This Sunday, our Sanctuary Choir, Bell Choir, Contemporary Band, and several gifted guest musicians will come together to offer A Night for Rejoicing, a musical celebration of hope, wonder, and the good news that still breaks into our world.

Each ensemble has been preparing with great care, weaving together a tapestry of sound that tells the story of Christ’s birth in a fresh and powerful way. From the ringing of the bells to the harmonies of the choir, from the energy of the band to the beauty added by our guest musicians, this cantata is meant to be more than a performance—it is an offering of praise, and a moment for all of us to breathe in the joy of the season.

This Sunday invites us to wonder deeply about sacred space by asking a deceptively simple question: Is there room for each other?

When we begin to see through the lens of the sacred, we train our senses to notice the holy shimmering within all things and all people—not just in sanctuaries or special moments, but in the everyday encounters that fill our lives. In a world aching for harmony and healing, preparing our hearts to welcome Christ in everyone becomes a radically hopeful act. It opens a pathway for peace to take root, not as an abstract ideal, but as a lived reality made possible through compassion, hospitality, and attentiveness.

This week, we are invited to see our own walk upon this earth as sacred ground and to understand ourselves as sacred people—bearers of God’s presence—who help usher peace into every space we enter.

LINK TO READABLE SERMON PDF

This week we begin week 1 of our…

Advent Sermon Series (4 wks) : Reflecting the Sacred

The bustling materialism of the Christmas season is a time when the sacred and secular sometimes feel in opposition. The word “sacred” points to something dedicated as “holy” and “set apart.” This year, we are invited to a spiritual journey of seeing ALL things pregnant with the Holy. 

What could our experience of the Advent and Christmas season be like if we lived it imagining that everything is reflecting the sacred?

NOTE: This series loosely follows scriptures for RCL Year A and draws inspiration from Every Thing Is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ by Richard Rohr and Patrick Boland. 

We begin this first week focusing on SACRED TIME. The busy-ness of the holiday season can overrun the sense of the sacred. The irony is that setting apart time for connection with the sacred gets pushed aside in order to create the trappings of what is supposed to be the season of celebrating the incarnation of the Holy! We will begin our Advent journey toward Christmas by emphasizing the gift of being awake to the “now”… the gift of sacred time with God, with each other, and with those in need of hope.

Link to readable sermon PDF

This Sunday we’ll be talking honestly about decline—how so many of the institutions, traditions, and structures we’ve relied on seem to be fading or shifting beneath our feet. It can feel disorienting, even painful, to watch things we once trusted lose their strength. But we’ll also explore how moments of decline can become openings for God’s renewal—how endings can clear space for new beginnings we couldn’t yet imagine.

This message isn’t about despair; it’s about hope that’s honest. It’s about learning what lasts when so much feels uncertain, and how to live with courage, compassion, and faith in a time of change.

Link to readable sermon PDF