Building Community During
Building Community during
Pentecost 2
Below, you will find suggestions for how to use SeasonsFUSION to build community within and beyond the group that gathers for worship. The resources in this section are available to your congregation for use during Pentecost 2 (September 3 – November 26, 2017).
For your convenience “The Practice of Building Community” is available as a Word file (for copying, cutting, and pasting) in the Planning Resources folder on the Season of Creation, Pentecost 2 CD and in the web version of SeasonsFUSION. Accompany each use with the permission notice: Seasons of the Spirit™ Wood Lake Publishing.
Gathering for All Ages: Creation(p. 16), which can also be adjusted for an all-ages mid-week gathering, is suitable for people of all ages and people of any or no church background. It includes activities, worship, and a meal. Here are some additional suggestions for how to use these events:
- Send personal handwritten invitations to an intergenerational gathering to individuals and families who have been away for a while, encouraging them to reconnect during this particular time of year.
- Invite other churches to share an active, lively interdenominational celebration for the whole family, hosted by your church.
- Use these outlines to build bridges with a refugee, mi- grant worker, or newcomer group by hosting a seasonal celebration adapted just for them. Use the basic Gathering for All Ages outline and add culturally appropriate music, food, and stories.
- Extend a wider invitation to celebrate with your community and host a family-friendly gathering for an all-ages event in a familiar community space, such as a recreation centre, community hall, or park.
- Reach out to social service organizations in the community and partner to host this event specifically for groups of people with whom the organizations work – seniors, youth, people with disabilities, children and families, and so on.
Along with a list of focus passages, consider posting “About Pentecost 2 2017” (p. 1) and “Called to Lead” (below) on your church’s website, or including them in your newsletter for these seasons. Add a few reflective questions, as suggested below. This is especially helpful in building community when and where young people and adults are not able to be with the gathered community for Sunday worship.
Called to lead
As we continue in the Season after Pentecost, which began on June 11, we find ourselves in the middle of the wilderness with the people of Israel.
The people are on a spiritual journey. We’ve all had wilderness experiences in our lives – times when we’ve been wandering and felt alone. At those times, we look around for guidance, reassurance, answers, and someone to lead us out. Moses, a servant of God, is the person the people of Israel turn to for help. Moses has led them from captivity in Egypt…but toward what? The people struggle with having faith in something they cannot see and physically touch. However, even in the midst of their doubts, God is there.
God communicates with Moses, has conversations with him; and Moses, in turn, guides the people of Israel through their physical and spiritual wilderness. He shares God’s vision for how to live devoted to God. He’s a mediator and a comforter, a teacher and a prophet. Moses serves God and serves the people. His devotion and loyalty to God are models for his successor, Joshua.
During this season, Jesus also gives us counsel on good leadership and guidance for living according to God’s vision for the kin-dom of God. Jesus points out the importance of being humble and compassionate, making wise and expectant choices. Jesus shows us how important it is to nurture our faith and our relationship with God.
Jesus also introduces us to the idea of “servant leadership,” or people who are willing to serve and care for others without seeking attention or striving for the usual accolades that we might associate with leadership. The servant leader turns our typical understanding of leadership on its head. The servant leader puts others first and wants others to deepen their faith and grow closer to God – to be the best version of themselves. Jesus encourages us to look for, and practice, servant leadership in our church communities. Jesus, along with Moses, Joshua, and many more biblical leaders, can inspire and serve as models for leadership in our church denominations and individual congregations. However, it is important to remember that God calls all of us to serve the church and lead in our way – as servant leaders and through the examples of how we live our everyday lives. We can examine church, and even secular leadership, and quickly point out flaws, butthis is not where God wants our focus. We’re called to devotion, commitment, and service to God.
During this season, we have the opportunity to get to know the vision God has for us – we can focus on the parts of our spiritual lives that need work, explore our gifts and talents, and find out how best to use them in service to God and others.
- When have you experienced a spiritual wilderness in your life? How did you feel? Who helped to guide you through this period?
- What examples of servant leadership do you see in your congregation, at school, at work, in the wider community, or around the world?
- What qualities do you identify in these servant leaders that you see in yourself? What qualities might you choose to nurture and focus on this season?
Focus passages for Pentecost 2
DateFocus scripture
September 3Exodus 3:1–15
September 10Exodus 12:1–14
September 17Exodus 14:19–31
September 24Exodus 16:2–15
October 1Exodus 17:1–7
October 8Exodus 20:1–4, 7–9, 12–20
October 15Exodus 32:1–14
October 22Exodus 33:12–23
October 29Deuteronomy 34:1–12
November 5Matthew 23:1–12
November 12Matthew 25:1–13
November 19Matthew 25:14–30
November 26Matthew 25:31–46
Consider sending weekly e-mails to the people on your e-mail list throughout Pentecost 2 or posting each week to your congregation’s social networking site. You may copy or adapt the suggestions below:
September 3 – Here I Am
Exodus 3:1–15
“I am who I am, or I will be who I will be” God says to Moses. “Now come and I will help you be an instrument of creation and freedom for people trapped in slavery.” Believing himself to be a slow-tongued shepherd hiding from Pharaoh, Moses resists. But God persists until Moses put on his sandals and starts following the Voice. What would it mean for Moses to say, “I will be who I will be, and see where this new calling takes me”?
This week, place this short message in a prominent place for you: “I will be who I will be, as I answer God’s call for me.”
September 10 – Remember, Restore, Renew
Exodus 12:1–14
The Passover festival is part of a celebration when God’s people remember the beginning of their journey from slavery to freedom. The meal is filled with foods that help them remember how difficult it was to be a slave, but also how loving God is. What helps you remember how much God loves you?
This week,write these words on a sheet of construction paper and use it as a placemat: I will remember God’s wonderful love.
September 17 – Road to Freedom
Exodus 14:19–31
Just as God promised, the people of Israel leave a life of slavery. But beginning a new life of freedom is not going to be easy. With Pharaoh’s army in pursuit, they find themselves in a scary place; the army on one side and a body of water on the other. Yet God’s love prevails. God makes a path through the sea, and they can continue on their journey to freedom. When has God helped you through a difficult time?
This week,write this thought on pieces of paper and put them in special places like lunch boxes, coat pockets, and briefcases: Have no fear, God is with you always.
September 24 – Tensions in the Wilderness
Exodus 16:2–15
The people of Israel complain and God sends them manna – bread-like flakes the people collect from the ground each morning. Beside serving as food, manna serves as a teaching tool. God instructs them to take only what is needed so that everyone will have enough. By resting on the Sabbath, the people are encouraged to enjoy their relationship with the One who has set them free. What lessons can you continue to learn from this story about manna?
This week,carry this thought with you: God always keeps God’s promises.
October 1 – Everyone’s a Critic
Exodus 17:1–7
The people of Israel ask, “Is God with us, or not?” This is an understandable question when people are struggling in a wilderness of uncertainty. God answers through a guiding cloud, the crossing of the Reed Sea, and by providing manna and water for the journey. How does God continue to say, “Yes, I am with you“?
This week,drink plenty of water for your body’s health, then come up with a list of ideas for how your household can save water – two practices that are healthy for our body and our world.
October 8 – A Rule of Love
Exodus 20:1–4, 7–9, 12–20
We are all familiar with the 10 commandments. Even if we can’t name them all, we know that the people of Israel received this revelation from God after their release from captivity in Egypt. Wandering in a strange land, these ways were intended to direct how people would live, and point them toward God. Today, these ways provide us with a similar vision for how God wants us to live. We wander in a world that challenges our relationship with God and with one another; these commandments help us to focus living lives transformed by God.
This week,reflect on which of the 10 commandments are essential to God’s vision for your life today. Make a list of specific ways you can live that vision. What do you need to change?
October 15 – Soothing Our Souls
Exodus 32:1–14
Probably as familiar as the story of the 10 commandments is the story of the golden calf. Seeking a god that was tangible and concrete, the Hebrew people build a golden calf out of their jewellery. God is real and near to us, even though we cannot place a physical description on God. There are times today when we feel alone and in need of a physical presence to guide, comfort, and accompany us on life’s journey. However, it’s easy today to focus on a relationship, an event, or the latest fad or gadget instead of focusing on God.
This week, avoid unnecessary purchases. Give the money you have saved to your church or an organization in your community that is helping others.
October 22 – Our Whole Selves
Exodus 33:12–23
In this week’s focus scripture, we are privy to a conversation between God and Moses. Reminiscent of last week’s struggle of the Hebrew people with an idea or presence of God vs. a tangible, physical god, Moses also asks for proof of God’s presence – to see what God looks like. God does not reveal a face, but as the glory of God passes by, God protects Moses in the cleft of a rock and says, “then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back.” As shown in Moses’ encounter with God, God is behind us, protecting us. We continue to live in the mystery of God and experience God in the heartbeat of life.
This week,at the end of each day, make a list of the ways you felt God’s presence in your life.
October 29 – Time to Say Goodbye
Deuteronomy 34:1–12
Our lives are full of endings and beginnings. We have all lost and welcomed significant people in our lives. As the Israelites draw closer to God’s land of promise, they grapple with the loss of their prophetic leader, Moses, and embrace their new leader, Joshua.
This week,as you listen to or read the news, pay special attention to the prophets in today’s world. Reflect on how they might be similar to Moses or Joshua.
November 5 – What Should I Do?
Matthew 23:1–12
Along the journey of faith, we seek guidance and look for models of holy living. We look to leaders in our faith communities to provide such guidance – and we are leaders ourselves. In this week’s focus scripture, Jesus tells his disciples and the crowds around him to be discerning in whom they follow. Our leaders should be humble. They should live authentically and practice what they preach. We should look for the qualities of “servant leadership” in others – people who are willing to serve and care for others without seeking attention or striving for fame along the way. Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be a servant. People who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
This week,help another person anonymously – don’t let others know about your good deed or gift.
November 12 – Be Ready
Matthew 25:1–13
Jesus tells a story about bridesmaids and a bridegroom, lamps, and oil. His lesson for listeners is one about the importance of nurturing our faith and relationship with God. When we feel disinterested or even bored with faith, we must continue to seek God and practice God’s love in our lives. Our daily actions should reflect “keeping faith”; these actions can be the oil that fuels our lamps. Our participation in a community of faith is one way to encounter God and deepen our faith through relationship with one another.
This week,do at least one thing that will nurture your faith each day. You might read a psalm each day or read through the previous week’s scriptures. If your church has any fellowship or faith sharing activities this week, plan to attend at least one of them.
November 19 – Investing What Is Offered
Matthew 25:14–30
In this week’s focus scripture, Jesus sends a message about being ready for the coming of God’s realm. The sense of urgency is represented in the three slaves who have been given money from their master, a wealthy landlord, and await his return. In the meantime, the three slaves make choices about how they will invest their master’s money. Our faith lives are a series of choices. If we choose to be complacent and content, we might fall into behaviours and patterns that don’t put God or the children of God first. Our choices should reflect God’s justice and compassion.
This week, start each day by naming one choice you will make to reflect God’s love in the world saying, “I will……for God.” (Examples: “I will be patient with the co-worker who is annoying me” or “I will give lunch to the homeless man outside my office.”)
Reign of Christ
November 26 – Christ Is Among Us
Matthew 25:31–46
The description of God’s judgment in this week’s focus scripture might leave us with the frightening image of an all-powerful ruler. But the true image of Christ as ruler emphasizes compassion. Throughout this season, we’ve heard stories of how God desires for us to live – closer to God and closer to one another. The choice is ours. Our actions and response to the most vulnerable are important. Our devotion to the one who made us and who will make the judgment of our lives is crucial.
This week, start and continue to add to a list of examples of compassion that you see around you. Include the compassionate works of you, neighbours, strangers, and people in the news from your community and around the world.