(Sunday, May 22 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Psalm 66:16-20 and Mark 1:35-39

Sermon: “Temporarily Out of Service” by Pastor Mark Harper

An old grandfather said to his grandson … ‘It is as if there are two wolves inside of me. One is good and does no harm. But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two, for both try to dominate my spirit.’

The boy asked, ‘Which one wins, Grandfather?’

The grandfather smiled and said, ‘The one I feed.’”

“The Wolves Within,” A Cherokee Story

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

(Sunday, May 15 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-6 and John 13:31-35

Sermon: “Clear-Eyed Love” by Pastor Mark Harper

“Love is like lightning, and your maturity is signaled by the extent to which you can accept the dangers and the power and the beauty of love.” - James Baldwin

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

(Sunday, May 8 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-7 and Matthew 13:1-9

Sermon: “This is Not My Grandfather’s Garden” by Pastor Mark Harper

“God of abundance, we want to perceive the possibility of peace.
Soften our hearts to do the work of undoing oppressions.
Ignite our spirits that they may long for justice.
Give us a vision for a world where justice blooms, here all are fed and all are free.”

Melissa Berkey-Gerard,
Community Peacemaker Teams

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash

(Sunday, May 1 At 11 AM, Hybrid Communion Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Psalm 90:13-17 and John 21:1-19

Sermon: “Life After Easter” by Pastor Mark Harper

“Justice is good but supper is essential.” - Ed Loring

“Come and have breakfast.” - Jesus of Nazareth

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash

(Sunday, April 24 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 16:1-4 and John 20:19-31

Sermon: “Twins” by Pastor Mark Harper

“God takes you as you are. In the midst of your fears. In whatever room you or someone else has locked you inside. In whatever ways you have betrayed yourself or others or God. You as you are and not some fictional made-up future version of yourself who has managed finally to be a better person. You as you are. Peace be with you … .” Nadia Bolz-Weber

Photo by Jørgen Håland on Unsplash

(Sunday, April 17 At 11 AM, Hybrid Easter Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25 and Luke 24:1-12

Sermon: “Looking for the Living” by Pastor Mark Harper

“So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it …
As soon as the generals and the politicos
Can predict the motions of your mind,
Lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

Wendell Berry, from Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

(Sunday, April 10 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Luke 19:29-40 and Psalm 118:19-24

Sermon: “The Work of Rejected Stones” by Pastor Mark Harper

“Jesus was crucified on a cross as an insurrectionist because he bore witness to the divine truth that no one has to be defined by his or her circumstances. Liberation from oppression is God’s gift to the powerless in society. Freedom is Jesus’ gift to all who believe. And when one accepts this liberating Gospel and makes the decision to follow Jesus, you must be prepared to go to the cross in service to others – the least of those in society.” - James Cone, from his ordination sermon for Chris Hedges

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

(Sunday, April 3 At 11 AM, Lenten Choral Communion Service, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21 and John 20:11-13

Sermon: “Mary from the Margins” by Pastor Mark Harper

Special Anthems: TPPC Choir with Guest Musicians, directed by Dr. James Bingham

“Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?”

From “The Summer Day,” by Mary Oliver

image: Albrecht Dürer, Noli me tangere (Do Not Touch Me), from the Small Passion, woodcut, c. 1510, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, 1919

(Sunday, March 27 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10 and Luke 15:11-32

Sermon: “Party Time” by Pastor Mark Harper

“I do not understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” Anne Lamott

Photo by Jackson David on Unsplash

(Sunday, March 20 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-19:15 (NIV) and John 2:13-22 (NRSV)

Sermon: “Who’s Holding Up Your Arms? And, Oh … What About the Memory of the Amalekites?” by Rev. Carolyn Tilley

Photo by I.am_nah on Unsplash.

(Sunday, March 13 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Philippians 3:17-4:1 and Luke 13:31-35

Sermon: “Mother Hen, Mother Church” by Pastor Mark Harper

"Sometimes it seems like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I’m not backing off." - Fannie Lou Hamer

Photo by John Towner on Unsplash.

(Sunday, March 6 At 11 AM, Communion Served, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13 and Luke 9:37-42

Sermon: “Facing the Demons ” by Pastor Mark Harper

“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” - Howard Thurman

Photo by Vincent Ledvina on Unsplash.

(Sunday, February 27 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35 and Luke 9:28-36

Sermon: “Eyes to See” by Pastor Mark Harper

“There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.” - Thomas Merton

Photo by Bud Helisson on Unsplash

(Sunday, February 20 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11 and Luke 6:27-36

Sermon: “When We Are the Enemy” by Pastor Mark Harper

“Hate won’t only destroy us. It will destroy those people that’s hating as well.” - Fannie Lou Hamer

(Sunday, February 13 At 11 AM, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Luke 5:1-11

Sermon: “Bigger Fish” by Pastor Mark Harper

“If you are trying to look clean, neat, and avoid casting your nets in troubled waters, you will catch no fish.” Israelmore Ayivor

(Sunday, February 6 At 11 AM, Communion Sunday, Hybrid Worship: In-Person and Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 5:1-11

Sermon: “Borrowed Boats” by Pastor Mark Harper

“Out of the house of slavery, rough troubled waters, into the wilderness a new people is born; you are God’s own … We are here to proclaim God’s reign.” Liturgies from Below, Claudio Carvalhaes

(Sunday, January 30 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon: “Putting Words in Our Mouths” by Pastor Mark Harper

“I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

“It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. The Creator gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on earth. It is an awesome opportunity.” Cesar Chavez

(Sunday, January 23 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 and Luke 4:14-30

Sermon: “Rolling it Up and Rolling it Out“ by Pastor Mark Harper

“He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” John 1:10-11

(Sunday, January 16 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Amos 5:21-24 and Luke 10:25-37

Sermon: Readings from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Good Samaritan Parable

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream,” August 28, 1963

(Sunday, January 9 At 11 AM, Live-Streamed On Zoom)

Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-7 and Mark 1:4-11

Sermon: "Immersion" by Rev. Mark Harper

“The struggle for justice, dignity, power, and community means that we must move from sympathy to solidarity. Sympathy feels bad about a situation. Solidarity joins in as a co-laborer to change the situation. Sympathy calls for love without risk. Solidarity calls for risk as love. Sympathy centers the comfort and timetable of those who benefit from a system of difference. Solidarity calls for a revolution of value in a system in which we build a loving and just common life together.” Dante Stewart, Sojourners Magazine