How might we creatively embody good news toward our enemies? On this third Sunday after Epiphany, Christopher Mack glimpses Divine Love enveloping our pain, extending toward our enemies, and shifting our perspective through the story of Jonah.  [Jonah 3:1-5, 10]

Reflection

• Is there somewhere pain has you locked in a cycle that isn’t working? 

Homily: The Good Work

What stories and beliefs did you inherit about sexuality? On this second Sunday after Epiphany, Kimberly Culbertson invites us to question and explore our inherited beliefs and practice, in light of Paul’s paradigm of the good and beneficial.  [1 Corinthians 6:12-13]

Reflection

• As you consider the work of being human, can you begin to prayerfully ask God, “Is this beneficial? Or is this destructive in some way?” 

Can you recall a life realization that in retrospect appeared glaringly obvious? On this first Sunday after Epiphany, Lilly Ettinger invites us to wonder at God’s radical inclusion and how it invites the formation of a Beloved Community experiencing rescue and restoration.  [Isaiah 60:1-6]

Reflection

• Where might you “lift your eyes” and see the world around you?

Who do you know that gives really good hugs? On this Fifth Sunday, Vanessa Maleare leads the Wonder Moment for our New Year’s Eve liturgy and brunch. She invites children of all ages to remember and reside in our beloved belonging. [Galatians 4:4-7]

What are the glimpses of hope, peace, joy, and love that we are invited to notice and hold with us? On the Friday before Christmas, Weylin Lee looks back on our year through both a global and local lens, before inviting us to practice sacred reading or lectio divina to glimpse grace in our own lives. [Luke 2:13-20]

Resource

• Practice: Vox Lectio Divina Guide 

Homily: The Joy of Remembering

When have you been surprised by joy? On the third Sunday of Advent, Christopher Mack ponders how Mary and Elizabeth found deep joy in challenging circumstances through gratitude, kindness, peacemaking, and solidarity. [Luke 1:46-56]

Reflection

• How might I cultivate joy by practicing gratitude this week?

Resources

Commentary: Luke 1-9 (Wisdom Commentary Series)  by Shelly Matthews and Barbara Reid

How are we preparing to embody the peace of Christ and live as peacemakers? On the second Sunday of Advent, Weylin Lee connects peacemaking to the practices of rehumanizing others,   Being present to decentered places, and adopting a posture of consent. [Mark 1:1-8]

Reflection

• How is love helping me hold on?

Resources

1. Article: Welcoming Prayer  by Contemplative Outreach  https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/welcoming-prayer-method/

What helps you hold on? On the first Sunday of Advent, Gena St. David wades into the wilderness to grasp onto hope in these challenging times. [1 Corinthians 1:3-7]

Reflection

• How is love helping me hold on?

Resources

1. Instagram: @blackliturgies by Cole Arthur Riley

 Podcast: Swearing Is More Important Than You Think by Freakonomics https://freakonomics.com/podcast/swearing-is-more-important-than-you-think/

How might we re-imagine God’s justice in a restorative framework rather than a primarily punitive one? On Christ the King Sunday, Christopher Mack reexamines scriptures on God’s justice and judgment through a lens of nonviolent theology and restorative justice. [Matthew 25:31-40]

Reflection

• Where are you struggling to see God at work in our divisive, violent, over-consumptive, and destructive world?

Resources

• Book: Raising Abel: The Recovery of the Eschatological Imagination by James Alison

Finding Wisdom

What does wisdom mean to you? Gena St. David glimpses the wisdom of nature as shared through life, trees, and rain. We are invited to consider how we might find spiritual wisdom in the cycle of connection, disconnection, and reconnection embodied in nature and the life of Jesus. [Proverbs 3:13-20]

Reflection

• What wisdom have you learned by observing patterns in nature?

Resources

• Book: On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old by Parker Palmer