A Worship-Wedding called Parables

‘Tis the season for tying the knot! Gosh, I know of 3 weddings personally that occurred just this past Saturday! And, we’re in for a whopper of one this coming weekend, too…

Weddings are powerful rituals that bind much more than just two people—-but rather, two FAMILIES together through the beauties and stickiness of life. Weddings create life-long investment in people with whom we may seem to have nothing in common. They cultivate community often between groups of people who might not ever have met if it weren’t for that mysterious thing we call Love…

This coming Sunday, June 25 at 5pm our faith community is tying the knot with marginalized people in a wedding-of-a-worship. At First Congregational Church of Chelsea, we will celebrate the “red-fish-ness” of swimming in a different direction than the mainstream when we take the time to be intentional about cultivating relationship with people we may seem to have little in common with. Jesus did this all the time.

Think about folks he chose to hang out with—they were a motley crew of folks like you and me who have plenty of shortcomings, even as they needed the light of Christ in Jesus to illuminate their incredible, beautiful gifts. This Sunday we have people from at least four different churches who are helping to lead the Parables worship. This is a worship-wedding of an ecumenical kind, as well!

When we begin to follow Jesus, we certainly don’t color well in the lines any longer. We don’t stay neatly in the boxes that society may like to lay out for us. No, to follow the Spirit of God in the world, which Jesus unleashed in a new way 2000 years ago, is to move like the wind: “you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” (John 3:8).

Our scripture for the first Parables worship this Sunday is not a parable, actually. It’s the passage from John 2 about Jesus’ very first miracle, which took place at a wedding. He was ambivalent about whether or not he was totally ready to begin his ministry on that day, but he took a step out in faith and amazing things began to unfold.

The Spirit of God has nudged me with words from the movie, Field of Dreams, for a little over a year now: If you build it, they will come. If you create a wedding-worship for the privileged and under-privileged parts of our community to meet, to become invested in each other, and to stick together through the beauties and challenges of life, people will come.

Consider this your personal invitation. To learn more, see www.chelseafcc.com. For training in how to prepare yourself as a leader caring for people with disabilities, show up at First Congregational this Saturday, June 24th from 9-10am or on the 25th from 11:15am-12:15pm. To sign up to help at any of the services this summer on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, see http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0c45abad2ba57-parables. 

I hope to see you soon wearing white and sporting flowers!