This week, we take a break from our summer sermon series to welcome one of our dedicated COA leaders Helen Kelley as our preacher for the day. She will be focusing on Father’s Day, and God as our Father. Our Father…

…for us

…with us

…within us

How do we make sense of being able to have this relationship with our Almighty Creator? How do we make sense of a Father God if perhaps our own relationships with father figures have been difficult? How do our stories and experiences actually help us grow closer to God in our journeys of faith?

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This week, we come to an emotion that seems to dominate American life in the 2020’s: ANGER. Perhaps we have plenty to be angry about from all sorts of places on the political spectrum. And yet, as Christians, what are we meant to do with our anger? How did Jesus get angry? Is anger ever productive, and if so, how? We will consider how this fiery emotion takes shape in our real lives and prayerfully think together about ways to harness it for the things God is passionate about in this world.

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This week as we really dive into our Inside Out series on emotionally healthy faith, we begin with fear. It seems like we live in a culture of fear, and fear tends to drive us towards other emotions like anger and disgust and towards actions that do not represent the best of who we are. What is fear and where does it come from? Why do we struggle with it so much, and what can we do to make better use of fear in our journey of faith? Fear is not something that will just go away, but we do have some control and help from God about how it manifests in our life together.

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This year Pentecost comes after our first ever Season of Creation. This year for this birthday of the Church, we will not only remember how God’s Holy Spirit fills and empowers our faith community, but also how it is active in the larger world around us. One point of unity for people across difference is our dependence on that spirit for life. How can the Spirit transform us and fuel us in these days as individual believers and as a human community?

Today’s service will also include our annual ordination of new Elders and Deacons. This is always incredibly moving in our little church because part of this liturgy is the laying on of hands by all those who have previously served in these roles, and it usually involves at least 3/4 of the church! We truly would not be who we are without each one of you and your gifts and your work together.

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It is no accident that many of the most spiritually significant moments in Christianity AND other religions take place on mountaintops. Among the wonders of creation, mountain have a unique ability to spark awe and wonder; to quiet everything else that distracts and remind us of our own small, humble place in this grand and beautiful world. This final week of our Season of Creation, we will consider how God uses “mountaintop moments” in our lives, and what role mountains might play in God’s dreams for renewal of all creation. Our hope is not just in pearly gates and heavenly realms, but also in what God can do with this world; God’s ongoing creation and masterpiece.

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