Pastor Jessie is out on sabbatical during this time, but we hope you will continue to connect with our church community in worship. This is a traditional choir service with guest preacher Rev. Dottie LaPenta.
02/22/2026 – Led in the Wilderness: A Collective Testimony
Pastor Jessie is out on sabbatical during this time, but we hope you will continue to connect with our church community in worship. This is a traditional choir service lead by our COA Sabbatical Committee.
ASH WEDNESDAY 2026
Tonight, we will gather for a simple Ash Wednesday service of prayer, reflection, and communion as we begin the season of Lent together. This service also comes at a tender moment for me personally, as it will be the last time I preside at the table before my sabbatical.
Ash Wednesday invites us to slow down and tell the truth about our lives—to remember our mortality, our belovedness, and our deep need for God’s grace. Our worship will be shaped by Psalm 51 from the Book of Psalms, a text often associated with guilt and shame, but one that also opens a richer way of understanding sin and repentance. Rather than focusing on self-loathing or moral scorekeeping, we will explore repentance as turning—turning toward truth, toward healing, toward the God who longs to create in us clean hearts and renewed spirits.
2/15/2026: Pastor Jessie last Sunday before sabbatical
This Sunday, we will conclude our sermon series on rest with a heartfelt reflection as Pastor prepares to begin a three-month sabbatical next week after Ash Wednesday. Drawing on the mountaintop experiences in Exodus and the Transfiguration in 2 Peter, we’ll explore how rest is not just a pause from life’s work, but a time to be held, renewed, and prepared for the journey ahead. We’ll celebrate the rhythms of rest that sustain both pastors and congregations, and the ways God meets us in ordinary moments of presence, care, and shared life together.
Through this sermon, we hope to inspire the congregation to embrace rest in their own lives—whether through quiet reflection, prayer, or the simple joys of daily routines. As we send Jessie off with gratitude and hope, we’ll be reminded that the light and presence of God we glimpse on the mountaintop continues to guide and illuminate our path, even when we are back on the road of everyday life.
2/8/2026: REST ASSURED: Spiritual Rest
This Sunday’s service will invite us to slow down and listen for the quiet, steady voice of God who offers rest to our weary souls. We will explore spiritual rest not as escape or inactivity, but as a deep trust in God—our rock, refuge, and source of peace. In a world that glorifies busyness and self-reliance, we are called back to Sabbath rhythms, honest prayer, and a life grounded in reliance on God rather than constant striving. Together, we will reflect on what it means to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and shape the way we live.
This theme of rest and trust is especially fitting as we welcome new members into the life of our congregation. Becoming part of a church is not about earning belonging or keeping up with expectations, but about being received into a community centered on grace, patience, and shared faith. As we open our hearts to new members, we are reminded that this church is meant to be a place of refuge—a spiritual home where people can rest, grow, and walk together in Christ. In welcoming others, we also recommit ourselves to being a community where God’s peace dwells richly among us.