Rev. Venida invites her recent cohort of Black Storytellers to share the stories they crafted during their week-long residency.
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Rev. Venida opens our month-long Sermon Series, Higher Love, focusing on the theme of Love Your Neighbor. She will explore how we might recenter our capacity to embody love and show God’s love as we honor and prioritize the plight and needs of others.
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Em Slezak explores the final installment of the Beatitudes and asks: Who do you want to bless? How do we envision our present and future?
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Regina continues the We Belong Here series with the question: What does Parrot, a pillar, and a peacemaker have in common?
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Keli continues our “Liberated Faith” sermon series with a timely invitation to throw off the shackles of false urgency. Despite the chaos that surrounds us, our faith demands that we slow down and put our trust in God, no matter how uncomfortable or unsatisfactory that may seem.
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Rev. Venida engages in conversation with author and primary care physical, Dr. Kristin T. Lee. They will delve into her book, We Mend with Gold: An Immigrant Daughter’s Reckoning with American Christianity, and discuss topics of deconstructing and reconstructing faith, family, belonging and more.
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Preaching Bootcamper, Kevin Liao uses the Beatitudes to trace a history of Christian identity formation, linking it to Queer identity.
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We continue our We Belong Here sermon series with the Queerly Creative panel featuring diverse artists from our Forefront community. They’ll share the art forms they work in, the themes that inform their creative expression, their process, and even some works in progress.
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What if grief is where freedom begins? Join Mary Obassi as we hold Pride and Juneteenth together and sit with the strange blessing of those who mourn.
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Former Community Pastor, Mira Sawlani (she/her) kicks off Pride month. Hear her story of finding freedom in unexpected places as she preaches on Matthew 5:3 and God's radical love for those pushed to the margins.
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What does it mean to create a family — especially when the path is long, complex, non-normative, or not what you imagined? On Sunday May 31 we heard from members of our community including queer, femme, nonbinary, trans masc, parents and intended parents — and their stories of fertility, family, grief, and grace for the journey.
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Rev. Venida explores the significance of renewing our vows in pursuit of a more just, generous and inclusive world. Drawing on Jesus’ parable and his practice of reshaping culture through a radically open table, she examines this nation’s plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence even as civil rights are being rolled back, histories erased, and power being used against the most vulnerable.
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Renewal in the Middle of the Mess: What area of your life are you treating like Nineveh, hoping if you ignore it long enough, it will just disappear? Join us this Sunday as we uncover why your avoidance is blocking your elevation and activation.
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Pastor Angela talks about the Holy Spirit and the myriad of ways It shows up for us.
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SERMON CONTENT WARNING
This week’s sermon contains themes of sexual violence, rape, and other sensitive topics which may elicit deep emotions and is not suitable for children.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month and Rev. Venida will raise awareness and promote prevention by preaching on this very sensitive and rarely discussed topic. Using Tamar’s victimization in 2 Samuel 13 as a point of reference, Rev. Venida explores how the church can help cultivate renewal as a response to the individual and collective devastation resulting from violence against the body.
Responding to current headlines suggesting the United States domination of land and beings is divinely sanctioned, Em Slezak asks, “Why and how has the idea of divinely-sanctioned ruin developed? Through wrestling with these questions and analyzing Genesis 1-2:4a, they seek renewal: alternative ways of being found both within and beyond the Biblical text.
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Jonathan asks us, what are the damning thoughts you tell yourself? What trauma dictates your worth? We know it's a lie, right? We are asked to repent. But what if repentance means actively working to change your perception of you?
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Don explores the tension between righteousness and mercy through the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. When Jesus extends mercy to a wealthy tax collector who profited from oppression, the crowd grumbles-they wanted judgment, not relationship. This sermon examines how we navigate similar tensions today: calling out injustice while believing transformation is possible, finding purpose in our rage while extending radical mercy, and discovering that justice emerges not despite mercy, but because of it. Watch as we discover that mercy isn't a compromise of justice — it's the pathway to it.
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Don explores the tension between righteousness and mercy through the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. When Jesus extends mercy to a wealthy tax collector who profited from oppression, the crowd grumbles-they wanted judgment, not relationship. This sermon examines how we navigate similar tensions today: calling out injustice while believing transformation is possible, finding purpose in our rage while extending radical mercy, and discovering that justice emerges not despite mercy, but because of it. Watch as we discover that mercy isn't a compromise of justice — it's the pathway to it.
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Rev. Venida will be preaches a Lenten message on what it truly means to be lost and found. Drawing from Jesus’ parable in Luke 15, she invites us to rethink the categories we’ve inherited, notice the voices we may have overlooked, and remember the God who keeps seeking us with relentless, healing love.
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