Urban Village Church

On our final Sunday before Holy Week - we consider the Mount of Olives.  It’s a good reminder that we all need sacred spaces and places in our lives. We need places of solitude where we remember how God has fulfilled God’s promises to us; special places where we go regularly to pray and meet with God; places of hope where we are reminded to trust God; and places of redemption where we remember how God has transformed even our hard experiences

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On Sunday, we continued our sermon series on spiritual practices focusing on song and dance. Because of the scripture passage of the day, Pastor Christian asked Cantor Julie Green to add insight on common Jewish practices during the Passover celebration. Before Julie offered commentary to the scripture in Mark, she blessed the community with this testimony. We hope you enjoy.

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You can listen to Julie's full commentary on Mark 14:22-26 in Pastor Christian's sermon in our latest podcast episode titled "Practicing Song & Dance" 

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urbanvillagechurch.org

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay in the know! (link to sign up is at the bottom of our webpage). Follow us online, get involved, and support our bold, inclusive, and relevant ministries! 

This Sunday, we continued our sermon series on spiritual practices focusing on song and dance. With the help of Cantor Julie Green, we’ll explore how scripture reminds us that singing and dancing are important expressions of our faith, and how both can help shape our faith lives

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urbanvillagechurch.org

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What is worship? Who is it for? And, why should we even bother? These are questions that came up for a lot of folks over the course of the last couple of years. 

Jesus spent a lot of time in worship – teaching, preaching, praying, and being in community with some folks he agreed with and a lot of folks he didn’t. But, it was less about whether or not he agreed than it was about the people: People who struggled to discover and embody a life worth living in a world determined to make that as difficult as possible. People who he knew were fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Why do you worship? Maybe it’s the opportunity, if only for a moment, to confront the ways that we are broken and fearful and anxious and self-obsessed… to exchange all of these pennies of human frailty for the currency of God’s love and grace and transformative restoration.

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Any dream worth dreaming involves risk of some kind. And, if it were only up to us to see our dreams through, it might feel impossible. Our passage today reminds us that when it is God who has given us the dream, it is also God who will help us keep going when the going gets tough. 

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urbanvillagechurch.org

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We continue our sermon series on spiritual disciplines with a focus on prayer this week. Prayer can be pretty intimidating! Many of us feel we must bring something or be something in order to engage in this foundational faith practice. But Jesus shows us when he prays in the passage from Luke 22 that you only need to bring one thing: yourself. Engaging with God and sharing all of your hopes and dreams and fears and anxieties is exactly what God desires

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Throughout Lent we'll be looking at the spiritual practices of Jesus and how they got him ready for the events of Holy Week. Pastor Hannah speaks this morning about the details in between Jesus’ actions that we don't often consider. In between the miraculous healings and wise parables Jesus practiced his faith too! We’ll explore today his practice of regularly breaking bread with friends, and how sharing a meal with the people you love just might be the transformative spiritual practice you've been searching for.

Following her sermon, Pastor Hannah shares an update with the UVC community.

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This week we enter Lent- a time when we reflect on ways we can fortify and deepen our faith. And singing is an amazing spiritual practice to lead us! This morning we’ll focus on the power of song and the ways music can speak to our emotions. Chicago musician Clif Wallace leads us in worshiop alongside a New Orleans-jazz ensemble with a guided reflection from Pastor Darneather Murph-Heath

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This Sunday in worship, we explored the text Job 33:12-16a:

Now you’re wrong about this; I’ll answer you,
    for God is greater than anybody.

Why do you contend with him,
    saying that he doesn’t answer all your words?[c]

God speaks in one way,
    in two ways, but no one perceives it.

In the dream, a vision of the night,
    when deep sleep falls upon humans,
        during their slumber on a bed,

then he opens people’s ears…

 

Pastor D’Angelo reflects on the passage “then he opens people’s ears…” considering sleep alongside US history and current circumstances stemming from the pandemic. You’re encouraged to listen with a pillow and blanket!! 

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urbanvillagechurch.org 

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay in the know! (link to sign up is at the bottom of our webpage). Follow us online and support our bold, inclusive, and relevant ministry into the new year! 

We hope this throwback meets you in a holy way. During our ‘Popcorn Gospel’ series, Pastor Emily spoke candidly about the realities of suicide with the all important, completely necessary reminder that YOU MATTER, and at UVC, you are always invited to come and be part of something that is inclusive, and relevant, and love-infused. Whether online or in-person, we can’t wait to see you 

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urbanvillagechurch.org 

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Sign up to receive our eNews and stay in the know! (link to sign up is at the bottom of our webpage). Follow us online and support our bold, inclusive, and relevant ministry into the new year!