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So Much is Out of Control Philippians 3: 17- 4:1, Luke 13: 31-35 <-- back Philippians 3: 17- 4:1, Luke 13: 31-35 What if we could let go of needing all things and all people to be "just so" and instead learn to dance with the unfolding of that which is not ours to control? Previous Next

Discipleship Being a disciple Learning As students of Christ Jesus we look for ways to grow in our devotion and service to God. Small groups, book studies, round-table discussions and other forums allow us to learn about God’s world and apply our faith to live as God’s people. Serving Our responses to the needs of God’s world have been exciting. We raised potatoes for the South Kitsap Helpline food bank, rebuilt homes destroyed by wildfire, collected house cleaning kits for Afghanistan refugees, sang Christmas carols at Ridgemont Terrace Nursing home, provided Thursday snacks for teachers at Marcus Whitman middle school, created birthday bags for children fed by the South Kitsap Helpline food bank, worshiped with residents at Stafford Suites and Life Care Center, hosted one of the sites for the Kitsap County Severe Weather Shelter, and more. Upper Room Devotion Books Upper Room Devotion Books are free to any who wants one, provided as a gift by our Women in Mission.

Unfold: Claiming New Possibilities Matthew 16: 13-20 <-- back Matthew 16: 13-20 Once out of the cocoon, the new butterfly has much to do to prepare for flight. Wings are not yet ready. Small and undernourished, they long for expansion — to move beyond this awkward in-between-ness. As we consider our own metamorphosis, we remember how Jesus renamed “Simon” as “Peter” — a description of “the rock” upon which the church would be built. Are we willing to accept that God’s possibilities may come in ways we never imagined, perhaps expanding our notion of who we are in this world? Previous Next

Shattered Matthew 11:28-30 <-- back Matthew 11:28-30 ​ Previous Next

Crossing Over: Transfiguration Sunday ​ <-- back ​ ​ Previous Next

Drawn In: Living the Creative Life with God Watch Drawn In: Hover June 11, 2023 Luke 4:1-13 Hovering is the creative posture of taking a moment to see the “big picture.” Clearing the decks in order to give ourselves space and time to think, to ruminate, to consider what is necessary, feels like a luxury but in fact both creativity experts and Jesus point to the importance of taking reflective time. Watch Drawn In: Dream June 4, 2023 Luke 4:3-21 All creation began with the dream of God, the will and intention for life to exist in the void. All of our actions are born out of desire, out of a dream and vision for the future. This is our birthright: to imagine and to create. Watch Resting July 9, 2023 Exodus 20: 8-11 Something grossly overlooked in the creative process is the place of effortlessness and play. In the story of creation, God rested. And this was very “good” as well! Staying too focused on deadlines and how every moment can be “productive” robs us of an important feature of what it means to be humans made in the image of God: rhythm. Pushing through is non-sustainable, and creativity suffers if we constantly labor. Celebration is necessary along the journey. God’s creativity is ongoing, so while the story said God was “finished” and then rested, really it was simply a pause to reflect, to observe, and to celebrate, and then God continued God’s creative work among us and with us. Watch Re-Integrate July 2, 2023 1 Corinthians 12: 12-19 Everything that is created is in relationship with all other things. God’s vision for birds had to do with the quality of the creation of air. How a song is experienced by those who sing it will change the composer’s perception of the song or even the song itself. Nothing exists in isolation. So too for our relationships with others. What happens for humanity is closely related to how we respond to each other. Are we willing to re-integrate, re-vise, re-vision our lives as we come in contact with others who are not like us? New possibilities await if we are willing to offer ourselves fully and be willing to be changed by our interactions. Watch Listen June 25, 2023 Acts 16: 6-15 “Listening” as part of creativity is about perceiving. We open our senses to see what is emerging. Perhaps what we start doesn’t end up looking like what we thought it would. Instead, once the act of creating begins, we listen to how the Spirit is guiding our next steps and unfolding possibilities we were previously unaware of. Without paying attention in this way, we act as if we have all the answers. And when we are up against something that doesn’t go our way, we see it as a negative. But what if those moments are simply Co-Creator God inviting us to see new ways of moving forward in our lives? Watch Risk June 18, 2023 Matthew 25: 24-30 God’s act of creating all that is, God’s act of entering our lives in the person of Jesus, God’s everyday act of creating new life–all these are acts of bringing that which is not into being—all acts of originality. To create is to assert ourselves in a way that is risky, that invites stepping into the unknown. Jesus told a story about people who did different things with the “talents” given to them. The one who took a risk and utilized those talents multiplied his gift in the world. What can you do to risk what God has given you to expand love and grace in the world?

Emerge Watch Journey: The Places We Will Go May 28, 2023 Acts 2: 1-4 Acts 10: 34-36 Oh, the colors, the beauty, the unabashed and exuberant expression of all that we are together! This celebration is like none other — brought to its fullest embodiment as we emerge and dare new heights! In the emerging of the church in the book of Acts, a series of events in the life of Peter leads him to the understanding that God shows no partiality and all are welcome in this journey of new life in Christ. Upon this rock, the Spirit builds a church that offers hope to the hopeless, strength for the weary, and new life to those who think theirs is over. Upon these things, this church will continue this mission to a world that so desperately needs a people who know the power of transformation! Watch Fly: Daring New Heights May 21, 2023 Mark 2: 1-5 Finally the moment has arrived! The butterfly launches into its new environment — the heights that are now possible through transformation into what it was always meant to be. Nothing will hold it back. When the crowds made it impossible for the friends of the paralytic to get him to Jesus, they broke through the roof of the home where Jesus was. We too can be roof-breakers, we can “raise the roof” into new ways of moving and being in the world. What was bound has been freed! Let us boldly look like, act like, know ourselves to be the healed and freed people we truly are! Watch Let Go: Leaving Behind What We Don't Need May 14, 2023 Exodus 16 Stretching to the fullness of new potential, the butterfly begins to sense the calling to new heights. Expansion of wings, however, means something profound — it cannot ever go back into the cocoon. Not even if it wanted to. And so it is time to leave it behind. The Israelites that left Egypt were aching for freedom and yet when faced with the disorientation of all that was new and familiar, many began crying to go back. Letting go of the past requires deep trust in the God who has promised to be with us always. Watch Unfold: Claiming New Possibilities May 7, 2023 Matthew 16: 13-20 Once out of the cocoon, the new butterfly has much to do to prepare for flight. Wings are not yet ready. Small and undernourished, they long for expansion — to move beyond this awkward in-between-ness. As we consider our own metamorphosis, we remember how Jesus renamed “Simon” as “Peter” — a description of “the rock” upon which the church would be built. Are we willing to accept that God’s possibilities may come in ways we never imagined, perhaps expanding our notion of who we are in this world? Watch Unwrap: Waking Up April 30, 2023 John 11:1-44 In the opening of the tomb of Lazarus, in the unwrapping of his funeral clothes, the community had to face their unknowing — and perhaps disbelief — and trust that the resurrection Jesus had facilitated was real. The range of emotions was vast. As the butterfly’s cozy environment cracks further open still, it is the effort of the process of emerging that makes change possible — waking up, rolling away the stone, unwrapping what will be. Watch Open: Into the Light April 23, 2023 Luke 24: 28-49 The story of faith is not one of arrival but of journey. The new butterfly’s struggle to push out of its confines produces a fissure that cannot be undone. There is no going back, the journey to a new existence has commenced. The post-resurrection story of Jesus opening the hearts of his fellow travelers along the road to Emmaus invites us to be companions of the one who will open us into the light of a new day. Watch Coming Out: Leaving Comfortable Places April 16, 2023 Hebrews 11:1-3 As ever-emerging spiritual creatures, we cannot contain our selves — the selves God has created us to be. Coming out as people and as a church from what we have known into a new identity is filled with anxiety and unknowing. Emerging will take effort and surrendering to “the assurance of things hoped for” even though we cannot yet see what the future holds. Watch Good Friday April 7 2023 April 7, 2023 https://youtu.be/XVpa3FTTlhE ​ Watch Maundy Thursday April 6, 2023 ​ ​

Hover ​ <-- back ​ Hovering is the creative posture of taking a moment to see the “big picture.” In a world of quick fixes and instant gratification, we sometimes want to skip the step of paying quiet attention to this question: “what one thing do we need to focus on now?” Clearing the decks in order to give ourselves space and time to think, to ruminate, to consider what is necessary, feels like a luxury but in fact both creativity experts and Jesus point to the importance of taking reflective time. The “project” of our lives and work in the world as Christians depends upon this as well. If you didn’t feel that you have to do or fix EVERYTHING, what ONE thing would you work on at this point in your life? What do you feel drawn to? Previous Next

Both/And of Methodism Acts 5: 17-39 <-- back Acts 5: 17-39 The Both/And of Methodism reflects found Rev. John Wesley’s dual emphases of thinking and living, employing head and heart, growing in personal piety and social ministries, engaging in many means of grace, and more. Previous Next

A Theology of Abundance Matthew 15: 32-39 <-- back Matthew 15: 32-39 Beginning with what we have, and letting God take it from there. Previous Next

M = Ministry that Matters Luke 10: 30-37 <-- back Luke 10: 30-37 Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth preaches on Ministry that Matters, especially around the needs of housing and creation care. This sermon was pre-recorded during the opening session of Alaska Annual Conference in Fairbanks, AK, June 3, 2023. Previous Next

Reflecting the Sacred Watch Reflecting the Sacred: Sacred Doing December 31, 2023 Isaiah 63: 7-9, Matthew 2: 13-23 ​ Watch Reflecting the Sacred Christmas Eve: Sacred Being Evening December 24, 2023 ​ We gather and sing and light candles and dare to believe that love truly enters the world time and again and anything is possible, even that this love is ours simply because we are beloved–the firstborn of God. Our very being reflects the sacred. Watch Reflecting the Sacred Christmas Eve: Sacred Being Morning December 24, 2023 ​ We gather and sing and light candles and dare to believe that love truly enters the world time and again and anything is possible, even that this love is ours simply because we are beloved–the firstborn of God. Our very being reflects the sacred. Watch Reflecting the Sacred Peace: Sacred Knowing December 17, 2023 Isaiah 7: 10-16, Matthew 1: 18-25 Uncertainty is a fact of life–this seems ever more true, but we remember that there is a Christ within us constantly birthing wisdom and a deep knowing if we will but listen with a contemplative heart. Watch Reflecting the Sacred Joy: Sacred Space December 10, 2023 Isaiah 35: 1-10, Luke 1: 46b-55 Mary’s womb becomes a sacred space for the gestation of grace that moves into, and is transforming, the world. We will ponder the spaces we inhabit at home, work, and community, asking whether they are feeding, nurturing, and reflecting the freedom and joy that is so desperately needed. Watch Reflecting the Scared. Love: Sacred People December 3, 2023 Romans 15: 4-13 | Matthew 3: 1-12 When we look through the lens of the sacred, we prepare our senses to recognize the holy in all people–to come to know them in a “steadfast and encouraging” way. Watch Reflecting the Sacred Hope: Sacred Time November 26, 2023 Romans 13: 11-14, Matthew 24: 36-44 Let us emphasize the gift of being awake to the “now”… the gift of sacred time with God, with each other, and with those in need of hope.