March 2020

/ Lime Rock Baptist Church/
 
Easter is here!

LRBC CANCELS SUNDAY WORSHIP

Hello to fellow congregants of Lime Rock Baptist Church. My how strange it is to post a cancellation notice when there’s no snow to be seen, but here we are. LRBC has canceled in-person worship service, bible study, and meditation amid coronavirus spread. The deacons and pastor Gene are taking appropriate measures to post next weeks worship service online. 

To love one another is to protect one another from the spread of COVID19. Despite our distance we are a church community and are fortunate to have technology to connect. If you have not done so, please visit our website and like and follow our Facebook page. 

Bible Study, Lenten Bible Study, Choir Rehearsal, and Meditation has been cancelled until further notice. 

*The food pantry remained opened today and took necessary precautions to keep everyone safe. Patrons were asked to remain in their cars and volunteers brought the food to them. Thank you to Steve Cranshaw and volunteers for providing this wonderful service. 

 
 

St. Pat’s Dinner – Postponed

St. Pat’s Dinner chair, Mr. Bob Turner states, “I look forward to rescheduling the St. Pat’s Dinner to a later date.” We’ll let you know when the date is set as soon as possible. 

 
 

Pastor’s Reflection

As Winter is ending and Spring is emerging, it is time for the observance of Lent.   Lent is the more serious time on the church calendar.   It is a time to hit the pause button, review, assess and get back on a spiritual track.  Sometimes life comes at us fast and we all need a time to reset.  Lent is such a time…a time to get a grip. 

Lent is a season for self-reflection and prayer.  Hopefully, these are practices to which you are accustomed.  Please put aside the medieval image of sackcloth and ashes.  The work of lent is to do whatever it takes for us to get more centered and grounded and to become better able to appreciate the blessings of life.  The busyness of our daily lives generally commands our attention and we get absorbed in the regular routine.   In time we begin to overlook the love, joy and beauty that is present.

It becomes quite obvious at Springtime that renewal, regeneration and restoration form a universal and observable pattern in everything that surrounds us.  While Spring will happen without any help from me, my task is to notice and to enjoy its happening.  While God is present in the face of ones I love, my task is to notice and enjoy.  Likewise the voices of the children in my life whisper the sound of the sacred.  My task is to listen.  Lent is a time to get back to seeing the blessings of life all around me.  When done well, it is a time to become a blessing to the lives all around me. 

 
 

Adelyn Sokoloski – Dedicated – February 16, 2020

Adelyn Sokoloski, daughter of Annie Miller and Nick Sokoloski, was dedicated to God at Lime Rock Baptist Church on February 16th, 2020. Adelyn’s loving family and church family proclaimed their faith in Christ and their commitment to pass their faith to Adelyn. God Bless Adelyn! 

 
 

Meditation Program Flourishes Quietly

The evening meditation program is entering its 4th year at Lime 

Rock Baptist Church.  We meet bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Two years ago we adopted a Zen format and became an Interfaith Christian Zen group. We are pleased to have three authorized contemplative teachers to share the responsibility of guiding the group.   

One participant in the Group is a retired minister who spend 20 years serving the church in China. He told us the story of the first flourishing of Christianity in China and showed us a photo of the Lotus Cross. This is a cruciform that incorporates the Cross, the prominent symbol of Christianity, with an oft used Asian image, a lotus. Subsequently, a wood cutting was made by Ms. Karen Hattman, a friend of Rev. Gene.  Many of you have seen the Cross, which we use at the meditation sitting.  It will be displayed in our sanctuary from time to time. In true interfaith fashion, it was dedicated by Fr. Kevin Hunt, O.C.S.O, a Trappist Monk and one of the meditation leaders, on Tuesday evening, February 11th. 

 
 

Holy Week

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  • Palm Sunday
    Sunday, April 5th 10am

  • Maundy Thursday / Tenebrae Service
    Thursday, April 9th 7pm
    This will be a solemn candle lit Communion Service remembering the Last Supper and the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Easter Sunday
    Sunday, April 12th 10am
    A festive Easter Sunday Worship Service celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

    Are you interested in ordering a plant to decorate the alter on Easter Sunday? 

    Please email Jerilyn at limerockbc@outlook.com 

 
 

Social Justice Advocacy

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Rev. Gene serves on several InterFaith Religious Coalitions.  It is encouraging to participate with clergy and religious leaders from a wide variety of faith groups in Rhode Island who interject moral questions into public discourse.  Speaking in an open space with people looking down from the second and third floor is quite different than preaching at LRBC.  

 
 

Pastor appointed to Medical Ethics Committee of Bradley Hospital

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addressing issues that arise in patient care and makes recommendations to facilitate sound decisions that respects participants values, concerns and interests. 

Before entering ministry, Rev. Gene had a career in mental health as a practitioner and an administrator.  He served on boards of Community Mental Health Organizations.  He has provided Chaplaincy service at Bradley Hospital for 18 years and recently has been named to the Ethics Committee.