October 2021 Worship Themes

October 3, Holy Communion and Baptism, Part 3

Honoring Amicable as Community: What Prepares Us for the Future?

Baptism and Worldwide Communion Sunday

As Amicable considers its future during a ministerial transition, it is essential to consider the fabric that constitutes the congregation. How are we bound together? How do we approach our future as a community of faith in the 21st century? A global pandemic has altered radically how we engage in worship. How then do we adjust to celebrating our faith together? How do we best prepare spiritually for what lies ahead?

 

October 10, A 275th Sunday

Honoring Amicable’s History: The History We Know and Do Not Know, Part 1
As Amicable Congregational Church begins a celebration of its 275th anniversary, we will spend time between now and Pentecost 2022 considering both the history well known to us and the history more hidden from plain view. Over the course of our celebrations, we will follow the trail of Amicable’s past as each era brought about new challenges and important transitions. How did our spiritual ancestors in Tiverton meet those challenges? How does this history inform our spirituality today as progressive Christians?

 

October 17, A Stewardship Sunday

Honoring Amicable’s History: How Are We Tethered to Something Bigger? Part 2

Part and parcel of learning Amicable’s history relates to a larger denominational story. Amicable began as a Congregational Church with ties to other churches with the same polity. Then in 1931, it joined with churches of the Christian denomination to form the Congregational Christian Church. Another merger in 1957 with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches brought about our current union as the United Church of Christ. Why did these mergers and transitions occur? How can these transitions serve as an example to us of a vibrant, every changing, “still speaking” congregation?

 

October 24, A Stewardship Sunday

Honoring Amicable: Finding Community Anew in a Pandemic, Part 1

COVID rocked our sense of what forms and shapes community as faithful people. All the usual means by which we gather for worship, for council, for the building of meaningful relationships together were radically altered in a short time. It has left us hanging out in cyberspace unhooked from how we usually build community. How do we reconstitute community in new and meaningful ways as we still live in a pandemic? How can we reach out to each beyond masks and social distancing? What can this time in our history teach us about communicating with spiritual family?

 

October 31 Stewardship Sunday

Honoring Amicable: Finding Community Anew without the Church Dinner, Part 2

During our Children’s Message on Sunday, September 29, we shared all the things we love most about church, about being church. Lots of things were mentioned including, coffee hour, friendships, community, prayer, worship, and singing. But one aspect of church life was not mentioned: the church dinner. One of the best ways we are “church” is that we eat together whether it is at the communion table, a monthly dinner, or celebrations of special occasions. What does it mean when we cannot break bread together, sit for an hour or two and share potluck, taste coffee hour goodies? How can we reclaim that same sense of a spiritual sharing of food when we are still unable to share a meal?