Join Encanto every Tuesday night at 7 p.m., for the Encanto Community Church Educational Tuesday Conversation (Encanto ETC) via Zoom. Each week, they converse about a different theme including a rotation of topics highlighted by Science Talk, Law Talk, Current Events, The Origin of Things, and fifth Tuesday Pandemonium. Come join the discussion group! If you are interested, send an e-mail to KVanEtten@aol.com.
Did you know that to the Albuquerque homeless, First Congregational Church is known as the “Meatloaf Church”? For 37 years they have participated in Project Share by providing a monthly meal for Albuquerque homeless at HopeWorks/St. Martins. The meal was prepared and delivered by a dedicated team of church volunteers at the church until the Pandemic. This month the Team decided to reorganize the process of preparing the meal of 225 servings while observing the social distance guideline. There was a well-organized division of labor: Thomas Gaffney purchased the ingredients, Andy Zawadzki prepared the meatloaf for cooking; Pat Maben and Sue Baugh prepared the macaroni and cheese; Tim Beach sliced the meatloaf into serving portions, Ruth Striegel prepped the green beans; Claudia Klesert cooked the apple crisp; bananas were provided by Frankie Johnson, Laurie Magill, Tully and Cindy Alford and Betty Anne Grogan; Iris Castagna and Peggy Warner furnished the milk; David and Catherine Lawson prepared salad greens, and Bob and Barbara Muller provided the lemonade mix and delivered the meal to HopeWorks. What a team!
As the pandemic stretches on, medical personnel along with housekeeping and maintenance staff, continue on the front lines. United Church of Santa Fe shows their support by writing cards of care and support and making cookies for hospital staff, which are dropped off at the church and then delivered to the hospital.
Desert Palm asked its members to send in pictures of their families gathered around the dinner table. The pictures were used in yesterday's worship service during communion.
A sister UCC congregation from 2,000+ miles away requested permission to see if they could recommend their members to watch Church of the Palms' video worship while their minister was on vacation this summer. Apparently, a deacon charged with finding a worship service liked what they had seen from the Palms regarding Open and Affirming and Black Lives Matters. The answer: “Wow! Absolutely, yes!” Let’s say it in unison: “Thanks be to God!”
Starting this week Church of the Good Shepherd in Albuquerque will be receiving food donations from Einstein bagels 3 days a week. This usually ends up being about 4 big bags of food. The food consist of mainly bagels and other pastries. Items will be divided into ziplock bags for Family Promise and Family Promise graduates.
From the blog of Maren Tirabassi “If Jesus gave us parables ... why do we respond with creeds?” The entry rewrites the Apostles’ Creed using the parables and other bible passages to describe God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Church of the Painted Hills.
"Parabler’s Creed”
I believe in God, the Hen All-Sheltering,
Creator of mustard seed and yeast;
and in Jesus the Vine, Door, and Living Water
who was conceived by the Wind,
born of the Magnifier,
suffered under a builder of bigger barns,
burst the old wineskins,
died like the least of every generation,
and was hidden like treasure.
Jesus met those in the pig-yard;
and the third day was found
by those who kept oil for their lamps;
Jesus ascended into the (Zoom) wedding banquet,
and sits at the right hand of the Shepherd
(with the beggar at the gate on the other side
and a dog curled at their feet;)
from thence Jesus comes
to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, convicts,
and COVID patients on ventilators.
I believe in the Dove and the Flame,
the abundant but stinking Fishnet
(OK there’s looking at you — Church),
the Inn a Samaritan trusts,
a ring, sandals, fatted Beyond burger for all of us,
equal pay for all the workers in the vineyard,
and a Holy Lost and Found
of coins, sheep and remarkable pearls.