Thursday, April 17
By: Scott Reid
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mark 16:4-8
~~~
As a lifetime church choir member, I am embarrassed to admit that I am not a fan of Easter anthems. On the other hand, I think that Maundy Thursday and Good Friday anthems contain some of the most profound music ever written. For me, the difference is how I relate to the Holy Week stories: Jesus’s crucifixion story is tangible because it relates to personal interactions that we would consider “normal”, while his resurrection story and its implications defy understanding because of the magnitude and uniqueness of the divine intervention.
The contemplative music of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday touches on themes that are common to the human experience (betrayal, guilt, mourning, supplication). Choral anthems about Christ’s crucifixion draw on a composer’s personal experiences to express the emotions of the crucifixion story, and our own experiences help us understand and lend our own voices to the emotions that the music evokes. These compositions that rely on personal experiences resonate deeply with me.
In contrast, although we try to express the miracle of Easter with beautiful anthems, none of us have experienced a resurrection, and Jesus Christ’s resurrection is an awesome miracle that surpasses understanding. For me, the challenge of these anthems is that they celebrate an event that I cannot relate to or supplement with my own personal experiences. Instead, Easter anthems somehow seem incomplete—there is always more to tell of God’s infinite majesty witnessed in the Easter story.
Holy Week takes us on a journey from the basest aspects of humanity (“Crucify him!”) to the glory of the divine (“He has been raised; he is not here.”). The music of Holy Week helps us feel each step of this journey more personally, and it is my hope that we all conclude Holy Week with a new sense of how the same awesome power of God that resurrected Jesus Christ continues to be present in our lives today.
~~~
Prayer
As members of the church’s congregation, you are part of church’s largest choir—the congregation. The Parish Choir prays this Choristers Prayer every week, and I hope these words will bring new meaning to the music we sing in worship during Holy Week and throughout the year:
Bless, O Lord, us Thy servants, who minister in Thy temple.
Grant that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts,
and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
All are welcome at Church Street! We believe every person is of sacred worth and created in God’s image. We welcome and celebrate the gifts God has given to all persons without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, disability, status, economic condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious affiliation. We respect diversity of opinion and expressions of Christian faith. We believe God loves everyone unconditionally! As God loves us, so let us love and serve in the name of Christ.
Weekly Prayer – April 23, 2025
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of April 23, 2025
Written by Rev. Tim Best*
*This prayer was offered by Rev. Tim Best on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025.
Risen and exalted Lord,
We praise you with glad and hopeful hearts on this of new life when we celebrate your victory over sin and death. We open our mouths in praise and sing glad and joyous tunes that help us give word and feeling to the beautiful mystery of this day. Fill our spirits with joy and our lungs with praise as we rejoice in the midst of the world at your conquest of the powers of the grave. As the classic hymn proclaims, we declare that up from the grave Christ arose. We do marvel and wonder at the mighty triumph over those forces of death and darkness. Fill us with renewed hope that we may shout with our words and our lives, “Hallelujah, Christ is risen!”
Christ is risen, and with his victory the powers of sin and death show their weakness. Like those early morning visitors to your grave, you remind us that we are quick to spend time amongst the forces of death. We are convinced of the power of death, and are slow to comprehend the fullness of your gift of abundant life. Have mercy on us and strengthen our spirits that we might resist the forces of death and division. We pray for those who feel hopeless. We pray for those gripped by death dealing powers. Forgive us for the ways we turn to the powers of death and sin to protect and deliver us. We are perplexed by the empty tomb because we have grown enchanted by violence and coercion. Confront us with the dazzling and joyful declaration that the tomb, and the power we believed it held, is empty. Renew our spirits that we may search for and discover new life in Christ our Lord.
God of patient promise, as we celebrate the joyful victory of your love, we continue to pray for the fullness of your kingdom. The grave of our Lord is empty, yet we continue to grieve, and wait, and pray. We find our hope in the promise that Christ’s is just the first tomb to be emptied. Comfort those who mourn. Even as we shout “Where O death is your victory?” Guide us to be a community that cares for those who grieve. We look for that day when the sting of death of fully and finally taken away. We pray for the coming of your kingdom and the arrival of the day when every tomb will be empty and every grave a sign of your victory of love.
In praise and trust of your victory for us and for the world, we join our voices and our hearts as we offer these petitions to you, O Christ, our Risen Lord. Hear us as we pray that prayer which you have taught us, saying together…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
We give thanks for….
We pray for…
We continue to pray for…
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Lent Devotional – The End of Fear
Featured, lentFriday, April 18
By: Dona Bunch
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27
~~~
I’ve had to stop watching scary movies. As someone who lives alone, I’ve discovered that a Stephen King book before bedtime produces dreams that are straight out of Psycho. The same with scary movies, especially the stalker ones. I wake up at every pop of my heating system, sure that a crazed maniac is coming down the hall. To be blunt, I’m a scaredy-cat. I know, deep down, that there aren’t really monsters under the bed. But still….
I don’t think I’m the only one. It doesn’t take much to instill fear in our hearts, especially if we already feel like we are powerless. In those final, wrenching days of Jesus’s life on earth, surely others were afraid. The disciples could see the atmosphere darkening around Jesus. What started as surprise and amazement had become suspicion and distrust. And there was fear, too, among Pontius Pilate and other officials who cringed when they heard Jesus called Messiah. They feared his miracles and words of power would shrink the mighty Roman Empire. For them, fear turned to hate, and it was hate that ruled Pilate’s heart in the end, even though he knew in his heart that Jesus preached only peace.
For us, Jesus’s final days and crucifixion taught us an important lesson about fear. Jesus knew that fear was an illusion, that as long as God is in charge there is nothing to fear, even the most serious of situations. There is nothing that can really destroy us when we put ourselves in God’s hands. The message of Easter is that we don’t need to fear anything, not the challenges of our world, not the uncertainty all around us, not tyrants like Pilate or monsters under the bed – not even death itself.
~~~
Prayer
All-loving God, help us to remember that, even when we are anxious and shaken by the world, you are there and there is nothing to fear, for you have defeated death and replaced fear with peace. Amen
Lent Devotional – The Music of Holy Week
Featured, lentThursday, April 17
By: Scott Reid
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mark 16:4-8
~~~
As a lifetime church choir member, I am embarrassed to admit that I am not a fan of Easter anthems. On the other hand, I think that Maundy Thursday and Good Friday anthems contain some of the most profound music ever written. For me, the difference is how I relate to the Holy Week stories: Jesus’s crucifixion story is tangible because it relates to personal interactions that we would consider “normal”, while his resurrection story and its implications defy understanding because of the magnitude and uniqueness of the divine intervention.
The contemplative music of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday touches on themes that are common to the human experience (betrayal, guilt, mourning, supplication). Choral anthems about Christ’s crucifixion draw on a composer’s personal experiences to express the emotions of the crucifixion story, and our own experiences help us understand and lend our own voices to the emotions that the music evokes. These compositions that rely on personal experiences resonate deeply with me.
In contrast, although we try to express the miracle of Easter with beautiful anthems, none of us have experienced a resurrection, and Jesus Christ’s resurrection is an awesome miracle that surpasses understanding. For me, the challenge of these anthems is that they celebrate an event that I cannot relate to or supplement with my own personal experiences. Instead, Easter anthems somehow seem incomplete—there is always more to tell of God’s infinite majesty witnessed in the Easter story.
Holy Week takes us on a journey from the basest aspects of humanity (“Crucify him!”) to the glory of the divine (“He has been raised; he is not here.”). The music of Holy Week helps us feel each step of this journey more personally, and it is my hope that we all conclude Holy Week with a new sense of how the same awesome power of God that resurrected Jesus Christ continues to be present in our lives today.
~~~
Prayer
As members of the church’s congregation, you are part of church’s largest choir—the congregation. The Parish Choir prays this Choristers Prayer every week, and I hope these words will bring new meaning to the music we sing in worship during Holy Week and throughout the year:
Bless, O Lord, us Thy servants, who minister in Thy temple.
Grant that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts,
and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Weekly Prayer – April 16, 2025
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of April 16, 2025
Written by Rev. Catherine Nance
We sing this hymn, which is a prayer, at the beginning of Lent. As we come to the end of these forty days, let us offer the prayer again for strength, direction, and purpose.
Lord, who throughout these forty days
for us didst fast and pray,
teach us with thee to mourn our sins
and close by thee to stay.
As thou with Satan didst contend,
and didst the victory win,
O give us strength in thee to fight,
in thee to conquer sin.
As thou didst hunger bear, and thirst,
so teach us, gracious Lord to die to self,
and chiefly live by thy most holy word.
And through these days of penitence,
and through thy Passiontide,
yea, evermore in life and death,
Jesus, with us abide.
Abide with us, that so, this life
of suffering over past,
an Easter of unending joy
we may attain at last.
Text written by Claudia F. Hernaman, 1873
United Methodist Hymnal, p. 269; 1989 edition
We pray for…
We continue to pray for…
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Lent Devotional – Listening
Featured, lentWednesday, April 16
By: Rev. Catherine Nance
The Lord GOD has given me a trained tongue, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I did not turn backward.
Isaiah 50:4-5
~~~
The Old Testament reading for the Wednesday of Holy Week is a portion of the writings we call “Song of the Suffering Servant.” Before Isaiah describes the physical suffering of God’s servant, he describes the strength that God gives to his servant. It is not strength to fight back with violence, but a trained tongue to offer a sustaining word to those who are weary. The servant says that each morning, God wakens his ears to listen!
How do you wake up? What are the first things you hear? I have shared that I begin most mornings with the silent affirmation, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” That is me beginning the day with talking! I have prepared lots of words for this week … Maundy Thursday sermon, assigned lay readers their parts for Good Friday, the Easter sermon is still being worked on! But how am I listening? To whom am I listening? Isaiah tells us it is a daily discipline to listen. “Morning by morning,” he says. Can you imagine God waking you each morning? What is God whispering in your ear this morning. As Samuel said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
~~~
Prayer
God of the morning, may we tune our hearts to sing your praise and may we turn our eyes to hear your voice. We want to listen to your heart today. Open our ears that we may hear. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Lent Devotional – The Golden Rule
Featured, lentTuesday, April 15
By: Zayna Trammell
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12
~~~
Norman Rockwell, illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post and other periodicals, painted many heartwarming and humorous scenes. He also created some very thought-provoking images. When he chose to portray the Golden Rule, he did not paint something like his illustration of the Boy Scout carrying a young child through floodwater. Instead, he painted a poignant image of a diverse group of people from various races and religions.
Lent can be the perfect time to reevaluate not only our relationship with God but also our relationships with others nearby and in the rest of the world. How would we wish to be treated if our family were in financial ruin? What if we had to flee our home or country? Or if our medical needs were beyond our ability to pay?
Situations like these offer Christians opportunities to address issues with humility and compassion. Whether as citizens or as helping hands, it is important to keep Christ’s love in mind.
~~~
Prayer
God, grant us compassionate wisdom as we seek solutions in Your world. Continue to guide us in loving one another. Amen.
Lent Devotional – What Would Jesus Do?
Featured, lentMonday, April 14
By: Pat Freeland
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:3-4
~~~
Do you remember when WWJD bracelets were popular? As Christians, any prompt is useful that makes us ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” During Holy Week, we are reminded that Jesus was not the savior people expected: He did not exercise power as people envisioned. Christians have wrestled with questions regarding power and religion’s role in politics for centuries.
David French, author, columnist, and teacher at Nashville’s Lipscomb College, argues that the story of Easter weekend rebukes the idea that Christians should prioritize gaining and wielding political power. Despite Roman oppression, Jesus showed little interest in politics. Instead, he spoke of compassion, pronounced that the first would become last, and told Peter to put down his sword when he attempted to stop Jesus’ arrest.
The desire to hold power, through violence, if necessary — has been at war with the message of Christ ever since. Some argue that political power is the only way to produce God’s kingdom and justice. However, Christian engagement should be distinct from the world’s approach to morality and politics. Jesus told us to “Love Your Enemies.” If we follow Jesus, we are to fight injustice while embracing the fruits of the Spirit: kindness, peace, patience, and gentleness. That is the message of Easter.
~~~
Prayer
We pray to bring hope and justice to a world needing your love. Change our hearts to be messengers of Easter joy and hope. Amen
Lent Devotional – Beech Trees
Featured, lentThursday, April 10
By: John Eldridge
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
The woods behind our house are full of beech trees. They are the trees that do not shed their leaves until the new growth in the spring pushes the tender leaf out and, in the process, pushes out the old papery leaves as well.
The beech’s contribution to Lent is just this: we are like these old paper-thin leaves on the trees, awaiting the spring which will push our new growth out and let us become like these shiny new beech leaves that come in the spring.
Lent tells us that when something dies, something is born – just like the beech leaves. Death in the fall and rebirth in the spring, and the cycle continues on and on, the rhythm of life.
Prayer
Help me to become a new person this Lent.
Amen.
Weekly Prayer – April 9, 2025
Featured, prayer for todayWeekly Prayers for the Church Street Family
Week of April 9, 2025
Written by Steve Richardson
God in heaven and in our midst: As our Creator, you hear the rhythms of our heartbeats. You feel the trickling of our tears. You know the ebbs and flows of our souls – – sometimes restless, sometimes joyful, sometimes placid. You, gracious God, are always with us. Thank you for this.
Strengthen us with your grace when we pray. Align our minds with your omniscience as we seek, praise and strive to deepen our relationship with you.
Strengthen us with your grace when we wait. As you surely must know, God, our cultural and social pressures make waiting so difficult. Yet, we’ve learned before that it’s in waiting that we often find wisdom and insight; we discover new ideas and new solutions to problems plaguing us; and we become better aware of your will and hopes for us.
Strengthen us with your grace when we act. Lead us to being kingdom-builders thorough actions of love, generosity, compassion, caregiving, kindness, justice and respect.
Strengthen us with your grace when we speak. Although actions can speak louder than words, words do matter. Thank you for inspired Proverbs such as the one that says, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
Strengthen us with your grace when we listen. The many, varied voices and message sources clamoring for our attention in our techno-centric world can be confusing, sometimes contradictory. Attune us to your truths. As Paul taught, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Strengthen us with your grace when we care. Hearten us especially when we care for those who cannot easily care back. In our caring, help us to be more willing to accept tasks that may not always be pleasant or desirable or easy, but bolster the physical, emotional and spiritual sustenance of persons in need.
The days of Holy Week are near. When we awake each day, Lord, enter our consciousness, and may we greet you with praise and hosannas. When we journey through each day, may we follow and reflect the examples of love demonstrated by Jesus, despite the fate he knew ahead of him. When we wind down at the close of each day, lead us to prayer and connection with you. When we confront adversity, renew our assurance that in you – – and through you – – there is always hope, wisdom, strength and your peace that’s beyond our understanding.
And now, God of Grace, hear these needs and prayers of others in our congregation. Embrace all represented here with your loving presence and comfort…
We pray for….
We continue to pray for…
We offer prayers of thanksgiving for…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Have a Prayer Request?
Submit your prayer request confidentially by clicking here.
Lent Devotional – Embracing Divine Interruptions
Featured, lentMonday, April 7
By: Julie Massie
She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ‘Who touched me?’ Jesus asked.
Luke 8:44-45
We live in a world where interruptions are incessant. Through social media, advertising, emails, pop-up notifications, children, coworkers, and a billion other things, we are barraged with interruptions. Jesus was constantly interrupted as well, just in different ways than we are today. In this passage, Luke describes an unexpected interruption which stopped Jesus in his tracks. An unnamed woman, desperate for healing, had reached out and touched his cloak.
As the crowds pressed in around him on his way to heal a dying child, He could have continued walking, but he turned, looked for her, and acknowledged her in a deeply personal way.
Jesus was never too busy for interruptions. Whether it was children clamoring for his attention (Mark 10:13-16), a blind man crying out from the roadside (Luke 18:35-43), or a tax collector hiding in a tree (Luke 19:1-10), he never ignored the people seeking him. His interruptions were often his greatest ministry moments.
In contrast, we tend to see interruptions as inconveniences. A child needing attention when we’re in the middle of something important, a coworker stopping by with a problem just as we’re about to leave, an unexpected phone call when we’re too tired to talk – these moments can leave us exasperated and curt.
But what if, instead of resisting interruptions, we saw them as opportunities for God to work through us?
Lent is a season where Christ-followers slow down, sacrifice, and remember the journey Jesus embarked upon to the cross. What if part of our spiritual practice during this season was to welcome those interruptions we so often find annoying? To pause, be present, and even see them as divine appointments rather than disruptions?
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this season of Lent where I can slow down and remember the sacrifices that you made on my behalf. Help me resist the urge to ignore the interruptions and practice patience and presence with the people seeking my attention. Teach me to embrace your divine interruptions in my daily life, even when it is inconvenient. In your name I pray, Amen.