by Amy Norton-Benfield, May 28, 2026
This Sunday, we’re taking a moment to celebrate and acknowledge those in our midst who have shared their gifts of teaching and learning with us over the past year. Almost every week between September and May, our church school teachers and Bible study leaders prepare lesson and discussion plans to help our church family grow closer to God and to whom God calls us to be. Come Sunday morning, they prepare their space, greet their learners, share their gifts of leadership and teaching, and joyfully and humbly receive the gifts their learners offer in turn. Our church school students model… Read More
by Kent M French, May 21, 2026
This Sunday we will re-tell the story of Pentecost, that wild, fiery day in the first century CE when a diverse crowd could speak in their own languages and still understand each other clearly (Acts 2:1-21). Amy has shared with me an engaging church-y book she’s been reading called Unstoppable Outreach, by United Church of Christ pastor Tracy Barnowe, about, among other things, “how to transform your congregation’s fear of offending people into excitement about inviting everyone they meet.” In it, she has a compelling chapter about Pentecost, focusing on the phrases about “God’s mighty deeds of power,” (verse 11)… Read More
by Kent M French, May 14, 2026
This Sunday is Consecration Sunday, when we bring forth our pledges of money and service for the coming program year (July 1-June 30). We will celebrate with a potluck after worship. If you cannot attend in person, I’m making a special request for you to complete your pledge by Sunday. You can do it online HERE. You can also download the form here or we’ll have extra copies on Sunday. Pledging helps us plan proactively for the year ahead. Every contribution is precious. In worship, we’ll look again at Paul’s “love letter” to the churches at Philippi, in which he outlines what it looks… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, May 07, 2026
In these weeks following Easter, we are learning alongside our church school students how the good news of Jesus’ resurrection begins to spread. As more and more see the risen Messiah, their doubt changes to belief and they share the story of Resurrection. Through the faithful service of disciples, those who are least likely, come to follow in the hope of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. Regardless of whether or not we’ve ever been diagnosed with a mental illness, I feel fairly confident making the claim that we all have experienced ups and downs in our mental health, just as we… Read More
by Kent M French, April 30, 2026
In these weeks following Easter, we are learning alongside our church school students how the good news of Jesus’ resurrection begins to spread. As more and more see the risen Messiah, their doubt changes to belief and they share the story of Resurrection. Through the faithful service of disciples, those who are least likely, come to follow in the hope of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. During my 2022 sabbatical, I made a point to visit the Areopagus (Greek for “Ares’ Hill” also called “Mars Hill”) in Athens, because I remembered hearing about it growing up in Sunday School. I was… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, April 23, 2026
In these weeks following Easter, we are learning alongside our church school students how the good news of Jesus’ resurrection begins to spread. As more and more see the risen Messiah, their doubt changes to belief and they share the story of Easter. Through the faithful teaching of the disciples, some people who are least likely to be a part of this movement, come to follow in the hope of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. As we continue to explore the still-unfolding story of how the Good News spreads in the years following Jesus’ resurrection, this Sunday we’ll hear the story… Read More
by Kent M French, April 16, 2026
In these weeks following Easter, we are learning alongside our church school students how the good news of Jesus’ resurrection begins to spread. As more and more see the risen Messiah, their doubt changes to belief and they share the story of Easter. Through the faithful teaching of the disciples, some people who are least likely to be a part of this movement, come to follow in the hope of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. One of the most powerful concepts in the Christian story is the idea of repentance. The Greek word in the scriptures is metánoia, meaning “a profound,… Read More
by Amy Norton-Benfield, April 09, 2026
For the next three weeks, we’ll be learning alongside our church school students how the good news of Jesus’ resurrection begins to spread. As more and more see the risen Messiah, their doubt changes to belief and the story of Easter is shared, that all might believe this good news. Through the faithful service of disciples, those who are least likely, like Saul and the jailer, also come to believe in the hope of Jesus. This Sunday, we welcome United Parish member Kate Baker-Carr as our guest preacher. Kate writes, This Sunday’s text, John 20:19-31, begins in a state of… Read More
by Kent M French, April 01, 2026
We warmly invite you to join us for Holy Week worship. Maundy Thursday, 7pm Our Maundy Thursday worship commemorates the Last Supper and Jesus’ command to his disciples to “love one another as I have loved you” (“maundy” is derived from the Latin mandatum meaning “command”), as well as Jesus’ betrayal and arrest. Remembering that Judas received 30 pieces of silver for his act of betrayal, we remember the people that we have betrayed. In that spirit, we will collect an offering for the LUCE Immigrant Justice Network of MA. During worship, we welcome all people to partake in Holy Communion, which we serve… Read More
by Kent M French, March 26, 2026
This Lent (February 18-April 4), we are following A Sanctified Art‘s “Tell Me Something Good,” in our worship and Church School. We’re looking at what was central to Jesus’ life and ministry: radical welcome, love for neighbors, care for the vulnerable, nourishment for the hungry, nonviolence in the face of injustice. We usually enter Palm Sunday enthusiastically waving our palms, remembering that enigmatic moment when Jesus re-entered Jerusalem. In some years, we’ve even circled the block around our church to re-enact the enthusiastic procession. We don’t know how many people were at that first Palm Sunday (Mark 11:1-11). But we know they yelled… Read More
