Our theme this year is “how does a weary world rejoice?”.

We’re borrowing that line from the Christmas carol, O Holy Night. It’s a line that holds tension and hope. Tension because both weariness and joy are present at the same time and hope because…well…weariness and joy are present at the same time.

This morning we consider the ways in which we doubt joy and even resist it. We explore the story of Zachariah and Elizabeth – a story of both weariness and joy — and let it inspire us to consider how we might more and more become people ready to receive joy when it sneaks “into the cracks of our imperfect life”.

After our gathering we had a discussion on the current war, the decades of conflict that have preceded it and what it might cause us to wrestle with in our own lives here and now.

This is a moment in history full of change, questions, uncertainty and loss. So much is shifting so quickly — including what it means to be Christian (not to mention…if…I want to be Christian).

A moment like this calls for courage. Courage to dream new dreams; to allow our imaginations to be reignited. To admit our limitations let go of old patterns that no longer work. We are committed to being that kind of a community.

Listen as we begin our Core Values series. This week, we will talk about partnership and what that means to us as individuals and to us as a faith community.

Something has happened in Jerusalem — a pouring out of the Sacred Breath (Holy Spirit) — and it has begun to change people’s lives. Today we look at the end of Acts 2 where we see the impact of this revolution of intimacy.

John 9 is a chapter full of questions, and to be honest, some are better than others.

We take a look at the host of questions asked in this story and consider what makes a lesser and better question? What mistaken assumptions often undergird our questions? And how might we follow the example of Jesus in this story who invites us to not just ask, but act.