This Sunday’s Worship: January 2
(Sunday, January 2 At 11 AM, Communion Sunday, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 60:4-6 and Matthew 2:1-12
Sermon: "Worship is Dangerous" by Rev. Mark Harper
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu
This Sunday’s Worship: December 26
(Sunday, December 26 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96:1-6, 11-13; Isaiah 52:7-10; Titus 3:4-7; John 1:1-14
Reading: “No Room at the Inn” by Thomas Merton
“When God is going to do something wonderful, God always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing, God starts with an impossibility.” Anne Lamott
Christmas Eve Worship
(Sunday, December 24 At 5 PM, Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:8-16, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:1-7
This service will be a series of monologues and carols around the birth of Jesus Christ, including our Christmas Pageant.
This Sunday’s Worship: December 19
(Sunday, December 19 At 11 AM, Fourth Sunday of Advent, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 121 and Luke 1:39-45
Sermon: "Head for the Hills" by Rev. Mark Harper
“[This is] what it means to be alive in the adventure of Jesus. We present ourselves to God – our bodies, our stories, our futures, our possibilities, even our limitations. ‘Here I am,’ we say with Mary, ‘the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me according to your will.’” Richard Rohr
This Sunday’s Worship: December 12
(Sunday, December 12 At 11 AM, Third Sunday of Advent, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-15,19-20 and Luke 3:7-18
Sermon: "Shall We Gather at the River?" by Rev. Mark Harper
“You took my joy – I want it back.” Lucinda Williams
“Now is the time of your grief; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away.” Jesus (John 16:22)
This Sunday’s Worship: December 5
(Sunday, December 5 At 11 AM, Second Sunday of Advent, Communion Sunday, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Malachi 3:1-4 and Luke 3:1-6
Sermon Preview: "Listening for God in All the Wrong Places" by Rev. Mark Harper
“The poor ones are socially insignificant, but not so to God.” Gustavo Gutierrez
This Sunday’s Worship: November 28
(Sunday, November 28 At 11 AM, First Sunday of Advent, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-3 and Luke 21:25-36
Sermon Preview: "Believing in Spite of the Evidence" by Rev. Mark Harper
“A prison cell like this is a good analogy for Advent. One waits, hopes, does this or that – ultimately negligible things – the door is locked and can only be opened from the outside.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Tegel Prison, November 21, 1943
This Sunday’s Worship: November 21
(Sunday, November 21 At 11 AM, Reign of Christ Sunday, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46 and John 18:33-37
Sermon Preview: "Following Jesus Into Court" by Rev. Mark Harper
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
This Sunday’s Worship: November 14
(Sunday, November 14 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 24:1-6 and 1 Kings 21:1-21, 27-29
Sermon Preview: "The Earth is the Lord’s" by Rev. Mark Harper
“We don’t own the land that we live on … It’s impossible to own the land that sacredly lives and breathes beneath our feet or to own the sky that holds the clouds and sun and moon over us. We build our homes over land that was never meant to be owned, and we forget. We pull out our checkbooks and we pile up our debt because we are consumers. We are entitled. We miss out on the reality that the water and the ground, this Earth that is capable of such rich relationship, have always been teaching us.” Kaitlin Curtice
This Sunday’s Worship: November 7
(Sunday, November 7 At 11 AM, All Souls Sunday, Communion, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Hebrews 11:29-34,12:1-2 and Genesis 28:10-17
Sermon Preview: "Choosing Our Ancestors" by Rev. Mark Harper
“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying: Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10
This Sunday’s Worship: October 31
(Sunday, October 31 At 11 AM, Reformation Sunday, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20 and Exodus 15:19-21
Sermon Preview: "Music for the Movement" by Rev. Mark Harper
“Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom? ‘Cause all I ever had: Redemption songs. Redemption songs.” - Bob Marley
“How could we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” - Psalm 137:4
This Sunday’s Worship: October 24
(Sunday, October 24 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Mark 3:31-35 and Exodus 1:8-11,15-22
Sermon Preview: "Birthing a Movement" by Rev. Mark Harper
“It’s the heat that drives the light.
It’s the fire it ignites.
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising …
Power has been cried by those stronger than me
Straight into the face that tells you to rattle your chains
If you love bein’ free.”
Hozier, featuring Mavis Staples, “Nina Cried Power”
This Sunday’s Worship: October 17
(Sunday, October 17 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: James 1:19-25 and Exodus 3:1-12
Hymns: Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah; Goodness Is Stronger than Evil; The Church of Christ Cannot Be Bound
Sermon Preview:
Sermon: "Paying Attention" by Rev. Mark Harper
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” — Mary Oliver
This Sunday’s Worship: October 10
(Sunday, October 10 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: John 1:1-5 and Genesis 1:1-5
Sermon: "Shaped By Story" by Rev. Mark Harper
For the remainder of the church year, I want to try something a little different, at least for me. I will be drawing on foundational passages from both the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament to help us try and listen for the ways God introduces the idea of new, alternative life and a Beloved Community into creation as well as into the lives of those who are paying attention (and maybe even some who are not!). The Bible is complicated, but I think I hear an ongoing hum throughout that is inviting a new song and a new way of life in resistance to the death-dealing Powers of our world. I hope that the passages we listen to together will inspire you to think about others that tell the same story and might speak to you even more powerfully.
This Sunday’s Worship: October 3
(Sunday, October 3 At 11 AM, Wold Communion Sunday, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 102:25-27 and Mark 1:16-20
Sermon: "Here We Are Again" by Rev. Mark Harper
I am delighted and humbled to be leading worship with you as your newly called pastor. How appropriate that on our first Sunday together, our Lord has provided a feast of celebration and nourishment for the journey ahead. May God guide us ever closer to the Beloved Community rooted in Jesus' love and compassion.
Grace and peace,
Mark
This Sunday’s Worship: September 26
(Sunday, September 26 At 11 AM, Hybrid In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)
"Compassion, Witness and Service: Reflections on Being a Deacon" (Lisa Kiely, Martha Kiger, Madline Morsha-Taylor and Karen Lange)
This Sunday’s Worship: September 19
(Sunday, September 19 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)
Scripture: Psalm 145:10-18 and Ephesians 3:16-21
Hymns: Today We are Called to Be Disciples; Called as Partners in Christ’s Service; Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine!; Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love
Sermon Preview: “Growth from the Roots” by the Rev. John Molina-Moore, General Presbyter of the National Capital Presbytery
This Sunday’s Worship: September 12
(Sunday, September 12 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship Live-Streamed On Zoom and in-person)
Scripture: Psalm 133 and Matthew 25:31-40
Hymns: O For a World; Open My Eyes, That I May See; Come Live in the Light
Sermon Preview: Meditations by members of the Committed Racial Mindfulness Ministry
“Every proposed reform, every moral deed, is to be tested by whether and to what extent it contributes to the realization of the Beloved Community…When one cannot find the ‘beloved community,’ she needs to take steps to create it and if there is not evidence of the existence of such a community then the rule to live by is To Act So As To Hasten Its Coming.” - Josiah Royce (founder of the Fellowship of Reconciliation)
This Sunday’s Worship: September 5
(Sunday, September 5 At 10 AM, Communion Worship, Hybrid Worship Live-Streamed On Zoom and in-person)
Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-16 and Luke 22:14-20
Hymns: Spirit of the Living God; Seek Ye First; Eat This Bread; Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ; Take My Life
Sermon Preview: “A Seat at the Table” by Rev. John Seaman
Today’s worship and Holy Communion service is special. It is called a Ceilidh (pronounced “kaylee”) Service and is based on the Scottish/Gaelic tradition of ceilidhs or informal gatherings of people that provide an opportunity to share food, music, and stories. There is an emphasis on simple hospitality, enjoyment of community, and sharing a meal in such a service. People are invited to greet those on Zoom or around them briefly during the sharing of the peace and are encouraged to learn the name of at least one new person.
This Sunday’s Worship: August 29
(Sunday, August 29 At 10 AM, Hybrid Worship Live-Streamed On Zoom and in-person)
Scripture: Philippians 1:3-11 and John 14:1-6,18-19,25-27
Hymns: Faith Begins by Letting Go; My Shepherd Will Supply My Need; God of Our Life
Sermon Preview: “A Word of Thanks and a Prayer” by Pastor Jim Riesner
“The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair.” –Walter Brueggemann
This is the last Sunday that Jim Reisner, our Interim Pastor, will be with us.