Worship
Join us for Worship on Sundays at 9:00 am and other events throughout the month.
Below are worship bulletins and weekly sermons
Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by God’s holiness; the nourishment of the mind with God’s truth; the purifying of the imagination by God’s beauty; the opening of the heart to God’s love; the surrender of the will to God’s purpose—all of this gathered up in adoration.
~William Temple
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The Prologue
It is both interesting and intriguing, and all at the same time, that on this day we celebrate our Protestant Reformation heritage that we read a familiar lection from the Hebrew Bible that we closely associate with the liturgical Day of Pentecost. This harmonic convergence of a textual kind, blending scripture with topical agenda and liturgical feast day, creates some phenomenal possibilities for exploring the rich imagery born as a result of this literary/thematic cross pollination. The pivotal emphasis of the Reformation, a consistently recurring theme of this movement, serving as a rallying cry of an oppressed people, became “The Church reformed always to be reforming!” This phrase, galvanized for the ages, seems to call forth the hope expressed by the prophet Joel, “Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh! Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions!” As we reflect on the ecclesial advancements advocated and enacted by the great reformers of medieval Europe as they shifted the religious and societal dynamics of the sixteenth century, especially and specifically these faithful men of note, the triumvirate of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli, truly we could say about this trio, in the words of the letter writer of II Timothy, that these bold critics truly embraced the essence of this ancient epistle, “I have fought the good fight! I have finished the race! I have kept the faith!” May it be ever so with us, all of us reformers in our own right, as we lead the radically infused progressive Christian movement as it unfolds before us, the essence of progressivism informing and impacting the postmodern Church.
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The Prologue
In the Witness from the Gospels in Luke, once again Jesus touts the behavior of a Samaritan, the Hebrew Bible equivalent of an alien, a foreigner, a stranger. In doing so, the rabbi gives this alien his props, offering flattering accolades at the expense of nine other apparently ungrateful recipients of healing grace, an unspoken, unacknowledged, indication that they were, ironically, faithful Jews. The context for this scenario was the healing of ten men afflicted with a skin disease, probably, no doubt, leprosy. In the Witness from the Epistles in II Timothy we are reminded of the veracity inherent in our faith in Jesus, our deeds proclaiming some basic tenets of the faith, our goal that we, along with our works, be approved by God. Somewhere, there is a link the lectionary editors saw between these texts and wants us to explore the possibility!
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The Prologue
"World Communion Sunday reminds us that Christ calls us to a table where the welcome is wide. He offers us a space with bread and wine in abundance to give solace to our sorrow and to stir our joy. Even as Christ invites us to this table, He does not mean for us to linger here forever. He gives us sustenance in order to send us forth, carrying a space of welcome within us, called to offer it to those we meet: one more, and one more, and one more . . . " Our prayer as a congregation, as we enjoy this elaborate feast in these Eucharistic elements of bread and wine, united as one on this high and holy festival day, is echoed by Ruth Duck, who provides our Communion liturgy for today, "As we gather at your table from all over the world, O God, we pray that all those who come to you in the name of Christ might be one in Spirit. Knead us together in one loaf. Free us from jealousy and selfish ambition; unite us in mission and service to those in need everywhere. May we sow righteousness and harvest peace, through the grace of Christ Jesus."
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The Prologue
One of the most misquoted passages of scripture is found in the Witness from the Epistles in I Timothy (on a Sunday when our Timothy isn’t here!) The misquote in this lesson is “Money is the root of all evil.” The correct version is, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” In the Gospel lection for today Jesus tells a parable about a man whose love of the benefits of wealth blinded him to the plight of a poor desperate soul who could be found every day at his gate, begging just for leftover crumbs from the rich man’s luncheon. Was it love of money? Or was it self-centeredness? Stay tuned and find out!
9-28-95 Sermon: Living and Dying in the Middle Voice, Dale Bishop
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The Prologue
The writer of the epistle of I Timothy, purported to be a letter written by the hand of the apostle Paul, reminds his reader of the need, the demand, to pray for those in authority, all those who carry the weighty responsibility of leadership, including those who govern, who hold and have sway over the people within their care. And our prayers must not include the hope, wishing the demise of anyone!!! In these challenging and unsettling days, praying for those in government, is an assignment, a task, that many of us may find a bit off-putting, somewhat nauseating, disturbing, many, if not most of us seriously struggling to find the compassion and the capacity to put our hearts and minds at ease, secure in the right place, clean and pure, devoid of the residual frustration, without the anger that can so easily consume our being, seize our spirits, dampen our souls. Even so, as persons of faith of the Christian variety, we are called to offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and even, and this is a real test, thanksgivings, praying for better days for our nation and for our world, lifting up our duly elected officials, that they would take the high road in all their deliberations and decisions. And no doubt, we are all thinking as we ponder this text, “Good luck with that!”
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The Prologue
The writer of I Timothy reminds his audience that they are sinners, a reminder that we too are unfortunately included in that general, blanket, assessment. There is so much baggage attached to the idea of sin, sinful, and sinners, images that tend to be offensive and off-putting to our liberal, progressive, sensibilities, words, that for all intents and purposes, seem to fail the smell test, failing to be relevant, failing to translate, failing to compute, failing to convey any positive or productive capacity. In many ways we could do just fine without t! In the Witness from the Gospels in Luke Jesus tells two of a trilogy of parables describing the agony of something lost and the thrill of something found. Saved and lost! Two more very loaded and toxic terms! It is all about language, all about semantics! Some of this terminology we have gladly learned to either repurpose, reinterpret, or abandon altogether, jettisoning this negative idea from our religious vocabulary, removing it from our spiritual and our theological vernacular, delightfully choosing to live without it!
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The Prologue
In the Witness from the Hebrew Bible in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we read the quintessential text describing the potter and the clay, the stuff of devotional substance and eloquent hymnody. While this prophecy was written as a commentary on whatever God chose to do with the house, the nation of Israel back in the day, once upon a time, this narrative seamlessly lends itself to a personal, individual, perspective, the reminder of our hope that God would indeed mold us and make us after the divine will. In the Witness from the Gospels in Luke we read sobering words reminding us, that as followers of Jesus, there is an individualized, personalized, cross as if our name were engraved on the wood. Jesus calls us to take up our cross as we follow, lest we are not found worthy, lest we fail the qualifications of serving as a disciple, our commitment hanging precariously in the balance of this decision, no doubt a plumb line, a line in the sand!
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The Prologue
The lections chosen for today offer two examples of the ancient cultural practice of hospitality, a sacred obligation first observed by nomadic herders and then codified among the Bedouins. Woven throughout the Bible, hospitality evolves as a recurring theme beginning as a detailed event occurring early in the biblical narrative in Genesis 18. Described as aliens, foreigners, and/or strangers in the Hebrew Bible, the command to the host to offer succor in the form of food and lodging, providing the basic necessities to a guest is a mandated custom expected when random parties meet in serendipitous ways. The demand to care for widows and orphans is also a major focus occurring, germane to both testaments, forming a major theological paradigm, an intentional biblical emphasis. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews reminds his reader of the primacy of this socially just theme, this anonymous letter recalling the saga of the patriarch Abraham, his wife Sarah, and their three surprising and mysterious visitors purported to be angels but disguised, masquerading as men. In the Witness from the Gospels, Jesus reminds anyone gathered for a dinner party that it never plays to their advantage, never pays to assume, to take the seats of honor closest to the host at the head of the table. Never be found guilty of making that embarrassing, humiliating, faux pas, an egregious error in etiquette, a failure to observe traditional protocol, a most naive assumption!
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The Prologue
Oops! Jesus did it again! The rabbi broke a rule! You just cannot take him anywhere! Once again, Jesus broke a sabbath law ignoring protocol, blatantly misbehaving, his behavior acting as if, indicating that he did not know any better, so uncivilized, so uncouth! It is all fun and games, kicks and giggles, until someone breaks a nail, uh, rule! Where are your manners? Not surprisingly, one of his many critics noticed his faux pas in this egregious indiscretion and took exception to the presumably colossal, ginormous, breach of etiquette committed with this huge misstep. Once again, the usual suspect, it was the leader of the synagogue pointing out the unforgiveable error of Jesus' ways and means, The rabbi takes no prisoners in directly reacting, forcefully responding to this critique, calling the unnamed law-abiding stickler a "hypocrite"! Touché! Once again, Jesus shames his adversaries, making new friends and influencing people in the process. As he so often did, the rabbi from Nazareth straightened out the crooked, whether it be people or circumstances. May we go and do likewise.
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Fellowship Breakfast Day
Great food and great fellowship
No Bulletin or Sermon
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The Prologue
In the Witness from the Epistles in Paul’s letter to the Galatians we continue to read some of his boldest and most endearingly profound declarations. In this lection, the self-appointed, self-described, apostle declares the absolute freedom that is our divine inheritance, never again to be subjected to any form of slavery, save the bondage we choose in servanthood, as servants, following Christ Jesus, while honoring and celebrating one another. And as we are all aware, freedom comes with much responsibility as we are all accountable to one another in Christ. The only enslavement we have to each other is that we follow the supreme commandment, that we not only love God, but that we love our neighbors as ourselves, that we love one another, love of self implied in the equation. All of us are called to honor and celebrate the humanity that binds us all together as one race, one clan, one tribe, one people!
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The Prologue
On this first Sunday in this second set of Ordinary Time Sundays, we are gifted with a smorgasbord of rich narratives, each one offering a veritable homiletical goldmine! On this day, we do not get the shaft! From the transcendence of the Holy experienced by Elijah in I Kings in the sound of shear silence, to the colorfully descriptive play-by-play describing the herd of swine in the Gospel of Luke, collateral damage, the cost of doing salvation business—sooey pig—in the region of the Gerasenes, to the declaration by the apostle Paul in Galatians that there are no distinctions of persons in the eyes of God, there is more here than we could ever digest in one service, much less one sermon!
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The Prologue
As we celebrate trinity today, or “the” Trinity, the final high and holy festival celebration before we enter the long season after Pentecost, the lectionary takes us on a tour touting all creation and our sacred role within it, the words of the Psalmist beautifully articulating the magnificence of the universe, the world which is our home, and all creation contained therein! We are reminded that we have been given, perhaps blessed with, the responsibility of dominion over all things, our care, or lack thereof, a constant reminder that we alone are accountable for our stewardship of this planet, the only residence we will ever have. In tandem with, and not coincidentally, we also read from the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible in the book of Proverbs, asking the question for the ages, “Does not wisdom call and understanding raise her voice?” Claimed to be created before all else, at the very beginning of the divinely inspired evolutionary creative processes, the intuitive musing of this most creative writer reminds us of the deep divide, the huge gap, a great chasm, that reveals the lack of wisdom in the world today among the residents of our global village. Quite frankly, humanity could use a good dose of wisdom, even possessing a basic level of common sense.
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The Prologue
It seems plausible to say, that of all the high and holy festival days on the liturgical calendar, the Day of Pentecost is perhaps the most neglected feast day. This sacred observance should be considered as one of the big three, right up there with Christmas and Easter Day, but it rarely gets as much attention, garnering that kind of airtime! Pentecost, by virtue of import, its profound significance, should be an awesome, magnificent, tremendous celebration calling for us to bask in the glow of the coming of the Holy Spirit on all flesh and joyfully celebrating the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is a marker for these two important events! Perhaps Pentecost is given short shrift because of the time of year, springtime being full of so many competing secular observances, and due to the fact we have just observed a major liturgical season, highlighted by the pinnacle of Easter Day, along with the accompanying fifty days of Eastertide. Having turned the page on the ultimate worship experience, the culmination of the Church Year, our minds quickly turn to thoughts of summer vacation with all its fun-filled activities, and liturgically speaking, preparing to enter the long routine of Ordinary Time. And yet, the Spirit blows, its fire beckons, and if we are sensitive and open to the slightest breeze, we can perhaps faintly hear the sound of the subtle voice of the Spirit, an unintelligible echo that speaks with clarity the hope of our calling to model servanthood to all humanity throughout the world! Our hope and prayer, a dream for one and all, is that we build beloved faith community, creating a joyously fulfilling pentecostal community as the First Congregational United Church of Christ. After all, just like Jesus, we are all about the business of organizing community, of community organizing!
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"Your Open and Affirming commitment is a clear and present witness to the extravagance of God's love!". This was how our Associate Conference Minister Micheal Jones began his sermon this morning.
“Following a beautiful service that featured the Chancel Choir, a moving solo, and a children's message, we gathered downstairs with Reverend Jones for an insightful town hall. One key takeaway was the recognition of our church's vibrant, engaged, and generous spirit!”
The Prologue
In a time when our collective humanity seems to sadly settle for the bottom rung of least common denominators, we long for even the smallest insights to lift our spirits and inspire us to new heights, empowering us to become our own best selves. The proverbial bottom of the barrel is not where we wish to be! With that sober acknowledgement, Ascension, a liturgical celebration that ends the high and holy season of Eastertide, offers us a springboard from which we can experience the optimistic side of life. In this great mystery, describing the mechanics of a divinely inspired exit strategy for the resurrected Jesus, we are called to look above and beyond ourselves, embracing all that is possible in our world. Literalized as a moment in time, as an historic event, we can quickly dismiss, succinctly dispatch, this strange theological image and not give it a second thought! It is asked and answered! However, if we allow ourselves to understand Ascension as symbolic speak wrapped in deepest metaphor, mythology on steroids, we are freed to explore every possible interpretation and understanding releasing within us profound awe and wonder, all compelled by mysterious transcendence, mystery always veiled, always hidden to divine degree. Perhaps the key to unlocking the secrets of Ascension is the reminder to look above and beyond the shallow surfaces of our limited perceptions and pedestrian perspectives, allowing us to see in this allegorical tableau all the possibility and potential that is ours for the taking, knowing that when we engage these theological conversations we are always grasping at proverbial straws.
Sermon Text: "Holy Imagination-You are Loved, We are Loved"
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JOHN 14:23-29
The Prologue
As the season of Eastertide transitions toward Ascension, the lections for worship today serve as a precursor, texts reflecting the farewell discourses of Jesus as he prepares his disciples for his eventual departure. In both Revelation and John, we read assurances that not only will the Spirit of Christ be with Jesus’ followers, but that a place, a home, is being prepared, constructed for every saint, many of these saintly believers, these early converts who formed and founded the fledgling Church. Today, we ponder transcendence, divine mystery that is Holy Spirit, the illusive gift that keeps on giving! -
John 13: 31-35
The Prologue
In the Witness from the Epistles, John the revelator describes a vision of “a new heaven and a new earth!” This writer, purported to be John, but perhaps a literate member of the mysterious Johannine community, portrays a beautiful futuristic city, a new Jerusalem, that pulsates with the prospects of eternal joy, the writer invoking a sacred promise from the Divine, “See, I am making all things new!” In the Witness from the Gospels in John, the writer quotes Jesus who declares with conviction, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another!” So, who is Jesus fooling, just who does he think he is trying to spoof? For this commandment is as old as the ancient Shema found in the book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible! Yes, what is old is new and what is new is old! Nothing new there!
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Psalm 23
The Prologue
It seems like a harmonic convergence of a divine kind, quite the calendric coincidence. It only seems fitting that at least for this year, the stars have aligned, and the Sunday of the Good Shepherd and Mother's Day collide in a most wonderful way. Mother's Day is a part of the mythological "Hallmark" calendar, a secular observance celebrated nationally, especially emphasized as a priority in many evangelical or non-liturgically inclined churches. Regarding our liturgical theme for today, when we think of Jesus as shepherd, we think of loving and tender, compassionate care, all infused with grace, mercy, and peace. Ditto for most mothers! Today, we bask in all the glorious shepherd images that abound throughout the biblical narrative, Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures alike. It is a day to rest and relax, to be restored with the pleasant pastoral images of the risen Christ! Today, we look at all things shepherd and sheep.
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JOHN 21:1-19
The Prologue
Dale Bishop: On this third Sunday of Eastertide, we hear of what John the Evangelist calls Jesus’ third appearance to his disciples after his resurrection. (The other Gospels have other ideas.) Front and center in this encounter is Peter, whom Jesus, according to Matthew, called “the rock” upon which his church would be founded. We will explore the implications as we await our own encounter with the risen Christ.
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Luke 24:1-12
Each of the four Gospels record a story about the empty tomb, each version highlighting different aspects describing resurrection. From the scant information provided by the earliest Gospel in Mark to the most elaborately detailed account given by John, we are gifted with a varied portrait that indicates that something amazing, something truly magnificent, took place following Jesus' burial, editorial enhancements, embellishments, and exaggerations assumed. One thing that all the Gospels have in common, however, is that the women are given star billing, the honor and privilege of being the first on the scene and subsequently, after some understandable disbelief, the first to bear witness to this history altering event. The prominence of the women in the story is a reminder that the story of Jesus continues to reveal that resurrection is a shared experience, that those who are perceived to be the last and the least are raised, that Jesus continues the never ending work of social justice, always lifting up those considered the lowly and downtrodden, advocating for anyone who has been presumed to be relegated to the margins, the fringes of society. In the realm of God there are none who are dispossessed, second class, disenfranchised in any way! That, beloved faith community, is the ongoing power of resurrection, of being raised to new life!
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Luke 19: 28-40
The Prologue
The huge contrasts that have defined this Lenten season now come to the forefront, in full view, as we experience the highs and lows, the ecstasy and agony of Palms and Passion. Most churches today will celebrate the intoxicating high of a Palm Sunday parade, mimicking a very temporary triumphal entry, a false positive that purportedly took place more than 2,000 years ago as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey or a colt! Pick your poison! Is it any wonder the biblical writer chose an ass for this maudlin procession, this most iconic and ironic death march? Oh, how foolish everything appears to be at this moment in time! How quickly the crowd’s incongruous cacophony of “Hosannas” and calls to “Crucify Him” converge, creating a toxic, a muddled, messy mix that can only lead to crucifixion! Many services this morning will play a game of let’s pretend that ends in euphoria, a blatant denial of the horrific events that culminate by the week’s end. Today, we dare celebrate with palms, but we do so with the sobriety that comes with knowing and even remotely experiencing what comes next. We lean into the dynamics, the polarities of Holy Week’s Passion, engaging the full range of every emotion imaginable. The cross looms! Easter beckons! In the end, we know who wins! Yet, our sense of loss should never be so quickly mitigated, so neatly assuaged.
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What more can we say about the parable of the prodigal than has already been said? The very title given this story lends itself to a misinterpretation of the story, for the beauty in the story is found in the mystery, the confusion about just who is the real prodigal in the parable. It is a rich text, full of wonderful images revealing the gracious hospitality of God, and also provides quite a telling window into human nature. Greed and jealousy give this tale its fuel! How many times in our lives are we able to see ourselves in this story? We make mistakes. We make poor decisions. And at the end of it all we are invited to a great banquet feast in the realm of God. One of the hidden gems in the story, a caveat that often gets overlooked, is that this tale is part of a trilogy of parables known as the "party parables"! These three vignettes serve as a reminder that our God invites us to one big party!
April 6, 2025 Bulletin
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March 23, 2025 Bulletin
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Scripture References:Luke 3:21-22, Luke 3:15-17, Acts 8:14-17
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Scripture References: Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-6
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Scripture References:Luke 1:39-45, Micah 5:2-5a
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Scripture References:Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-6
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