Lent 2025
Psalm 65:8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.
I recently learned that I am a “gasper” when I see something beautiful. We were driving with friends on vacation and I was in the front seat as the navigator. My friend, who was driving, told me I was making her nervous because every time we went over a hill or rounded a corner I was amazed again at the beauty and would gasp. Apparently, my friend’s partner who is usually in the navigation seat, only gasps when she is nervous about the driving. It made me laugh, and I began to wonder about what we notice and what we exclaim into the world. Do we only shout out in anxiety and fear or do we also shout out the amazing splendor of God’s good creation? Both are real but I fear sometimes our fears and anxieties overshadow our ability to notice beauty. So, today I ask you to see something beautiful. I guarantee you if you open your eyes it is there. God has made an amazing world and what a gift when we can exclaim that reality!
Dear God, help me to see beauty today and to live in awe at the works of your hands. Amen.
-Pr. Nicole
Winter 2025
This past Sunday I had the good fortune of attending two community events that were filled with the spirit of grace and goodwill. First, I attended an event at the Mount Kisco Public Library celebrating the faith communities in Mount Kisco. It was a room filled with people from a variety of different faith communities but echoing again and again the commitment to “love God and love neighbor.” There is currently a photo exhibition at the Library chronicling the history of faith communities here. I encourage you to stop in. Then, I attended a celebration for MLK Jr Day at Antioch Baptist Church in Bedford Hills. This was an inspiring interfaith service that also lifted up the call of loving God and neighbor. The Reverend Paul Briggs preached and used these words from Dr. King’s sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct.” I have read many of Dr. King’s sermons but somehow this one had escaped me and I am so grateful that Pastor Briggs brought it to my attention. Today I bring it to you and pray that the words fill you with a sense of mission and purpose, as they did me.
“If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.
And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say.” (Martin Luther King Jr, February 4, 1968)
Fall 2024
I read a quote today that our former interim Tom Crossman posted on Facebook. Thanks Tom! It is the one I keep going back to as I think about the election we just went through (and the deep division that is evident). St. Augustine said, “Hope has two daughters: Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” No matter how you voted in this election I hope you can see that there is need for more care, common decency and love in our communities. As Christians we should be appalled at the rhetoric of hate, half-truths and fear that were propagated during this election. No matter who was elected our call remains the same: to be an alternate voice to the haters in the world. If the election results have angered you, you are not alone. If you are pleased with the election results remember that no one person, even if they claim it, has the ability to save you. That job is left for God alone. So, wherever you stand it is now time for courage. Time to have the courage to be people who will love one another and love those who are on the margins of society, have the courage not to look just at what is best for you but what is best for those left out of the halls of power, have the courage to reach out to those who are often forgotten. That is the call we have as Christians. Things cannot remain the same, nor should they. But our call remains the same. A friend of mine recently was told by her mother, “You cannot wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time.” If you need to wring your hands, it is okay to spend some time doing that. But then let’s roll up our sleeves together and get on with the very important work of being carriers of love, joy and justice in the world.
Peace,
Pr. Nicole
Winter 2023
“You are the salt of the earth….you are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:13-14
Yesterday after church some people were talking about small acts of kindness and how when they performed them people were shocked and surprised. I have had the same reaction from people. I started thinking about what that means. Does it mean that acts of kindness feel unusual to us? I am not someone who thinks most people are knowingly perpetrating acts that are unkind, but I do think that we often don’t pay attention or are apathetic to the ways we could light up the world with kindness. Jesus tells his disciples “You are the salt of the earth….you are the light of the world.” When we call ourselves followers of Jesus we are told the same thing. We are then asked to share that light and salt out in the world. And it may surprise the world when we do. Jesus certainly surprised the world over and over again with his love and inclusion and generosity. Wouldn’t it be great to be known for the same?
Peace,
Pr. Nicole
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Get up and eat. Otherwise the journey will be too much for you. 1 Kings 19:7
These are words from our reading this week. Elijah, the prophet, is running for his life and has decided he has had enough. He lays down in the wilderness and wishes to die. But an angel appears, gives him sustenance and then moves him along on his way. I am not sure where everyone else is with the latest Covid variant, but after many months of feeling hopeful I open the newspaper and feel “done,” much like Elijah. I just want to lay down and say “enough.” And there are days I do that. But then, also like Elijah, I have angels break through into my world and “feed” me. Sometimes it is literally with food. Other times it is with a phone call, a listening ear, or encouraging words. Because this journey is not over - God has more for us to do. And there are hopeful things ahead. This reading reminds me that it is okay to feel “done.” It is okay to feel tired and even like giving up. But it also reminds me that we were not meant to stay in that place. That there will be angels along our way to help us, if we let them. And that there is more that we were meant to journey into. So, rest if you need to. Then, let the angels wait on you when they come. And be an angel for someone else when you can. The journey will never be too much for us if we rely on the gifts of God in our lives.
Peace,
Pr. Nicole
We recently held our confirmation service. It was a lovely – and very hot - day! We were worshipping outside, of course, and while other Sundays people have been fighting for the spots in the sun, on this day everyone parked their chairs under the big shade tree right in front of the building. This caused a bit of a dilemma because the altar was facing straight ahead and the people were all sitting off to the side. After a moment of panic, thinking, “Wait, they can’t sit there. They are supposed to sit in front of the altar, because that is where the confirmation students’ chairs are set up,” I realized how silly I was being. The confirmation students’ chairs were moveable! And all I needed to do was pick up the table we are using as an altar and face it towards the people. We faced a different direction this Sunday, and it was a beautiful service. So often we assume things have to be a certain way and we panic a bit when they are not. But in those moments even a tiny shift in the way we see things can make a big difference. I only had to move the table 45 degrees. It was no big deal. And what really mattered on this day was the fact that we were all there to worship God and to celebrate with these wonderful young people. COVID has caused us to shift in many ways. Some of those ways have been uncomfortable. But I hope it has also taught us what is important. I hope it has given us a new perspective. And I hope it helps us to know that so many things we get wrapped up in God probably shrugs her shoulders at, instead asking us what really matters. As we emerge from COVID I pray we have the eyes, hearts and spirits to keep thinking about what really matters and to help each other remember that the chairs and altar might just be moveable when we get wrapped up in the rest.
Peace,
Pr. Nicole