We’ve all been there—someone we care about falls down a rabbit hole of “alternative facts.” You try to explain, to reason, to send the article that will finally convince them. But somehow, the more facts you share, the deeper they dig in.

So what’s really going on when facts fail? Why do smart, caring people come to believe things that make no sense? And how can connection—rather than correction—bring us back to truth?

Join Rev. Gretchen this week, as we explore how belonging shapes belief, and what it means to stay human, curious, and kind in an age of misbelief.

In a world that keeps demanding we either smooth over our differences or cut each other off completely, Rev. Sean's message explores a harder, more honest way forward—where love isn’t control or avoidance, but the daily work of staying rooted in your convictions while making space for others to be fully themselves. What if the tension we’re trying so hard to eliminate is actually where love—and transformation—lives?

In a world where fear often masquerades as wisdom, this message invites you to treat your discomfort not as a red light, but as data—pointing to where love is asking more of you. Rev. Sean draws on personal experience to help differentiate between real threat and personal unease, and choosing to cross the bridge of courageous love—even when it’s hard, even when you’re scared—to have fellowship with those on the other side.

This past Sunday was our cherished annual Service of Remembrance, where we came together to honor loved ones who have passed by bringing their photos or objects into our sacred space as we built a shared altar. 

You’ve spent years believing that if you just told the truth clearly enough, people would see it—but now that logic feels broken, and it’s breaking something in you, too.

We want to believe heaven is already here, on earth. In beauty, and nature; in generosity and creativity; and in human goodness that still surprises us in its abundance. But then....we read the headlines, we feel the heartbreak, and we experience the harm - and all of these ideas feel hollow.

So, as Eleanor Shellstrop (from TV's The Good Place) might say....is this the bad place?

These are the questions at the heart of this sermon from Rev. Gretchen.

Life shifts under our feet in ways we didn’t ask for— relationships strain, identities evolve, and structures and expectations that once felt right can start to feel confining. 

It’s easy to mistake the pain of breaking open, growing, and becoming as a sign that something is wrong.  

This message from Rev. Elaine invites us to discern whether the strain we feel is the cost of becoming or the cost of staying too small.

What happens after we mess up—after we hurt someone, fail ourselves, or cause harm, intentionally or not? 

We can either spiral into shame—or we can turn toward growth. Shame disconnects us from belonging, but growth deepens it.

This Sunday, Rev. Gretchen Haley continues our Broken | Open series with wisdom from the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Together, we’ll explore how to find meaning and belonging—even after we fall short.

✨ A creative story for kids and youth

Lament is the cry of the heart that says: “This pain matters.”

Feeling entirely lost? Confused? Sometimes, right when the map fails, the real path begins. This Sunday: bewilderment, whirling, and the possibility that being lost can be the place where we are ultimately found.  Rev. Gretchen will be preaching, Christopher Watkins Lamb and Julie Koenig will be leading music, Rev. Elaine will be reading a wild poem about a crab, and many of us will be twirling. Maybe including you? Hope to see you there!