This morning Pastor Russ Rathier started us on our new journey through the Book of Jonah. Focusing on just the first three verses, Rathier said this book is not just about a man and a big fish, it’s about the will of God, the love of God and how we respond to them.

O God, keep my anger from becoming meanness.

The second collection for April 27-28 is home missions.

“As we move into this month of Nisan and prepare our homes and our hearts for this Passover, may we turn toward one another, listening for each other’s questions, looking for each other amidst the broken fragments. And may we discover moments of sweetness in the search.”

Join us Sunday, April 28, at 9:30 a.m. for a special message from the Rev. Paul Sangree, associate conference minister of the United Church of Christ in Vermont.

On Sunday, April 21, at 4:30 p.m. we will have our service in person at St. John’s in the Mountains Episcopal Church on the Mountain Road for a discussion on “Living with Intention” led by Mary Miller, a founding member of our fellowship. This discussion is part of our once monthly Soul Matters program. There is no shortage of self-improvement programs in our world. A quick Google search brings up 1.1 billion results. Our society’s push for self-improvement is just that, a push. Living with intention, on the other hand, pulls us back into ourselves.

“Community is there to socialize with. It is there to fill our lives with friendship, but it is also there to help us turn around, and when we are unable to do it quickly, it is there to hold the space for us until we can. Someone who can pray when we can’t, who can believe until we are able. And someone we can do the same for us as well.

The newly established green team is planning a special Earth Day celebration service on Sunday, April 21, at 9:30 a.m., beginning with introducing team members, their mission and projects they expect to work on.

“Stop being a porcupine. Put your quills away.” This was the point Pastor Russ Rathier got across to us on Sunday. Porcupines, when rubbed the right way, are soft. But when you rub them the wrong way, well, let’s just say, you get the point. It may be a great defense for a porcupine, but not for a Christian.

Second collection April 20-21 is property insurance.

Join Emmanuel Cantor, rabbinic intern, as he leads us in a thought-provoking, uplifting musical Shabbat on Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m., as we experience Shabbat HaGadol, the “Big Sabbath,” before Passover. Please join us in-person or online.