Happy Pride Month, friends!  

Pride is a celebration of the dignity, personhood, and the beauty of diversity in the LGBTQ+ community. It's also a reminder of the importance of visibility, of advocacy, and of the work yet to be done in a pursuit of equality for all.

Last year for Pride, I shared some of my family's very favorite Pride-themed children's storybooks. [Click here for last year's post]. As I mentioned in that post, while I loved each of the storybooks, I couldn't help but notice that our storybook library was lacking in the voices and perspectives of BIPOC individuals overall (and in Pride-themed titles in particular). After publishing the post, I also noticed a similar pattern with a lack of transgender authors on our shelves. I committed to doing better, and the good news is - over the past twelve months, our library has become significantly more diverse!

So for Pride 2021 I've compiled another list of children's storybooks, all of which we have on our shelves at home. Each of the five books below are either (1) written by a BIPOC author and/or illustrator; (2) written by a transgender author and/or illustrator; and/or (3) depicting the perspectives of BIPOC family life in a particularly meaningful way.

To all my LGBTQ+ family: You are seen. You are valued. You are loved.

This morning, I preached a sermon based on Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and Mark 2:23-28 & 3:1-6.

A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, and I'm also embedding Sunday's service here. I encourage you to watch the entire service, but our sermon from Sunday begins at the 30:28 mark.

Note: Faith resumes livestream worship services next Sunday, June 6, 2021. Worship services will be available to view in real time at 9:00am and 11:00am, and also archived for asynchronous viewing, too. It has been a joy (and challenge!) to pre-record services these past 15 months. Thanks be to God for this next small step toward a new normal.

This weekend, my colleague Brandi and I preached a dialogue sermon based on the remarkable Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. We had so much fun imagining, discerning, and collaborating on this sermon together!

A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, and I'm also embedding Sunday's service here. (I encourage you to watch the entire service, but our sermon from Sunday begins at the 22:40 mark.)

Children have so much wisdom and imagination to share, if we'll let them. For this weekend's worship services, it was a true joy to facilitate a space for children from our Family of Faith Preschool & Daycare to lead the people of God in worship through word, song, and art. Thanks be to God for the gift that children are in our lives, and for the joy they bring to our world!

Faith's Lenten sermon series continues, as we take a deeper look at the spiritual practices laid out in Adam Hamilton's book entitled The Walk. I preached a sermon based on Psalm 24:1-2 and Matthew 6:19-21.

​This week, upon the recommendation of Faith's COVID Task Force and the vote of Session, our congregation returns to Step 3 of our Four-Step COVID Gathering Plan.  Two in-person worship services will be held at 9:00am and 11:00am in the sanctuary, with all COVID protocol maintained. While we will someday begin to livestream our in-person worship services, for now we will continue to pre-record a separate service for those worshiping with us virtually. A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, and I'm also embedding Sunday's service below.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service -- seriously! the children are adorable! -- but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 18:16 mark.)

This weekend, I preached a sermon based on the call story of Jesus' first disciples in John 1:35-51. A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, and I'm also embedding Sunday's service here.

​This week, the Session voted to move back to Step 2 in our Four-Step COVID Gathering Plan, meaning that in-person worship services and other activities are suspended until it is once again safe enough in our local area to return to Step 3. For more information about Faith's Regathering Guidelines, visit the church website.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 20:28 mark.)

Merry Christmas! This morning is the 3rd day in the season of Christmas. Anyone have a few French Hens I could borrow for the day?!?  :-)

This morning, I preached a sermon based on Luke 2:22-40. For a quick reference of where this scene falls in the overall narrative of Luke's gospel, note that the famous Christmas story is Luke 2:1-20.

A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, but I'm also embedding Sunday's service here.  In addition to the pre-recorded video worship services, Faith has also begun to regather for limited in-person worship services on Sunday mornings, with one service at 10:30am. For more information about Faith's Regathering Guidelines and to make reservations for worship services, visit the church website.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 24:00 mark.)

Like many congregations, Faith has a long tradition of a service of scripture and song in the weeks before Christmas. Of course, like many congregations, this year the COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to reimagine how that service would take shape in new ways. Setting aside the usual festive tone, we centered upon a more contemplative Advent theme. Using two lesser-used Advent texts from the Hebrew scriptures as our guide, alongside soloists and small group handbell ensembles, Brandi, Michael (our extremely talented Director of Music) and I crafted a worship service that corresponds to the traditional weekly themes of the Advent season: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

Today is the final Sunday of the church's liturgical calendar, a holiday often called "Christ the King" or "Reign of Christ" Sunday. With next Sunday marking the First Sunday of Advent, it means that today is also the closest Sunday to the American Thanksgiving holiday. It is this latter holiday that we focused on in worship today. This morning, I preached a sermon based on Paul's letter to the Philippian church, chapter 4. A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, but I'm also embedding Sunday's service here.

In addition to the pre-recorded video worship services, Faith has also begun to regather for limited in-person worship services on Sunday mornings, with one service at 10:30am. For more information about Faith's Regathering Guidelines and to make reservations for worship services, visit the church website.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 21:58 mark.)

Yesterday, I preached a sermon based on the well-known story of the Israelites and the Golden Calf from Exodus 32:1-14. A video archive of all of Faith's worship services can be found on the church website, but I'm also embedding Sunday's service here.

In addition to the pre-recorded video worship services, Faith has also begun to regather for limited in-person worship services on Sunday mornings, with two services at 8:30am and 10:30am. For more information about Faith's Regathering Guidelines and to make reservations for worship services, visit the church website.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 21:17 mark.)