Blog Archives

Sharing the Load

2/24/2022

Rev. Judith Cooke

As I prepare to be on Sabbatical this year from May through July, it is becoming increasingly clear how much I love my work at NGCC. With the stresses of pastoring during a pandemic, I am truly in need of this time. Yet, the idea of being gone for three months is difficult. As Covid looks like it will move from pandemic into endemic, the church may be opening up for more in-person events. The idea of not being available to help with this crucial shift bothers me.

When I feel this way, I remind myself that in the book of Exodus, Moses was struggling to let go of being responsible for everything. His father-in-law Jethro pulled him aside and said, “You’ve got to do things differently, Moses. You have to learn to delegate. Let go, and then others will hear God’s direction.” What a vital message this is. We do not have to do everything on our own. Think about your own life for a moment. What do you need to delegate? What task are you called to accept as another delegates?

North Guilford Congregational is blessed with capable, creative, hard-working, caring, intelligent, faithful people! God has been working with you and through you, and God will continue blessing you and your work, and I am continually grateful that I am the pastor of this congregation!

Embracing Mistakes

2/17/2022

Rev. Judith Cooke

Most of us dislike making mistakes. We often feel bad about ourselves when we say the wrong thing, make a blunder at work, break something special to us, accidentally hurt someone’s feelings. How often do we beat ourselves up for mistakes we make? People will often say more terrible things to themselves than they would ever dream of saying to another person.

However, not all mistakes are bad. Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chips, after a mistake making chocolate cookies. An engineer at GE named James Wright tried to help the government during WW2 by making rubber from silicon, which did not work; but, his mistake became the creation of Silly Putty. Penicillin, microwave ovens, fireworks were all the result of mistakes.

Throughout the Bible, God valued people who made mistakes: Noah, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul – to name a few. This tells us that not only does God accept us when we make mistakes, God even uses us with all our shortcomings and slip-ups.

When has a mistake you made turned out to be a blessing?
When have your faults be accepted by another?
How does God use your shortcomings in positive ways?

While it is true that you are not perfect, you are still “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) by God, who loves you, values you, and utilizes you – just as you are right now.

Lewis Lovers

2/10/2022

Rev. Judith Cooke

For as long as I can remember, I have been enamored with The Muppets. Sesame Street drew me right in with Cookie Monster's messy eating and Ernie with his rubber ducky. Years ago, when I was asked to help add puppets to the children’s ministries, I jumped in eagerly. While I own a few puppets, my favorite is Lewis, who is a church-loving, eager to help, overactive kid.

My biggest problem with puppets was finding scripts. Virtually every script I could find had theology with which I disagreed. I am unwilling to use scripts that teach children that they are all terrible sinners who displease God or that their Jewish neighbor is doomed to hell or that God loves Americans more than people in other countries. It is lessons like these that people were taught as children that affect their faith for a long time.

Pastors spend a lot of time helping people unlearn damaging lessons from their Sunday School years. This may be true for you as well. What were you taught as a child that you needed to relearn? What faith messages have you been told that do not sit right with you?

Over the years, I have written dozens and dozens of scripts, mostly for Lewis. Realizing that there is a need for puppet scripts with theology like our denomination’s, I am going to use some of my Sabbatical time to compile scripts into a collection called “Lewis Lovers.” My hope is to create a resource so others can have a meaningful puppet ministry.

While I will be away May through July on Sabbatical, I am excited and grateful to have the opportunity to work toward sharing my love of puppets with other pastors and churches.

Messages from the Pastor

Sharing the Load

Embracing Mistakes

Lewis Lovers

Archives