Thoughts
Worship in upcoming weeks: Join us at 9 a.m. on Sundays, April 18 and 25, for in-person worship on the west patio. Bring your own chair. If you unable to bring a chair, some will be available. Since some spots are in the sun, bring a hat, wear light-colored clothing and even bring an umbrella, if you wish.
Pre-recorded worship continues at 9:45 a.m. on our usual platforms. (See the end of this message for links.)
The in-person west patio service moves to 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 2. No registration is required. At 10 a.m. that day, we begin a service in the Sanctuary for a limited number of people. Registration is required and will be available at 8:30 a.m. Monday, April 26. Watch for info on this in next Friday’s weekly email. Pre-recorded worship will continue.
Now some other thoughts: What is love, according to Jesus? That’s our focus in worship in these weeks after Easter. After meeting Jesus in the resurrection on April 4, we are looking at Jesus’ teachings about love. Last Sunday, April 11, we talked about being chosen to love as Jesus loved. This Sunday, April 18, we move to some of Jesus’ challenging passages about loving our enemies. Jesus’ words about this appear in similar ways in both Matthew and Luke, so I’ll be talking about enemies, what Jesus says about them, and what Jesus’ words mean for us in these times.
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31) These words of Jesus ring throughout our culture, known as the “Golden Rule.” But sometimes these words get distorted to, “Do to others as they’ve done to you,” or other misquotes. What if we really did think about doing – and thinking and saying – as we would have others do to us? How would your days be different? How could we help our community and nation be different? As Jesus’ followers we have a specific task – to love as Jesus loved. See you in worship!
Blessings,
Sharon
Worship at 9:45 a.m. on Sundays at umcstmarks.org/live-worship; Facebook St. Mark’s UMC Tucson; YouTube UMC St. Mark’s Oro Valley. You can also watch the services at a later time.