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.)

Yesterday, we celebrated the long-awaited Confirmation Sunday at Faith, which was originally scheduled for a Sunday way back in May. As our congregation continues to move closer to a target in-person regathering date, Confirmation Sunday gave us the opportunity to experiment  with some portions of our regathering plan, holding a small in-person service to record some portions of the service. (Pro-tip: because of a conveniently-timed self-haircut, you'll be able to tell which segments I'm talking about by checking out when my hair is short vs. when my hair is unwieldy and long.)

Anyway, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 4:18-22. It was also a joy to hear the confirmands share their personally-written faith statements, and to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism. God is good. 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.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 13:30 mark. Additionally, know that Faith usually livestreams worship services at 9:30a and 11:00a. During the present Coronavirus pandemic, we will still have a weekly worship service on our website each Sunday morning, which will be available every Sunday by 7:00am.  We plan to continue creating a full, high-quality order of worship for online worshipers, even after we begin to regather for in-person worship next Sunday, September 20.)

For yesterday's worship service at Faith, our Unraveled sermon series continued as I preached a sermon based on Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree. 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.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 17:47 mark. Additionally, know that Faith usually livestreams worship services at 9:30a and 11:00a. During the  present Coronavirus pandemic, we will still have a weekly worship service on our website each Sunday morning, which will be available every Sunday by 7:00am.)

For yesterday's worship at Faith, Brandi and I shared preaching duties as we reflected upon the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. If you've been following this blog for a while, you already know that a recurring theme for sermons posted on this blog is that I really enjoy preaching alongside colleagues! In any event, 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.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 13:37 mark. Additionally, know that Faith usually livestreams worship services at 9:30a and 11:00a. During the  present Coronavirus pandemic, we will still have a weekly worship service on our website each Sunday morning, which will be available every Sunday by 7:00am.)

For yesterday's worship at Faith, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 6:25-34, a part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. 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.

(I encourage you to watch the entire service, but my sermon from Sunday begins at the 21:42 mark. Additionally, know that Faith usually livestreams worship services at 9:30a and 11:00a. During the  present Coronavirus pandemic, we will still have a weekly worship service on our website each Sunday morning, which will be available every Sunday by 7:00am.)

Happy Pride, everyone!  

I've shared many times about how much the Remaley family enjoys reading together. Storytime is one of our favorite parts of the day! To celebrate Pride Month, I pulled together a few of our favorite storybooks that speak to the experiences of LGBTQ people and themes. Each of these books make regular appearances in the lineup throughout the year (but especially in June, and in the days leading up to and following our local Pride festivals!)

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