Valley Presbyterian Church

“The passage from Ephesians tells us we, all of us, as a people, and indeed the entire cosmos, have redemption in Jesus Christ. Despite everything we have done, we have been given a gift. How we respond to that gift is up to us. So let us consider this passage, holding in tension all the things that are true: that our political system is more precarious than we may have thought, the birds are still singing, and we woke up this morning free to come to church."

Psalm 5 invites us to rejoice, to sing for joy, even in the midst of evil, wickedness, lies, and destruction. Mary Oliver's poem, "Don't Hesitate", invites us to not be afraid when we unexpectedly encounter joy, but to jump in. Let us hold onto joy in the middle of all the chaos and evil in this world. It can be difficult for all of us to live into the idea that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" when so much of the world and the news are pushing us in other directions. What if joy is one way that we can resist all that is wrong with the world? How can we diligently pursue joy and live in joy as we journey through this wild life on earth? Join us with guest preacher Nate Millheim.

In the sermon, "The Human Creature in Relationship", we will explore what it means to be a human creature. As a creation of God, we are made in God's image and made for relationship. Yet, in an increasingly divided world, we are unaware of or have forgotten our origins, what we were made for, and that we belong to one another. In order to continue our journey along the right path, we must go backward to the beginning in order to go forward.

Last Sunday we successfully began our summer sermon series, "Origins: The Story of God, Humanity, and Creation", and located ourselves as modern readers of Genesis, a pre-scientific, ancient Far East creation narrative.

This summer, as Jenny is on sabbatical, we have invited guest preachers to preach on topics outside of the summer sermon series. This upcoming Sunday, Naomi Kinsman will be preaching a sermon titled "Practicing Presence" on Exodus 3:1-12.

Deep in the wilderness, Moses approaches a burning bush. In this unexpected encounter with God, he finds himself standing on holy ground. In our lives, too, sacred moments often begin with small acts of paying attention. How might God’s call meet us in our day to day lives? What doorways might open in our hearts when we dare to pause, listen, and practice presence?

Our summer series, Origins: The Story of God, Humanity, and Creation, will be focused on the book of Genesis, the remarkable story of God and creation, and humanity's role in the creation narrative.

We will begin the summer series with a sermon, "The Story of Us: Reading Genesis in Context". The sermon will be about locating ourselves as readers of the Genesis text and how to begin reading it appropriately for its genre and context.

By equipping ourselves with the proper interpretive lens, we will be able to access ancient scriptural knowledge and meaning for our spiritual lives in the modern world.

Pentecost is a high day in the story of the church – not just because of the original moment of the Holy Spirit's arrival, but because every year we need to remember that our power and hope comes from God. The church's mission has never been dependent on smart, savvy, sophisticated people. It has always been about God working through the most unlikely people in the most unlikely circumstances.

6.1.25 - Message: I Want You to Be by Valley Presbyterian Church

Real community asks us to put aside our preferences in order to build a community that truly reflects the love of Christ. In the early church, Peter was given a vision that asked him to break tradition and religious restrictions in order to welcome those outside his circle. What are we called to let go of?

VPC is committed to being a place of welcome for everyone. We are always seeking new ways to spread our arms wider to the world. Over the years, our welcome of LGBTQIA+ folks has grown organically as we have listened to the stories in our congregation and come to understand how important it is to have a clear commitment to full inclusion.

We are so proud to be a partner with kin•dom community, an organization that was founded by Rev. Pepa Paniagua, who grew up at VPC. This organization provides safe spaces of belonging for queer youth. And this coming Sunday, we are honored to have Rev. Dr. John Leedy, the current Executive Director of kin•dom, preach in our Sunday morning service.

There’s Always Room for One More, Revelation 7:9-17

The writer of Revelation imagines a community of people from all nations and ages gathering together in the love of God. We will explore this vision together on Sunday and remember the mothers and grandmothers who taught us there was always room for one more.