Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song And Praise

John 17:6-19; Easter 7B; 5/13/2018                         Pastor Ellen Schoepf       Some of you I am sure remember those iconic ‘70’s television ads for Calgon which used the slogan, “Calgon, take me away.”  The commercials encouraged us to slow down and relax with a bubble bath using Calgon bath beads.  It was a call to let go of the real, often difficult “stuff” of our daily lives and escape to a seemingly whole different dimension where we would have a lush, luxurious, heavenly spa experience.  It was all about experiencing escape from life as it is. There is something very tempting about escaping from the world, and we all pursue escape in one way or another. This desire to escape from the challenges of life is as ancient as human history.  The human desire to escape is definitely as ancient as Christian faith and, I think religion often tends to intensify this desire.  For people of faith, once we experience and begin to understand what is holy, set apart and good about life together within the context