🌵 Out of the Desert — At the edge of promise, fear distorts vision, but God restores courage and calls us forward in faith.

Worship Service – February 22, 2026 | First Sunday in Lent (Black History Month)

Bulletin – 02-22-2026

Scripture: Numbers 13:27–33; 14:6–10a; 14:40–45

This Sunday at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, we stepped into Lent through the wilderness. The desert landscape on our bulletin cover reminded us that promise is rarely reached without first passing through uncertainty. We gathered, as the liturgy declared, at the edge of promise—a place where fear and faith stand side by side.

The prelude, “Lonesome Valley,” carried the sound of solitary courage, followed by the sung welcome of “Salaam”—peace spoken over every race and every place. In the Call to the Heart, we named the giants that loom in our lives—barriers, delays, distorted perceptions—and answered together with resolve: “We will not turn back. We walk together in love.”

Our hymn, “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian,” became a prayer for formation—more loving, more holy, more Christlike. In our Black Christian History Moment, we honored Dr. Katie Cannon, remembering her pioneering voice in womanist theology and Christian ethics, and her insistence that faith must be lived in embodied justice.

The anthem, “N’kosi Sikelel’i Afrika,” widened our prayer beyond ourselves, blessing nations and peoples in need of healing and protection. Scripture from Numbers confronted us with a hard truth: the scouts saw abundance in the land, yet described themselves as grasshoppers before giants. Fear shaped their perception. Joshua and Caleb, however, saw the same landscape and declared, “Do not fear… the Lord is with us.”

In her sermon, “The Cost of Delay: A Perception Disorder at the Edge of Promise,” Rev. Windy Allison named how fear can quietly distort discernment. Delay is not neutral. When we linger too long in anxiety or self-doubt, opportunities for transformation shrink. Lent, she reminded us, is a season for healing our vision—learning to see not as grasshoppers before giants, but as beloved people walking with God.

The congregation responded in song with “Oh Freedom”, declaring liberation not as abstraction but as lived commitment. “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” sent us forward grounded in resilience rather than bravado. The benediction echoed as promise and marching orders alike: We will walk with God. We will go rejoicing till the kin-dom has come.

📖🙏 Order of Worship Highlights:

• Prelude: “Lonesome Valley” (arr. E. Butler)
• Introit: “Salaam” (M. Samir — Egypt)
• Call to the Heart: “We gather at the edge of promise… We will not turn back.”
• Hymn: “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian”
• Black Christian History Moment: Dr. Katie Cannon
• Song: “I Love the Lord” (R. Smallwood)
• Anthem: “N’kosi Sikelel’i Afrika” (arr. N. Page)
• Scripture: Numbers 13:27–33; 14:6–10a; 14:40–45
• Sermon: “The Cost of Delay: A Perception Disorder at the Edge of Promise” — Rev. Windy Allison
• Song: “Oh Freedom” (Spiritual)
• Hymn: “We’ve Come This Far by Faith”
• Postlude: “Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child” (arr. J. Carter)

“At the edge of promise, fear distorts vision — but love restores courage.”