Holy Week – The Rev. Beverly Patterson

Good Friday 2022

I don’t need to try to explain to you what hard times, fear and death are like. We are in the middle of them at the moment. It is tangible, you can almost smell it. We have been fortunate. For most of us here, the danger and the death is out there. Close, lurking, butContinue reading “Good Friday 2022”

Maundy Thursday 2022

I’ve never lived in a war zone. I have lived through category 5 hurricanes. We watched with anxious anticipation as we gathered our most precious belongings, our medications, our computers and phones, our pets. My congregations united to ensure that no one got left behind when we had to evacuate. Those who live alone, thoseContinue reading “Maundy Thursday 2022”

Good Friday 2021

Several times in the gospels, Jesus challenges one or more people to “take up [your] cross, and follow me.” This challenge is found in all three of the synoptic gospels, and occurs long before Jesus is crucified. So what did the cross represent before Jesus’ crucifixion? What was Jesus telling the people to do? CrucifixionContinue reading “Good Friday 2021”

Maundy Thursday 2021

Many of you may remember Art Linkletter and his radio and film clips called “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” It was later picked up by Bill Cosby for a couple years in the late 1990’s. They were funny, because the children unabashedly spoke the truth they had witnessed or experienced, often in ways adults foundContinue reading “Maundy Thursday 2021”

Palm Sunday 2021

When we hear the word prophet or prophecy, we are inclined to think of someone who predicts the future, but in reality, this is a common misunderstanding and misuse of the concept of prophecy from the biblical point of view. A biblical prophet was a spokesperson for God and a prophet did signs and wondersContinue reading “Palm Sunday 2021”