(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
A radiant welcome to the Table—where all are fed, all are loved, and no one is turned away. ✝️🍞💖
Is My Faith Enough? – October 5, 2025
Gospel Reading: Luke 17:5–10 | Modern Lesson: Samuel Rayan
This Sunday, Pastor Chris delivered a deeply invitational message titled “Is My Faith Enough?” On this World Communion Sunday, the sanctuary pulsed with radical welcome and sacred belonging. From the opening call—“Come to this table of love, for Christ welcomes us all”—we were reminded that Holy Communion is not a reward for the righteous but a gift for the willing. For the doubters. For the seekers. For the weary and the wondering.
Preaching from Luke’s Gospel, Pastor Chris explored how even a mustard seed of faith—tiny, uncertain, imperfect—is enough for God to work with. He challenged the assumption that our faith must be flawless to be fruitful. “Faith,” he said, “isn’t a grand performance. It’s presence. It’s trust. It’s showing up—especially when you’re unsure.”
The sermon wove together scriptural truth with global and interfaith wisdom. Citing Indian liberation theologian Samuel Rayan, Pastor Chris emphasized that faith is not a badge to display but a table to share. That breaking bread with one another—across lines of culture, race, gender, and theology—is how we build the kin-dom of God on earth. Even when our faith feels fragile, God is still moving, still calling us to love louder.
Throughout the service, Holy Covenant embodied our extravagant welcome in both word and practice. The installation of eight new members became a moving centerpiece of worship. Each new member was introduced by their sponsor, who shared a brief story of that person’s faith journey and how they found a spiritual home at Holy Covenant. There was laughter, a few tears, and the unmistakable joy of community renewed. Each was presented with a welcome certificate and a UCC lapel pin—symbols of belonging and shared purpose within our covenant family. As the congregation spoke the words of mutual promise and welcome, the Spirit of unity was almost tangible in the room.
Music filled the sanctuary with hope and gratitude. During Communion, the congregation enjoyed “A Place at the Table” with the Choir delivering a wonderful performance. This sone will most certainly became a favorite.
“Faith doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be present. Keep showing up to the Table—God will meet you there.” — Pastor Chris
What if the good life isn’t about having more… but needing less?
To live freely, generously, and simply—this is the sacred invitation of Christ.
Taking Hold of What Is Truly Life – September 28, 2025
Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6–19 (First Nations Version & CEB) | Modern Lesson: Sherri L. Mitchell
This Sunday, Pastor Chris preached a powerful and peace-centered sermon titled “Taking Hold of What Is Truly Life.” Drawing from Paul’s letter to Timothy, the message centered on what it means to reject the trap of “more” and instead embrace the sacredness of “enough.”
In a world consumed by comparison and consumption, Pastor Chris asked us to pause and consider: What are we pursuing? What are we holding onto? And what might we need to let go of to live the abundant life God has already prepared?
He reminded us that gain is not always more. That the pursuit of wealth, comfort, and control can distract us from what really matters—our faith, our community, our calling. Instead, we are invited to seize a faith that is lived out, not stored up. One that prioritizes love, generosity, and justice over status and stuff.
Pastor Chris beautifully wove in insights from Buddhist wisdom, highlighting the suffering that arises from craving and attachment. Peace, he said, often begins with letting go. Letting go of perfectionism. Of scarcity. Of the lie that we must do or have more to be worthy of love.
The paired reading from the First Nations Version and modern lesson by Penobscot author Sherri L. Mitchell brought fresh clarity and cultural depth. Together, they affirmed this truth: we find fulfillment not in accumulation, but in harmony. In living simply, truthfully, and close to God.
With prophetic tenderness, Pastor Chris called us to the good fight—not a battle of ego or achievement, but a deep wrestling with who God calls us to be. Faith, he said, is not passive. It’s something we take hold of and let shape our lives. And when we clear away what does not bring joy, we make space for God to move. That is how we take hold of what is truly life.
“When we let go of our need for more, we make room for God’s grace.” — Pastor Chris
Forgiveness Sets You Free — breaking the chains of resentment, we rise into freedom, peace, and new beginnings.
Peace is not only the absence of violence, but the active presence of compassion, justice, and love.
Homily – September 21, 2025
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Scriptures: Ephesians 4:32; Genesis 50:20 (International Day of Peace focus)
Today Holy Covenant observed the International Day of Peace, lifting up our UCC witness as a Just Peace Church. In place of Pastor Chris, members of our church family—Lloyd Spencer, Kristin Andes, and Diane Neese—offered a shared homily on forgiveness, compassion, and the call to be peace-makers in a chaotic world.
What is a homily? From the Greek homilia (“conversation”), a homily is a shorter, meditative reflection that connects scripture to lived experience. Unlike a formal sermon, it is often conversational in tone and can be offered by clergy or laity. Its purpose is not to explain every doctrine, but to spark insight, invite prayer, and encourage faithful action.
Our lay preachers reflected on Ephesians 4:32 and Genesis 50:20, reminding us that peace begins within but is never meant to stay there. Real peace is not just the absence of conflict—it is the presence of compassion, justice, and love lived out in community. They reminded us that forgiveness is not weakness but strength: the courage to release resentment and to stand firm in love.
They challenged us to be shrewd and intentional in how we plan for peace, to use our gifts and skills in service of others, and to nurture compassion—especially with youth, neighbors, and those most vulnerable. Peace is love in action. Love is the only power strong enough to transform division into healing and fear into freedom. The homily closed with a charge: go into the world as bearers of peace, showing and sharing the love of Jesus in tangible, everyday ways.
“Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to each other, in the same way God forgave you in Christ.” — Ephesians 4:32
Sometimes we need to get lost in order to be found.
God’s love seeks us out, not when we are perfect, but especially when we wander.
Sometimes We Need to Get Lost – September 14, 2025
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Gospel Lesson: Luke 15:1–10 (CEB) | Modern Lesson: Laurel C. Schneider
This Sunday, Pastor Chris preached a deeply moving sermon titled “Sometimes We Need to Get Lost.” Preaching from Luke’s parables of the lost sheep and lost coin, he challenged the idea that being “lost” should carry shame or stigma. Instead, he reminded us that wandering and questioning are part of being human—and sometimes even part of God’s design. To be lost, he said, is often the very place where transformation begins.
Pastor Chris reflected that God is never lost—we are. And yet God’s love is so fierce that it charges after us, refusing to rest until we are found. In contrast to the Pharisees’ narrow understanding of holiness, Jesus reveals a God who breaks open every boundary, goes to extraordinary lengths to seek us out, and celebrates our return with joy.
Drawing on Barbara Brown Taylor’s *Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith*, Pastor Chris invited us to see “getting lost” as a spiritual practice—a path where questions are holy, wandering is welcome, and God meets us exactly where we are. Sometimes, he said, we only discover who we truly are when we’ve stepped outside the familiar and allowed ourselves to be reshaped by grace.
With pastoral tenderness and prophetic clarity, this sermon named the good news of God’s kin-dom: there is no shame in being lost, and no limit to God’s relentless searching. In Christ, every life has worth, every person is pursued, and every journey finds its home in God’s love.
“The most radical thing we can do as Christians is tell every LGBTQ+ person: you are loved, you are wanted, you are already enough.” — Jayne Ozanne
In the Potter’s hands, nothing is wasted.
Even in our brokenness, God reshapes us into vessels of beauty, purpose, and love.
Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – September 7, 2025
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Hebrew Lesson: Jeremiah 18:1–11 (CEB) | Modern Lesson: Kai Cheng Thom
This Sunday, Pastor Chris preached a deeply pastoral and prophetic sermon titled “In the Potter’s Hands Nothing Is Wasted.” Drawing from Jeremiah’s visit to the potter’s house, he reminded us that clay responds when pressed—it may not turn out right the first time, but in God’s hands it can always be reshaped. No matter how brittle, rigid, or broken we become, the Potter never abandons us. Instead, it is often in our broken moments that God’s hands do their best work.
Pastor Chris challenged us to ask: Where have we grown brittle? Where do we need to soften and yield so God can re-form us? He affirmed that nothing in our lives is wasted—not our grief, not our mistakes, not our unfinished stories. Like clay, we are made in the image of God, not finished but faithful, not perfect but purposeful. Woven with Kai Cheng Thom’s testimony of community care and healing, the sermon invited us to open ourselves to being reshaped as vessels of justice, compassion, and joy.
“We are not just clay—we are God’s image. Not finished, but faithful. Not perfect, but purposeful.”
Where God and neighbor meet.
In the stillness of Sabbath and the practice of justice, beloved community takes shape.
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 24, 2025
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Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:9–14 | Modern Lesson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
This Sunday, Pastor Chris preached a sermon titled “Where God and Neighbor Meet.” Drawing from Isaiah 58, he reminded us that true Sabbath worship is not escapism but engagement—where delight in God is inseparable from care for our neighbor. When we lift the yoke of oppression, feed the hungry, and honor each other’s dignity, our light breaks forth like the dawn.
Pastor Chris wove in the witness of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who taught that to deny another’s worth is to wound God’s very image. Worship, then, is not confined to liturgy but lived out in acts of justice, compassion, and community. The sermon invited us to reclaim Sabbath as resistance to busyness and as a holy rhythm that re-centers us in God’s justice and joy.
“All human beings are created in the image of God—each one infused with priceless and intrinsic worth. To deny that worth to another is not merely unjust, it is blasphemous.”
— Archbishop Desmond Tutu
God’s mercy is always wider than we imagine.
As Charlotte Pride filled our streets this weekend, worship answered Jeremiah’s call: name false prophecy, reject fear, and embrace liberating love.
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 17, 2025
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Hebrew Scripture: Jeremiah 23:23–32 | Modern Lesson: Rev. Broderick Greer (excerpt)
This Sunday, Pastor Chris led us through Jeremiah’s sharp warning against false prophets—voices that distort God’s word to preserve power and stoke fear. In contrast, true prophecy is grounded in God’s presence: it nourishes, liberates, and widens the circle of belonging.
Preaching in the heart of Charlotte Pride, Pastor Chris named how scripture has been weaponized against LGBTQ+ people and invited us to reclaim God’s voice of justice and mercy. He lifted up New Testament scholar Richard B. Hays’s journey from exclusion to affirmation—reminding us that theology is never abstract; it shapes real lives and families. The thread of scripture is not narrowing but widening: mercy, inclusion, and love.
Our worship affirmed what we hold dear at Holy Covenant: queer and trans lives are holy, beloved, and central to God’s story. Our praise within the sanctuary sends us out to live the offering God desires—acts of welcome, advocacy, and liberation.
“The most radical thing we can do as Christians is tell every LGBTQ+ person: you are loved, you are wanted, you are already enough.”
— Jayne Ozanne
The holy is not found in more, but in enough.
In a world that glorifies accumulation, this week’s worship asked: What does it mean to live richly by God’s standards?
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost – Worship Service – August 3, 2025
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Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:13–21 (NLT) | Modern Lesson: John Pavlovitz
This Sunday, Pastor Chris invited us into a courageous conversation about money—not to shame or scold, but to reframe. Preaching from Luke 12, he reminded us that Jesus doesn’t shy away from wealth conversations. In fact, he speaks about money more than almost anything else—not to villainize it, but to show how easily it distorts our hearts and clouds our sense of hope.
The parable of the rich fool is not about savings or success, but about misplaced trust. The farmer in the story believed his abundance could shield him from mortality, uncertainty, and community responsibility. But, as Pastor Chris shared, “he was invested in everything except what truly matters.”
With deep empathy and prophetic clarity, Pastor Chris invited us to look at our own barns—what we accumulate, why we cling, and what we fear losing. Drawing on John Pavlovitz’s reminder that real life is found in how well we love, we were called to invest in the kind of wealth that endures: generosity, justice, relationships, and rest. In a culture of endless striving, this worship reaffirmed our call to live richly toward God—not in fear, but in faith.
“A life of faith isn’t measured in possessions or achievements, but in how well we love… That’s when we find what’s real. Everything else fades. But love endures.”
— John Pavlovitz
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