August 13, 2023- Why Stop Now?

We often exclaim church to each other as a place, a sanctuary, a place away from other places. Isn’t it at least as much a moment we make special together? A present-day prophet, the Black science fiction writer Octavia Butler describes “God is change.” How would your relationship with holy things shift if you were looking not for things that have become divine, but instead were on a hunt for the becoming itself in progress? Would that change what goodness you discovered in you?

This Sunday, we explore the ways the divine expresses in units of time. Guided by the ancient Hebrew practice of sabbath-keeping, we reflect on the special moments of life that keep us in motion. And we ask ourselves and each other: What will stop to have time for what’s holy? What gets a no, so you can be present to what’s right in front of you?

Music for Gathering- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout and Aimee K. Bryant (:29)

Words of Welcome & Call to Worship- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (3:51)

Story for All Ages- The Stuff of Stars by Marion Dane Bauer- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (12:49)

Meditation on Breathing- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (22:43)

Community Practice & Prayer- Rev. Ashley Harness (26:26)

Reading- from A Look to the Future (1957) by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (34:17)

Anthem- Amazing Grace- Franco Holder on piano (37:22)

Message- Why Stop Now?- Rev. Ashley Harness (40:52)

Giving and Receiving- (1:02:11)

Benediction- Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout (1:07:41)