This week we will have our first children's interactive service of the new year. We'll be focusing on awe and wonder as a whole faith community, with children helping lead us in worship. Given the events of this week, I hope that this practice can be a healing and uniting one for all of us. Research shows that the number one instance of inspiration for the emotion of awe is moral beauty. There is a great wisdom to digging deeper into that and searching for moral beauty around us. I hope you'll join us as we explore this together.
The story of the birth of the Christ child named Jesus comes to an end this week with the arrival of the magi; we Christians call it Epiphany celebrated on January 6th. A question for discussion around your table: How many magi/kings/wise men are there? Random answers first then read Matthew 2:1-12. Yes, you will be asked for an answer in worship this Sunday! Epiphany has other meanings such as (1) a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being, (2) any moment of sudden revelation or insight. This story ends with an upside-down revelation that is still changing the world. What seems to be an end is really a beginning or maybe it's the middle: only in this time zone.
Join us for a Christmas Hymn Sing where we’ll lift our voices together, hear the surprising story behind a beloved hymn, and make space for the songs that matter most to you.
Join us for Christmas Eve service as we welcome the light, sing with joy, and hear the story that still changes the world.
This Sunday we’re celebrating Christmas with joy, laughter, and a whole lot of heart at our Children’s Pageant and Christmas Fest. Cheer on our kids as they share the story of the Grinch and remind us that Christmas is about love, generosity, and hearts that grow.
Finding Our True Song Advent is a season of waiting, longing, and hoping. It's a season that we can relate to, no matter the time of year. There is plenty to long for in our world and in our lives, and not just in December. This week, we'll hear Isaiah paint a picture of peace that feels impossible. Would a lamb ever live with a wolf, or a leopard and goat befriend each other? A small child spending time with a lion and a calf, and no one gets hurt? The famous last scene of the story of the Grinch is the residents of Whoville all singing together on Christmas morning. They realize by being together what the true meaning of the season is. Together this week, we'll ask ourselves, what is the true song we are meant to sing? What is at the heartbeat of who God made us to be?
The Grinch's heart is cold and hard, at least to begin. As much as we'd like to distance ourselves from him, we each know what it means to have our hearts beat with bitterness or fear, making us distant and cynical. Scripture is full of images that challenge our stories of despair and hardness. Isaiah imagines a wilderness bursting into bloom, and Ezekiel promises hearts of stone turning into hearts of flesh—promises that are revealed when fear finally loosens its grip. This week we will follow the Grinch, looking at the redemption of a cramped, defensive heart. I hope you will join us as we explore this together.
Throughout Advent, we'll be using lessons from The Grinch to remind us of what the meaning of the season really is. Advent is the season of preparing and waiting for the coming Messiah. We'll hear the words of Isaiah preparing his people for the kind of leader they need: one who brings joy to lives of the people. The Grinch is determined to ruin joy, remove joy, prevent joy. Many things in the world are doing the same. What does it mean to hold to the promise of joy in a world that wants to dampen it? How can we claim joy, even as we wait for the light to be born? Join us as we explore this together.
This week, we will be focusing on Psalm 23 in our children's interactive worship. All ages will worship together as we explore what it means for God to build a table in the presence of our enemies. As we prepare to spend Thanksgiving with our family and friends, we will hear the words "surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Through music and movement, sign language and prayer, our children and youth will lead us during worship.
There are a lot of women named Mary in the Gospels. Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary, the mother of John. Mary, the mother of James and wife of Clopas. Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. And then, of course, there is Mary Magdalene. This week we'll listen closely to the resurrection story, where Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the resurrected Christ. Still, even with this place of prominence, she was someone overlooked. To this day, rumors abound when it comes to her. Join us as we explore what it meant for Jesus to love the women who were often overlooked and cast aside as less important than others.