Dear Church Family,
Sunday is Groundhog Day.  It’s not one of the big holidays, but the date reminded me of the movie Groundhog Day.  The comedy, starring Bill Murray, is thirty years old. The main character, selfish and sarcastic,  finds himself in a loop, doomed to repeat Groundhog day over and over again, until  he learns the redeeming qualities of self giving love and sacrifice. 
Does it ever seem to you that we are in a loop, reliving the same scenarios all too often.  It happens at a personal level, when we disappoint ourselves with our attitude or actions.    Paul reminds us that we “do not do the good we want and what we do not want is what we do.” (Romans 7:19.) It happens at a societal level when our public life falls far short of our best selves.  In Sunday’s Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah laments that the Israelites, in their communal and personal life keep failing to follow God, when they know so much better.   
When we get discouraged, and disappointed in ourselves and others, the healing “balm,”  Jeremiah maintains, is not some simple solution.  It has to do with stick-to-it-iveness, understanding that Christianity takes the long view.  As Christians we maintain our conviction to be Christian in substance and in style, even if we feel others sometimes distort its message.  We continue to demonstrate what it means to be  kind, gracious, merciful,  compassionate in a world so often deficient in  those attributes,.  When we stumble, as we will, we get back up and try again. And we  live in such a manner even when  we don’t always feel like it.
Sunday’s communion service does center around that famous “healing balm” passage in Jeremiah 8: 4-7,18-22.  We will, of course, sing the well known spiritual, “There is  a Balm in Gilead.” The New Testament lesson is 2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-12 and the sermon is “A Promise for Life’s Long Pull.” 
Rich 
To livestream FVCC's service, or view an archived service, click here: https://thefvcc.cc/online-worship