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Tabernacle Congregational Church, UCC
50 Washington Street ~ Corner of Federal Street
Salem, MA 01970
(978) 744-3164
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Youth Group Presenting Heifer International with their donation at Overlook Farm in
Rutland, Mass
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Team Tabernacle
2012 HAWC Walk
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Tabernacle Church is an Open and Affirming Congregation with a focus on building relationships with God through worship, mission, healing ministries, education and fellowship. We welcome people from all denominations and faith traditions; and we affirm who you are and want to join you on your journey of becoming.
Worship: At the heart of our Christian life together are the shared rituals and sacraments of worship. On Sunday mornings at 10:00 am, we take an hour to be with God in community and rejoice in the presence of Jesus Christ. With extraordinary musical talents, our choir and congregation lift voices and instruments as gifts to God. Every Sunday, children receive a message before leaving for Sunday School. And our prayer and preaching life together is a genuine sharing of faith and vision.
Mission: This year marks the 200th Anniversary of the Commissioning of Global Missionaries in 1812. Our Mission Group actively builds relationships in this community that help relieve poverty, abuse and homelessness. Our quarterly Mission-Concerts are open to the public and give us a chance to teach and raise funds for local social justice organizations.
Special Mission Events:
Healing: When Jesus walked into cities and villages with his disciples, he saw human beings who cried out for healing. WIth a mission to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and heal every dis-ease and sickness among the people, he persistently brought the disenfranchised into the circle of God’s Love. Tabernacle is committed to being a place where people know they belong and as part of the inner circle of our spiritual life, we all become healed and healers.
Education: As a teacher and rabbi, Jesus valued learning. As disciples of Christ, we too value learning. Children’s education, Adult Bible Studies and spirituality retreats are ways we further God’s wisdom in our world. Each month, children participate in a Communion in the Round service with the guidance from Christ’s plea: “Let the children come to me for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Other educational offerings include: www.tabernaclechurch.org/children
Fellowship: Fun is sometimes the best antidote to life’s complications. And we like to have fun. Dinners out at local restaurants,; parties at holiday times; and fund raising pot luck dinners with Silent Auctions are some of the ways we fellowship together. Also you can host a home party to which Rev. Laura Biddle will come and meet you and your friends.
Please join us in the rich and challenging life of our Christian Faith at Tabernacle Church.
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The Gift of Resilience
Eastertide, the season right after Easter Sunday, lasts a s long as Lent. But during the 6 weeks of Easter, instead of pointing to the empty cross, we point to the Victorious Cross; the cross from which God raised Jesus. At Tabernacle’s Easter, it is a cross covered in gorgeous springtime flowers.
For the 40 days of Eastertide, Christians are urged by the mystery of resurrection, to look at what is being re-born or what needs re-newed attention. Ideally, this is the sacred season for finding hope in the midst of sorrow; for restoring relationships; for expecting the best; and forgiving those who have trespassed against us.
Eastertide is our opportunity to live as if resurrection is more than a belief. Resurrection is about life and relationships beginning again and again
One of my favorite resurrection qualities is resilience: the ability to recover readily from adversity, depression, illness; the power to return to the original form.
As my life has unfolded, with the many ebbs and flows of any 53 year old’s life, I have discovered the need to muster up a dose of resilience at many stages. God seems to lie in wait for the opportunity to rise up within me, a resilient spirit. My faith depends on this resiliency.
Resilience is something that the disciples called on as they renewed their faith in God after the resurrection. Without resilience, there would be no Christian faith. Doubting Thomas would have wallowed in his doubt; Peter would have simmered in his regret and guilt; Mary would have drowned in her sorrow. But that is not the way of Jesus Christ. Each of these Biblical characters found the spirit of resilience in their faith that Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!!!
Resilience is the inner rising of the Holy Spirit during times of fear, grief and worry.
I pray that this Eastertide offers all of us the gift of resilience.
God Bless You
Rev. Laura
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