Today, we conclude our worship series, “Words for the Beginning.” It’s a series that’s led us through Advent and Christmas, giving us reminders like, “Hope is worth the risk,” “Love knows your name,” “We can’t go alone,” and “Do the good that is yours to do.” These words have been like steady ground as we walk forward into the unknown of the future.

At first glance, they seem like words we would teach our children. But in reality, they’re lessons that we continue to learn and relearn as adults—they seem deceptively simple, but put into practice, they are lifelong ventures.

Today, as we begin a new year, the timeless story of the Magi reminds us that the road isn’t straight.

This week, we are in the gospel of Luke, with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, challenging the people then as well s us now, asking: what good am I called to do here and now?

One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. And yet, modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. If Ruth had followed her culture’s norms, she would have gone home to her family of origin after her husband died, but instead, she commits herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Together they form a new family and covenant. Ruth and Naomi travel together to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, foreshadowing

the journey Mary and Joseph will one day take to be counted in the census. Both Ruth and Naomi, as well as Mary and Joseph, are unconventional pairs, but if God can bring unlikely people together, God can form us into a covenant community too.

As you journey through this season, may you find words for belovedness and hope. May you find words for beginning again. For no matter what you are facing, no matter what this new day brings, love is your beginning.

In scripture, we find stories that were written in and told through even more turbulent times than ours. They’ve provided forms of collective resistance, and spiritual steadying for billions of people throughout the centuries.

And God is still speaking and working through these scriptures today.

"This past week, voters decided who the next president of the United States would be. And the feelings about this decision run the gamut of human emotion: excitement and relief and validation, and shock, disappointment, and grief.

In many ways, this election has felt like the ultimate fight between “us” and “them.” Both sides convinced that their candidate would bring in a new era for “their people.” And so this past week, all the scriptures and messages that have been preached in this sanctuary this past fall have been ringing in my ears—Do Unto Others; remember the power of kindness and that we have common ground in Jesus.

But I have to admit, I’ve struggled.

Ever since the results came out, I’ve been asking God, “What do I preach on Sunday?”

On All Saints Sunday, United Methodists around the world publicly remember and honor those who have passed away. All Saints Sunday honors the impact each life has on another.

Abundant Life: Justice and Love by BrecksvilleUMC

Abundant Life Embraces Compassion by BrecksvilleUMC

Today we begin our annual stewardship campaign, and with it, a new worship series. Our stewardship campaign is a time we carve out each year to intentionally talk about the ministry of BUMC and ask you to prayerfully consider how you will support our church community in the coming year. It’s also a great time to think about what it means to “be the Church,” and hold ourselves accountable to that work.

This year, our campaign is entitled, Abundant Life, and it’s anchored in John 10:10, where Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” We’ll think about what abundance actually is, and how we are called to live abundantly as a family of faith.