(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
At Holy Covenant United Church of Christ in Charlotte, NC, worship is more than a weekly ritual—it’s a living expression of love, justice, and community.
🌸 “Even in Despair, Joy Is Still There” — Claiming joy as holy resistance and sacred strength.
Worship Service – December 14, 2025 | Third Sunday of Advent: JOY
Scripture: Isaiah 35:1–10 | Modern Lesson: Audre Lorde
This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, we gathered in the heart of Advent’s third week to celebrate JOY — not as fleeting happiness, but as holy defiance, resilient hope, and life-giving strength. Pastor Christopher Czarnecki preached a powerful message titled “Even in Despair, Joy Is Still There,” inviting us to reclaim joy as a sacred practice in a world too often shaped by fear, injustice, and weariness.
Worship opened with a vibrant Call to the Heart that named joy honestly — not joy that pretends everything is fine, but joy that rises in the face of injustice and insists on life anyway. Together we affirmed that joy strengthens the weary, liberates the oppressed, and belongs to all of God’s children.
The Candle of Joy was lit by Rev. Windy Allison and Angela Allison, reminding us that joy is an active form of resistance. As the flame flickered, we proclaimed that joy testifies to God’s promises even amid sorrow and uncertainty — rekindling courage, gratitude, and hope within us and among us.
Our Modern Lesson drew from the prophetic wisdom of Audre Lorde, who named joy as rebellion — a fierce commitment to live fully despite wounds and systems that thrive on despair. That witness echoed beautifully alongside Isaiah 35:1–10, where the prophet proclaims deserts blooming, bodies healed, and a holy way where grief gives way to singing and everlasting joy.
In his sermon, Pastor Chris reminded us that joy does not deny suffering — it confronts it with courage. Joy, he preached, is the strength that keeps us moving, the light that refuses to be extinguished, and the promise that God is still making a way where none seems possible.
Music carried that joy with brilliance and depth: a radiant violin prelude of “The First Noël,” the choir’s anthem “Song of the Baptist,” and the congregation’s joyful proclamation of “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice” and “This Little Light of Mine.” Each note became a declaration that joy still rises — in song, in community, in shared breath.
At Christ’s open table and throughout the service, we were reminded that joy is communal — a gift we receive and a witness we share. In laughter, song, generosity, and prayer, we claimed joy not as escape, but as fuel for love, justice, and faithful living in a world still longing for healing.
✨ “Joy is not a distraction from the struggle — it is the strength that helps us survive it.”
“Even in despair, joy is still there — rising, resisting, and reminding us that God is not finished with us yet.” — Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
🕊️ “The World God Longs For” — Listening for God’s peace in a world aching for justice, healing, and wholeness.
Worship Service – December 7, 2025 | Second Sunday of Advent: PEACE
Scripture: Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19 | Modern Lesson: Dorothee Sölle
This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, we stepped into the second week of Advent carrying a longing both ancient and immediate: the longing for peace. Pastor Christopher Czarnecki preached “The World God Longs For,” inviting us to imagine a world shaped by compassion, justice, and the peace Christ is still bringing to life among us.
Worship opened with a gentle Call to the Heart, naming the many places where peace feels fragile — in our spirits, our relationships, our communities, and our world. Again and again we prayed, “God, guide us in the ways of peace.”
The Candle of Peace, lit by Rev. Jim and Faye Humphrey, reminded us that peace is not something we simply await but something we practice. Each act of mercy, every bridge rebuilt, each truth spoken in love becomes part of the peace God is birthing even now.
Our Modern Lesson from theologian Dorothee Sölle challenged us to refuse complacency and lean toward justice. This resonated with Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19, a prayer for leaders who defend the poor and nurture the flourishing of peace.
In his sermon, Pastor Chris reflected on peace as a daily choice — compassion over indifference, courage over apathy, solidarity over isolation. “The world God longs for,” he said, “is woven through the everyday acts of justice and mercy we choose.”
Music carried this longing with beauty: a shimmering harp prelude, the choir’s prophetic anthem “A Voice in the Desert”, and communion music reminding us that peace is a table we share, a welcome we extend, a love we practice.
At Christ’s open table, we remembered Jesus as the one who heals, lifts up, includes, and sends us out as bearers of peace in a restless world. All were welcomed — hungry or fed, certain or doubtful, straight or queer, named and unnamed — into the grace that meets us again and again.
🕊️ “Peace is born wherever justice deepens, mercy is extended, and love refuses to turn away.”
“The world God longs for is not a far-off dream — it is already taking shape wherever we choose compassion, courage, and peace.” — Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
🕯️ “Hope That Moves Us On” — Beginning the journey of Advent with trust in God’s renewing love.
Worship Service – November 30, 2025 | First Sunday of Advent: HOPE
Scripture: Isaiah 2:1–5 | Modern Lesson: Rev. Amara Reyes
This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, Pastor Christopher Czarnecki led us into the sacred beginning of Advent — a season marked not by rushing, but by readiness; not by certainty, but by hope. His message, “Hope That Moves Us On,” invited us to lean toward God’s promise even when the world feels unsteady.
We began with the Lighting of the Candle of Hope by the Deck family, a our Hanging of the Greens tradition reminding us that every wreath, ribbon, and evergreen placed in our sanctuary is an act of preparing our hearts for Christ’s arrival.
The Hebrew Scripture from Isaiah 2:1–5 offered a sweeping vision of peace —swords turned into plowshares, nations learning war no more, and God’s people walking in holy light. The modern lesson by Rev. Amara Reyes echoed that promise: “Hope is the steady decision to rise again,” she wrote, reminding us that hope is less an emotion and more a practice.
Pastor Chris reflected on how hope works in real life — quietly, insistently, slow-growing, like dawn before daylight. He shared moments from our own community where hope is stitched into ordinary acts: meals delivered, prayers lifted, burdens shared, laughter rediscovered. “Hope is what keeps us moving when the way isn’t clear,” he said. “It’s the belief that God is already at work ahead of us.”
Our special music deepened the moment: “Patchwork Quilt” by D. Evans, a warm reminder that God pieces our lives together with grace; and a shimmering duet of “Advent Hymn” offered by Eric Miner & Ed Vickery, singing hope into the room with gentle conviction.
We also honored World AIDS Day, pausing to remember those lost, those still fighting, and the sacred call to justice, dignity, and care for every person affected by HIV/AIDS. “Hope is not naive,” Pastor Chris reflected. “It sees the world truthfully — and still believes in healing.”
The service closed with the beloved hymn “Abide With Me,” a prayer woven with longing and trust. As voices lifted together, we stepped into Advent with hearts open — still waiting, still watching, still hoping.
🕊️ “Hope leans toward the promise of God’s renewing love — even when the world feels uncertain.”
“Hope is not wishful thinking — it is trust in the God who is already lighting the way.” — Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
🕊️ “Kingdom vs. Kin-dom” — Trading fear-based empire for a kinship of mercy, solidarity, and liberating love in the shadow of the cross.
Worship Service – November 23, 2025 | Reign of Christ Sunday
Gospel: Luke 23:33–43 (CEB) | Modern Lesson: Valarie Kaur, Revolutionary Love
This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, we marked Reign of Christ Sunday not with images of royal crowns and distant thrones, but with a powerful meditation on “Kingdom vs. Kin-dom.” Pastor Christopher Czarnecki invited us to consider what kind of reign Jesus truly embodies — not empire and domination, but a kinship of compassion, courage, and shared liberation.
The morning opened with a Centering Prayer that named our mixed realities in this season: gratitude for abundance, but also the fear and grief hovering over our city. We prayed for neighbors afraid to leave their homes, for families bearing the trauma of separation, and for those whose daily lives are shaped by the presence of unmarked vehicles and armed agents in our streets. At the same time, we confessed the privileges that shelter many of us from dangers others face. Pastor Chris asked God to root us in a compassion that doesn’t look away, but listens, learns, and stands beside those most harmed. “Center us now in your peace, your truth, and your Kin-dom that is breaking in,” we prayed together.
In the Call to the Heart, Jeffery Edwards-Knight gave language to that tension. He named the fear of a city on edge — businesses closing early, neighbors trading warnings — and placed it alongside the world Jesus knew: a land patrolled by imperial soldiers, where people moved carefully under the constant threat of Rome. Into both worlds, Jeffery reminded us, Christ proclaims another kind of reign: not fear but love, not domination but compassion, not empire but the Kin-dom of God. We were invited to gather not in hopelessness, but in holy defiance of the fear meant to divide and silence, and to worship the Christ who reigns in love and calls us “kindred.”
Our worship was framed with gratitude and beauty. The service began with a Prelude of “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” offered by Mary Tarr on violin, while later the Handbell Choir surrounded us with thanksgiving hymns — “For the Beauty of the Earth” and “We Gather Together” — ringing out a gentle insistence that gratitude and justice belong together. Through Stories for All People, Jo Ann Jellison helped us see that God’s kin-dom holds room for every story at the table, especially those often pushed to the edges.
Our Modern Lesson, read by Alice Phelan-Young from Valarie Kaur’s book Revolutionary Love, asked a piercing question: When faced with injustice, do we let fear harden us, or do we let love expand us? Kaur describes revolutionary love as a labor that sees those most harmed by our systems as part of our own family, disrupting the machinery of empire by showing up, listening, and refusing to dehumanize. Her words set the table for the Gospel and sermon to follow.
The Gospel reading from Luke 23:33–43 placed us at the foot of the cross: Jesus crucified between two criminals, mocked by leaders and soldiers, with a sign above his head reading, “This is the king of the Jews.” One criminal joins the insults, but the other sees something different — a king whose power looks like mercy. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” he pleads. Jesus responds not with condemnation, but with startling intimacy: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
In his message, “Kingdom vs. Kin-dom,” Pastor Chris explored how Jesus’ reign looks nothing like the empires we know. Kingdoms and empires depend on hierarchies: insiders and outsiders, protected citizens and expendable lives. They move through the world with unmarked power, enforcing order through fear. But on the cross, Jesus reveals a different kind of sovereignty — a Kin-dom in which the condemned are seen and addressed by name, enemies are forgiven, and even in his final breaths Christ is drawing people into relationship, not control.
Pastor Chris connected this to our own moment in Charlotte and beyond: to migrants and families living under threat; to communities that have always felt the weight of surveillance and state violence; to those whose identities or immigration status make them vulnerable to the machinery of empire. He reminded us that the Kin-dom of God is not abstract — it looks like showing up for those most at risk, listening to their stories, and refusing to categorize any human being as disposable. “Where empire says, ‘You are a problem to be managed,’” he said, “Jesus says, ‘You are kin. You belong to me.’”
The sermon invited us to consider where we locate ourselves in this story. Are we living like citizens of a kingdom rooted in fear and scarcity, or like kin in a community rooted in mercy and courage? Small actions — advocating for humane policies, supporting immigrant neighbors, giving generously, praying for those targeted by violence — become ways we practice the Kin-dom in real time. As Reign of Christ Sunday closed the church year, we were reminded that Christ’s kingship is not about control over us, but solidarity with us and with all who suffer.
The service moved toward sending with the hymn “Fight the Good Fight” and a charge to let our lives bear witness to hope in the face of fear. The Postlude, “We Have Come into This House,” sent us back into the world with a simple truth ringing in our ears: we gather around Christ not as subjects of an empire, but as kin at a shared table of grace.
🕊️ “Christ’s reign does not come riding a warhorse, but hanging on a cross, calling us kin and inviting us into a love that empire cannot cancel.”
“Where empire says, ‘You are expendable,’ Jesus says, ‘You are kin.’ That is the Kin-dom we’re called to live into.” — Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
🕊️ “Called Together, Called Forward” — A Sunday of Gratitude, Vision, and Shared Ministry
Worship Service – November 16, 2025 | Annual Meeting Sunday
Bulletin – 11.16.2025
This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, our worship became a gathering of stories — a shared look back at God’s faithfulness and a hopeful look forward into the year to come. Instead of a sermon, the voices of our ministry leaders shaped the morning. Each brought a snapshot of their team’s work, their joys, and their dreams for what is unfolding among us.
Pastor Christopher Czarnecki opened our time with gratitude for the many hands and hearts shaping our life together. He reflected on the deep spirit of resilience, generosity, and imagination that has guided Holy Covenant through another transformative year — and he reminded us that the Spirit continues to meet us in the work ahead.
Ed Vickery offered the Worship Team report, celebrating a year of music, thoughtful liturgy, and creative collaboration. He highlighted the faithful work of musicians, readers, and volunteers whose gifts shape the worship life that anchors our community each week.
From Christian Education, JoAnn Jellison spoke about the growth of our children’s ministry, the curiosity of our young learners, and the dedication of teachers who help nurture faith in every season.
Kim Buch shared the Creation Justice update, lifting our commitments to environmental care, earth-focused worship practices, and community action. Her message looked toward deeper engagement with sustainability and justice in the coming year.
Representing Communications, Joy Decker reflected on the many ways we tell our story — through digital platforms, weekly news, and the launch of our expanding “HCUCC Everywhere” presence. She celebrated the volunteers who help keep our community connected and informed.
On behalf of Mission & Justice, Suzanne Lamorey shared about ongoing partnerships, outreach efforts, and service projects. Her update reminded us that our call to love neighbor extends far beyond our sanctuary walls.
From Buildings & Grounds, Dave Shimberg provided a concise overview of the caretaking work happening behind the scenes — projects completed, needs being assessed, and long-range stewardship of our physical space.
Gregg Walker then presented the Endowment Team report, celebrating the continued growth of our endowment and the meaningful ministry it supports. He emphasized responsible stewardship, transparency, and the blessings that generous giving makes possible.
As the service concluded, Pastor Chris invited the congregation to remain for our Annual Meeting — a time to receive the full Annual Report, hear additional updates, and vote on important matters for the life of the church.
🕊️ “We listen. We give thanks. We step forward together.”
“Gratitude is the root of every new beginning.” — Annual Meeting Sunday
🕊️ “Faith for a Worried People” — Finding calm assurance when the world feels unsteady, and rediscovering trust in the God who holds us fast.
Worship Service – November 9, 2025 | Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–17 | Modern Lesson: Grace Ji-Sun Kim
This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, Pastor Christopher Czarnecki invited us to loosen our grip on fear and rest in the promise that God’s love never lets us go. His message, “Faith for a Worried People,” drew from 2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–17, where Paul urges believers to “stand firm and hold fast” even in uncertain times.
The morning began with a Centering Prayer that invited us to release the need to control outcomes and to rest in divine assurance: “Center us in you, O God, so that we might listen for your voice, trust your goodness, and find peace in your presence.” That quiet invocation became a thread of peace woven through the entire service.
During the Children’s Message, Pastor Chris brought out bubbles — a visual reminder of what it means to let go. Each child received their own small container, encouraged to think of a worry, blow a bubble, and watch it float away. “Are your worries floating away?” he asked. “Then let’s give those worries to God.” The joyful moment filled the sanctuary with laughter and light — a living parable of release and trust.
The sermon explored the everyday worries that weigh us down: the furnace that might fail, the illness that surprises, the world that feels fragile. From minor anxieties to major fears, worry can whisper worst-case scenarios and steal our peace. Pastor Chris reflected that even Paul’s early church in Thessalonica faced their own fears — convinced they had somehow missed God’s promised day. Paul’s reassurance was simple yet profound: “You didn’t miss Jesus. Don’t let fear steal your peace.”
Drawing from Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s modern lesson, “Fear is not Christian,” Pastor Chris reminded us that when fear constrains imagination, love cannot breathe. He shared a story from a journaling workshop where participants listed their worries, then crossed out the ones they could not control — a spiritual practice of discernment and surrender. “Perhaps faith works the same way,” he said, “crossing out what isn’t ours to hold and trusting that God will handle the rest.”
He concluded with the story of a pastor on a turbulent flight. While passengers gripped their seats in panic, a small girl sat peacefully, unfazed. When asked later how she remained calm, she replied, “My daddy’s the pilot — he always takes me home.” Pastor Chris smiled as he drew the connection: “When the skies of life grow dark and storms toss us about, remember who’s flying the plane. God will always take us home.”
The Choir lifted that assurance in song with “It Is Well with My Soul,” each voice echoing the quiet truth of the morning: peace is not found in control, but in trust. Even in the face of fear, it is well — because love holds the horizon.
🕊️ “Faith is not the absence of worry — it is the decision to trust that love will meet us there.”
“Do not worry about your life… for your Creator’s love will meet you there.” — Rev. Christopher Czarnecki
🕯️ “The Light of the Saints” — A sacred reminder that love, once kindled, never fades. Its warmth continues to guide and grace our days.
All Saints & Souls Sunday – Worship Service – November 2, 2025
Scripture: Revelation 7:9–17 | Modern Lesson: bell hooks
This Sunday at Holy Covenant, we gathered for All Saints & Souls Sunday, a day to remember those who have gone before us and to celebrate the great cloud of witnesses whose love still lights our way. Guest preacher Rev. Belinda Sledge joined us from the UCC Southern Conference’s Call to Care Tour, bringing a message titled “When All God’s Children Gather at the Table.”
Preaching from Revelation 7:9–17, Rev. Sledge invited us to imagine the holy vision of John — a multitude from every nation and tongue, gathered before God in song, joy, and liberation. She reminded us that this image is not a distant hope, but a living call to community and compassion.
Drawing from bell hooks’ reflection that “those who came before us dreamed us into being,” Rev. Sledge spoke about the courage and faith of the saints who made our gathering possible — the ancestors who prayed, protested, loved, and persisted so that others might live freely. “Every act of care,” she said, “is a continuation of their dream. Every gesture of love keeps their legacy alive.”
During the Lighting of the Saints, the sanctuary filled with a soft constellation of candles — each flame a story, each prayer a whisper of gratitude. As names were lifted and memories rekindled, the stillness became holy space. Pastor Christopher Czarnecki led us in the Prayer of Remembrance, blessing the love that shaped us and reminding us that “the saints are not gone; they live on in the pattern of our days.”
This service also echoed the rhythm of our new November theme, Finding Rest in God – Sabbath Wellness. Through music, prayer, and communion, we were invited to rest in remembrance — to trust that peace is not the absence of sorrow but the presence of love that endures beyond it.
As we received Communion, the choir called us to draw the circle wide, to welcome even those we don’t understand, and to remember that the Body of Christ is made of many stories.
🕯️ “Remembering Our Saints” — A sacred reminder that love, once kindled, never fades. Its warmth continues to guide and grace our days.
“When we light candles for the saints, we aren’t just remembering the past — we’re practicing resurrection. We’re resting in the eternal love of God that still burns bright among us.” — Rev. Belinda Sledge
💚 “The Best Gift is You” — A reminder that God’s greatest abundance is found in the love and generosity we share.
Stewardship & Seminary Sunday – Worship Service – October 26, 2025
Gospel Reading: Luke 18:9–14 | Modern Lesson: Ada María Isasi-Díaz
This Sunday at Holy Covenant, we celebrated Stewardship and Seminary Sunday — a day filled with gratitude, humility, and the reminder that God’s mercy is our greatest gift. Pastor Christopher Czarnecki preached a heartfelt message titled “More Than Enough: Giving from God’s Mercy.”
Preaching from Luke 18:9–14, Pastor Chris unpacked the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector — two people who come to pray. The Pharisee prays boastfully, comparing himself to others, while the tax collector humbly asks for mercy. In a surprising reversal, Jesus declares the tax collector — the despised outsider — as the one who goes home justified before God.
“This is reality TV-level drama,” Pastor Chris said with a smile. “The Pharisee is devoted, disciplined, and admired. The tax collector is corrupt, hated, and shunned. Yet Jesus flips the script. The one everyone assumes is righteous is not justified — the one who simply cries out for mercy is.”
He reminded us that the parable challenges the subtle and seductive idea that we can earn our way to God. “Sometimes we fall into thinking that our worth or our faithfulness depends on what we do — how much we give, how often we serve, how hard we work,” Pastor Chris said. “But this story shows us that our relationship with God isn’t built on performance. It’s built on mercy.”
We were invited to examine our own hearts — those quiet moments when we might think, *‘Thank God I’m not like that person.’* Pastor Chris named this as the whisper of spiritual comparison, one that can slip into our faith lives and distort our sense of belonging. “If you’ve ever felt like you’re not doing enough or being enough — you’re not alone,” he said. “God’s mercy meets you right there, and says, ‘I still love you.’”
He went on to say that stewardship is not about meeting quotas or proving devotion. It’s about meaning — about giving in ways that reflect God’s mercy and transform lives. “I want to invest in a more just and forgiving world,” Pastor Chris said. “It’s not about how much we give, but about what our giving means — the grace it offers, the love it shares, the hope it creates.”
This message of mercy connected beautifully with Seminary Sunday, as we prayed for the next generation of faith leaders and those discerning their calls to ministry. Pastor Chris reminded us that supporting seminaries, scholarships, and ministry formation is an act of faith in God’s ongoing work through the Church.
Meanwhile, our Little Hands, Big Hearts children’s ministry put generosity into action by creating Christmas cards to benefit Time Out Youth, a Charlotte-based nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ youth. Their creativity and care reflected the sermon’s heart: giving not to prove worth, but to embody love.
The service closed in gratitude and grace — a reminder that we don’t have to earn God’s favor or prove our faith. We simply open our hearts to mercy, and let that mercy reshape how we live, give, and love.
“Our worth is not tied to what we do or give. It’s tied to God’s mercy — mercy that meets us where we are and says, ‘You are loved. You are enough.’” — Pastor Chris
🕊️ A sanctuary of stillness—where silence speaks, images stir, and God draws near in holy quiet.
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – A Contemplative Worship Experience – October 19, 2025
Scripture Reading: Psalm 46 | Centering Prayer, Poetry, and Guided Reflection
This Sunday at Holy Covenant, we departed from our usual worship rhythm to embrace the beauty and depth of contemplative Christian practice. Titled “A Contemplative Worship Experience,” the service invited us to breathe deeply, slow our pace, and become fully present to the sacred stirrings within and around us.
Before worship, congregants were invited to select a printed image—drawn from nature, art, activism, or everyday life—that “spoke” to them. Each person also received a small journal and pen to accompany them on a personal spiritual journey during the service.
Pastor Chris opened with reflections on Christian mysticism, tracing a lineage from the Desert Mothers and Fathers to Thomas Merton and Julian of Norwich. He explained that contemplation is not a retreat from the world but a deepening of our presence within it—a sacred practice of listening with the “ears of the heart.” Through visio divina (divine seeing), we were encouraged to seek God in imagery, silence, and reflection.
During the spiritual reflection, Pastor Chris shared his own experience meditating on a vase of flowers—noticing how we often overlook the vase, the very source that sustains beauty. “What is the vase in your life?” he asked. “What holds you up? What fills you with life?” These questions formed the center of our own journaling exercise, guided by prompts that asked us to pay attention to what we see, feel, and sense through our chosen image.
As the sanctuary grew still, one could hear the gentle whisper of pens gliding over paper, a soft chorus of thoughtfulness—a swish, a scratch, a scribbled pause—like holy rainfall on a page. Outside, the crisp autumn sun lit up the trees, and inside, a sacred hush blanketed the room.
Children were invited into the contemplative moment through a beautiful lesson in “Stories for All People.” Pastor Chris gave each child a smooth stone—symbolizing the quieting of the heart—and reminded them to breathe and slow down whenever they touched it. “Be still and know that I am God,” he quoted from Psalm 46.
The centering prayer, printed in the bulletin, grounded the service with the words:
“Quiet our restless thoughts… May we sense Your Spirit moving like a soft current beneath the surface of our lives—steady, gentle, and always near.”
Music was chosen with intention: from the Taizé chant “Ubi Caritas,” to Richard Smallwood’s “I Love the Lord,” to the contemplative anthem “Little Things with Great Love.” Each piece deepened the soul’s journey inward.
Intercessory prayer was offered in silence, holding one another in the gentle presence of God. Even the Lord’s Prayer was transformed—rewritten by Pastor Chris as a contemplative adaptation full of poetic grace and radical intimacy.
At the close of worship, Pastor Chris invited all to continue journaling and, for those called to share, to gather in the Prayer Chapel. “May we keep the nearness to God that we experienced,” he said. “Even in silence, God is still speaking.”
“Silence is the language of God. Everything else is a poor translation.” — Thomas Merton
🎨 “Real Equality” by Matteo Paganelli — A vibrant mural calling us to justice, unity, and the celebration of human diversity.
Access Sunday – Worship Service – October 12, 2025
Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11–19 | Modern Lesson: Rev. Sarah Griffith Lund
This Sunday, we celebrated Access Sunday and Disabilities Awareness Sunday with a worship service rooted in compassion, belonging, and the holiness of difference. From beginning to end, the message was clear: God’s image is gloriously diverse, and wholeness is not about conformity—it’s about community.
Preaching from Luke 17:11–19, Pastor Chris offered a powerful sermon titled “To Be Made Whole, Not the Same.” He began by reflecting on how Jesus’ ministry consistently lifted up those on the margins—the cast out, the stigmatized, the ones society tried to erase. The ten people with skin disease cried out to Jesus not for a cure, but for mercy, compassion, and the restoration of dignity. “They wanted to be seen,” Pastor Chris said, “not excluded.”
As they went, they were healed. Yet, the story doesn’t end there. One—the Samaritan, a foreigner and outsider—turned back to thank Jesus. This act of gratitude becomes the heart of the Gospel. Luke emphasizes the man’s difference, and Jesus honors it. “Your faith has made you well,” he says—not normal, but well. The Greek word points to wholeness, to wellness of spirit, body, and soul.
Pastor Chris explored how this distinction changes everything. “Difference,” he said, “is not something to erase. It’s something to bless.” Too often, our world pressures people—especially LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, people with disabilities, and those who are neurodivergent—to hide who they are in order to be accepted. Yet Jesus never sought to make people the same. He called them whole. He called them beloved.
Quoting Rev. Sarah Griffith Lund, Pastor Chris reminded us that “we are not whole in spite of our differences, we are whole because of them.” Inclusion, then, is not a special ministry or an act of charity—it is love made visible. It’s what happens when the Church resists the impulse to erase differences and instead celebrates them as holy. “The truth,” he said, “is that honoring difference leads to life.”
The sermon challenged us to begin with ourselves—our attitudes, our communities, our language, and our willingness to see the image of God in every person. “We’re not being asked to change the world today,” Pastor Chris said. “We’re being asked to start with how we see one another.” He called the congregation to recognize the Spirit already moving at our borders, through our missions, and within our walls—restoring dignity, belonging, and joy.
Through storytelling, prayer, and music—including “Come Build a Church” and “I Love the Lord”—the service became an embodiment of its message: we encounter God not when we erase difference, but when we honor it. That is where healing begins. That is where the Church becomes whole.
“Jesus does not tell the Samaritan, ‘Your faith has made you normal.’ He says, ‘Your faith has made you well.’ We are not whole in spite of our differences—we are whole because of them.” — Pastor Chris
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