The first Sunday of each month the members of Judson set up tables in their sanctuary and eat together. This is their form of communion. I was just getting used to the idea that a church could exist without pews—like us, they have movable chairs as in our sanctuary. They moved their chairs a lot so it made it almost impossible to have an assigned seat each week. But to set the chairs around tables and actually eat the Lord’s Supper—unheard of, for me.

Judson is not alone is serving an Agape Meal for Sunday communion. It may actually be the oldest form of Christian worship. The first followers of The Way met in their homes to share a meal, as Jesus did at the last supper, and to remember the stories about his life and resurrection. This meal eventually morphed into the symbolic meal we eat at communion.

The Protestant reformation saw several groups attempt to revive the Agape meal as a part of their spiritual practices. In most groups the love feast is a meal that is enjoyed outside of formal worship. To actually move the meal into the sanctuary and shape worship around it is an unusual practice, but carries the potential to make the Eucharist a more powerful engagement with the words and practices of Jesus.

Our church has held an Agape meal during worship several times during our Summer Sundays. The Deacons have wanted to make this service available to more of our members and so we will hold an Agape meal during worship on May 6. We are fortunate that the designers of our sanctuary provided flexible seating to make it possible to have innovative worship services.

We do not hold such a service just to be different. We do it so that the rituals of our faith may come alive from experiencing them in new ways. I would also hope that by eating together in worship we may affirm God’s peaceable kingdom where all our equal. May we then find that our meals are transformed into an act of worship—giving thanks to God for our blessing of the good earth and dedicating ourselves to insuring that everyone may partake of God’s wonderful bounty.

We did what we could. I remember dragging out a few car tires and collecting lots of beer cans. We were eager young people trying to make a difference. The place did look better when we left. We wondered, though, what difference it would make when the workers returned on Monday and resumed their usual practices.

Earth Day seems to welcome the cynic questioning of little acts of trash-collecting that are popular with school groups. What good does it do?

I left with a feeling of satisfaction from our creek clean-up. The place did look better, and what if no one even tried? But I also took with me other feelings—anger at those who made the mess, frustration at the lack of rules and values to stop it, and conviction to try to change things.

So I hope we all clean up our Mother Earth on her day. Not only so that she will look better, but that we will feel worse. This is the beginning of real change for the earth.

Since learning that the notion of Jesus as a sacrificial lamb is a misreading of the Gospels I have tended to ignore the good part of this day. It seems more like Tragic Friday, or Sad Friday. If we named it as such we would be much more honest about what is going on. It is a sad day when a passionate man trying to call his community to a new way of compassionate living is arrested, tortured and executed. This is a tragedy.

Last night during the Maundy Thursday service the loneliness and pain of Jesus’ separation from his friends came home to a particularly profound way. The darkness seems to overwhelm the candles as they are slowly extinguished. So, too, the darkness of the power of greed and oppression slowly, but surely, engulfed Jesus. A reality as true then as it is now. It is good to sit with that awhile to be reminded of the brokenness of the world.

There is something, though, that is very good about this day. As suffocating as the darkness may have been, it could not put out God’s light. There is always the glimmer of hope’s eternal flame shining a path to a new way—no matter the night. But that is the story for Sunday.

Imagine my surprise when in my rearview mirror I saw car headlights entering the beach parking lot at 6:30 AM. As the minivan pulled up next to my own I recognized the driver as Steve, a member of our church and sunrise service regular. Steve jumped out of his car and into the passenger seat next to me. We sat for a few minutes talking about the rain and waiting to see if anyone else showed up. Eventually we said a prayer for Easter morning, just the two of us, in the front seat of my Plymouth Voyager, while the rain pounded on the car top.

This is only one of many fond memories I have of Easter at Fleet’s Cove beach. Amazing things happen when we come to worship at the beach in the early morning. Perhaps not as miraculous as the sight of an empty tomb that greeted Jesus’ followers on the first Easter, but certainly inspiring for me.

I hope you can join us for the sunrise service this Sunday. It is at 6:30 AM at Fleet’s Cove (at the end of Fleet’s Cove Road). We also have a Maundy Thursday service at the church on April 5 at 7:30 PM and the intergenerational 10:00 Easter Morning service. The adult choir, bell choir and the children’s choir will sing during that service

This year our Palm Sunday service will be quite different. We will not have a palm parade, but we are in for a real treat. Our choir, accompanied by a seven piece instrumental ensemble, will present the cantata “The Song Everlasting.” This series of music tells the gospel story using American folk songs and hymns. The music, much of it based on old shape-note tunes gives a fresh feel to the familiar story.

We are not holding our Palm parade, but I expect the results will be similar. For music, like drama, has the potential to help us feel the story, rather than just think about what happened. By retelling the story of Jesus’ life right before Easter, we will be a good frame mind to begin holy week—to come to the last supper, know his arrest, and journey to the cross.

Our choir and director David Broome have been working hard to prepare a particularly moving Palm Sunday service. Thank you too all them in advance for their dedication in leading our congregation in worship.

Church membership means many things—voting, committee membership, faith statement, financial commitment—but the most important aspect is the least tangible. The sense of belonging brings to one a connection to a community, but also, through it, a deepening of our relationship with God.

When people ask me about church membership I often begin with a light-hearted response that the only difference between members and non-members is the ability to vote and serve on committees—and not everyone sees that as an advantage! The truth is that the most important factor is this sense of belonging. By joining a church I have tied myself to a congregation of faithful people for support and care. In addition, joining a church means taking a stand. For joining is also about staking a claim to believing in God and in a particular understanding of the divine. To be part of a church means that I am not part of other churches.

Personally, I cannot imagine many things more important than taking a stand for God’s love as shown in our church. This is why I enjoy talking to potential new members. I love the energy of new visitors to church and to share with them the history and beliefs of our unique body of God’s believers.

This Sunday, March 11, I will be leading a new member orientation class following worship. If you are considering membership I invite you to the class and to join with us to “know and make God known” at this time, in this place. New members will be received on Sunday, March 25.

Unfortunately, we do not usually examine this last week. This is because our worship services during holy week have strong traditional liturgies, but very little preaching. Palm Sunday addresses Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and the next time most people are in church is Easter. We skip Jesus’ critical last week.

You could say that we are doing holy week all Lent long. Our guide for this study is “The Last Week,” by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan. This book presents a probing account of Jesus’ last days, and in so doing leads the reader to understand contemporary scholarship about Jesus’ life. This is no easy task, but Borg and Crossan make it look easy in this very readable book. Copies of the book are available for purchase in church.

Besides my weekly sermons we will have book discussion sessions following worship on March 4 and 18, and there will be an on-line book discussion. Our Lenten study will at our Facebook group page, “Conversations at The Congregational Church of Huntington.” You do need to be a Facebook user and register for the group, as it is a closed discussion. During Lent Pastor Mark will regularly post quotes and thoughts about the book and all members will be invited to respond via on-line comments.

Most people probably have learned about Jesus’ death through Mel Gibson’s blockbuster movie “The Passion of the Christ.” Jesus last week and his message are actually much more complex, and challenging than you may think. Join us for this study to be informed, challenged, and inspired, as we not only meet the historical Jesus, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him.

The priest replied, “The ashes are from burning the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday.” I, of course, had no idea that I was suppose to have saved the dried up old palms for a year so they could be burned to begin the next Lent. My priest friend was very helpful as he offered, “You can have some of ours. We have plenty.”

That is why I found myself at the rectory the day before Ash Wednesday picking up a bag of ashes and a lesson in liturgy.

For years after that I would carefully collect he left-over palms from the church and put them in my closet to dry out in preparation for their next appearance in worship, as ashes. Some other time I will describe the various methods I used to burn the palms so as not to set fire to the church, have them fly away in the smoke, or end up looking like a chimney sweep when I was done. Fortunately, I learned a few years ago that the palm branch supply company also sells palm ashes. Now they come delivered in a neat little envelope.

Ash Wednesday is a very ancient church tradition. Originally called dies cinerum (day of ashes) it is mentioned in the earliest copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary, and probably dates from at least the 8th Century. One of the earliest descriptions of Ash Wednesday is found in the writings of the Anglo-Saxon abbot Aelfric (955-1020). In his Lives of the Saints, he writes, “We read in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.” Aelfric then proceeds to tell the tale of a man who refused to go to church for the ashes and was accidentally killed several days later in a boar hunt!

The marking with ashes has been a sign of penitence since well before Jesus’ time. The church has used ashes on the first day of Lent as a reminder of mortality. “Ashes and ashes, and dust to dust,” are the words that are often said while making the cross of ashes on a worshipers’ forehead. Our time on earth is limited so we should not wait to live as we wish.

Personally, I find the ashes to be a profound symbol not just of mortality, but also of our creation from the ground. To me, to feel the ashes connects me to the earth from which we all come. This literal grounding is a good basis to begin to build my spiritual journey of Lent. I hope you can join us for our Ash Wednesday service on February 22.

One of the successes of this past year is our Wellness and Spirituality series. It began about a year ago as a theme for summer worship generated by the Diaconate. The sermon series, featuring several of our members sharing their work in this field, led to monthly programs that expand on similar topics. I look forward each month to what our presenters have to say.

Our next program in the series is on healthy relationship and will be led by Dr. Alan Weiss. Alan led a similar discussion for the men’s discussion group last year that was informative and entertaining. That group still talks about the things they learned that morning. This event is being held the day after Valentine’s Day so you can grow the feelings stirred by Cupid’s arrow.

The rally was not only an important event to show support for the mosque and emphasize the community’s opposition to hate crimes, but it was also a good opportunity for me to meet leaders of the mosque. I particularly appreciated that we did more than just give speeches. The rally began with us all joining in the Friday afternoon prayer service. It was a beautiful service with a wonderful sermon by the Imam. I was also impressed that there were almost 200 worshipers present.

After the rally the various town and religious leaders presented their statements. Given the cold day and the number of speakers I was brief and summarized what my written statement. I was glad to be able to represent out church at this event and I hope it leads to further cooperation between our church and the mosque. Here is my written statement:

As Pastor of The Congregational Church of Huntington, United Church of Christ, and President of the Board of Governors of the Long Island Council of Churches I am here to support the members of the Masjid Noor Mosque as they seek to worship in peace. It is shameful that they have been the victims of repeated vandalism intended to intimidate them and to stir anti-Muslim sentiments in our community.

The good news is that these actions have not, and will not, succeed. I am proud to live in Huntington, a community with a tradition of supporting all forms of religious expression. Long Island is one of the most religiously diverse communities on the planet and to embrace this mosaic is one of our greatest strengths. I celebrate the presence of this mosque as a welcome addition to our town.

Unfortunately, there always seems to be a minority that tries to exert their will through violent and extremist means. We, as members of the Huntington religious community, know that violence against any one of us is violence against us all. The free expression of religious practice is central to who we are as Americans. We condemn all who seek to silence the worship of our neighbors. I urge the police and town officials to continue to do everything possible to prevent and prosecute hate crimes to protect the safe practice of faith that we hold dear.