This Week at Tabernacle
THIS WEEK AT TABERNACLE CHURCH, UCC
April 12, 2026
Plan to join us this Sunday, April 12th, at 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary for our Sunday service followed by fellowship time in the Bigelow Room.
A Special Message from the Reverend Darrell L. Goodwin
Executive Conference Minister and President
Southern New England Conference
Dear Beloved,
Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed.
Each year we proclaim these words as an echo of the empty tomb, but this Easter I find myself holding them not just as tradition, but as a deep and urgent truth for the world we are living in right now. We are surrounded by so much that feels fragile and fractured; war continues to devastate communities across the globe, divisions run deep within our own nation, and many are carrying a quiet exhaustion that comes from wondering if things will ever truly change.
And yet, Easter meets us here.
It does not wait for things to be settled or peaceful before it speaks. It does not arrive once the world has put itself back together. Instead, resurrection breaks in right in the middle of uncertainty and reminds us that God is still at work, even when the evidence feels hard to see.
This is what makes Easter so powerful. It is not simply a remembrance of what God has done. It is a declaration of what God continues to do, bringing life where there has been loss, hope where there has been despair, and connection where there has been division.
In a moment like this, the Church cannot afford to shrink back or grow quiet. We are being invited, once again, to remember who we are. We are a people shaped by resurrection, called not only to believe in it, but to live it in ways that are visible, tangible, and transformative.
That is why our shared theme, The Ties That Bind, feels especially meaningful in this season.
Because in a world that is constantly pulling itself apart, God is still drawing us together. We are bound to one another in ways that go deeper than agreement or familiarity. We are connected through a shared calling to love, to serve, and to show up for one another in ways that reflect the heart of God. When one part of the body suffers, we all feel it. When one community rises, we all are strengthened. This is not abstract theology, it is the lived reality of what it means to be a Covenantal Church.
And if I am honest, I believe this is one of the most important witnesses we have to offer right now. Not perfection. Not certainty. But connection. A refusal to give up on one another. A commitment to stay at the table, to do the hard work of community, and to embody a different way of being in a world that often chooses separation over solidarity.
We really are stronger together than we are apart, and this Easter invites us to take that truth seriously. So I want to encourage us, in this season of resurrection, to lean into both action and prayer in ways that reflect the depth of our calling.
Let this be a time when we show up more fully in our congregations, in our neighborhoods, and in the public spaces where decisions are shaping the lives of so many. Let us be present with those who are hurting, attentive to those who are overlooked, and courageous enough to stand for what is right, even when it is not easy. And alongside that action, let us deepen our commitment to prayer. Let us pray for a world that is aching for peace. Let us pray for leaders to be guided by wisdom and compassion. Let us pray for communities that are carrying grief and uncertainty. And let us also pray for the Church, that we might be renewed, strengthened, and reminded of the sacred responsibility we carry in this moment.
Resurrection is not something we simply celebrate. It is something we are invited to embody. God is still rolling stones away. God is still calling life out of places that feel lifeless. And God is still gathering us together, binding us in love, and sending us out as witnesses to hope.
My prayer this Easter is that we will have the courage to rise into that calling, not alone, but together, trusting that the ties that bind us are stronger than anything that seeks to divide us.
With hope and in resurrection,
Rev. Darrell L. Goodwin
Executive Conference Minister and President
Southern New England Conference
The title of Reverend Joe’s sermon is : “Can We Touch Resurrection?”
The Deacons for the month of April are Jan Roberts-Breslin and Dave Woolfenden.
GREAT NEWS!!
It has been decided that the Bonhoeffer Study Group will continue past the Easter Season.
Join us on Mondays at 3:00 p.m. in the Bigelow Room
Please use Federal Street Entrance.
Next meeting to be held on Monday April 13th.
Any questions can be directed to Reverend Joe or Stephen Fisher (570-380-0663).
Steeple Lighting Opportunities for 2026!!
Call or email the office for months that are available if you would like to celebrate a special occasion or remember or honor a loved one. April, June, and August are available.
Call or email the office to reserve your month now!
Cost is 150.00 for the month. Phone: 978-744-3164,
email: office@tabernaclechurch.org
A new address….
Norene Gachignard has moved. Her new address is:
Norene Gachignard
c/o The Betram House
29 Washington Square
Suite 302
Salem, MA 01970
A Special Invitation from Carissa Rodriguez…
MISSIONS IS COLLECTING A NEW ITEM FOR THE SALEM PANTRY
To support the Salem Pantry during the months of April, May, and June, Missions is collecting items such as bars of soap, liquid body wash, dishwashing liquid soap, and laundry detergents.
These are items the Pantry does not receive from other resources, but they are much needed products.
Thank you as always for supporting members in our community.
Bless you for your contributions!
Missions Group
WE NEED HELP SERVING LIFEBRIDGE MEALS
CHOOSE YOUR MONTH TO SERVE
4-6- P.M. the fourth Monday of the Month
Sign up Sheets are on the board in the Bigelow Room
WITHOUT VOLUNTEERS WE CANNOT MAKE THIS MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNITY SERVICE HAPPEN!!
AND WE ARE STILL COLLECTING …..
Missions is collecting plastic tabs from bread and fruit bags, and the pull tabs from cans. Collection Jars are in the Bigelow Room.
Calendar
Sunday, April 12th, 2026
10:00 a.m. Worship Service in the Sanctuary and via Zoom
11:00 a.m. Fellowship time in the Bigelow Room
Monday, April 13th, 2026
7:00 p.m. Alanon Meeting downstairs in the dining room.
3:00 p.m. Bonhoeffer Study Group in the Bigelow Room
Tuesday, April 14th, 2026
6:00 p.m. Zilber Beatles rehearsal downstairs classroom
7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Jubilate Choir Rehearsal in the Bigelow Room
Wednesday, April 15th, 2026
7:00 p.m. Bible Study via Zoom
Friday, April 17th, 2026
6:30 p.m. AA Meeting downstairs in the dining room
Sunday, April 19th, 2026
10:00 a.m. Worship Service in the Sanctuary and via Zoom
11:00 a.m. Fellowship Time in the Bigelow Room
BIBLE STUDY TONIGHT
April 8, 2026
7:00 pm via Zoom
TONIGHTS READINGS
Hebrew Reading
Psalm 16 Fullness of joy
16:1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
16:2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
16:3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.
16:4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.
16:5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
16:6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.
16:7 I bless the LORD, who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
16:8 I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
16:9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.
16:10 For you do not give me up to Sheol or let your faithful one see the Pit.
16:11 You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore
John 20:19-31 Beholding the wounds of the risen Christ
20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
20:24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
20:25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
20:26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said. “Peace be with you.”
20:27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
20:28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
20:30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
20:31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.