What Color is Your Star?

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
© Michael Hendricks
January 8, 2017 – Epiphany Sunday

Story Tent Productions presents a story that asks the question, “Just how did the those magi get chosen to be the three magi?”

Deacon Reflections

Note: On Sunday, January 1, 2017 two of our deacons delivered reflections while Pastor Alison was away for a few days of rest after Christmas. We’re grateful to Rev. Willie Salmond and Dan Long for their many ministries in our congregation and are pleased to share their words here. Continue reading →

Don’t Be Afraid

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
© Rev. Alison J. B. Patton
December 24, 2016 – Christmas Eve 9 PM Service Reflection

⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:9-12

“Do not be afraid.” That’s what the angel said. What the angels always say, when they appear: to Mary, mother of Jesus; to Joseph, his surrogate father; to sheep herders tending their flocks on a cold-kissed night: “Do not be afraid” – which just proves that angels must be terrifying to behold: grand and fierce, wild and utterly unexpected. It’s remarkable that the people they visit don’t flee over the hill in terror before any divine message can be delivered. To prevent their audience from taking flight, the angels always lead off with this abrupt but necessary greeting: “Don’t be afraid. Wait. Please stay. I bring you good news…” Continue reading →

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
© Thomas Burke – Yale Divinity School Student & Saugatuck Church Intern
December 4, 2016 – Second Sunday of Advent

Thank You, Jesus!

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
© Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
November 20, 2016

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

This worship service is not about money. And it is all about money. It is absolutely a call to all Saugatuck members and friends, all who suspect – or already know firsthand – that Saugatuck Congregational Church, United Church of Christ has something important, something faithful, something life-giving, life-restoring, life-transforming to offer. It is a call to step up to the plate and make a financial contribution to sustain everything we do to nurture faith, seek justice, love kindness, pursue peace and share the gospel Good News. The gifts we gather will support this Community of Christ welcoming all people and learning to love and serve God and neighbor (in the words of our mission statement). But today is not just about the money. It’s about what that money does. It’s about how our money becomes an expression of gratitude and a statement of faith. Continue reading →

What Comes Next?

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
© Rev. Alison J. B. Patton
November 13, 2016

Scriptures: Isaiah 65: 17-24 & Luke 21:5-19

This week, we are faced with two visions of the future; two dramatically different pictures painted of what comes next. One is a promise that community will be restored: a home for every family; work for those who want it; health and prosperity for all.

The other is a more frightening forecast: community will fracture; systems will be upended; friends and family will turn against each other and the faithful will be persecuted –even killed – because of what they stand for. Continue reading →

Being Good Citizens

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Michelle Hughes, Associate Conference Minister for the Connecticut Conference of the UCC
November 6, 2016

I Will….

Have Mercy on Me

Scripture: Joel 2:23-27 and Luke 19:9-14

Are you more like the Pharisee, or like the tax collector? The more I puzzle over this question, the more my puzzler gets sore. It’s a bit like a Zen Buddhist koan: a paradox on which to meditate. You see, I might admit that I am like the Pharisee: self-congratulatory, convinced that I’m doing better than those around me. But the very act of confessing it makes me a little more like the tax collector. If, on the other hand, I answer the question by saying, “Oh no, I am not at all like that self-centered Pharisee – thank God!” Am I not behaving exactly as the Pharisee did? So by admitting my righteousness, I am humbled. But by claiming to be more humble than he, I am caught in the very act of elevating myself. Continue reading →

Look What God Has Done!

Scriptures: Psalm 66:1-12 and Luke 17:11-19

Every Wednesday morning, when we gather around the table for Bible Study, we begin by reading that week’s scripture text out loud. We try to hear it as if for the first time, even if it’s a story with which we think we know. I invite participants to listen for the words or phrases that catch their ear. We let those first impressions guide our conversation. This week, the first phrase to catch my attention was this: “Between Samaria and Galilee.” Here is Jesus, traveling along another wilderness road; hanging out in another in-between place. Between Samaria and Galilee. Between the Samaritans and the Jews – who despised each other. Between Nazareth (where he launched his public ministry) and Jerusalem (where it would end). Not quite here nor there. Out in no-one’s land. Betwixt and between.

“If you were born on a ship, what country would you belong to?” One of our youth asked this question during youth group on Wednesday (we contemplated it over cheese pizza and Oreo cookies). I don’t remember what prompted the question, but it reminds me that in-between places raise urgent questions about belonging: If you are out in international waters, what nation will claim you? If you are wandering a road between Galilee and Samaria, which town do you call home? Where do the lepers belong? Where does the Samaritan belong? Where does Jesus belong? Continue reading →