Faith and Politics – Week 1 (10.13.24)
Week 1: Fear Fear is often leveraged in politics. Campaigns try to play off of our fears and use our fears to pit us against each other. There is a better way.
Entries by Chris
It All Hangs on Love – Week 4 (10.6.24)
Teresa helps us consider the end product of a life of love — a picture of who we could be and how we might move through the world if love is our primary aim.
It All Hangs on Love – Week 3 (9.22.24)
We consider the often neglected and ignored command to love ourselves.
It All Hangs on Love – Week 2 (9.15.24)
Everything — everything — hangs on love – including loving our neighbor. What might that look like today?
It All Hangs on Love – Week 1 (9/8/24)
Everything important and consequential in this life hangs on love. And our capacity to express love is fundamentally tied to our willingness to receive it. Yes – we are called to love God, but equally, we are invited (and must heed that invitation) to receive and experience love. It sounds simple, but is not easy. […]
It All Hangs on Love
What is the greatest commandment? It was a question meant to stump Jesus, but it didn’t trip him up: Love God. Love Neighbor. Love Yourself. But that wasn’t all Jesus said. He went on to say that all of the commandments and religious laws and every word of the prophets hangs on love. Boil this […]
Our Story – Week 7 (8/25/24)
We end our summer series by looking at one of the few stories found in all four of the New Testament Gospels. It’s typically called the feeding of the 5000, but the text tells us there were many more than that. What do we learn from this story about the way we approach life’s problems […]
Our Story – Deb Hitziger (8/18/24)
Deb shares her story – including what it is like to navigate a life filled with many moves, loss, and belonging. The audio quality is lacking in parts; you can also view the live video on our YouTube page.
Our Story – Terra, Audri and Alayna (8/11/24)
Three of our recent graduates share some of their spiritual journey – what it has been like to grow up in the church, what their personal journey’s have been like and what they might hope for in the future as they move away from home and begin their adult lives.
Our Story – Dale Hulst (8/4/24)
Dale shares his recent adventure (in retirement) of starting a new company focused on building net-zero homes. What is a net-zero house? Dale will fill us in — and share something about how we remain hopeful in the midst of overwhelming challenges.
Our Story – CJ and Elizabeth (7.28.24)
CJ and Elizabeth share their experience of growing up in the church, falling in love, and coming out as an LGBTQ couple.
Our Story
Sundays in July and August will feature the stories of different Branch folks – stories of challenge, hope, discovery and growth. As these stories are shared, we believe we’ll not only find the delight of learning new things about each other, but we’ll also see that each person’s story is a part of a larger […]
Podcasts for June
You may be wondering where June’s podcasts are. In June we are engaged in Group Sundays, which do not include a sermon — hence, no podcasts in June 🙂 We’ll be back in July with stories from the lives and experiences of Branch folks. If you want to learn more about Group Sundays, click here.
Time to Celebrate!
It’s time to celebrate! After months of discernment and work, we are celebrating becoming owners of the building at 973 28th St. SE! Join us on June 2 as we reflect on our nearly 20 years at this location (as renters), mark this important transition, and dream together about how we might leverage this facility […]
Labor Day Sunday – Meeting at Garfield Park
On Sunday, September 1, we’re meeting at Garfield Park for a morning of slowing down and reflection. We’ll begin our time near the parking lot off of Madison Ave. at 10am. Younger kids will be able to spend time with one of our staff, playing on playground equipment and considering a story from the Scriptures […]
Vision Sunday
On 5/19 we took a good part of the morning to have a conversation about our vision – breaking into groups, debriefing each other, and collectively identifying what it could look like if we worked together to see our vision become a reality. Because of the unique nature of the morning, we do not have […]
Transformation – Week 6 (5.12.24)
The spaces through which we are changed tend to be experiences of great love or great suffering. Peter’s life is an example of both.
Transformation – Week 5 (5.5.24)
It may seem like growing in our faith would mean that we would end up more certain. That may be true of some things (for example, God’s love for us). But an important part of transformation involves putting on humility; admitting that we don’t have all the answers (and may never have them); even embracing […]
Transformation – Week 4 (4.28.24)
God is always present. And it is in the present moment – no where else – that we experience God (and, each other). Growing, maturing, deepening our faith requires us, therefore, to be present – a very very difficult challenge for humans to believe and live.
Transformation – Week 3 (4.21.24)
The created world is a gift, teaching us things that are true about God and about ourselves. This week we consider what trees teach us about our growth and maturity.
