A Community of Abundant Welcome to All, Growing Together in Christ and serving with Love

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Deliver Us from Evil"

Having grown up in strife-tom Ireland, Dom Crossan sees violence as an evil to be avoided. He reminds us all four gospels recount that during Jesus' arrest one of the disciples (Peter) drew a sword and cut off the ear of the priest's slave. Three of those versions have Jesus telling him to put down the sword, and in all four gospels, Jesus likened resisting arrest to acting like a bandit. (Mark 14:47-48, Matthew 26:51-52, 55, Luke 22:49-52, John 18:10-11). Jesus taught by example that violence was evil, even as a defense against violence. Certainly violence in response to violence is also wrong. Jesus was trying to get his listeners to understand there was a better way, community cooperation, the kingdom of God. May we listen and act accordingly.

Lenten Devotions

March 5, 2021

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

"Lead us not into temptation." Temptation comes in many forms. Jesus was tempted by hunger (turn stones into bread). by show of power (throw yourself down the mountain to show God will save you.) and by taking short cuts (worship Satan to accomplish what you want.) (Matthew 4 :2-10, Luke 4 :2-12.) Jesus taught his followers - and us - that it is better to accept the challenges of being God's people of justice and community than to always "look out for number one."
May we have the wisdom to discern the right path and not be tempted to do things that hurt individuals, community. or the world.

Lenten Devotions
March 4, 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Forgive our Debts"

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Jesus meant money debts, real debts in a world where falling into debt was a serious matter; failure to pay a debt could lead to borrowing at exorbitant interest, followed by loss of property - the house one lived in and the small plot of land whose produce fed the family. It could mean selling one's children or even oneself into slavery, going to prison, or escaping into the wilderness/desert to eke out existence as a bandit.


Jesus taught his disciples to pray for God to forgive debts, real and metaphorical, but only to the extent that they forgave debts owed to them. He told a parable about a slave whose master forgave a debt of 10,000 talents - a huge amount. But this same slave sent a fellow slave to prison for failing to pay a small debt. The master so angry that he handed over the unforgiving slave to be tortured until he repaid his entire debt. ( Matthew 18:18-34.)


Perhaps we should remember Jesus' warning: "For if you forgive the trespasses of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ( Matthew 6: 14-15.)

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
March 3, 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Give Us Today Our Daily Bread"

In his first century world in which the poor were being squeezed by the combination of tithes to support the Temple and taxes to support the purposes and lifestyle of the rich and powerful of the Roman Empire, Jesus taught his disciples to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread." Our privileged twenty-first century comforts make it hard for us to imagine an existence where being hired today meant food for tomorrow, but that is what Jesus meant: Pray to be chosen as a day laborer today so the family can be fed for another day.


That's pretty basic: food for one more day. That is why when Simon Peter said he loved Jesus, he was told to "Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17.) Talking about God's kingdom on earth, Jesus told his followers that when the Son of Man (or child of Adam, the earthling) comes, the king will say: "Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. " (Matthew 25:31, 40.)
We who have enough food for today are told to provide for "the least" of our family. Who are members of our family is a thought for another day.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
March 2, 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Thy Will Be Done on Earth"

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." John Dominic Crossan likens God's kingdom to a well-run household which provides all members with their basic needs. That is God's will: not that everyone will have the same, but that the world will be run like God's household, and everyone will have enough. Crossan calls this "distributive justice."

One of my favorite Bible passages is Micah 6:8: "He has told you 0 mortal (the Hebrew word is "adam" or, as I like to translate: "earthling"), what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. "

Jesus' teachings focus on earthly matters, on justice for the poor and unfortunate, on distributive justice, on God's will that His earthly kingdom is run as well as He would run Heaven. Jesus called his followers, and still calls us, to do God's will on earth.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
March 1 , 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Thy Kingdom Come"

"Thy kingdom come." Jesus and his listeners would have been familiar with the vision of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible, written in the fourth century BCE, which described the four earthly kingdoms (empires) that had devastated Israel. The Babylonian empire was like a lion with eagles' wings; the Median empire like a bear; and the Persian empire like a leopard. (Daniel 7:4-6.) The fourth, the Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great, was "exceedingly terrifying" with teeth of iron and claws of bronze; it devoured the whole earth. (Daniel 7:7, 19, 23.) Daniel's fifth empire was different: the Kingdom of God, personified by "the Son of Man," literally the child of Adama (earth or soil) or, as I like to say, "Earthling." (Daniel 7:9-13)


Jesus ignored the fifth secular empire, the Roman Empire oppressing his people, and prayed instead that the true fifth empire, God's kingdom, would be established here on earth. His other teachings made it clear that human beings, earthlings, were the ones who would bring about God's empire on earth. We are still working on that today.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
February 28, 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Hallowed by Thy Name"

"Hallowed be Thy name." Jesus' prayer does not offer God extravagant praise; in fact, this is not actually praise, but a simple statement that God's name is sacred. This echoes the first, second Mosaic commandments (one God, no idols, and the name is sacred) and Jesus' Greatest Commandment: "Thou shall love the Lord they God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." "Love God"; that is what is required. Of course, the second part is implicit: "Love all of God's creation."

May we take these words to heart, not just reciting them at appropriate times, but really living them.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
February 27, 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER Who art in Heaven"

Jesus and his contemporaries lived in what can be called a "three-tier universe": the sky or heaven above, the earth in the middle, and Hades or Gehenna, the place of the dead, below. It was easy to think of God as being in the highest heaven, far beyond the reach of human beings. This is a little harder to imagine with our knowledge that the earth is round and orbits the sun, that the sun is only one of a myriad of stars in our galaxy, and that there are countless galaxies in the universe. As our understanding of space has expanded, so, too, should our vision of God be expanded, both inward and outward, beyond the picture of the old man in the sky, to the mystery of the logic and balance of physical forces, our fragile ecosystem, and of life itself.

May our presence add to the goodness of God's creation.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
February 26, 2021

THE GREATEST PRAYER "Our Father"

According to the Gospels, Jesus prayed in private. He taught only one prayer, which John Dominic Crossan called "The Greatest Prayer." Jesus did not ask for great things; he did not offer high praise to an all powerful God; he asked for simple, earthly necessities.

Jesus' prayer began with the salutation which has been translated: "Our Father." This was in keeping with a culture in which the head of the family, the pater familias who would have had the power of life and death over his wife and children as well as his household servants and slaves. We are told that Jesus addressed God as "Abba" which probably should be translated "Dad" or even "Daddy."

Jesus opened for us a direct line into a relationship with God. We do not need intermediaries, not even Jesus, to mediate this relationship. In our faith tradition, this is called "the priesthood of all believers." May we never abuse this special relationship.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
February 25, 2021

Help - Thanks - Wow!

By Rev. Mary Poole

If your prayer life needs a boost during Lent, consider these three words.
They are three essential ways to pray, says writer Anne Lamott.

HELP – We surrender, admit we can’t control everything, and finally ask God for help.
THANKS – We thank God for all good gifts (whether we deserve them or not).
WOW! – We experience awe and wonder -- and just have to praise God for it.

Prayer is our own personal conference call with God, available 24/7.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Lamott says prayer is “private communication from our hearts to God.” A cry from deep within to Life or Love. A way to make peace with God, or the “great Mystery.”

She suggests: keep it simple and private.

Or to paraphrase Jesus: when you pray, don’t show off, just show up.

And if you get stuck, remember: Help – Thanks – Wow!

Lenten Devotions
February 24, 2021

"FATHER"

Although the Gospels tell us that Jesus often went off to pray by himself, we are only given one prayer that he taught to his followers. It begins: "Our Father." Much to my surprise, my inter-linear Greek-English New Testament (my "trot" or translation crutch if you will) shows that both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke use "Pater," the Latin word for "father." Scholars like to think Jesus actually used the Hebrew word "Abba" which they translate "Dad" or "Daddy" to show that Jesus wanted us to see God as close and accessible, not some distant authority figure.

This should remind us of the words of the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah:
Am I a God nearby, says the Lord,
And not a God far off?
Who can hide in secret places
So that I cannot see them? says the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:23-24 NRSV

May we not hide, but be open to God's bold plans for us.

Lyn Pickhover, Lent, 2021


Lenten Devotions
February 22, 2021

DAN WOODMAN'S ORDINATION

Today is a very special day when the Central Association of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ ordains our own Dan Woodman as a minister of the UCC. You need to register to join the Zoom ceremony at 3:00.


Since the UCC subscribes to the principle of "the priesthood of all believers," while Dan receives his official credentials today, in reality, his ministry began many years ago when he made his first commitment to serve his church. He was an active lay leader, earned his Master of Divinity degree at Andover Newton Theological Seminary, wrote reams of papers, met repeatedly with the Central Association Committee on Ministry, wrote more papers before his Ecclesiastical Council which declared him "fit for ministry" in the UCC. Along the way, Dan joined the FFC where he was a student minister and sabbatical interim pastor before he became Associate Pastor at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Leominster.

Dan has worked hard toward ordination. It will be a real pleasure to address him as "The Rev. Daniel Woodman" from now on.


Congratulations and Best Wishes, Dan, from all of us at the Franklin Federated Church.

Lenten Devotions
February 21, 2021

FASTING

Fasting is a way of emptying our lives to make more room for God. A contemporary fast (for Lent) could include:

  • A commitment to spend fewer hours watching television, or abstain entirely from TV for the season.

  • A choice to spend less time on the internet and more time offline with family and friends.

  • A promise not to buy luxuries or possessions you don't really need.

  • A decision to clear out the clutter in your home and donate to Goodwill or some other charity the possessions you can live without.

"The purpose of a fast is NOT self-punishment. Instead, use it as a spiritual opportunity."

from: A Lime For Transformation,
The Journey of Lent, 2008
Thank you, Nancy Ross

Lenten Devotions
February 20, 2021

A Time for Fasting or Feasting?

By Rev. Mary Poole

This COVID year has felt like one long Lenten fast.
Forty-plus weeks of quarantine, social distancing, uncertainty, and anxiety about health, jobs, the economy, racism, and politics. Enough, already!
Instead of wallowing in deprivation and scarcity this Lent, why not consider God's abundance -and ours? Instead of FASTING, we could be FEASTING.

William Arthur Ward invites us to do just that:

Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from worry; feast on divine order.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that gives you strength.

Lenten Devotions
February 19, 2021

LENTEN LOVE JUG

Find a special jar or container ...Decorate and place a Lenten Love Jug label on the container.

Each day during lent, perhaps at dinnertime, have each family member think of something for which they are thankful. ...Write it on a small piece of paper and place it in the jar along with a nickel, dime, or quarter for each item.

And also, because there is sometimes pain in our relationships with others, do the same when you have hurt someone and need their forgiveness.

At the end of Lent, take the money and give it to a service organization or agency that helps people in need.

(from the FFC 1999 Family Lenten and Easter Booklet,

put together by Susy-Affleck Childs and the CE committee)

contributed by Nancy Ross

Lenten Devotions

February 18, 2021

Ash Wednesday

lent.jpg

There is some evidence that Ash Wednesday started in the 6th century in ancient Gaul, in what is now France, and that it was a day to mark the most egregious sinners in the church. Only the people who had messed up BIG TIME had to wear ashes—as a sign of public shame and humiliation. Now, surprise, surprise, this set up a dynamic where some people felt they were superior to others (the inferior ones, obviously, were the ones with the ashes; the superior ones had clean heads.) So, to counter this developing arrogance, priests began putting ashes on their own heads on Ash Wednesday as well, as a sign of solidarity with the sinners.
A Prayer: O God, on this first day of Lent, help us to remember that we are all human; we all make mistakes; we all need forgiveness; we are all in this together. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt


Lenten Devotions
February 17, 2021

Bottle and Can Drive

On Saturday, February 13, and Saturday, February 20, 2021, Scouts BSA Troop 126 will be having a bottle and can drive, to raise money for new dining shelters and exciting trips like skiing. Our troop is in Franklin, which means your contributions will directly benefit the youth of your community.

If you wish to donate bottles or cans, please drop them off at the Elks parking lot, 1077 Pond Street, on February 13 or 20, between 10 A.M. and 12 P.M.

The Giving Tree

The gifts were delivered this morning to the Santa Foundation here in Franklin, just as we do every year. Church closures, lockdowns and COVID restrictions did not stop us! Instead of asking you to take a tag off the tree and buy gifts, we had to change it up and ask for monetary donations and Missions would do the shopping!  Well, you the members of FFC, gave and gave some more!  The members of the Missions Team and Deb grabbed our masks and our lists and set off to a number of stores.  We checked our lists once or maybe twice and filled every Christmas wish on those lists.  We had a great time-Nancy, Brenda and I were running all over Kohl’s in Milford looking for the best deals. Nancy ran all over looking for Teenage Mutant Ninja toys. Deb was not happy with some of her purchases and went looking for something better!  Sandy was just happy buying kids’ gifts. Carrie said she became very close to their family while shopping and wrapping.  Mary Ann had the most beautifully wrapped gifts I had seen when she brought them to my house!  Dave and Jane also brought me 3 large bags of beautifully wrapped gifts!  You could see the love and caring that went into this Christmas giving project.  The gifts for the Meadows House will be delivered next week.  I have to share a story-last year the day we were sorting gifts at church, we were short some fuzzy socks. Scott and/or Steve ran out to buy some at the last minute-they were the most beautiful cozy socks I had ever seen.  This year I found those same socks at The Paper Store and all 12 ladies will have them this year!

I love these words in the Christmas carol, ”O Christmas Tree, you give us so much pleasure.”  I can’t help but think, “Oh, Giving Tree, you gave others so much love and treasure.” To FFC, Missions is truly humbled by what you do each and every year to help those that need our support. We thank you and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas.

Love,

 The Missions Team