The One True Shepherd – In our summer look at psalms, today’s scripture is the very familiar 23^rd Psalm.  Senior Minister, the Rev. Dr. Carol Cavin-Dillon begins by talking about the familiarity of this psalm as it has landed in the midst of a time of great conflict.  The psalms run the gamut of emotions with some full of praise and joy and others expressing despair.  While she leads us through the psalm in her sermon, she invites us to explore our own feelings as we explore it, too.  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” is a declaration that reminds us that nobody leads us except “the Lord,” and because of that we lack nothing.  The next part of the psalm describes what the Lord provides for us.  We are charged with working for justice and the furtherance of God’s plan, but we are also invited to re-charge through rest and also through worship together.  All are invited to God’s table, including those who might be “enemies.” The psalm ends with the assurance that we are not pursued by enemies but by the goodness and lovingkindness of God and the declaration that we will live with the Lord forever.

(NOTE:  Emphasizing the importance of the Word, the video begins with the scripture reading, but if you want, you can scroll back to the beginning of the service in each video – the entire service is available. NOTE: The church is in the process of upgrading the lighting and sound systems in the sanctuary, and today's video and audio were not able to begin with the opening voluntary, but with Carol's welcome.)