(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
Oct 17, 2025
“Participants engage in a contemplative worship experience—an invitation to pause, breathe, and listen for God’s quiet presence in the midst of everyday life.
Holy Covenant,
This Sunday’s worship service at Holy Covenant is going to be a little different. We’re going to be slowing down, breathing deeply, and entering a quieter, more contemplative experience.
We want to ask people to arrive a little earlier than normal because before worship begins, we’re going to be asking everyone to select an image that speaks to them, maybe one that catches their attention or stirs something within them as they glance over it. We’re going to have an array of images to choose from, landscapes, simple objects, nature, animals, people, causes, and social justice issues. Each person will also receive a small notepad and pen, which we’ll use later in the service, during the time when we normally hear the sermon. We’ll be using all these items to do a spiritual reflection exercise, a time when we’re going to reflect, listen, and journal about what we sense the Spirit may be revealing through it.
Those who are planning to worship with us online this Sunday are invited to participate, too. Sometime before Sunday, I want to ask you to visit Unsplash.com and search around and select an image that speaks to you. Print it if you can, or simply keep it open on your screen. Have a notebook or journal ready, along with something to write with, so you can join us in real time from wherever you are.
Wherever you are this Sunday, may this time invite you into the peace of God’s presence and the awareness that, even in silence, God is still speaking (thank you UCC!).
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Stay connected with weekly reflections, essays, and pastoral updates from Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Did you know that Pastor Chris has a Substack page where he shares thoughtful reflections, essays, and insights beyond the Sunday pulpit? This online space is another way to stay connected with his ministry throughout the week, to deepen your faith, and to join in conversation with others who are following along.
On revchriscz.substack.com, you’ll find articles that invite us to wrestle with Scripture, embrace justice, and nurture our spiritual lives with honesty and grace. Substack also lets you subscribe for free—meaning every new post will arrive directly in your email inbox.
It’s simple to sign up: click the link below, enter your email, and you’ll be part of Pastor Chris’s growing online readership. You can also explore past reflections, share them with friends, or add your own thoughts in the discussion space.
As Holy Covenant continues to live out our calling to be a progressive, inclusive community of faith, this is another resource to help us walk the journey together. Take a moment today to subscribe, reflect, and stay connected!
Oct 10, 2025
Did you know that Pastor Chris has a Substack page where he shares thoughtful reflections, essays, and insights beyond the Sunday pulpit? This online space is another way to stay connected with his ministry throughout the week, to deepen your faith, and to join in conversation with others who are following along.
On revchriscz.substack.com, you’ll find articles that invite us to wrestle with Scripture, embrace justice, and nurture our spiritual lives with honesty and grace. Substack also lets you subscribe for free—meaning every new post will arrive directly in your email inbox.
It’s simple to sign up: click the link below, enter your email, and you’ll be part of Pastor Chris’s growing online readership. You can also explore past reflections, share them with friends, or add your own thoughts in the discussion space.
As Holy Covenant continues to live out our calling to be a progressive, inclusive community of faith, this is another resource to help us walk the journey together. Take a moment today to subscribe, reflect, and stay connected!
Oct 05, 2025
“A radiant welcome to the Table—where all are fed, all are loved, and no one is turned away. ✝️🍞💖
Holy Covenant,
This Sunday is shaping up to be a really joyful and meaningful day in the life of Holy Covenant! And I hope you will join us!
First, I’m delighted to share that nine people recently participated in our new member classes in September. This Sunday during worship, we will be installing eight of them into membership, with one to be installed at a later date. This new member class is a visible sign that our church is growing, but more importantly, that we are doing the work God calls us to do—welcoming all people, demonstrating radical love, and seeking justice where it’s needed in the world. These new members recognize this call, feel it in their hearts, and this Sunday, are eager to live it out in their daily lives in relationship with a community that shares these Christlike passions and values…
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
Sep 26, 2025
“Pastor Godzilla surveys the city with divine purpose—where chaos meets collar.
Holy Covenant,
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a clergy program at the Davidson Centre in well…Davidson. The program is a chance for pastors to step back and look at the whole picture of their lives: our health, leadership style, strengths, growing edges, personality traits, sense of resilience, and how we sustain ourselves in ministry. It was a rare opportunity to be cared for by others who know the challenges of ministry, to be given tools to create a more wholistic approach to ministry, and to dream about my longevity in a vocation that is often demanding…
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
Sep 19, 2025
Did you know that Pastor Chris has a Substack page where he shares thoughtful reflections, essays, and insights beyond the Sunday pulpit? This online space is another way to stay connected with his ministry throughout the week, to deepen your faith, and to join in conversation with others who are following along.
On revchriscz.substack.com, you’ll find articles that invite us to wrestle with Scripture, embrace justice, and nurture our spiritual lives with honesty and grace. Substack also lets you subscribe for free—meaning every new post will arrive directly in your email inbox.
It’s simple to sign up: click the link below, enter your email, and you’ll be part of Pastor Chris’s growing online readership. You can also explore past reflections, share them with friends, or add your own thoughts in the discussion space.
As Holy Covenant continues to live out our calling to be a progressive, inclusive community of faith, this is another resource to help us walk the journey together. Take a moment today to subscribe, reflect, and stay connected!
Sep 12, 2025
“Leaning from Mistakes 🏈💡 Growth isn’t about perfection—it’s about the direction we’re headed, even when we stumble.
Holy Covenant,
If you’ve been reading my Substack blog, you’ll know that I’ve recently rekindled my love of watching NFL football. I’ve been in Charlotte for two years now, so I surely must have permission to proclaim that I’m now officially a Carolina Panthers fan. I mean, I haven’t received an official membership card or anything, but I did subscribe to NFL+ Premium so I can watch the games later Sunday evening when I get home from the church. That makes me official, right?…
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
Sep 05, 2025
“Clay in the Potter’s Hands 👐🏽🌀 We are being shaped—gently, intentionally, and with purpose.
Holy Covenant,
Do you have a favorite mug, bowl, or vase at home that you just adore because of the way it looks or what it says? When was the last time you held it and thought about the hands that shaped it or the work that went into it to make it what it is?
I ask because pottery has a way of telling a story. Not just about the potter’s skill, but the piece itself and how it came to be. Some pieces carry imperfections. Some have intricate markings or designs…
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
Aug 29, 2025
Fish sandwich, drink and French fries
Holy Covenant,
This week didn’t exactly start out the way I had hoped. Our two youngest started school again, which has meant less sleep and getting up an hour and a half earlier. To throw a wrench in things, our middle child was mistakenly enrolled in a school she didn’t get into. Which means she’s already missed her entire first week while we try to get her enrolled somewhere else.
As if this weren’t enough, I had early morning doctor’s appointments on both Monday and Tuesday, one of which required a trip into the city, and I hate driving in the city. By the time I finally sat down at my desk in the earlier afternoon, it already felt like the day was starting to slip away. Tuesday ended with me still at church around 7:00pm, trying to claw my way back to something that resembled “caught up.”
I headed home shortly afterward when I got the dreaded call from my wife no husband or partner wants to hear: “Hey, I’m not cooking tonight, you’re on your own.”
The truth is, I wasn’t even that hungry. I just needed something quick so I could get home, help with the baby, oversee homework, fill out more school forms, and maybe—if the stars aligned—relax for a minute before bed.
So, I stopped at McDonald’s. No one really knows this about me (other than Akeera), but I’m one of those people who prefers walking inside the restaurant over the drive thru. There’s this part of me that just doesn’t believe the drive-thru is really any faster, plus to me it’s just a waste of gas.
So, I go inside to the kiosk, ordering my three chicken tenders and fries, when I hear a voice behind me ask, “Hey, would you mind getting me a double fish sandwich?” I go into pastoral mode, my bad day isn’t so important to me anymore, and without hesitation, I turn and say, “I got you.” I stop my order to add his double fish sandwich. Then, as I was plugging in my fries, he’s looking over and I guess can’t resist, so he asks, “Could I get some fries too?” Again, I say, “I got you.”
At that point, it seemed silly to stop there. So, I turned to him and said, “Do you want a drink, too?” He looked at me like I was messing with him or even being sarcastic, like’s taking me for everything I got. But I meant it. I asked, “Do you just want a meal? I got it.” He said, “Yes, I’ll take a Coke.”
He sat down at a booth near the front door, so after I finished our order, I pulled up a chair and joined him. He thanked me for doing this, and while we waited for the food I just talked to him. He told me he had moved here 15 years ago to help his mom. He’s working, but most of his paycheck goes straight to his wife and kids. Not much left for anything else. Living paycheck to paycheck, like so many folks.
He asked about my family, so I told him about my wife and our three kids. Then he asked what I did for a living. “I’m a pastor,” I said. He smiled and said, “Really?” I imagine he was probably thinking “no wonder you didn’t even blink when I asked for that double fish sandwich.”
Then he asked me what I preached on last Sunday, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember. All I could remember is it was on Isaiah 58. I was embarrassed and it’s not ideally the response a pastor wants to have when someone is asking for the CliffsNotes on your most recent sermon. He grinned and said, “Brother, you gotta be able to recall that stuff on the spot.”
Our food came. I told him, “These look like the 3 saddest looking chicken tenders ever.” (Which is my plug to tell you don’t ever order chicken tenders from McDonald’s, it’s disappointing!) He took his double fish sandwich, dumped his fries on the other side of the sandwich box as we McDonald’s doers-do, grabbed his Coke, thanked me, saying, “God bless you,” and went on his way.
I stayed behind at the table, eating alone. I was glad to be able to help. Thinking, maybe one day he might offer the favor to someone else in return.
Later that night, after the baby was asleep and things winded down, I was replaying the day and that interaction at McDonald’s when it hit me: My sermon last Sunday was about God and neighbor. That closeness to God is closeness to neighbor. That our faith is never isolated from others but tied to how we live with them. That God isn’t just found in the church or these moments when we worship together, God is found in the faces of our neighbors, especially those who are struggling, even that guy who’s needing fries and a double fish sandwich. And when we care for our neighbors, we are in fact, drawing closer to God.
I realized I was doing the very thing I had been preaching about. I didn’t need to recall what I preached on, what was more important was that I was living it out.
Maybe that’s the point of all this. Maybe that’s the point for us all. Faith isn’t about memorizing scriptures, being able to recall on the spot what my sermon was about last Sunday, or even showing up regularly to church every week, it’s about letting the message of God take root so deeply within us that it guides our thoughts, our hearts, and our actions. That the message we’re hearing becomes so much a part of us, that we in turn seek to embody the life of Jesus.
Even on a very bad Tuesday, while ordering food at a kiosk in McDonald’s, when someone other than you just needs a bit of kindness and a meal.
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
Aug 14, 2025
People protesting with sign Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Holy Covenant,
The following sermon titled, “God Wants Justice, Not Another Offering” is centered on Isaiah 1:1,10-20 (CEB) and was delivered on August 10, 2025, during our normal worship service, at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ in Charlotte, NC.
In our time, especially here in the United States, it’s hard not to notice some of the loudest voices who proudly call themselves Christian often sound the least like Christ. I’m talking about folks who wouldn’t cast a dime to the poor or legislators who hold the bible in one hand, while signing bills that rip away healthcare from millions or strip support services from the most vulnerable. People close to us—who say they follow Jesus—yet struggle to connect the unjust systems of our time with the oppressive empire Jesus confronted, the same one we see him speak out openly against.
And as a pastor you hear it. Queer people who saw on a church sign that all are welcome, only to find after the service they’ll be second class members or aren’t welcome back. People who proudly go to church faithfully every Sunday, hearing fantastic sermons on what Jesus would do, singing hymns about the mighty power of God, and offering up some of the most beautiful prayers, even breaking bread with others at the communion table with Jesus, only to notice after all that worship the things they’re saying and doing seem to be real disconnected from God’s love and justice.
Yet that’s exactly where Isaiah begins in this scripture, calling out a worshiping community and a people who claimed to follow God but seem to have forgotten the point of worship altogether. Isaiah preached during a time of political upheaval and economic disparity. A time when Israel was under threat and about to fall into the hands of the Assyria Empire. During this time of instability, Isaiah had risen as a prophet to help the Israelite people navigate the looming threat of Assyria’s imperial power and also the internal religious corruption his people were witnessing.
The Israelites were deeply religious people. They had religious habits such as a structured worship calendar, readings from the Torah, singing of the psalms, and festivals to mark meaningful events in their history such as the Passover. And they also participated in temple-based practices where they offered burnt offerings, sin offerings, and peace offerings—not exactly in terms of modern-day monetary tithes—but more so in terms of agricultural goods, livestock, and produce. Items that would have most certainly benefited temple priests and corrupt elites who colluded with them.
The priests in Isaiah urged this worship to continue despite the growing prosperity of the privileged few that was visible and the systemic injustice that noticeably plagued society: exploitation of the poor, neglect of widows and orphans, and corruption among political and religious leaders. Here we find Isaiah condemning their worship, not because he’s a six-year-old who hates going to church or has suddenly joined the ‘spiritual but not religious crowd’, but because their worship was failing to translate into just living. Because worship unconcerned with God’s justice is obscene.
The problem in Isaiah’s day—and ours—is when people see worship as nothing more than a box to check. It’s something we do or a transaction we make so that we can profess a sense of faith. “You can’t tell me I don’t follow Jesus; I go to church every Sunday.” “Did you hear the way my angelic voice sang those hymns or that powerful prayer I laid out before God last Sunday?” “I read my Bible and know what it says.” “You saw all that money I put in the offering plate?” Yet what good are all these if they aren’t leading people to live their faith in relation to the world around them?
Worship is supposed to be a magical experience, but it isn’t magic. The performative act of attending worship doesn’t automatically make us followers of Jesus nor is it something we do to appease an ill-tempered God. Worship is meant to be transformative. It’s meant to change us, to reorient us toward God, so we reflect the priorities of God’s love and justice. Worship and justice are not separate practices; they are two parts of one whole. And if our worship isn’t empowering us to love others, to advocate for people, or to live justly, then we might be missing the point of worship altogether.
In today’s scripture Isaiah is rejecting and condemning worship, not because he hates the music being offered or can’t stand the way the pastor preaches, but because their worship is ignoring the cries of a God whose heart is breaking for the oppressed. Because their worship has been complicit with injustice. Because their worship that happens inside the sanctuary is disconnected from what is happening outside of it. Because their worship has been disregarding the pain of the poor, the fairness of systems, and the economic realities of the world God’s people have been enduring.
I can still hear those cries of Isaiah today, yet instead of saying he’s fed up with worthless offerings, repulsed by incense, and the wickedness of worship, I can hear him saying there are the prayers of some churches that make him sick, sermons that he finds to be sacrilegious, music that has his ears loathing, offerings that never transfer into ministries, and a Communion whose bread stinks and wine is sour because it bars the very people God has asked us to bear welcome. “I don’t want any part of it,” he would say because this worship is not compelling us to go and do what God has sent us to do.
I say this because far too many still gather in churches across this country to worship an ancient immigrant on Sunday, only to support the deportation of immigrants and the separation of families on Monday.
Far too many come to praise the one who healed the sick without condition yet support politicians who push legislation that actively works to strip millions of their healthcare on Tuesday.
Far too many worship a brown-skinned, Palestinian Jew on Sunday, yet stay silent and complicit about the systems and structures in our society that oppress people of color on Wednesday.
Stay with me now—Far too many come to worship a Savior on Sunday who stood up to empire, yet defend that same empire’s violence and greed on Thursday.
Far too many come to worship the one who proclaimed good news to the poor, yet disregard living wages or affordable housing, as nothing more than “political issues” on Friday.
Far too many come to consume a gospel of love yet find it difficult to enact that love required of them on Saturday.
Far too many come to worship and praise a God who loves all yet refuse to welcome all to Christ’s ever-widening table on Sunday.
What Isaiah was getting at in this scripture is: our inattention to injustice nullifies our worship of God. That there is a direct link between our worship and our participation in addressing the realities of oppression and injustice. Our worship is futile if it is not empowering us to be the Christ—to love, to advocate, and to seek justice. Worship and social responsibility belong together, and as Jesus would later confirm “Love of God cannot be separated from love of neighbor.” The problem today is not our worship of God, but that we don’t always let God shape our vision for justice.
And the vision Isaiah is offering in this scripture is: it’s not too late. The wider church can change. Transformation is possible. Blood-stained hands can be washed and be used to build things up again. Systems can be altered, taken down and restructured. Worshippers can become justice-seekers. We can admit our ugly deeds and the ways we haven’t put an end to the evil we see in this world. We can do good, seek justice, help the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow. In this text, Isaiah was not just critiquing the worshiping community, but he was igniting hope.
Hope that we might go deeper, so that our worship might propel God’s kin-dom here on earth. God isn’t shaming us, but God is calling us back. Back to a worship that doesn’t just sound good but does good. Back to a praise that doesn’t just heal but leads us to live differently. Back to a faith that isn’t about the spectacle of Sunday’s worship, but the substance of justice. Because what God wants—what God has always wanted—is not another offering, not another hour of hollow praise, but a people who will rise from the pews ready to engage in the holy work of justice and liberation.
What God wants is worship that leads to food for the hungry. God wants worship that builds housing, defends trans youth, fights for fair wages, challenges racism and white supremacy, and protects the sacredness of the earth. God wants worship that heals broken relationships, ends war, and removes the barriers that prevent human dignity from being seen as sacred, precious, and whole. God wants worship that brings people in and invites them to Christ’s table to sit as equals together. God wants worship that opens every door we’ve ever closed in God’s name.
This is the kind of worship God wants. This is the kind of offering God desires. Not one we lay on the altar, but one we live out in the world. May our worship seek to be more than beautiful, but brave. May it not only inspire us but transform us. And may our praise not only rise from our lips but be the way we live out God’s call. Let our worship not end at the doors of the church—but begin right there, as we go out to live God’s justice in the world.
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
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Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
Aug 01, 2025
Farmer in ancient Israel trying to save as much as he can in his barns, but they are bursting as the seams.
Holy Covenant,
This week’s lectionary scripture from Luke 12:13-21 (NLT) tells the story of a man who interrupts Jesus to ask him to settle a family inheritance dispute. The request seems simple enough, “Yo, Jesus! Just tell my brother to give me my share!” But we see Jesus refuse to get in the middle of this family squabble, and instead, he warns the crowd about something deeper than sibling rivalry: greed.
In the scripture he tells a parable about a rich farmer whose land produced such a great harvest that he didn’t have enough space to store it all. So, he tears down his barns and builds bigger ones, believing that when it’s all stored up, he can finally rest and enjoy his life. But before he gets the chance to sit back and kick his feet up, God says to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get all that you have saved? Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
Senior Pastor, Holy Covenant UCC
Click to Read Full Post
Let’s lift up Pastor Chris’s voice — and continue living our bold faith, everywhere. Subscribe to his Substack blog.🕊️
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