In Person Worship will be on pause this Sunday, January 16.
The worship service will be live-streamed on Sunday morning at 10:15.
Our Reopening Committee made this decision taking into account the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Johnson County as we deal with the omicron variant. We know that in person worship is a central part of our life together but given the high transmission rate we want to do our part to keep our members and our community as safe as possible. We want to resume in person worship as soon as possible.
There will be no Sunday School classes on January 16 as well.
The Reopening Committee will meet again on Thursday, January 20, to assess the situation and to make a recommendation for the rest of January.
Thank you again for your support of our congregation through these always changing days.
WE ARE NOW LIVE STREAMING OUR WORSHIP SERVICES AT 10:15 ON SUNDAY MORNING. You can join us online in real time at https://vimeo.com/event/1424751. This streaming address will be the same each week.
The video of Sunday’s worship service will be posted after worship at https://vimeo.com/channels/1547852.
You can view and download the bulletin here.
The poster for this year’s Human Rights Week at the University uses those familiar words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
As was often the case, King said this more than once. He spoke those words during a Christmas Eve sermon in 1967. But the first instance of this phrase that I could find came several years earlier in his famous and challenging “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” responding to the religious leaders in Birmingham who suggested he was an “outside agitator.”
If you haven’t read through King’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” recently—or ever—I encourage you to take some time to do so this week. The letter reminds us that King’s words and work helped us to come as far as we have in the nearly 60 years since that letter was written—and it shows us how relevant King still is for the road ahead at a time when many dismiss him as old news. And, yes, the letter can still make white, liberal Christians uncomfortable.
Out of my own discomfort, I came to John’s story about Jesus in Cana. It is often read during these weeks after Epiphany when we turn our attention to the stories of Jesus’ early ministry. Weddings and wine might seem far removed from the concerns of justice. But the more I listened, the more I heard this story speak in ways that were profound and convicting.
Scripture Lessons: Amos 9:11-15; John 2:1-11
Sermon: “Water, Wine, and the Way of Love”
The Rev. Bill Lovin preaching
Anthem: “Amazin’ Grace” Wendell Whalum
No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.