If you have spent any time in worship with me over the past eight and a half years,
you know that I have chosen to use the same Benediction every week. When I was
a student, my mentor shared a bit of wisdom with me. There are many different
benedictions that ministers choose to use that come from all sorts of sources. But
Scripture is already a rich source of blessings, so you really don’t need to look
anywhere else. I chose a single blessing from Scripture rather than “mixing it up”
because I wanted to be able to share the blessing without reading it, and I didn’t
trust myself to always remember the words if I changed it regularly.

I chose Romans 15:13 because it covers many of the things I hope people will
experience during the week: hope, joy, peace, and trust. We don’t always talk a lot
about the Holy Spirit as Presbyterians, so I also liked that this blessing focuses on
the Holy Spirit’s work in the world.

This month, we begin our test period with St. David & St. Martin Presbyterian
Church. It means change (like the earlier service time), but also a sense of hope
that each congregation will be able to do more than we could on our own. This
month at worship, I also want to ask a bigger question. What does it mean to trust
in the “God of hope”? What does it mean to be filled with joy and peace, and to
overflow with hope?

There are many opportunities to connect and support one another, particularly over
Mother’s Day weekend! Saturday morning you can come pick up your flower
basket and then stay to help do a spring cleaning around the church (or just come
for one or the other). That evening, the choir, along with Deanna Singh, will be
hosting a wonderful concert. On Mother’s Day itself, we will have communion and
our all-ages service, as always.

As the flowers bloom, the grass gets greener, and the trees start to bud, may
you see the work of God as God’s creation seems to burst back to life!
Spring shows us that our hope through the winter is not in vain, and God
is often working beneath the surface to bring unexpected blooms at the
right time. May it be so in our lives as well as in the plants around
us. I hope to see you soon (at 9:30!) on Sunday!

Blessings,
Meg

A Song from my Playlist:

For one of my final projects this semester, I put together a playlist of songs representing my spiritual journey. “Goodness of God” was one of the songs I picked because it reflects how God has been good throughout my life. The version linked below is by CeCe Winans.