May 11-12 is another busy weekend at the Centerport United Methodist Church, as our District’s Mission Walk takes place Saturday at Belmont Lake State Park and a Mother’s Day Service with our band Leap of Faith takes place Sunday at 10 a.m. Help raise funds for The Viola Project by donating here, and contact Denise Leparik at dleparik@aol.com or 631-549-4137 if you’d like to walk. The day will also include softball, crafts and other fun activities. A Happy Mother’s Day in advance to all our moms, grandmoms, great-grandmoms and all of the women in our lives!

Approximate Schedule
9:30am – Check-in, Tai Chi & Facepainting
10am – Opening Worship
10:30am – Opening Ceremony
11:00am – Walk begins
12:00pm – Lunch & live music
1pm – Games & Craft
1:30pm – Line Dancing & Softball
3pm – Cleanup & Departure

Call to Worship (N.F.S. Grundtvig)
Sing the praises of the Lord!
Singing heart, embrace the Spirit.
The notes play joyously,
Like the stars that sparkle
Around the holy name of the Lord.

Unison Prayer
May we be good soil.
May we be fertile earth.
May God’s seeds sprout within us.
May we produce good fruit.
May we become God’s field.
May we become God’s garden.  
Amen.

Words of Assurance:  John 15:16 and 5, Good News Bible
I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. Those who remain in me will bear much fruit. 

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil;
for thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever.
Amen.

Opening Song: for KING & COUNTRY, “joy.”

Scripture Reading:  Galatians 5:22, RSV
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (and) self-control.

Sunday Sermon

When I was growing up, one of the most popular Christian songs was “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love.” It’s an incredibly hopeful song: we will work with each other, we will work side by side, and we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride, and they’ll know we are Christians by our love. The song imagines all Christians working together, and people who are not Christians noticing that Christians are so filled with love that they want to be a part of it too.

Unfortunately Christians are not particularly known for their love, although they could be; and even people outside the faith know they should be. The word “Christian” is associated more with intolerance, judgment, hypocrisy and a particular set of political beliefs, which breaks my heart because it’s not what Jesus is about.

The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This means that when we see such things in a Christian, the Holy Spirit is working in them; when we see such things in a church, the Holy Spirit is present, and when we see such things in a denomination, there’s a chance that the world might notice.

This past weekend, we saw one of those communities here, as middle schoolers and high schoolers from four churches used our church as a home base to go out into the community and help others. While we thought the jobs were task-oriented, we learned that they were really people-oriented. And grace was all around. At one home we put a coat of paint on part of a house and rebuilt a small flower garden in the back. But I felt terrible because we’d only put on one coat on paint and gotten some of it on the lawn and some of it on our clothes. I felt that we had really disappointed the couple. But to my surprise they were overwhelmed with gratitude. They said, “Finally the whole house is the same color!” They said, “It was so kind of you to come out, we can’t thank you enough.” They said, “it looks incredible.” I did not think it looked incredible, I thought it looked okay. Later on I thought of how God might regard what we do, and if we do our best, and try our hardest, and make the most of what we have, God might still say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

At another house, two of the kids jumped out of the car and ran to the client, because they knew her. The first one said, “Do you remember me? You taught me how to play handbells.” The second one said, “You helped me learn how to sing.” They both said, “We miss you and we talk about you all of the time.” The job was to clean up the yard, but the Holy Spirit saw things differently; the biggest impact was made by memory and compliment and encouragement.

So which of the fruits of the Spirit did our young people use last week? Love, obviously; joy, although sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between joy and a sugar high; kindness and goodness; and all of these things happened because their faith brought them to the event in the first place. Everyone they visited knew they were Christians, and so did the people who passed by and asked what was going on.

If you’re wondering how to get the fruits of the Spirit, it’s easy; we already have them. Unlike the gifts of the Spirit, which are different for every person, the fruits of the Spirit are accessible to all. Some of them are both active and passive; for example, while we want more inner peace in our lives, we are asked to be peacemakers; and we love because God first loved us.

This week we saw the Holy Spirit in action at General Conference as well. For those who missed the news, the United Methodist Church voted to allow LGBTQI+ pastors to be appointed, and LGBTQI+ weddings to take place, and removed all judgmental language from the Social Principles. Even more remarkably, they did it without debate, an expression of self-control, the first two passing by a vote of 93% and the third by 76%. Furthermore, they left the decisions up to the conscience of each individual pastor and church, and invited anyone who had left the church to return, an offer of peace. Afterwards there were outpourings of joy. Finally, for the first time in our lives, we can tell our friends that not only our church, but our denomination says that all are welcome. Thankfully, all the major news outlets seem to have picked up on the story. For once, Christians are known for doing something positive!

What if we could be like this all the time? Paul writes that we can. All we have to do is decide that we want to be these nine things: loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled. Whenever we are, we become like healthy vines, producing fruit. We become the good soil that Jesus was talking about in the Parable of the Sower. We produce enough for a harvest.

Sometimes we need to call on one more than the other. When we’re suffering, we need faith; when we’re dealing with a difficult situation, we need patience; when we’re arguing, we need self-control. It’s hard to keep track of all nine fruits at once, so my advice is to pick one for the week and see how it goes. For example, for one week we might ask ourselves in every situation, “What is the loving thing to do?” (and then do it). Or we might try to shift every negative conversation to a positive one. Or (and this would be a challenge for me) driving 9 miles or less over the speed limit for seven whole days. And then have a conversation with a friend about how it went, whether it was a modest success, an overwhelming success or an epic fail. If we do our best, and try our hardest, and make the most of what we have, I believe God will say to us, “Well done.” Amen!

Closing Song: Charity Gayle, “Seed of Faith”

Benediction
Go forth to bear fruit,
embodying Christ in word and action,
so that seeds may sprout in others as well. Amen.

This past weekend, youth from four churches gathered at the Centerport UMC, then went into the community to do yard work and small repairs for people in need. They left refreshed, with a sense of purpose.

This week, delegates from around the world met in Charlotte, NC for the UMC’s General Conference, their first since COVID and a denominational split. By a 93% vote, the Conference affirmed the rights of LGBTQI+ people in the church, marking a fresh new start for the UMC.

This weekend, two dozen women from our church are attending the Women’s Retreat at Camp Quinipet on Shelter Island ~ a beautiful location between the north and south forks of Long Island. We expect they will return empowered by the Spirit of Christ.

Is it springtime in your soul? Christ promises, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” “These things” include freedom from anxiety, inner peace and new energy. If you’re in need of a spiritual boost (and even if you’re not!) we invite you to our Wednesday morning Bible study (10-11:30 a.m.), Wednesday evening screenings of “The Chosen” (5:30-7) and Sunday morning worship service (10 a.m.). We promise a blessing to all who seek it, and we hope to see you soon!