Plymouth UCC Church
  • Welcome!
    • I'm New Here
    • I'm a CSU Student
    • LGBTQ
    • How Do I Join?
    • Staff Writings
  • Streaming Worship
    • Join Worship
    • Worship Bulletin
    • Newcomer Card
  • News & Events
    • Today's Schedule
    • Upcoming Events
    • Calendar & eNews
  • Living Our Faith
    • Worship Overview >
      • Sermons
      • Music >
        • Mark's Music Minute
      • Faith Statements
      • Dinner Church
    • Staff Reflections
    • Social Justice & Outreach >
      • N2N Sleepout
      • Grocery Cards
    • Christian Formation Overview >
      • Children
      • Youth
      • Adults >
        • Visiting Scholar
        • Sophia Circle
    • Calling & Caring
    • Labyrinth
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Community
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Lay Leadership
    • Gallery
    • Building Rental
  • Give
    • Online Giving
    • Pledge Card
    • Evergreen Partners
  • Members
    • Forms & Resources >
      • General Forms
      • Calendar Request Form
      • Newsletter Submissions
      • Zoom Resources
    • Weddings & Funerals
    • Library
    • Constitution & Policies
    • F1Go >
      • Group Finder
    • Kathee Explains Everything
  • Welcome!
    • I'm New Here
    • I'm a CSU Student
    • LGBTQ
    • How Do I Join?
    • Staff Writings
  • Streaming Worship
    • Join Worship
    • Worship Bulletin
    • Newcomer Card
  • News & Events
    • Today's Schedule
    • Upcoming Events
    • Calendar & eNews
  • Living Our Faith
    • Worship Overview >
      • Sermons
      • Music >
        • Mark's Music Minute
      • Faith Statements
      • Dinner Church
    • Staff Reflections
    • Social Justice & Outreach >
      • N2N Sleepout
      • Grocery Cards
    • Christian Formation Overview >
      • Children
      • Youth
      • Adults >
        • Visiting Scholar
        • Sophia Circle
    • Calling & Caring
    • Labyrinth
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Community
    • Clergy & Staff
    • Lay Leadership
    • Gallery
    • Building Rental
  • Give
    • Online Giving
    • Pledge Card
    • Evergreen Partners
  • Members
    • Forms & Resources >
      • General Forms
      • Calendar Request Form
      • Newsletter Submissions
      • Zoom Resources
    • Weddings & Funerals
    • Library
    • Constitution & Policies
    • F1Go >
      • Group Finder
    • Kathee Explains Everything

Sowing Tears and Seed

12/15/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Psalm 126
When the LORD changed Zion's circumstances for the better, it was like we had been dreaming.
2Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter; our tongues were filled with joyful shouts.
It was even said, at that time, among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them!"
3Yes, the LORD has done great things for us, and we are overjoyed.
4LORD, change our circumstances for the better, like dry streams in the desert waste!
5Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts.
6Let those who go out, crying and carrying their seed,
come home with joyful shouts, carrying bales of grain!
Today’s reading in our Advent devotional book, Those Who Dream, invites us to contemplate Psalm 126 in word and in an abstract visual that depicts the ripples of the Negeb river flowing through parched desert land, the tears of the people’s pain sowed in exile and the seeds of new life sown when God restored their dreaming and their fortunes. This week we can see some glimmers of restoration in the midst of our pandemic exiles as the first vaccines are administered here in our country. Thanks Be to God!

Throughout these last nine months we have persevered in dreaming God’s dreams of justice and love and in “Being Church” as we came together:
  • in livestream and prerecorded worship services
  • in our online/virtual Alternative Giving Fair (raising over $15,000)
  • in our virtual Sleepout and Drive-in Vigil for homelessness prevention (raising over $20,000)
  • in our summer “Plymouth Gives” campaign (raising over $20,000 for Outreach and Mission, LaForet, 2020 pledge support)
  • in our Zoom and online Christian Formation classes and curriculum for all ages and the outstanding Visiting Scholar Retreat Day
  • in our continued connection with those in our Plymouth community who are most isolated or have had Covid-19, and
  • in so many acts of sharing God’s love and justice that you perform each day that are not quantifiable or known to me or Hal or Carla.

Thank you!!! Thank you for continuing to “Be the Church!” even in the midst of all the pain and frustration and fear of our world. We may sow in tears, but we also reap in laughter, love and God’s abundance. Sowing the seeds of God’s presence in our world and reaping the reward of relationship is holy work for all seasons. It is particularly poignant during the darkness and waiting and preparation of Advent.

Many blessings as we keep on keeping on “Being the Church” and following Jesus on the Way.

With you on the journey,
Picture
P.S. There are many Christmastide events coming up! See them at plymouthucc.org/events.

Author

The Rev. Jane Anne Ferguson, Associate Minister, is a writer, storyteller, and contributor to Feasting on the Word, a popular biblical commentary. She is also the writer of sermon-stories.com, a lectionary-based story-commentary series. Read more

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2016

    Categories

    All
    2020
    Abundance
    Adult Formation
    Advent
    Alli Stubbs
    Alternative Giving Fair
    Animals
    Apocalypse
    Art
    Bach
    Bees
    Being Church
    Being The Body Of Christ
    Being The Church
    Beng Alive
    Better Angels
    Birthday
    Black Lives Matter
    Blessings
    Breath
    Calling & Caring
    Celtic Christianity
    Change
    Children
    Choices
    Choir
    Christian Formation
    Christmas Blues
    Church
    Church Governance
    Coffee
    Compassion Camp
    Consecration Sunday
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Creed
    CSU
    DACA
    Darkness & Light
    Database
    Discipleship
    Education For All
    Election
    Farewell
    Fences & Bridges
    Finance
    Flexibility
    Flora Cash
    Fort Collins
    Forum
    Forum Series
    Friends & Family Sunday
    Gender
    Generosity
    Getting Settled
    Giving
    Goals
    Go Deeper
    Godspell
    Goodbye
    Gratitude
    Guest Author
    Habitat For Humanity
    Halloween
    Healthy Congregations
    Hobbies
    Holy Week
    Hope
    Housing
    Impermanence
    Inauguration
    Independence Day
    Interruptions
    Interterm
    Jazz
    John Philip Newell
    Joseph
    Joy
    Jubilee Sunday
    Known & Unknown
    Labyrinth
    La Foret
    Laura Nelson
    Lent
    Letting Go
    LGBTQ
    Listening
    Longest Night
    Magi
    Mark Heiskanen
    Masterpiece Cakeshop V. Colorado Civil Rights Comm.
    Matthew Shepard
    Ministerial Transitions
    Mission Trip
    Music
    Music Program
    Nationalism
    Newness
    New Year
    ONA
    Ordinary Time
    Organ
    Pandemic
    Parking
    Pastoral Care
    Peace
    Pendemic
    Pentecost
    Pilgrimage
    Plymouth Grounds
    Popular Culture
    Prayer Service
    Psalm 126
    Psalms
    Reformation Sunday
    Releasing
    Rep. Joe Neguse
    Rev. Carla Cain
    Rev. Hal Chorpenning
    Rev. Jake Miles Joseph
    Rev. Jane Anne Ferguson
    Rev. Mandy Hall
    Rev. Mark Lee
    Ring Lake Ranch
    Risk
    Rocky Mountain Conference
    Rooted
    Rosebud Episcopal Mission
    Sabbath
    Sabbatical
    Search Process
    Signage
    Silence
    Singing
    Sleepout
    Solstice
    Soul
    Spiritual Growth
    Spiritual Practices
    Stewardship
    Stewardshp
    Stories
    St. Patrick
    Strategic Planning
    Students
    Suicide Prevention
    Summer
    Taize
    Teacher Appreciation
    Thanks
    Thanksgiving
    The Church Organ
    The Magnificat
    Thrive
    Top Ten
    Transfiguration
    Transformation
    Tricia Medlock
    Trump
    Truth
    Tulips
    UCC
    Values
    Vespers
    Video Reflection
    Voting
    Waiting
    Weird & Holy
    Wilderness
    Wisdom
    Work
    Yendra Tencza
    Youth
    Zoom For 7

    RSS Feed

916 West Prospect Road Fort Collins CO 80526

Worship Times

​STREAMING ONLY at 10 a.m. Sundays
Vespers 7 p.m. Wednesday

Contact Us

970-482-9212

​Members, log into F1Go here.

Subscribe to our eNews