Soon we begin our celebration of Advent, which is essentially New Year’s Day for the Church. Advent is when we start telling the story again, the story of how Jesus Christ fulfilled the story of Israel in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and how…
Why We Confess a Creed Every Sunday
Every Sunday in our liturgy, after the sermon, we confess a creed. Most of the time we confess the Apostles’ Creed. This is a new practice for most of us, and I’m reading a short book on the Apostles’ Creed right now, so I thought…
How We Come to the Table
Every Sunday in our worship gathering, we come forward to the table as a community to partake in Holy Communion. You’ll hear us invite you to open your hands to receive the bread (rather than take the bread by grabbing it between your thumb and fingers). Why…
What is Story Night?
Every month we’ve been hosting a “Story Night” as a community. What is Story Night and why do we do it? Story Night is pretty simple: We share a meal together in someone’s home, andWe share stories from our lives on a topic. Past story…
What’s the Deal With the Ascension of Christ? Is he in outer space or something?
Today is Ascension Day, which is unfortunately a bit of an overlooked and misunderstood event in the life of Christ. Perhaps because it strikes us as kind of silly. Icons of the ascension have Jesus’ feet peeking out from behind the clouds, like he was literally…
Moving From Affinity to Affection How to Cultivate an Actual Community
Community. When we hear that word, most of us have an certain idea or feeling or expectation that rises up more of less automatically… Our unspoken assumption is that having a sense of “community” with others will feel warm and fuzzy. Community means that we…
Resources For a Fruitful Lent
Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Easter Sunday. It’s a season of solemn reflection and penitent preparation for Easter. Here are some resources to help you have a fruitful Lenten season, practicing the traditional disciplines of Lent: fasting, prayer, and generosity. Try the…
How To Fast For Lent
Fasting is one of the traditional practices of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Easter Sunday. We are told in Matthew 4:1-11 that Jesus spent forty days fasting in the wilderness and afterwards “he was starving.” Many of us have fasted before…
A Lament for People Living in a Violent Land
A prayer from Brian Zahnd, in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre: Most merciful God, we confess we are a nation addicted to violence. We have celebrated and mythologized the violence we call good, only to be shocked by violence we know is evil.…
Lament as Mission in the Suburbs
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.“ – Karl Marx
