Back in January, the pastoral staff adopted an unofficial theme for the year ahead: “Throw More Parties.” While said with a wink, the message was serious: the Holy Spirit often moves amid celebration, and joy is a potent vehicle of faith, perhaps second only to grief. Yet grief is assured; joy must be sought. All of this came into stark relief in shocking and painful ways within weeks as, with our friends at Beth Israel Congregation, we grieved the terrible attack on their temple, and of course, their very identity. And yet, this grief opened an unexpected door to celebration as we had the honor of hosting what surely must have been the first Bat Mitzvah in our church’s history the first weekend after the fire.
In the months since, Beth Israel has shared our spaces, worshipping each Friday night in the sanctuary, now adorned with their ark holding the torah scrolls, and celebrating the arrival of Shabbat with their traditional “oneg” (which means “joy” or “delight”) in the Great Hall following.
This coming weekend, we will mark our time together by sharing in each other’s worship services and gathering for a meal together. Northminster is invited to attend their Shabbat service on Friday night, August 14, at 6:15 pm. Following the service, we will all retreat to the Great Hall for supper during the oneg to share in a time of joyful delight for our shared history and relationship. In short, a party.
Beth Israel has been invited to join us for worship on Sunday, with student Rabbi Ben Russell offering the sermon. I hope you’ll join us for each of these opportunities.
Beth Israel continues to regroup and rebuild their temple, and will be making decisions soon about whether to remain here at Northminster or share space with another partner church in order to strengthen those relationships.
Our leadership has assured them that our offer remains open-ended and we will of course support them in whatever decision they make.
Looking ahead to September, we will have more opportunities to gather with friends and neighbors from within the broader faith community. In partnership with Mt. Helm Baptist Church in downtown Jackson, we will host a community book study of Howard Thurman’s classic, Jesus and the Disinherited.
This study will be over three sessions. The first two will be over lunch here at Northminster on Tuesday, September 15 and 22. The final session will be at Mt. Helm on Sunday, September 27, at 4:30 pm.
Some books will be available for purchase in the church office for $10, but the book should be widely available. Click here for more information.
Add to this our luncheon following worship on Sunday, August 23, to kickoff our new Legacy Giving Ministry, and Labor Day weekend potluck on September 6, and we have even more opportunities to celebrate the many gifts of life together in this place and time.
Joy, like the Kingdom, must be sought, and the church should be about both.
Find one, and the other will not be far behind.
The first joy is having people to seek with.
SHD
