Pastor Nikki's Notions

Dear Friends,

What happens when our world falls apart? What do we become when our identity—or the path we’re on—comes undone?

Unraveling is not always the end we fear it will be. When the worst has happened, when death or tragedy has undone us and the vision we had for our lives fades out, we come to an end, but it is not the end. Our story continues. We must find a way to keep going, even in the times of our deepest grief. Sometimes, our undoing becomes an opportunity—to untangle ourselves from broken patterns or toxic situations, or to become unwound from a path or identity that no longer serves us.

We don’t have to dig deep to think of moments when our life hasn’t gone as planned. One day we’re moving through the world with hopes and dreams on our sleeves. The next, we’re laughing out loud, or are lost in a wave of grief, for the way life has unfolded around us. In our unraveling, sometimes life surprises us with unexpected joy, love, and hope—with a new beginning we couldn’t have imagined. Most people connect the concept of things falling apart to feelings of anxiety, confusion, exhaustion, and fear. However, if we pause, if we are brutally honest with ourselves, we can come to the conclusion that we’ve never really had anything truly together in the first place. Framed this way, unraveling, or coming undone, can be understood as a practice in trust and a much-needed release. Sometimes we need God to unravel us, for we long to be changed.

This summer, beginning on June 16, Delafield Presbyterian Church will begin a summer sermon series, which will explore 12 stories of unraveled shame, identity, fear, grief, dreams, and expectations. These are stories where God meets us in the spiraling, unraveling of our plans—and makes us into something new. Please join us to explore this important theme!

Here’s what you can expect each week in worship:

· June 16: Mark 5:1-20- Jesus heals a man unraveled by a legion of demons.

· June 23: Job 28:12-28- Job seeks understanding when everything has fallen apart.

· June 30: John 4:1-29- Jesus unravels the shame of a Samaritan woman at the well.

· July 7: Jeremiah 29:1-7- Jeremiah comforts people undone by exile.

· July 14: Matthew 14:22-33- Peter sinks into uncertainty.

· July 21: 2 Samuel 3:7, 21:1-14- Rizpah’s grief inspires action.

· July 28: Numbers 11:1-15- Moses is undone by exhaustion.

· August 4: 1 Kings 19:1-18- Elijah is unraveled by fear.

· August 11: Book of Jonah (Selected Verses)- Jonah is enraged by God’s grace.

· August 18: Exodus 1:22, 2:1-10: Jochabed’s plans for her son fall apart.

· August 25: Luke 19:1-10- Zaccheaus' career comes undone.

· September 1: John 5:1-9- A man’s identity is transformed by God’s grace.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Nikki

THANK YOU, CYNTHIA HENNIG!

For many years, Cynthia Hennig has poured her heart and soul into creating one-of-a-kind, personalized quilts for each of our high school graduates to take with them on their future adventures. She has seen to it that they are able to take a quilted hug from their church family wherever they may go. On June 16, we will present our graduates with Cynthia’s final batch of quilts. So, we at Delafield Pres extend our sincerest congratulations to our graduates, Evan Marsh and Scott Saddler. And we offer our deep and heartfelt thanks to Cynthia for this display of love and care over the years.