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Worshipful Thoughts

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Worshipful Thoughts is a weekly newsletter written by Rev. Joel Huntington in which he shares Biblical themes and church concerns. The newsletter also contains information about upcoming meetings and events at South Congregational Church.

Worshipful Thoughts for Sunday, February 26 – Transfiguration Sunday 

by Erin Murphy

This Sunday we read remarkable passages about encounters with the divine from Matthew 17:1-9 and Exodus 24:12-18. In the Gospel Jesus is transformed into shining light in the Presence of the love of God as the disciples tremble in fear. In Exodus Moses is transformed as he hikes up the mountain of God where glory […]

Worshipful Thoughts for Sunday, February 5, 2017

by Erin Murphy

This week our passages are about how faith can become distorted and unrecognizable to the eyes of love. In Isaiah 58:1-9 the prophet castigates Israel for offering up prayers, rituals, and sacrifices while engaging in behavior that ignores the cries of the oppressed, hungry, and vulnerable. In Matthew 5:13-20 Jesus calls his disciples to be […]

Worshipful Thoughts for Sunday, October 30

by Erin Murphy

This coming Sunday we will once again have the joy of sharing in the Sacrament of Baptism. This week we will baptize both Liam and Hayden Berryman. They are the children of Darlene and Bill Berryman. This family is adding much to our life together here at South and it will be a joyful day […]

Worshipful Thoughts for Sunday, October 9 

by Erin Murphy

The big event this weekend at South Church is that we are having our annual Harvest Craft Fair. It takes place on Saturday from 9 to 3 p.m. with food, crafters, auctions, raffles, and the sense of being at a big reunion where many long-time friends stop by. It will be a beautiful day! Bring […]

Worshipful Thoughts for Sunday, October 2 – Worldwide Communion Sunday

by Erin Murphy

This coming Sunday is known as Worldwide Communion Sunday as we remember our sacred connection to Christian communities around the world and the call to be Christ in the midst of this beautiful and troubled world. In this context I will take note of the recent conversations here in Pittsfield about refugee resettlement of those […]

Worshipful Thoughts — Sunday, September 25

by Erin Murphy

This Sunday we have a guest preacher and I will be the worship leader. Our guest will be Rev. Henry Pascual, originally from the Philippines, who now lives and ministers in the United Church of Christ in New Jersey. We’re hosting Rev. Pascual because he is being considered for a pastoral position in one of […]

Worshipful Thoughts — Sunday, September 18 

by Erin Murphy

This Sunday the lectionary is Luke 16:1-13 which is a puzzle that Jesus offers us. Jesus says we should try and be like a dishonest steward who gets caught and then—before he’s fired—reduces the bills for all his master’s debtors. In this way he reasons once unemployed those same debtors will welcome him into their […]

Worshipful Thoughts — Sunday, August 14

by Erin Murphy

Hello everybody! Tora and I have returned from our Amtrak trip across the country in celebration of our 40th anniversary. And it was a fun trip indeed! We crossed the Rockies twice—through Glacier National Park in Montana and over the Sierras of California and the Front Range of Colorado. We visited with Meg in Berkeley […]

Some Thoughts from Rev. Bob Skidmore — Sunday, July 10, 2016

by Erin Murphy

The 8th Sunday after Pentecost As I began to explore the very familiar story of what has been called “The Good Samaritan,” I began to think about how we make decisions in our lives. It is the familiar story of a man who had been assaulted and lying motionless in the road. Two Jewish leaders […]