November 7th, 2025 | Pastor Rachel

Hi Beloved Friends,

      The approaching holidays are a wonderful time of joy and celebration, but they can also be a source of stress, frustration or loneliness, especially if you are unable to be with loved ones this holiday season. Or perhaps your source of stress comes from the fact that you will be with your family members over the holiday season, and you are not quite sure where the conversation will lead. As we enter into the last eight weeks of the year, Pastor Charlie and I decided to insert a three-week sermon series right before Advent that serves as a sort of “mini Lent.” The series, entitled “Turn, Turn, Turn” will encourage each of us to make moves that draw our focus back to God and, in turn (see what I did there), back to each other.

 I invite you to bring an open mind and curiosity each week as we provide you with a series of prompts and exercises. The first week bears an instruction to turn down the noise. What are the areas of your life that seem to cause you the most distraction, that lead you to lose sight of God and God’s people? Which voices are the loudest? If they’re not offering a message of God’s grace, love and reconciliation, perhaps it’s time to “turn down the noise”.

The next week, we’ll ask you to turn off the screens. Now, I get it. Everything uses screens, so this is a near impossibility. We know you cannot realistically turn off your screens for the whole week, especially if you are working a job or attending a school which requires the use of technology. And technology can be a wonderful gift of connection that we do not want to diminish. However, use this instruction as a prompt of reflection and substitution. Where are you using screens when you could be turning them off? What time might you get back that could be used to spend time with God if you put down the device or turned off the TV?

Finally, as we enter into the week of Thanksgiving, we ask you to turn toward each other. Actually, we hope you will do that on November 20 at our ecumenical Thanksgiving Dinner and service from 5-7 here at Memorial. RSVP by calling the church office. Or join the community for a meal at St. Peter’s on Thanksgiving Day. In a time where loneliness reigns supreme, we have the opportunity to be a source of comfort and goodness in each other’s lives. But you have to be together, taking the good, the bad, and the annoying. Embrace the community of your choice- family (blood or choice), friends, church, sports- but do something with them throughout the week, practicing what it means to be in good and pleasing relationship with each other.

Finally, we have one last request for this series. Bring a Bible to church each week. It can be your family Bible or a children’s Bible or the dog-eared, overused Bible you use every day. Just bring one. If you do not have a Bible at home, we’ll be sure to have one for you to use (surprise! We have them in the backs of pews and seats every week if you did not know). We want you to physically turn to the Scripture we are reading each week and sit in the Word of God.

Please join us for what I anticipate will be a very hopeful and encouraging series.

With grace and Peace,

Pastor Rachel