In a time when Mainline Christian churches are experiencing a decline in membership and worship attendance, New Journey continues to grow, slowly but surely. I was happy to share with the congregation at our annual meeting that we are now 83 members strong. Our average worship attendance in 2019 rose to 47 (from 41 in 2018). We are in a position to fund new outreach and music ministry through our Opportunity Fund.Numbers of course don’t tell the whole story. Along with our growing membership and participation, we are spiritually strong. We are grounded in Word and Sacrament. We have a great spirit of hospitality and spirit for service. We don’t just talk welcome, we embody welcome in our … [Read more...]
Pastor Adele’s Message – December 31, 2019
At Christmas time, we celebrate the divine, the holy, coming into the world. When we want to see what that looks like, we look to Jesus whose whole life and ministry is a revelation of divine love, compassion and forgiveness. We also look for any place in our lives and in the world where light is breaking through. When we see light, especially where we wouldn’t necessarily expect it, we can say, ah, there’s the presence of the divine, the presence of the holy. The following poem, Small Kindnesses, by Danusha Lameris, invites us to see divine light, the holy, breaking in in small acts of kindness. May this poem be a gift to you this Christmas season. May it entice you to see the holy in … [Read more...]
Pastor Adele’s Message – November 30, 2019
I'm writing this note on the morning of Thanksgiving and so it will be no surprise that my thoughts are turning to gratitude. Like many of you, I am grateful for family and friends without whom my life would be greatly impoverished. I'm grateful for the Thanksgiving feast that Larry and I will share at my brother's house in Gilbert this afternoon. And good health. We are fortunate to both be in good health this year. It has not always been so. I expect as you gather around your tables with family or friends or even a few strangers, you will also remember aloud or silently (as we say in church) what you are grateful for this year. Remembering what we have to be grateful for is a hallmark … [Read more...]
Pastor Adele’s Message – October 31, 2019
We have been blessed over the last couple of years to be surrounded by the art installation, An Aramaic Lord’s Prayer as we worship, hold our meetings, eat together, do yoga, and practice singing. This art will return to Bethany Lutheran Church in Scottsdale on Monday, November 18. Words of deep gratitude to artist Jill Lawrence for allowing us to hold this work around us, even as we’ve discovered that it has held us over the last couple of years. It’s hard to imagine our worship space without the vibrant Crab Nebulae behind the altar, or the elegant heron and the dancing trees on our side wall. I have to admit that when I heard that it was time for this art to move on, my first thought … [Read more...]
Pastor Adele’s Message – September 30, 2019
Last week I visited two shelters in Nogales, Mexico, with a group from the Grand Canyon Synod. During New Journey's worship yesterday, I shared my experience.Here’s what I saw: women and children (a few men too) living in cement slab shelters while they wait for their numbers to come up for an asylum interview. In one of the shelters, bunk beds were stacked in each room and children slept of the cement floors. There was electricity only in the kitchen. Clothes were laid out on the roof top to dry. Paintings done by the children were fixed to the wall of the common room. Another shelter did have electricity so there were fans blowing in each room to move the stifling hot air. … [Read more...]