2020 Was My Teacher (Lessons Learned During a Hard Year)
Jan. 17-Feb. 14, 2021

This time last year we looked to the new year with hope, even optimism and certainly with at least an expectation that the year would proceed like every other. But mid-March our eyes were finally opened to a new reality that still controls many aspects of our lives. Then in early June, protests about racial injustice filled the streets across the nation and even around the world, as we had our eyes opened anew to the realities of life for people of color in America. And then we walked through an ever divisive election season. All of these have pressed us and challenged us.  What have we learned this year? We can’t afford to waste a crisis. What has 2020 taught us that we should carry forward?

Jan. 17	Some Things are Hard to Talk About	Rev. Tom Are
Jan. 24	It’s Not Good to Be Alone	Rev. Tom Are
Jan. 31	Angels are Everywhere	Rev. Tom Are
Feb. 7	A Holy Reset: Rest, Receive, Rejoice	Revs. Melanie Hardison & Sally Wright
Feb. 14	When God is Absent	Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka

When God is Absent
Feb. 14, 2021 - Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka

For many of us, there were moments in 2020 when it seemed as if God was absent. That is exactly what Job wondered. Facing the loss of his family, friends, home, livelihood, and honor, he asks why God has abandoned him and is absent. Together, with Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka, we explore what we do when it feels like God is no longer with us. Our scripture reading is Job 23:1-9, 16-17. 

​Sermon Transcript 2-14-21

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A Holy Reset: Rest, Receive, Rejoice
Feb. 7, 2021 - Revs. Melanie Hardison and Sally Wright

Pastor Sally and Pastor Melanie co-preach on the Sabbath theme of holy rest. Jesus invites us, “come to me all you who are weary” (Matthew 11:28). God rested on the seventh day of creation. God even included rest in the Ten Commandments! Yet why is rest so hard for us? We explore ways to find our rest physically and spiritually in these challenging times.

​Sermon Transcript 2-7-21
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Angels are Everywhere
Jan. 31, 2021 - Rev. Tom Are

Rev. Tom Are concludes the “2020 Was My Teacher” series with a message on angels. If you have eyes to see it, there have been angels all around us in 2020, ordinary folks doing ordinary things and remarkable things, but things that have served the community. Seeing the angels around us gives us strength. And we have learned in 2020 that we are stronger than we thought. Our scripture reading is 2 Timothy 4:6-18. 

​Sermon Transcript 1-31-21

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It’s Not Good to Be Alone
Jan. 24, 2021 - Rev. Tom Are

Both at the same time we have been confined to our families and in other ways, separated from our families. We have been cut off from patterns of support that we often take for granted. There is a human reality, we were made to love one another. And love is not something that we feel; it’s something that we do. Jesus teaches that we are created to love God and love our neighbor. Our scripture reading is Mark 12:28-34. 

Sermon Transcript 1-24-21

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Some Things Are Hard to Talk About
Jan. 17, 2021 - Rev. Tom Are

2020 brought some tender conversations to us, specifically around the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Rev. Tom Are reflects on what happens to us in the midst of good and not so good conversations. What gets in our way that keeps us from hearing one another and learning from one another? We know from our own lives and from the story of faith that God does some of God’s best work in our conversations, so it’s worth reflecting on ways to make them better. Our scripture reading is Acts 15:1-7a. 

​Sermon Transcript 1-17-21

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