call to pastoral ministry is expressed in a three-way covenant between the presbytery, the congregation, and the pastor, each year you are asked to support the work of the pastors by agreeing to support them financially as well as through your prayers and participation. After the congregation votes, the terms will be sent to the presbytery for their approval.
If you have concerns about your ability to participate, please let the office know and we will see what arrangements can be made.
“Stardust” by Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity (inspired by Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21). Acrylic on raw canvas with digital drawing. © A Sanctified Art | sanctifiedart.org
Ash Wednesday worship and Anointing with Oil or Ashes
Ash Wednesday worship and Anointing with Oil or Ashes
Wednesday, February 22 at 12:30pm and 6:00pm, in person or on YouTube or Zoom
Wednesday, February 22 at 12:30pm and 6:00pm, in person or on YouTube or Zoom
We begin the season of Lent with ashes and dust — realizing the limits of human life, and our need for each other and for God’s grace because we cannot do or be or manage everything. We will offer a worship service and a chance for reflection at 12:30pm and at 6:00pm, in the sanctuary. The 12:30pm service will be streaming live on our YouTube channel and in the Zoom room; once the service begins, you’ll be able to find it on our YouTube channel anytime.
If you will not be able to join us in person and wish to receive a packet of ashes in the mail, please notify the office by Monday, February 13. Packets of ashes will also be available for pickup at church on Sunday, February 19.
The pastors will also be offering “Ashes to Go” at the University from 10am to noon in the Tillman Lobby of the University Union, so if you are a student or if your work is over there, you can receive your ashes there.
Whether you come for anointing or ashes or reflect privately at home, we invite you to prayerfully remember the grief and the promise of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust. All of us go down to the dust, yet even at the grave we make our song…”
Sermon Series for Lent: Romans in Context
Sermon Series for Lent: Romans in Context
Paul’s letter to the Romans is a pastoral letter from Paul to a struggling community who had many questions about the will of God in their particular time and place. It is a strange and wonderful problem that it has not been read that way in Western Christendom since St. Augustine wrote his commentary in the fifth century of the common era. For generations, preachers and scholars have read the first twelve chapters as if they were a systematic theological treatise, and the last four chapters as a kind of not-very-interesting appendage, containing advice for living a good Christian life and greetings to the community.
This year during Lent, we’re going to take another look at the letter, beginning with the last four chapters, so we can see how Paul’s reflections are an attempt to answer the questions that affected the Roman Christian community, and still affect Christian communities today. Who are we when we define ourselves by our Christian identity? Is our Christian identity more accurate than our political and social affiliations in predicting our actions and convictions? Are we living in such a way that we are giving life to our neighbors? Does our life together reflect our trust in God?
Feb. 26, First Sunday in Lent: A Community in Transition — Romans 16
March 5, Second Sunday in Lent: The Strong and the Weak — Romans 14:1–12, 15:1–6
March 12, Third Sunday in Lent: Who Is Included? — Romans 11:25–36
March 19, Fourth Sunday in Lent: The Problem with Metaphors — Romans 5:12–21
March 26, Fifth Sunday in Lent: Where We Are, Where We’re Headed — Romans 8:18–39
Our mission is to follow Jesus Christ by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.
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