St. Peter United Church of Christ, Hookdale, IL

St. Peter United Church of Christ, Hookdale, IL St. Peter UCC is a smallish country church. The members are sweet, welcoming folk. Come try us out on a Sunday morning, and you will fall in love!

The little church that CAN, St. Peter Church is a charming country church that does wonderful mission work and serves surrounding communities.

03/31/2024

Dear family and friends--

Bette and I wish you a festive and blessed Easter.

The sorting and packing are nearing the finish line, at least on my end. Now to transport the remains and "blend" our lives on a physical as well as a spiritual level.

Meantime, we hope you enjoy a beautiful and safe spring. Easter means that Jesus is Lord, and we are not. That gives me hope, even in a seemingly hopeless world.

Blessed Easter and Passover, dear ones.

Jerry and Bette

03/24/2024

Dear Friends and Family--
I have been under the weather all week, so there will be no video this morning. We are in the throes of emptying my Highland house and moving into our Belleville home, so videos will be on hiatus until further notice.

Have a blessed Holy Week and a joyous Easter.

Jerry

03/17/2024

Dear Friends and Family March 17, 2024
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We are still in the throes of combining households. That means CLUTTER. At my house, boxes are piling up. Trash bags are accumulating as I toss so many things I thought I wouldn’t let go of. There are stacks of things to go to the thrift shop, stacks of things yet to be packed. I’m trying to keep some spaces picked up, because clutter makes me feel unsettled. Clutter in the home translates to clutter in my brain and makes it harder to navigate everyday life.
Bette’s house is similarly in disarray as she too is sorting, pitching, and rearranging. What an enormous job this has become.
We live in a cluttered world. Mounds of plastic clutter the seas. Mounds of garbage rise outside our cities like slowly building pyramids that, one day, will be examined by archeologists seeking to understand our civilization. Gaza and Ukraine are filled with the clutter of war, and US city streets are cluttered with the homeless and unloved as well as mostly unwelcomed immigrants seeking refuge and basic humanity.
Maybe if we tidied up our world, we would feel less unsettled. If here and there we were able to clear out anger and aggression, and create oases of peace and love, we might see the beginnings of a world restored to its Edenic state.
Just a thought as the sorting and packing and moving goes on.
Blessings on the journey,
Jerry
Here’s the link to this week’s online worship service:

03/10/2024

Dear Friends and Family March 10, 2024
Grace and peace be with you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you’re happy, and you know it, clap your hands—RIGHT NOW.
Despite the mess the world is in, there’s still much for which to be grateful. Time with family brings joy and laughter, memories and dreams. Time with friends also brings memories and, usually, lots of laughter. For me, being gathered in worship is a time that brings peace, as does time in a Bible study with old and new friends. Bette makes me smile and elicits lots of laughter.
The fact that there’s food on the grocery store shelves and in our cupboards makes me grateful. Our little dogs, Alice and Lilly, bring smiles to our faces (most of the time). Gray skies are gonna clear up ….
A saint from the United Methodist Church in Hartford, IL whose name was Pearl Oglesby, shared a pearl of wisdom with me more than 30 years ago: If you see someone who doesn’t have a smile, give them one of yours. The song Smile, an oldie but goodie, has been recorded by many artists:
Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

We mustn’t ignore the world’s heartbreak, but a smile will make the whole world sing, and perhaps, the sun will come shining through for us all. Clap your hands, all God’s people!
Smiles and blessings,
Jerry
Here’s the link to this week’s online worship service:

03/03/2024

Dear Friends and Family March 3, 2024
Grace and peace be with you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are nearly midway through our Lenten journey. With Jesus, we journey toward Jerusalem. His was a suffering way. What is your journey like?
Our journey, Bette’s and mine, is at present one of disruption as we work at emptying my house and filling hers. I can’t say it’s a time of suffering, but it’s certainly a time of tension as we work around doctor appointments and church and chorus obligations. It’s a time of happy new beginnings, while it’s also a time of grieving as we give up things and places we have cherished to accommodate the newness of married life.
Our world certainly seems to be on a journey of tension and loss as Israel mourns its massacred dead and Gaza mourns tens of thousands of retaliatory deaths. Ukraine is buckling under the strain of a lack of weaponry while Russia and North Korea issue threats to unleash nuclear annihilation upon the world.
Whether or not you believe in human-caused global warming (I do), the weather continues to be weird. Incredible snowfalls in the west, predictions of a dangerous hurricane season, wildfires burning acre upon acre of grass and forest, home and business—all call us to consider the cost of our wanton waste and pollution of earth’s resources, especially in the industrialized west.
We live in a Lenten-like world. Only thing is, we’re not suffering and sacrificing to bring about the Kingdom of God. Rather, we are bleeding, suffering, dying in service to our own selfish ends. That seems less like Lent and more like judgment.
In Jerusalem, Jesus found death awaiting him. But he was also surprised by the new life of Easter. Is it possible that our Lenten journeys will end in resurrection and renewal? Or will the world continue its slide into ruin?
It’s the hope of a new Easter that sustains me, and I hope, will sustain you. A new Easter with a new heaven and earth more like Eden than Armageddon … where women and men, girls and boys, can go to sleep without fear of bombs falling on their houses, can have plenty enough to eat, where swords and A-Bombs are beaten into plowshares and tools for making peace, where all God’s children live together in peace, regardless of the differences that make us God’s unique creations.
Blessings on your journeys, friends. May you experience a new Easter of faith and unconditional love that motivates you to work for the same all around the world.
Jerry
Here’s the link to this week’s online worship service:

02/25/2024

Dear friends and family— February 25, 2024

Good morning!

As spring peeks around the corner, emerging daffodils and budding trees hold promise of a return to color in our monochrome winter world. For me, the return of color is a great energizer. It invites joy and celebrates the return of warmth to creation. (Of course, the opposite is happening in the southern hemisphere, a part of the world I love. But I’ll take spring here in the north any time.)

It's already two weeks since our wedding. Talk about color! The beautiful St. Paul UCC, Belleville sanctuary could hardly contain the joy that day. When we entered the sanctuary, we were surrounded by every possible color—the sparkling stained glass … the bridesmaids and groomsmen in their deep reds, the color of love … the magnificent pipe organ and the voices of a congregation singing their praise to God—it was a burst of color in an otherwise winter-bleached world.

For me, however, beside the burst of beauty in my beloved as we made our way down the aisle, were the rich hues of family and friends in abundance, smiling their gladness, offering memories of years and places gone by. Thank you to all who shared our special day by your presence, your prayers, and your kind thoughts.

I guess I often think of weddings as focused on the bride. But this groom enjoyed the day as happily as any blushing bride. It was a wonder!

May your days be filled with color, joy, and wonder. They sometimes seem in short supply, but our God is a generous God, and will provide these and other blessings to those who are looking. Good news for the day.

God’s richest blessings,
Jerry

Here’s the link to this morning’s online worship service:

02/04/2024

Dear friends and family— February 4, 2024

Good morning!

I awoke to a stunning sunrise that filled me with thanksgiving. A good way to start the day, no?

It’s less than a week till we start our new married life. We’ve been amazed by how many of our friends and family plan to be at the wedding—your presence will make the day even more wonderful. I want to say a big thank you to my friend and colleague, Rita Smith, who will be supplying the pulpit while we are away. You’re the best!

Speaking of which, there will be no videos for the next two weeks.

I bought a new suit for the wedding, which makes me think of Paul’s admonition to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” We both feel sure that the Lord led us to each other and has placed us on this path of marriage. We already feel richly blessed and look forward to the blessings of our new life together. New suits and dresses, flowers, and parties don’t really matter in the end, as I always tell couples I’m counseling. What does matter is being fully present to the Spirit of God who WILL be present among us. What matters is putting on the Lord’s love like a wedding garment.

We both have had long marriages, and we know we may not have many years together. That’s why we’ve decided to focus on this present moment, treasuring the past and foregoing worries about the future. God gifts us with grace and mercy for each new day; we plan to dwell in that blessedness.

Live in the grace and mercy of God, dear ones, as you give thanks for the gift of life’s every moment.

God’s richest blessings,
Jerry

Here’s the link to this morning’s online worship service:

01/28/2024

Dear friends and family— January 28, 2024

Good morning!

News reported that it’s been more than 6 days since we had a non-gloomy sky. There’s been lots of rain, but it’s dry this morning, though still gloomy. The gloomy skies are my least favorite part of winter. Usually, they make me feel gloomy too. But I haven’t felt gloomy thus far—at least as far as the weather goes. World news … now that’s another matter.

Less than two weeks to go before the nuptials. That’s keeping things bright. We are looking forward to sharing the event with many friends and family from such a variety of settings.

We set out to plan a simple wedding. The wedding itself is still simple, but everything that surrounds it has been amazingly complex. I have a new respect for those who embark on such an endeavor—it requires endurance, patience, and TIME! Oh, yes—it also requires more memory cells than either of us possess at this stage of life. You should see all the lists we have written!

Our plans after the wedding include a week at Myrtle Beach followed by a couple of family stops. March and April are dedicated to emptying the Highland house and rearranging the Belleville house to accommodate my stuff. Every time I move, I hope it’s the last. So far, it hasn’t worked.

I pray this finds you well … not planning a wedding or moving … and filled with the Spirit of Peace and Hope—even in these troubled days.

God’s richest blessings,
Jerry

Here’s the link to this morning’s online worship service:

01/13/2024

Due to tomorrow morning's dangerous wind chills, worship at St. Peter UCC in Hookdale has been canceled. There will be no online worship. Pastor Jerry

01/07/2024

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Finally, we have snow! Not everyone likes it, but I do. I enjoy watching the snow fall, gently at first, then heavily ... watching it fall in the glow of streetlights … on top of the tall grasses until they bend under the weight … watching the dogs run through it.

It never truly feels like winter to me until we have the first snow. There are many gloomy winter days to come; they tend to weigh me down like the grasses beneath the snow’s heavy weight. But this winter will be different. Spring arrives early—on February 10th when Bette and I exchange vows and embark on our new lives of union, laughter, and joy.

There will be a lot of work after that, clearing one house and filling another. And then it will be late spring, and we will be able to enjoy nature’s bursting forth. The dogs will be hard at work, sniffing, exploring, digging. Blessings will abound.

I pray for you, friends, that winter’s snows do not weigh you down excessively. Remember the wisdom of Natalie Sleeth who, in her Hymn of Promise, writes: In the snow and cold of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be. Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Winter blessings be upon you, friends!

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Jerry

Here’s the link to today’s online worship video:

12/31/2023

All kinds of junk has appeared in St. Peter's feed. Any ideas how to stop this?

12/31/2023

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

I hope you had a joyful Christmas. Bette and I enjoyed our Christmas Eve service and family time. Had fun with Jerry’s family on Christmas Day, and I enjoyed meeting more of Bette’s St. Louis family on the 23rd.

It’s New Year’s Eve as I write. With one flip of the calendar page, we enter a new year and clear the decks for new possibilities and challenges. In a month and a half Bette and I will be married. Next, we will spend two months moving Jerry into Bette’s Belleville condo, which will require sorting and selling in both locations. While we anticipate the completed transition, the amount of work to be done is daunting.

What 2024 will bring for our world remains to be seen. Could things get worse? Possibly. Could there be an end to the hostilities in Ukraine-Russia? Israel-Gaza? Could the US government move away from dysfunction and return to the notion of serving the common good? I hope so. Can we overcome the radical division that threatens our country’s stability? With the help of God, may it be so.

I pray that for you, 2024 will be a good year. Trust in the Lord to walk with you whatever befalls.

My friend, Christian Jesus Gutierrez, lives in Ecuador and recently posted the following. It’s worth taping to the bathroom mirror.

I will not be in chaos;
God is my calm.

I will not fear the storms;
God is my shelter.

I will not live in panic;
God is my peace.

Happy New Year! Prospero ano nuevo! God’s richest blessings!

Jerry

Here’s the link to today’s online worship video:

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1670 Hookdale Lane
Smithboro, IL
62284

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9am - 12pm

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