A Message from Pastor Dianne

To the People of God at Harwich,

According to Google, searches for prayer were at an all-time high during the height of the pandemic. Six out of ten people in the US and around the world prayed for an end to the pandemic. People were desperate for a solution. But now that COVID is receding, churches have reopened, and we are resuming familiar ways, prayer searches are back to normal. Yet the need for a deep connection with God remains. [from an online Ministry Matters article]

While worship may never be conducted exactly the way it was prior to the pandemic shutdown, some practices are representative of our theology and are worth re-establishing while new practices become part of our “new normal.” 

On Sunday morning we had a “retiring offering” where the plate was not passed but left near the entrance to the sanctuary. Since we have learned that passing the plate does not pass COVID, we are once again collecting the offering during the service.

More challenging was the practice of communion.  Who should touch the elements and how ought they be distributed?  How can we best control social distancing?  In preparation for the communion, there is still kitchen protocol.  In the sanctuary, we have been receiving communion in both kinds [bread and grape juice] in the pews- like our congregational and Baptist brothers and sisters who emphasize the fellowship aspect of Jesus’ admonition: “do this in remembrance of me.” 

However, it has been our Methodist tradition, to come forward to receive communion at the altar railing thereby emphasizing the hearts yearning to encounter the sacred by leaving our pews to approach God.  Sometimes this involved kneeling [unless that posture was replaced by standing due to physical challenges] and of course, God’s holy presence was always brought to anyone who could not safely navigate the aisle to the railing. Coming forward has been accomplished in a procession or in groups of persons similar to seatings at a table.  This September 4^th let’s try approaching the communion table at which Jesus presides.  Think about it…..

After church, we fellowship around tables in the Fellowship Hall….

In the Love of Christ,
Pastor Dianne

A Message from Pastor Dianne

A few days ago I was at a stop light behind a truck with the bumper decal:  “If it is tourist season, why can’t we shoot them?”

Well, for economic reasons, they are our guests here on Cape Cod!  That’s why we can’t.

The term “hospitality” refers to the relationship between a guest and a host. If you invite a friend or family member over to your home for dinner, for example, you’ll perform hospitality by accommodating the guest’s needs. Hospitality is understood to be the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.  It is the seasonal specialty in vacation locations!  As an industry, it may include information, transportation, food, and lodging.  Some businesses rely on hospitality to perform their operations and generate revenue.

Hospitality in the Biblical world was a social requirement – a recognition of vulnerability.  In the desert there was a scarcity of resources and survival was a real concern.  Further, tribal interactions might include conquest.  Hospitality between acquaintances and family comes naturally when the need arises to share scarce resources because we are known in the community.  Who would you share your surplus toilet paper with during the early Covid phenomenon?

However, strangers…. Like migrant workers, refugees, immigrants, and tourists… represent the “unknown.”  When lines are longer and traffic stalls, a mind like Christ’s, who suggested we walk the extra mile with our oppressors and give our extra coat away to the needy, would pass gun legislation to protect humans and animals alike rather than declare open season on either.

Enjoy the opportunity to extend hospitality in imitation of Christ.  The opportunity to build the Beloved Community and to break bread with people who have yet to hear the Good News of the life-giving Love of God for each of us. Enjoy the opportunity to extend the Inclusive Kingdom of God.

Pastor Dianne

A Message from Pastor Dianne

To the People of God at Harwich,

So much to celebrate!

May is filled with anticipation for the summer to begin.  Flowers break forth and birds return and finally, Memorial Day here on Cape Cod marks the safe weather for planting.  May Day on the 1^st, Cinco de Mayo on the 5^th, Mother’s Day on the 8^th and I celebrate my daughter’s birthday on the 15^th.  Literature refers to the Merry, merry month of May…..

We celebrate the Easter season all month– Christ is Risen, He Is risen Indeed! and the scriptures record the post-resurrection appearances during our worship time together.

What will you celebrate this month?  Perhaps celebrating is not the word…

What will you remember: perhaps with joy, perhaps with sadness, perhaps with regret?  Christ came into the world to share a message of Peace.  His parting words were: Peace I leave with you… not as the world gives…but a peace that passes understanding… a Profound peace in the midst of LIFE.

Let us pray for peace in Ukraine.
Let us pray for peace with justice in our communities.
Let us pray for peace where there has been racial violence, gun violence, and sexual violence.
Let us pray for Peace in the halls of power and an openness to change.

May your merriment be profound.  A celebration of Life.  For Christ Is Risen.
His 21st-century post-resurrection appearances among us are to be anticipated with Joy. 

Peace in the name of the Risen Lord,
Pastor Dianne

A Message from Pastor Dianne

As we bid farewell to March we also complete the Lenten season on APRIL 9th.  Our “Good Enough” theme called us to consider the reality that:

We live in a culture bent on definitions of a good life as continuous upward mobility–climbing ladders of prosperity with increasingly fabulous experiences that we can post to ever-more-likable social media accounts. We may comb the shelves of the self-help section in search of just the right formula to gain success. Perhaps we even gravitate towards spiritual leaders who promise great rewards if we only do “the right thing.” But life happens, right? Most times we are not moving upward but trying to repair the rung we’ve just slipped from.  So what if we stopped climbing and started fertilizing, watering, and blooming right where we find ourselves? This has been a Lent of affirming a faith in which we are blessed, regardless, and where we can lean into embracing our “good enough” lives.

The task of redefining life as Good Enough is challenged each day.  To live with a sense of “peace that passes understanding” and that “nothing can separate us from the love of God” is to be assured of our salvation.

Not there yet?  Good news, our theme continues thru Holy Week and culminates in Easter – Our High Holy Day!  In fact it is the work of the religious life.  More than that…. We are called to infect the community in which we live with this Good News like “leaven in the loaf”.

I look forward to hearing your inner and outer journey toward affirming that you are God’s precious handiwork and therefore, by grace, “Good Enough.”

In the love of the Lord,

Pastor Dianne

A Message from Pastor Dianne

To the People of God at Harwich  UMC,

We are in the liturgical season of EPIPHANY for the entire month of February. Some years there are only a few weeks between 12^th Night and Lent, and this year we have a rather significantly long season of Epiphany which began January 6th and will continue to March 1^st.  The last days of Epiphany are celebrated with observances of great extravagance in some parts of the country including the observance of Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday is the last day of the Carnival season as it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday,

You know what an epiphany is:  a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way…..

The Epiphany of God is revealed in the Christ child and the announcement to the entire world by the Star and the Magi acknowledging him.  Jesus is revealed to the people at the Jordan River when he is baptized and the voice of God declares him God’s Son. Jesus takes on the prophetic mission statement of liberation from Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth [see Luke 4:14-21] revealing himself as the Messiah.  In this cold time of year we are encouraged to warm the places where we live with God’s Good News that All are welcome, All are precious.  All creation was Beloved by its Creator God and deserves Respect and Inclusion in the Abundance of life.  Epiphany is God’s celebration of Life in Community!

I pray for you the fullness of God’s Epiphany during the coming month: a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way…..

Peace in the Love of the Lord,
Pastor Dianne

PS I thank you for the generous Christmas gift to our family.  Both Gerry and JP will celebrate birthdays this month and we all look for opportunities to grow in faith as well as age!

A Message from Pastor Dianne

To the People of God at Harwich UMC

It’s not uncommon for people at this time of the year, in addition to making resolutions, to compose a mental wish list. As we turn the page of the calendar and think about what the future may hold, we have some, often specific, ways that we would like for it to unfold.

You may want a relative to get a new job or for someone’s health to improve or for family members to get along better. “I wish that….” You fill in the blanks.

But wishes are usually for things over which we have no control. We know how we would like for things to turn out, but in reality they could go either way, up or down, good or bad. We’ll have to wait and see.

I don’t suppose there is anything wrong with Christians having a wish list, but there isn’t anything scriptural or theological that compels us to wish. Hoping is another matter. Our hope is based on the certainty that we are loved by God, and that, if we are committed to God’s will, ultimately our lives are blessed. Clearly, that doesn’t mean we get everything on our wish list, but that, no matter how difficult life is, God is with us. That was the explicit meaning of the birth of Christ we have just celebrated: Immanuel, “God with us.”

The Apostle Paul, in seeking to encourage Christians in Rome, wrote that through their suffering they would develop endurance, and their endurance would produce character, and as people of character they would have hope. Then he said, “Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

I have a personal hope list related to my own development and growth as a Christian, but, as your pastor, I have a hope list for our family of faith at Harwich UMC. I am confident that if we commit ourselves to God and to the work of the church, these hopes can become reality.

I hope that all of us develop in our Christian faith, becoming more like Christ. I hope that this year we will be more loving, more generous, more gentle and accepting. (I happen to believe that you are already one of the most loving groups of Christians anywhere, but we can always grow in this.) If you join me in this hope, you could begin by asking God to reveal the areas where you need most to improve.

I also hope we become more devoted to seeking the truth in all areas of our lives. Too often I think we have our minds made up — or let someone else make them up for us — instead of doing the difficult job of listening to facts and pondering the difficulties and implications of our beliefs. We are called by God to give over everything we have to Christ, including our minds. Let’s let Him use them to move us to positions that may be difficult, but that are in keeping with his Spirit.

I hope we will all continue to encourage and uplift each other in our shared ministries at Harwich UMC. This is not a selfish desire on my part, simply because I have some responsibility for the institution. This is based on the clear-eyed assessment that the long-term viability of the congregation will depend on each of us committing ourselves each day to God’s work and avoiding division among our faith family.

Financial support is an obvious need, but far more important is our willingness to make participation in congregational life a priority and stepping out in courage to invite others whom we have not yet met, to be with us often at worship. I know COVID is still a frightening reality and while we attempt to use modern technology it can be frustrating when it fails to function well.

Finally I want to thank all of you for your generosity to me and my family in 2021. I thank God for your many gifts and the faithfulness of those who give of their time and talents.

As I noted as I began, this isn’t a wish list. It is hope based on the certainty that, if these are the things that God desires for us, and if we are committed to seeing them through, they will be accomplished not through our strength, but through the power of Christ’s Spirit at work among us. Let us all pray to that end.

With the Love of Christ and Hopes for Blessings in your life this Year of the Lord 2022

I am Yours,

Pastor Dianne Carpenter