Rev. Megan Berkowitz
Rev. Amy Clark Feldman
Pastor Amy – September 15, 2023
Suppose there was a book full of only the word,
let – from whose clipped sound all things begin: fir
and firmament, feather, the first whale – and suppose
we could scroll through its pages every day
to find and pronounce a Let meant only for us –
we would stumble through the streets with open books,
eyes crossed from too much reading; we would speak
in auto-rhyme, the world would echo itself – and still
we’d continue in rounds, saying let and let and let
until even silent dreams had been allowed.
The Book of Genesis
(by Kai Miller; shared by UCW member Tom Vawter)
Today we wish our Jewish siblings L’Shana Tova, a sweet and good New Year, holding them in prayer and love as they enter this season of High Holy Days.
At UCW, while our celebrations and understandings of this season are different, we too are in a time of new beginnings; beginning a new church year, with our new pastor. In worship, we’ve started at the beginning, in Genesis, and at a recent worship team meeting, UCW member Tom Vawter shared the poem above. In the beginning… God looked over all that was (and wasn’t), and then, with awesome creativity and love, brought everything Tov (Good) into existence with the words “Let there be…” Miller’s poem invites us to look at all that is (and isn’t) in our lives, and to ask what God, with creativity and love, may be speaking into existence in us. What is God desiring to “Let there be…” in your life and in the life of our church today?
This Sunday we celebrate our Blessing of the Backpacks, a symbolic blessing of our journey into this new year. Please come, and be blessed! We also celebrate our Mission and Children, Youth, and Families Fair, and invite you to come, have fun, and imagine the new ways God may be calling you to find joy, meaning, and connection this season.
Our God is a God of new beginnings and new life. Beloved, God’s creative and joyful Spirit is moving and busy at work in this new season at UCW. Come and be part of it — It is so very Good!
With blessings and peace,
Pastor Amy
Past Posts
- From Our Pastors
Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 9, 2025 I had a lot of interest in the prayer structure I shared during last Sunday’s worship, so I wanted to write it out for you here. If you’re feeling like you’re not sure how to pray or what to say, sometimes a little scaffolding can help get you started. Don’t think that this is the ‘right’ way to pray though — any way to pray that leads you to open your heart to God is the right way! Learn More - From Our Pastors: May 2, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 2, 2025 There is very little in the Gospels that tells of Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension. This period gets 5 weeks in the liturgical calendar, but only one or two stories in each Gospel at most. As Pastor Amy shared in her sermon last Sunday, after the Resurrection, Jesus spends some time eating with his disciples, even sharing a grilled fish breakfast on the beach with them one morning. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 25, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 25, 2025 On Easter morning, we sang the hymn “Now the Green Blade Rises,” with its refrain: “Love is come again like wheat that rises green.” While it raises questions for me every year about how much pronunciation has changed in the last hundred years (did been/green and again/lain really rhyme?), it so beautifully captures the confluence of Easter and the coming of Spring in the Northern hemisphere. Learn More
