Repeat.
Linda’s message is rooted in two parables from Mark 4:26-34. Jesus uses parables about scattering seeds and mustard plants to challenge & inspire followers in his day and all of us today to notice the kin-dom of God growing all around us.
Rethink.
Linda’s message weaves reflections from four persons from our community of faith with Mark 3.20-35 and the revival of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. How might this encounter from the Gospel of Mark challenge & inspire us to rethink our understandings of family and the social structures in which we move? How might this witness lure us deeper into the messiness of love?
Resist.
Matt’s message is rooted in Mark 2.23-3.6 and the revival of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. How might we be inspired and challenged by Jesus’s reclaiming of sabbath-keeping as resistance to the religious & political establishment’s desire for stability at the expense of those who are hungry & suffering?
Trinity as Divine Dance…Work it!
Matt’s message for Trinity Sunday is rooted in John 3.1-17. What are our conscious and unconscious images of God? How might Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3 guide us toward more evocative and faithful images of God? Matt’s reflection weaves writings from Richard Rohr’s The Divine Dance with the work on intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Here is a link to Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TED Talk in 2016. Here is a link to the band Matt encountered while visiting the National…
The Movement
Pastor Chris’s message on this Pentecost Sunday is rooted in Acts 2. 1-21.
Complicated Relationships
Linda’s message is rooted in Acts 1:13-17, 21-26 & the 2017 Academy nominated film “Lady Bird.” Relationships are complicated. Whether it is a group of disciples choosing to replace one among their ranks or Lady Bird and her mother, this scripture points to prayer as one of the ways to listen to God’s guidance. When you are in a complicated relationship what guides your choices? Is there a way in which pausing for prayer this week might inform your next…
Even Them?
Matt’s message holds his conversion experience along the US/Mexico boarder in conversation with Peter’s conversion story from Acts 10. How might we be called to follow the Risen One in crossing boundaries, repairing breaches, and joining with God in taking the crucified down from the cross?
Embracing Diversity in Gender & Sexuality
Matt’s message holds the story of the Ethiopian eunuch from Acts 8. 26-40 in conversation with Lady Bird’s representation of gender & sexuality. What might scripture have to teach us about embracing diversity in gender and sexuality today?
Embracing/Rejecting the Name
Linda’s message is rooted in Acts 4:5-12. The name of Jesus was initially rejected, but would become the cornerstone. Lady Bird’s given name is “Christine” yet she rejects this name and gives herself a new name. Linda’s message invites reflection on what it means to claim the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
The “In” Crowd
Linda’s message is rooted in Acts 3 and the 2017 Academy nominated film Lady Bird.
Wrong Side of the Tracks
Matt’s message is rooted in Acts 4.32-35 & the 2017 Academy nominated film “Lady Bird.” Making real the promises of God’s resurrection power will require us to honestly confront who we are. No myths. No fables. Evil sent the Prince of Peace to his tomb on Friday, but the Risen One got up and kept fighting. May the church, as God’s community that is set apart, be called to do the same.
Easter Sunday
Pastor Linda’s Easter message holds the resurrection story from the Gospel of Mark in conversation with Resurrecting Easter by John Dominic & Sarah Crossan. What might ancient images of resurrection from Eastern churches have to teach us in the West about resurrection?