June 19 Worship

Today's worship service covered a lot of ground. It opened with a devotion about Juneteenth, and included two hymns for Father's Day. The scripture from 1 Kings 19 was the story of Elijah and the Still, Small Voice. The scripture was followed by a responsive reading of Psalm 42. The message addressed both scriptures from the point of view of mental health, and in the middle, we paused to sing the thoughtful hymn, Come and Find the Quiet Center. Below, please find a video of the service (click on "read more"),

Trinity Sunday Worship

Today was the First Sunday after Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday. The scripture reading was the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. The main portion of our worship, however, was given over to baptisms and professions of faith. We baptized Oliver Craig Walters, 3-year-old son of Steve and Katie Walters, as well as three youth: Evan Michael Dillon, Logan Scott Dillon, and Sadie Ann Gilles, who made their profession of faith. Five other youth who had already been baptized also made their profession of faith: Isabella Marion Brozic, Rebekah Lynn Isis Brozic, Molly Elizabeth Gilles, Nathan Travis Queen, and Noah Edward Queen. We ended the service with a celebration of the Lord's Supper. Here is a video of the entire service (click on "read more"),

Pentecost Worship

The Day of Pentecost was a big day at Pilgrim Church. Nearly everybody wore red, we sang songs of the Spirit, welcomed a new member, and blessed 1000 more peace cranes—this time to send to Uvalde, Texas. The sermon was about the power of language, and the service culminated with a celebration of the Lord's Supper.

A video of the service is found below (click on "read more"), and beneath that is a complete transcript of this morning's sermon.

Ascension Worship

May 29 was the Sunday when we celebrate Christ's Ascension. Our hymns were Crown Him with Many Crowns and Alleluia! Sing to Jesus. The sermon was entitled Stardust, and spoke of Jesus' Ascension using Joni Mitchell's anthem Stardust as its main illustration. A video of this worship service is found below (click on "read more"). At the end of the video, please look at photos of our old flag being lowered and a new flag being presented for Memorial Day. Beneath the video, there's a transcript of today's sermon. 

Ascension Benediction

Go forth in strength,
and may the power from on high—
the power that brought Jesus back from the dead
and drew him into heaven—
be with you in all the challenges in the week to come.

Go forth in peace,

Easter 6 Worship

After a week of very warm weather, today was cool and rainy in Chardon. But there was a bright and happy attitude in church this morning. The scripture passage from John 14 recounted how Jesus bequeathed peace to his followers. We blessed a thousand origami peace cranes to send to Buffalo. The sermon was the second in a two-sermon series called Comings and Goings. The first sermon ("We welcome all...") dealt with our church's radical welcome. The second one ("Go now in peace...")—preached today—talked about the meaning behind the benediction response we sing every week. Our hymns this morning were We Gather Together and Blest Be the Tie That Binds. Below is a video of the full service (click on "read more") and beneath that is a transcript of the sermon.