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​Sixth Sunday of Easter ​
 Mother’s Day & Rural Life Sunday

​​May 10, 2026
​11 AM
 Witness of Love


Sunday Worship Bulletin



​Rev. Dr. Chris Ponnuraj, Preaching 
Mr. John Strybos, Music Director

Choir:  J. J. Haight, Eliza Bonet, Susie Reisinger
Join us for our
Friendship and Fellowship Hour
after 11:00 AM service in Bodge Lounge.
 All are welcome. 

Come and share the joy of Christ's love with us.
All are welcome!

 One Great Hour of Sharing Collection


​Ways to Donate
​
​Attend a worship service and  place either cash or a check in the collection plate.

Mail a check or make a donation through your online banking service.
Make the donation to:
​West Center Congregational Church, UCC
 101 Pondfield Road West Bronxville, NY 10708


Join us for the next showing 

May 16, 2026

Pot Luck dinner at 6 PM
Movie at 7 PM​​

​​​​​​​​All are welcome, admission is free.
​For more information or to volunteer, send an email to
[email protected]

Annual Meeting
May 17, 2026
12:30

Witness of Love
​ Short Sermon
​Rev. Dr. Chris Ponnuraj, Preaching
​

Happy Mother’s Day:​

I wish all the women Happy Mother’s Day; God bless you all. Whether you are a biological mother, God mother or any woman who has rendered the services of a mother in one way or another, I thank God for all of you. I also thank God for my grandmother, mother, aunt, older sisters, and my wife for their care and love for our family and especially for me. 

It seems to me that there are two issues that many Christians face today and Jesus addresses these issues in our gospel passage St. John 14:15-21. The first is the question as to how we are rating ourselves as a Christian. In other words, are we good enough for God to be happy with us? Are we good enough that God would listen to our prayers? The second question has to do with how we know what is the right thing to do. Or How we decide what to do or say at any moment. 

Jesus was still in the middle of his farewell discourse to his disciples. He was trying to comfort the despair that the disciples were feeling when they first heard the news (during the last supper) that Jesus would be leaving them. Last week we saw how John chapter 14 begins with the disciples being faced with the problem of Jesus addressing his death. Jesus has just told them that he’s about to leave them, then he says these words to reassure them: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” These words are clearly meant as words of comfort, but you can imagine some of the disciples thinking differently and worried about what’s going to happen in the next few months when Jesus isn’t here to help us and guide us. 

For almost more than three years, the disciples hardly had done a thing without Jesus being there to direct them, or to correct them. Now they’re going to be on their own. It’s like the first time you are allowed to take a car out for a drive by yourself; or imagine how a pilot feels when they are sent up to fly solo for the first time. The instructor is not there anymore and everything depends on them.

Jesus gives the disciples more reassurance. “If You Love Me.” The first reassurance Jesus gives them comes from a true statement: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Notice this is not a conditional statement so much as a statement of where they are with him. Those who are worried about how they rate as Christians might well read this as a test. Whoever keeps my commandments loves me [Jesus], and such a person will be loved by the Father. Is Jesus suggesting here that God only loves us if we keep his commandments? If so, we are all in a lot of trouble. The Bible itself teaches us as Paul writes to Romans 3: 23 that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. None of us seems to keep the commandments sufficiently to earn God's love. It is as if Jesus’s resurrection on Easter hasn't changed a thing. We seem still to be obligated to fulfill God's law, and we are powerless to do what the law of God commands.

Thank God, though, that things have changed because of Easter. Jesus talks about the gift of the Holy Spirit that he is giving his followers (John 14:16-18). But what good will that do us? How has the gift of the Holy Spirit made us different from the old selfish sinners we have always been? The Holy Spirit is given to all who love Jesus Christ, to empower us for his work, to teach us all things, and to give us a real and lasting peace in the knowledge that Jesus has overcome the world. How do you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? By being one who loves Jesus Christ. 

We need to ask God, that the Holy Spirit would be present in each of our lives in a real way; that we would recognize His presence and draw great comfort and peace as we enjoy being part of God’s own family.
 If you would like to learn more about
the holy spirit,
please join us in our worship 
on Sunday at 11:00 AM.

Peace!  
Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj
Minister

​~ All Year Long ~
Ongoing Food Collection
The Board of World Service collects
​ food donations for the
Yonkers Emergency Food Pantry,
which distributes them to families in Yonkers. 
Non-perishable food can be brought to the church
any Sunday and left in the large basket
in the back of the Sanctuary. 
Monetary donations are welcome, too;
checks can be written to West Center Congregational Church, noting "Yonkers Food Pantry"
​on the memo line and can be left in the offering plate on Sunday.

When shopping, how about picking up a couple of things for the Food Pantry? 
​No matter what you can give, all donations are much appreciated!
​
​
​Contact us:

Church Office: 101 Pondfield Road West,
Bronxville, NY 10708
Email: [email protected]
​Phone: (914) 337-3829
​​​Your Donations help us to continue with
our Missions during these trying times!

View other ways to donate to West Center.