Restorative Living

With uncertainty pressing in on our future livelihood and draining the very energy we need to keep going, this is a moment to pause and rehydrate our spirits. Rev. Venida welcomes Dr. Jennifer Mullan of @decolonizingtherapy to Forefront for a courageous conversation on Restorative Living as part of the Sacred Pause sermon series. Dr. Jenn guides us in remembering that centering the collective is liberatory work — and that this shared commitment can help restore the mind, renew the body, and revive the spirit.

Teach Me How to Sabbath

Marvin Gaye crooned to the masses in 1971 asking a timeless question, "What's Going On?” Gaye’s love ballad, considered to be an anthem of sorts, calls attention to the social and political issues of his day. In this week’s sermon, Rev. Venida invites us to honor whatever questions are coming up during our day and then explores how we can experience an intentional sacred pause as a gateway to sabbath rest.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchFebruary 1, 2026sabbath, rest, sacredpause, restisresistance, selfcare

Let Fear Fuel a Fire for Justice

Rev. Venida and Forefront’s Climate Justice team are helping to highlight Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in collaboration with other faith-based communities partnered with GreenFaith — a worldwide, multi-faith climate and environmental movement. GreenFaith’s new initiative, Covenant for Our Future, lifts up Dr. King’s values by calling people of all faiths to promote love and justice through advocacy for policies that ensure the hungry are fed, the sick are cared for, migrants are welcomed, and the earth is protected.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchJanuary 18, 2026MLKDay, GreenFaith, justice, equity, love

Good News Is Louder than Fear

A new year can bring a flurry of opportunities, new visioning, and maybe the desire to energize whatever has been lying dormant in our lives. Sometimes it is easy to move into new territory. Other times we are gripped with the bad news of our past and present situation causing fear and trepidation which can overwhelm us. What if it doesn’t work out? What if we get hurt?

Rev. Venida shares that maybe 2026 is really the time to simply breathe, all the while creating a new narrative and vision for how we can move forward with grace and courage. Maybe in this new year, we can begin to surround ourselves with the Good News of Jesus, the Good News of what really is possible—for ourselves, our respective relationships, communities, and for this church. Maybe it is time to recognize that, as her pastor once told her, “God does the heavy lifting.” Perhaps insisting on hope is the realization that: Yes, she does!

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchJanuary 11, 2026goodnews, fear, magi, voic

When You're Afraid, Give Me Your Hand

Rev. Venida celebrates Christmas Sunday with a reminder that we can look to other people for help when we’re afraid.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchDecember 21, 2025fear, community, hope

Freedom from Individualism; I'm Not the Only One

It is easy to become absorbed in our own lives - asking how we will earn a living, where we will make our home, and how we will reach our goals. Yet faith calls us to look beyond individuality. Rev. Venida continues our Liberated Faith series, inviting us to honor our interdependence and connectedness, remembering that true liberation is found not in isolation but in community.

Freedom from Fear of Conflict

This fall season finds us contemplating a liberated faith. A faith that courageously calls us to look within ourselves and our communities and journey deliberately across territory which is far too often unchartered. It is a bold faith that continuously takes a U-turn from the road of white supremacy culture. It is a fearless faith that steers clear of perfectionism, one right way, power hoarding, a sense of urgency, and quantity over quality. Rev. Venida continues our exploration of Liberated Faith and helps us navigate a characteristic of white supremacy culture some may fear—Open Conflict.

Free from Perfection

We continue our Liberated Faith sermon series with a look at how we can unlearn and break free from our alignment with white supremacy culture. Rev. Venida explores the role of perfectionism this week, and as we prepare to courageously weave our way through other critical topics in the following weeks.

Welcome Home to a Liberated Faith

Happy 13th Birthday to Forefront Church! We celebrate and give praise to God for each and every person, service, offering, prayer, hug, kind word, smile, tear, decision, sermon and song that have helped sustain this beautiful community for over a decade. Rev. Venida shares the Good News that the best is yet to come as we continue to liberate our faith and prepare the way for our next chapter.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchSeptember 28, 2025liberation, liberatedfaith, 13thanniversary, welcomehome

Celebration

The discipline of celebration is believed to undergird all the spiritual practices we’ve explored over the past few weeks. Rev. Venida invites us to reflect on how the joy found in celebration can strengthen us, ease our anxieties, and open us to deeper love and compassion.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchSeptember 7, 2025discipline, celebration, justice, joy

Rest

Rev. Venida focuses on the vital discipline of Rest, a practice that is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible and encouraged by Jesus himself. She invites us to reflect on what the Holy Spirit may be saying about embracing rest more intentionally in our lives, and how rest can strengthen and renew us for the journey ahead.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchAugust 24, 2025rest, capitalism, grindculture, discipline, selfcare

Summer Reading Panel

Rev. Venida adds a unique twist to worship reimagined as she moderates the conversation with Forefront authors and special guest writers on the summer reading panel. They are Naima Coster, Anna Gilchrist, Diane Richards, and Dr. Mark G. Shrime. These featured authors share the impetus for their work, their writing as a sacred practice, and how their books can offer hope and carry messages of divine inspiration.

The Body Shaming

As we continue our Dear Paul, Sermon Series, Rev. Venida invites us to imagine a world where body shaming does not exist. Where we are free to move and make decisions about our bodies and lives without being hindered by others’ impressions or opinions of us. Where we are able to use our authentic voices, minds, and creativity to decolonize and free our bodies from self-sabotage and everything restricting us from experiencing liberation. A world where we truly love ourselves and others.

This sermon examines body image oppression, Scripture which may have led us here, and how we can break free of the chains, heal, and reclaim our bodies. What a world!

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchJuly 6, 2025body, shame, healing, trauma, reclaim

What About All that Wrath? | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins (she/her)

Rev. Venida invites us to make another stop along the Talk Bible to Me sermon series journey. This time with a focus on the Bible and wrath.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchMay 25, 2025bible, wrath, love, inclusion, mercy

Is the Bible Authoritative, Inspired or Inerrant? | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins (she/her)

Rev. Venida continues the Talk Bible to Me Sermon Series in true Forefront fashion—by asking questions. She will delve into questions that many people have pondered and debated throughout generations: “Is the Bible Authoritative, Inspired or Inerrant?”

How Did We Get the Bible and How Do We Understand It? | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins (she/her)

Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins (she/her)begins our new Talk Bible to Me sermon series with, “How Did We Get the Bible and How Do We Understand It?” She invites us to re-engage with this sacred text being open to its diverse interpretations and varied perspectives. Begin the journey with us as we consider how we might deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Bible's teachings.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchMay 4, 2025bible, reconstruction, talkbibletome

The Book of Amos: A Defiant Hope | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins

Rev. Venida closes out the Book of Amos sermon series encouraging us to embrace A Defiant Hope.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchAugust 25, 2024suffering, grace, mercy, justice

The Book of Amos: How the Heck Did I Get Here? | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins

Rev. Venida continues the Book of Amos sermon series looking at how shifts and changes in our life can ultimately lead us where we are supposed to be as we use our God-given power to create change.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchAugust 11, 2024Amos, justice, prophet, prophetic voice

Lift Every Voice: Power to the People | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins

Sometimes we feel like we are strangers in our own home. Like we don’t belong. Sometimes we feel depleted and lack the strength to advocate for ourselves and others because of the dominant powers and systemic barriers all around us. Rev. Venida reminds us that we all belong and helps us consider how we can give Power to the People as we begin our Lift Every Voice sermon series.

Venida Rodman JenkinsForefront ChurchJuly 7, 2024belonging, inclusion, power to the people

Story of the Songs: When God Made You | Rev. Venida Rodman Jenkins

Rev. Venida celebrates Children's Day with a reading of When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner. This book reminds children that they are deeply loved, and that they each have been created with unique gifts that fit into God's divine plan.