Mailing Address: P.O. Box 36, Mansfield Center, CT 06250
Phone: (860) 423-9008, Fax: (860) 423-6112
Office Hours
Tuesday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (closed Monday)
Summer Hours (July 15-August 31)
Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. (closed Friday)
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Where Faith Takes Action!
549 Storrs Road
(Junction of Routes 195 & 89)
Mansfield Center, Connecticut
SUNDAY WORSHIP 10:15 a.m.
The Rev. Joseph Blotz, Pastor
Wendy O'Connor, Office Administrator
Erik Haeger, Organist
Sarah Kaufold, Choir Director
Dawn Hoffman, Worship Circle Coordinator
You may be new to our community and looking for a church home,
or you may have been in the area for a while and
discovered our openness and warmth as a congregation.
In any case, we welcome you and
extend an invitation to join our church family.
Open to and Affirming of All
Contemplative Communion
We gather Thursdays at 12:15 for a brief contemplative communion service. We will engage in the ancient practice of Lectio Divina (a method of reading, studying, and praying Scripture), share prayers, and be fed at Jesus’ Welcome Table… all in about 30 minutes. Take a break midweek, come, and be.
Willing to host a coffee hour? Sign up here. There are many dates available. It's a great opportunity to get to know someone while working together.
A Just Peace Church
A Green Church
The Days Ahead…
Sunday, August 18
10:15 am Worship followed by Coffee Hour
Tuesday, August 20
10:30 am Ministry of Caring
Thursday, August 22
12:15 pm Contemplative Communion
Sunday, August 25
10:15 am Worship with the Blessing of the Backpacks followed by Coffee Hour
This Sunday, August 18...
we listen for God’s word in litanies of faith and admonitions of division in Hebrews 11 and Luke 12. A pick up choir leads us in the musical offering. Following Worship we will move to Fellowship Hall for coffee hour.
Hebrews 11:29—12:2 continues the roll call of those whose faith in God is a model and encouragement. It reminds us that “by faith” God’s people did some amazing things. They escaped slavery in Egypt, and they entered the promised land. Curiously, one other “by faith” example appears in verse 3 – Rahab. What makes this intriguing is that Rahab is both a foreigner and a prostitute. Yet, through her faith, she is able to live when others perish. This would suggest that acts of faith are not confined to any single people but are an option for all of us.
The mood then shifts. “I don’t have time to talk about...” the writer says, and then lists those for whom there is no time. The mere mention of the list of names serves the same purpose that a story might have, for these are names that would have been very familiar to those who first heard them. These people are given as excellent examples of faith.
Yet often this is not without a price. People suffer, the author tells us. People suffer a lot - torture, and horrible deaths. Yet through all this, they had faith. This faith, however, did not sugarcoat everything and make it pleasant. On the contrary, many of those who are commended for their faith did not receive what is promised. But the example for us is not in the receiving but in the persevering. It is because we are part of a long lineage of faithful people – a veritable cloud of witnesses – that we can dare to move forward. This was an intriguing challenge to people 2000 years ago when the church was being persecuted. It is an intriguing challenge for us today as well. As the metaphor of the race in the passage from Hebrews implies, choosing faithfulness is neither easy nor passive. It can be demanding and often requires change and growth. Seasons of the Spirit
A Prayer…
God of all time and place, fill our hearts and minds with the stories of your faithful people through the ages. Guide us as we journey in your way. May we be examples of faithfulness for the next generation. Amen.
