Monday, July 26, 2010

Outdoor Service and Parish Picnic

We have been trying to have an outdoor service at St. Columba’s for the last several years, but the weather hasn’t cooperated. This past Sunday everything came together and it worked. We had a huge crowd, too big to fit in the church. Special thanks to our parish life committee, Duane and Paula Sousa for hosting and all those who brought food or helped with clean-up. It was a great event because we gathered, and were ready to share in the fun.

The Gospel text for Sunday included the Lord’s Prayer from Luke. The focus of the sermon was the prayer. You can watch the sermon via the YouTube player at the bottom of this page.

One of my points had to do with “our daily bread.” In one sense, Jesus is talking about what we need for physical life, and encouraging us to trust God with those real needs. I think Jesus is talking about more than the physical realm. In the New Testament, bread is not just bread, but also a sign of God’s presence. It is Eucharist, Jesus’ ongoing, spiritually-sustaining presence in the sacramental community.

We started our Sunday with the Eucharist, the official celebration of Jesus’ presence in our midst. The picnic followed. It was a celebration of the presence of Jesus in our midst as well. When the community assembles, Jesus is with us.





1 comment:

Kate F. said...

The casual nature of the gathering felt like descriptions of the early followers of Jesus, gathering to hear the Word and to share in food.