September 13, 2026 Gathering Sunday by Colonial Church in Prairie Village

When I began serving as your senior minister a year ago, I introduced a new way of encountering scripture together each Sunday. If you can remember all the way back to September 7, 2025, Rev. Caela Simmons Wood preached from the book of Genesis, beginning a journey that carried us through the Hebrew Bible during the fall. In the spring, we turned to the Gospel of John. Over the course of the year, we’ve had the opportunity to spend sustained time with these stories, following the broad sweep of scripture rather than encountering each Sunday’s reading in isolation. And now we’re about to begin again.

This Sunday marks our final week in this year’s Narrative Lectionary cycle, and on September 13, Gathering Sunday, Rev. Heather will bring us back to Genesis once more. There’s something meaningful about coming full circle. We return to familiar stories, but we don’t return to them as exactly the same people. We’ve lived another year. Our community has changed. The world has changed. We have changed. And so the scriptures have a way of speaking differently, too. Each time we return to these ancient stories, we have another opportunity to discover something about God, ourselves, and what faithful living might look like in the world we inhabit today.

This Sunday, we’ll explore what it might mean to be a "formed" Christian, someone willing to engage their faith thoughtfully, ask difficult questions, and recognize when theology is being used to cause harm. We’ll talk about the importance of challenging ideas such as American exceptionalism and nationalism when they become intertwined with Christianity, and we’ll consider our responsibility to cultivate a faith that can withstand serious questions while offering something life-giving to future generations.

This week's worship theme is “Turned Toward Our Neighbor,” grounded in Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:34–40: love God with all that you are, and love your neighbor as yourself. This week, we said goodbye to several luminaries who showed us how to care for one another, especially Tim Curry and the incomparable Dolly Parton.

These celebrities, along with so many others, show us that loving our neighbors begins with paying attention. It means listening to voices beyond our own, remaining curious about the world around us, and allowing what we hear to shape how we live.

We have recently been blessed by wonderful voices helping us do exactly that. Last Sunday, Rabbi Moti Rieber shared with us about the important work of Kansas Interfaith Action and what it means for people of faith to show up together for the common good. This Sunday, we’ll welcome Dr. Greg Hunt, Kansas Coordinator for Bread for the World, who will help us think about hunger, advocacy, and what loving our neighbors can look like right here in Kansas.

Dr. King said the greatest challenges facing our nation were the “terrible triplets” of racism, poverty, and violence. These, along with climate disruption, form the basis of the mission of Kansas Interfaith Action, a statewide, faith-based advocacy organization.

Rabbi Moti Rieber, executive director of KIFA, will join us this Sunday during worship to share the vision of Kansas Interfaith Action and how we can join together with thousands of people of faith and conscience throughout Kansas to “put faith into action” in support of moral public policy in Kansas.

It’s school time again. That time of year when children are excited about new beginnings and parents are breathing a sigh of relief!

This weekend, our children will bring their backpacks to church to be blessed. We will pray that they have a year filled with learning and growth. Of friendship and laughter. That they feel a sense of belonging in their schools, their communities, and the world around them.

We pray this prayer for our children, but really, we wish this same prayer for everyone, don’t we?

Learning and growth.

Friendship and laughter.

A sense of belonging.

This Sunday we’ll read from Exodus, the story of the Israelites’ journey from slavery toward freedom. At Mount Sinai, before they receive the Ten Commandments, God reminds them of something fundamental: they belong to God.

God has brought them out of slavery, carried them through the wilderness, and now invites them into a new way of living together. God wants them to know that they are not alone. They belong to God, and they belong to one another.

Sounds nice, right? God’s hopes sound a bit like our hopes, don’t they?

Is this relationship with God still available to us today?

I believe it is.

I'm shocked to admit it, but summer is already beginning to give way to autumn, although I imagine we have plenty of hot weather ahead of us. As usual, and especially during this election season, we find ourselves surrounded by voices competing for our attention. Social media, endless notifications, and the demands of everyday life all shape us in ways we may not even realize. This Sunday, we'll reflect on Paul's words in 2 Timothy 4:1–8 and consider a simple but important question: What is shaping your soul?

Together, we'll consider how we can intentionally cultivate our inner lives so that we are formed not by fear, division, or outrage, but by the love, grace, and peace of God.

After a refreshing vacation and a meaningful experience in Germany, I’m grateful to be back and looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday!

This week we’ll conclude our journey through the letters to Timothy. Do you ever feel like we spend so much time trying to make perfect sense of God, that we forget to simply be present? During my vacation, watching the sun, the surf, and the rhythm of the waves reminded me that God’s presence is often found not in having all the answers, but in paying attention to the beauty and wonder already around us. We’re going to explore these ideas in depth this week.

After worship, please stay for the final of our three congregational conversations about the possibility of changing Colonial Church’s name. Even if you haven’t attended the previous conversations, you’re invited to join us as we continue this important discernment together.

The second letter addressed to Timothy begins with a personal message to “rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” It is a reality that ministry (and many professions described as caring or care giving) are tough; and just trying to follow Jesus in our daily life can be a challenge as well.

We face difficult situations, both personal and within our world context, that might lead to discouragement or even mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. Sometimes it can feel like our faith is fading away.

It might be that Timothy has expressed this sense in previous communication with the author of the letter, which is attributed to Paul, but is entirely possible that it has a different origin. The letter offers a strong reassurance to Timothy to remind him how loved and appreciated he is, including the reminder of his faith having been nurtured by his grandmother and mother.

How important are our family and friends who invite us into faith and participate in our ongoing spiritual journey! Timothy is encouraged to remain strong in his faith in the midst of any struggles he may be facing. He is encouraged to rekindle the gifts from God which are named as a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

What does it look like to be reminded of our faith and be encouraged? How can we in turn, encourage someone else in their journey and be part of the process of nurturing someone’s faith? What part does suffering play in all of this?

I invite you to come reflect with me this Sunday, on who we remember with gratitude from our own story of faith, and how can we rekindle our flames of faith within when we face challenges?

But that’s the way we’ve always done it!

How many of you have heard someone say something like this? Or maybe you’ve even said it yourself?

I have heard variations of this said in churches many, many times. But is it true? Has there only been one way to be a Christian?

This Sunday at Colonial, we are starting a new epistle, the Letter to Timothy. In it we find a young church struggling with what it means to be Christian, with how they should be a church. The next generation of leaders is rising up, asking themselves how they should live in the world and what they should pass down to the generation that will follow them. What does it mean to be faithful to the teachings of Jesus?

While I suspect the answers they arrive at may both interest and perhaps even unsettle us, the questions they ask are good ones. Ones we should ask ourselves still today. What does it mean for us to be Christian? How should we live in this world as followers of Jesus? What do we want to pass down to the next generation of believers?

Come this Sunday with your questions. I will bring mine too.

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day weekend and our nation's 250th birthday, I've been reflecting on the signs of hope I've witnessed over the past month. Amid all the noise and division that so often dominate our national headlines, I've also seen us caring for one another, our community choosing compassion over fear, and people courageously extending welcome and kindness. Those moments remind me that another way is possible. I've also seen the way the FIFA World Cup has brought people from across the world closer together right here in Kansas City - that's been not only neat to see, but a breath of fresh air. Viva l'Algérie!

This Sunday, we'll explore Paul's invitation to the Colossians, where he counsels them to "clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." As we celebrate America's

anniversary this weekend, we'll consider what it means to follow Jesus in a divided time, and how we might embody the love of Christ in our homes, our community, and our nation.