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

Bulletin-08-24-2025
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.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” – arr. J. Mansfield
• Modern Lesson: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 58:9–14
• Sermon: “Where God and Neighbor Meet” – Pastor Chris
• Silent Meditation: Time of shared stillness with singing bowl
• Communal Songs: “Gather Us In” | “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love”
• Postlude: “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” – arr. M. Sedio

“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

Bulletin-08-17-2025
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.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “O Searcher of Hearts” – G. Clarke
• Modern Lesson: Rev. Broderick Greer (excerpt)
• Hebrew Scripture: Jeremiah 23:23–32
• Sermon: “Prophets and Pride” – Pastor Chris
• Communal Songs: “God of Many Faces” | “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Sing a New World into Being”
• Postlude: “Christians, We Have Met to Worship” – arr. M. Hayes

“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

Bulletin-08-03-2025
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.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “Give Me Jesus” – arr. M. Hayes
• Introit: “There’s a Spirit of Love in This Place”
• Modern Lesson: John Pavlovitz
• Gospel Reading: Luke 12:13–21
• Sermon: “Plenty to Live On, Nothing to Live For” – Pastor Chris
• Communion: Mystic Supper – All Are Welcome
• Communal Songs: “In an Age of Twisted Values” | “Table of Grace” | “God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending”
• Postlude: “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”

“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