Have you ever played the game of “telephone”? (I imagine it is more familiar to those of us who grew up with phones that had cords and dials.) However, in the game of “telephone”, a group of friends would sit in a circle. The first person would whisper two sentences into the ear of the person next to them. That person would then whisper, what they thought they heard, into the ear of the next person- and so on. The last person in the circle would share the message they heard- which rarely resembled anything like the first two sentences. However, there were often seeds of truth and meaning in each of them.
In each of the four Gospels, there is a reference to Jesus traveling to Jerusalem, a donkey. and crowds joining him. Only three of the Gospels mention palms. Fortunately, the suggested Gospel reading for this Sunday is based on Mark 11:1-11, which includes the palms. Hence, we can freely wave palms this Sunday. More importantly, we are reminded that each Gospel version invites us to enter into the story with a slightly different lens.
A number of years back, I started a Palm Sunday tradition here, at St. Mark’s, called “Sit Somewhere Else Sunday.” It seems to be our human proclivity to sit in generally the same seats, or area/sanctuary neighborhood, each week. “Sit Somewhere Else Sunday” is an invitation to get to know some other people, and take in a different vantage point or perspective. (The only thing I ask is that current neighborhoods not go as one group to sit somewhere else. :) This is completely voluntary, but you may find that there is grace in connecting with different people, hearing new stories, and seeing from a different view.
Early in the worship service, children, youth, and the young at heart (of all ages) are invited to be part of the Parade of Palms. Also, in our time of worship, we will pray and reflect, sing hymns, share a Children’s Moment and have a Moment of Sharing from Kaianne Mooradian. Our Chancel Choir, directed by Gerry Sousa and accompanied by Lois Leong, will lead us in music. The Chancel Ringers will offer a musical selection and Stephanie Conklin will sing "The Holy City" The scripture passage will be read by Tim Fort. The sermon title is “The Grace of More than One Story”.
If you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for a long time, a short time, or will be joining us for the first time, we look forward to connecting with those of you here in-person or joining on the live stream.
To connect to our livestream worship Sunday morning,
click the link on our website www.smumc.church.
The service starts at 10:30am. Livestream starts at 10:25am.