Installation Sunday

This morning I had my first services at both University Park Church and Sunnyside Church.  The sermon, "Why Church?" had a simple message: "My belief is that the Christian faith should be a movement that preaches a social gospel that helps build up the Kingdom. Church shouldn’t just be a Sunday experience but a lifestyle that sends us forth out into the world with the hope that we can make it better, following the example that Jesus himself left for us."  As a United Church of Christ minister serving two Reconciling Congregations in the United Methodist Church, I am convinced we can bring an ecumenical spirit to the mission of the church by preaching a message that is progressive and faithful.  The times call for a boldness of witness that pushes the envelope and engages the community around the radical notion that love is more powerful than hate and that the pursuit of justice is more responsible than contentment with the status quo.  It is my good fortunate to find myself in two congregations and two denominations that share that sentiment.