Hello Reader!

Hello beloved one.

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Announcements:

*Office Hours! 10 to 12 Thursday mornings at The Neighbor (144 S Mason). Come hang out to chat and get to know some folks better.

*Small Groups! This fall, our small groups will meet for 6 weeks to discuss themes surrounding The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and the wisdom of Jesus. Mostly, small groups are simply a catalyst to being known and deepening community. Remember, we need each other... Please sign up here!!!​

*Help provide meals to men experiencing homelessness through Fort Collins Rescue Mission: These opportunities occur every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. The Mission did lower it's minimum age to 14, so you are welcome to bring along a teen, if you know one interested to serve. Click here to sign up for this Wednesday or future dates!

*Please check out our Youth Group dates below. Also, please consider providing a lunch for this fun crew: click here for the sign up! ​

Sunday in Review: Binding and Loosing

We usually follow the Revised Common Lectionary. Click on the link if you want to see what we'll be exploring in the weeks to come.

I N V O C A T I O N

God among us,

we gather in the name of your Son

to learn love for one another.

Turn our feet from evil paths,

our hands from shameful deeds,

our minds to your wisdom,

and our hearts to your grace.

Amen.

S C R I P T U R E

​Matthew 18:15-20​

S O N G S

Come Thou Fount of Every Ble... Sufjan Stevens PREVIEW   ​

Leave the Rest to You • The... Leave the Rest to You • The... PREVIEW   ​

Trusty and True Damien Rice PREVIEW   ​

A R T

T A K E A W A Y S and Q U E S T I O N S

*Jesus offers a series of steps as guidance for difficult conversations. But within theses challenging situations what we really need is…Humility. Courage. And wisdom.

*Humility: we don’t ever know enough. We haven’t lived other person’s experiences. We need to ask questions and we need the insight of others. We must check our motives and never seek to shame but always to understand and restore.

*Courage: most of us don’t want to engage in difficult conversations. We can’t say it perfectly. We want to be liked. And sometimes, we don’t want to open the door for our own insides to be revealed. Sometimes, courage starts with a sincere question like, tell me more about why you said or did that?

*Wisdom: I think wisdom comes in the process of being humble and curious. And, Jesus says, if it didn’t work out so well alone, take someone with you. Wisdom is found in community.

B E N E D I C T I O N

You are God’s Child

Gifted with dreams and visions.

Upon you rests the grace of God like flames of fire.

Love and serve the Lord in the wildness of your being.

Practice Resurrection.

And may the deep peace of Christ be with you,

The strong arms of God sustain you,

And the glory of the Holy Spirit shine upon your face.

Amen.

Resource: Sarah Bessey Revisit this blessing from the writer, Sarah Bessey: The invitation was never to find the One Perfect Practice but to become increasingly available to Love. May you find grace in unlikely voices, beauty in unlikely places, healing in unlikely compassion. There is always more room in God’s love so make yourself at home. click here to read the rest of the blessing

Practice: Do the Next (hopefully) Helpful Thing When we see something done or said by a sister or brother from the same or another mother and that something triggers a judgment or resistance in us, try this: Pause. Breath. Ask: Is harm being done? Is it mine to engage? Is the time now? Invite: Wherever two or more are gathered in my name…(Jesus) Let the light in: yours, theirs, Christ’s

And finally, lest we forget this prayer:

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did,

this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it;

trusting that You will make all things right

if I surrender to Your will;

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Grace and Peace,

Katrina

&

Darren