Claremont United Church of Christ

In Mark 4, Jesus tells us a strange parable about someone who scatters seeds and then goes to bed, and somehow those seeds grow without any further work. If any of us have ever tried to keep a plant alive, we know growing something is never that easy! On this last Sunday of Stewardship Season, Pastor Jacob explains how the mystery of the Kingdom of God allows the seeds of kindness and love that we scatter to grow in ways and in places we never expected!

Pastor Jen looks at Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and discusses the concept of home and what it means to be rooted in love.

Our sermon series "Rooted," is designed to celebrate the ways in which a community of faith can help us deepen our spirituality and connect with others. But strangely, Pastor Jacob begins his sermon by sharing all the ways religion and religious communities can actually be a source of evil. To avoid these same pitfalls, Pastor Jacob encourages us to focus on the root of our faith which is not power or control or having all the right answers, instead the root of our faith is being rooted in the love of Christ.

The Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us in a passage made famous by The Byrds that there is a season for everything under the sun: a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to weep and a time to laugh. Pastor Jacob welcomes us all together this Easter morning no matter what season of life we find ourselves in today and reminds us that the hope of resurrection means that no season of darkness lasts forever. Happy Easter!

In this powerful Tenebrae service, the Claremont UCC Chancel Choir is joined by the choirs of Whittier College and Chaffee College in a performance of Fauré's Requiem. Before the final movement, Pastor Jen shares a powerful message as we end our Lenten journey by sitting together in unhurried grief, taking time to mourn Jesus and all his fellow innocent victims of violence. May we all be transformed in the days ahead.

One of the only stories contained in all four Gospels is the story of an unnamed woman with an alabaster jar who blesses Jesus before his death and burial. Pastor Jacob reminds us that small acts of kindness can revolutionize our lives and in a powerful communion service, each person in the congregation blesses the person behind the in line.

Pastor Jen reflects on the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat during a storm and considers how Tricia Hersey’s book Rest Is Resistance might help us understand the necessity of rest.

In the first letter from the Bible that he ever wrote, Paul tells the church he started in Thessaloniki that they should, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances." Paul's words seem like pretty naïve advice if we have to suppress all of our other feelings just so that we can rejoice. Join Pastor Jacob as he explores how rejoicing, praying, and expressing gratitude don't have to be something we do but can be something we are as people of God.