Church News

Worship March 22, 2020

We bring anxious hearts with us to this time of worship. Our world is changing and the rules of social engagement are in flux. We meet today in isolation and attempt to bridge the physical divide by employing a technological fix for the distance between us. Yet the words of Jesus remind us of the communal nature of faith: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20) That statement has within it the implication that faith is more than sheer personal belief or action. Both our belief and our action are done in partnership with the gathered body of Christ. So to be called into “social distancing” is a true obstacle to the expression of genuine faith. And yet.

In these times when public safety trumps short-term inconvenience, we find ourselves as Christians trying to think of new ways to stay connected. It is to that end that I am providing this “guided worship.” Is it enough? No. What is required is our care and concern for those within our church, community, and world. What may yet link us together is prayer. Prayer knows no borders or boundaries. Prayer makes no distinction between rich and poor, sexual orientation, black or white, even Christian and non-Christian. It may yet prove to be that mystical force that keeps us connected in our care for each other and our service to God.

With that said, let us begin.

“The Still Waters of Faith: An Exploration of the 23rd Psalm”
“…he leads me beside still waters…” (verse 2)

Sunday, March 22, 2020 — Video 1

Sunday, March 22, 2020 — Video 2

Sunday, March 22, 2020 — Video 3

Sunday, March 22, 2020 — Video 4

Sunday, March 22, 2020 — Video 5

(The complete printed copy of Pastor Jeff’s sermons will be uploaded to the Past Sermons page)

Church News, Past Sermons

guided worship 3/22/2020

PREPARING FOR WORSHIP

  • Take a deep breath, exhaling it slowly and let the breath that escapes your body be a cleansing moment when all the anxiety that besets you is expelled.
  • Do this breathing exercise again.
  • Do it again.
  • Now remember a time of comfort and joy.
  • Focus on God’s hand in creating, sustaining and guiding you to this place of peace.
  • Finally, give thanks for what God has done in your life and say outloud “O GOD I GIVE YOUR NAME PRAISE AND I AM READY TO ENTER INTO THIS TIME OF WORSHIP.”

OPENING PRAYER

For Your abiding presence, O God, hear our thanks. You have guided us through war, sustained in times of want, and brought forth food from the fields. In all of life, your hand has sustained us. Hear us now as we pray for:

  • Those who have fallen ill (provide the names of those you know whose health is compromised)
  • Those who live in isolation from those they love (provide names of those you know who are isolated or in quarantine)
  • Those who provide health care in midst of this pandemic (provide names of those you know who are members of the health care team)
  • For troubled parents who have yet another worry on their hands.
  • For those in positions of leadership and government.
  • For those involved in research who are seeking a treatment and a vaccine.
  • For your own personal health — both physical and mental.
  • For the nourishing of your soul that trust and hope might remain strong.

For all this we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE — PSALM 23 (NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION)

1The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

A Sermon by The Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ March 22, 2020
“The Still Waters of Faith: An Exploration of the 23rd Psalm”

“…he leads me beside still waters…” Psalm 23:2i

His job was on the line and his face carried the weight of uncertainty. He did not know how long his job would last. Like all of us, the present moment was all he knew, all he could trust.

Ellen and I had gone out to eat while in New Orleans celebrating the wedding of our friends’ daughter. We had gone to one of the myriads of hotels and sat at the bar — in large part because they had a television tuned to CNN. Louisiana had zero cases of Covid-19 when we left the state of Vermont on Wednesday. It was now four days later and the number of cases had grown to 77 by Sunday. The hotel had an eerie feeling of winding down, of becoming a mere shell of unused capacity.

As one is want to do, we talked with the barkeeper. There was no smile on his face. He told us that he didn’t think the hotel would be open by the end of the week. He would be without a job.

Continue reading guided worship 3/22/2020 →
Church News, Pastoral Letters

staying connected during this anxious time

A message from Pastor Jeff for us to read each week when we enter into virtual worship. Each week Pastor Jeff is giving us a Guided Worship to read and videos of his service to watch.

We bring anxious hearts with us to this time of worship. Our world is changing and the rules of social engagement are in flux. We meet today in isolation and attempt to bridge the physical divide by employing a technological fix for the distance between us. Yet the words of Jesus remind us of the communal nature of faith: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20) That statement has within it the implication that faith is more than sheer personal belief or action. Both our belief and our action are done in partnership with the gathered body of Christ. So to be called into “social distancing” is a true obstacle to the expression of genuine faith. And yet.

In these times when public safety trumps short-term inconvenience, we find ourselves as Christians trying to think of new ways to stay connected. It is to that end that I am providing this “guided worship.” Is it enough? No. What is required is our care and concern for those within our church, community, and world. What may yet link us together is prayer. Prayer knows no borders or boundaries. Prayer makes no distinction between rich and poor, sexual orientation, black or white, even Christian and non-Christian. It may yet prove to be that mystical force that keeps us connected in our care for each other and our service to God.

With that said, let us begin.

Continue reading staying connected during this anxious time →

Past Sermons

Sermon March 8, 2020

“The Truth of the Lie”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Psalm 121
March 8, 2020

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
Psalm 121:7i

If you were to ask me if I believed the words found in the 121st Psalm to be true, I would answer with an unequivocal “yes.” God has been with me and sustained me through the dark times of my life. I have never doubted God’s presence, never feared God’s abandonment, never wondered “why me” when life went sour. Oh, I am wise enough to know that others have not been so blessed. Life has knocked them down. From where they are writhing on the ground, they do not think of the benevolence of God but only of their own despair and disappointment.

Continue reading Sermon March 8, 2020 →

Past Sermons

Sermon March 1, 2020

“Struggling With Temptations”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Matthew 4:1-11
March 1, 2020

Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. Matthew 4:10i

Have we made Jesus so holy He cannot speak to us? Have we made Jesus so divine that He cannot touch us? If so, if Jesus is so high and lifted up that He remains beyond our reach, then we need not fret His message. It is beyond us, out of our reach. Jesus and His kingdom are not of this world.

Continue reading Sermon March 1, 2020 →

Past Sermons

Sermon February 16, 2020

“The Jesus Who Makes Jesus Necessary”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Matthew 5: 21-37
February 16, 2020

“He was trying to see who Jesus was…”  — Luke 19:3ai

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. Matthew 5:30i

That won’t be happening. There is no one here this morning who is going to cut off his or her hand or pluck out an eye thinking that by doing so he or she can avoid the fires of hell. If we put aside the obvious pain that would ensue from such actions, I would suggest that such actions don’t make sense. Right? It’s not one’s hand or eye that leads one astray. It’s one’s brain that is the guilty party. The perversions Jesus is suggesting – lust, theft, violence, or what have you — are caused by wrongful thinking. Do we really think that if I was blind I would never have known lust, that if I was bereft of hands I would not ever have been tempted to steal? So, if Jesus isn’t making literal sense, what sense is Jesus making?

Continue reading Sermon February 16, 2020 →
Past Sermons

Sermon February 9, 2020

“When Silence Is Betrayal”
Rev. Jeffrey Long-Middleton
Bradford Congregational Church-UCC
Isaiah 58:1-12
February 9, 2020

“He was trying to see who Jesus was…”  — Luke 19:3ai

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6i

While the war in Vietnam was raging, Dr. King was waging a battle of his own here in America. The old order was giving way to a breath of freedom and the cause King championed was bearing fruit. The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The disenfranchisement of millions of African Americans was seen as morally reprehensible and Jim Crow was on the run. But Vietnam was awash in blood. American dead would come to stand at 58,220, 1and civilian casualties for both sides is placed at 2 million. At some point, Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense, came to realize that the war was unwinnable but continued to tell the American people that the tide was turning, and more young men were sent to a conflict he knew was futile.

Continue reading Sermon February 9, 2020 →