Image: Rev. Victor H. Floyd Dear Beloved Community, What a joy it was this past Sunday to have Jim Garrison, David Hooper, and Stephen Hulse lead us in worship for Holy Humor Sunday. Their offering brought laughter, delight, and a spirit of holy joy into our sanctuary, and it was a beautiful reminder that joy is not separate from our faith, but part of how God meets us and sustains us. In times that can feel overwhelming or uncertain, joy can arrive as a sacred interruptio

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday is Easter Sunday, and what good news it is that love, life, and hope rise again! We will reflect on Mark 16:1–8 alongside Mary Oliver’s “Morning Poem,” as both invite us into the wonder of a new morning and the promise of new life. In Mark’s Gospel, the women arrive at the tomb expecting death, only to discover that the stone has been rolled away and resurrection is already unfolding. Mary Oliver reminds us that eac

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, Palm Sunday was, in many ways, a no-kings protest. More than two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, there were two parades that day: one for Pontius Pilate and the power of empire, and the other for Jesus, with palms waving for love, justice, and the kin-dom of God. That contrast still speaks to us now, especially as many of you prepare to attend this Saturday’s No Kings protest. I am sorry that I will not be able to join many of

Image: Caje Remedios Dear Beloved Community, Last week, on Thursday, my heart was heavy as I learned of the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, which the FBI called a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. Let us hold our Jewish sisters and brothers in prayer, grief, and steadfast solidarity. At College Heights Church we condemn antisemitism and every form of hate directed toward any people. I am grateful that at College Heights w

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday’s scripture is John 2:13–25, alongside Mary Oliver’s “Where Does the Temple Begin, Where Does It End?” We’ll reflect on Jesus’ fierce response to what’s happening in the temple, and what that reveals about love, holiness, and justice. Together we’ll ask: Where is sacred space today? Is it only inside a sanctuary, or does it extend into creation. Into the trees, the birds, the sky? And if Jesus points to the temple a

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday we’ll reflect on Mark 1:9–15 alongside Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese.” In Mark’s gospel, Jesus begins not with a list of achievements, but with baptism, and a voice of belonging: “You are my beloved.” Before Jesus preaches or proves anything, God names him as loved. And then, surprisingly, the Spirit drives him into the wilderness, reminding us that hard seasons are not signs of failure, but places where truth is f

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday’s gospel, coming from Matthew 5:13-20, holds a surprising kind of comfort: Jesus doesn’t tell us to become salt and light. He names what is already true. “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” And here’s the good news: salt can’t actually lose its saltiness. You can crush it, dissolve it, scatter it—after everything, it’s still salt. In the same way, nothing can take away the God-given “flav

Image: Jorge Bautista “Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dear Beloved Community, While you’ll be receiving this newsletter on Wednesday, I’m writing this on MLK Day, and the quote above is one of my favorites. Dr. King’s vision of a “beloved community” reminds us that justice means both changing hearts and changing systems, to bu

Image: Jorge Bautista Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday we’ll sit with one of Jesus’ simplest—and most life-changing—questions: “What are you looking for?” (John 1:29–42). Two weeks into a new year, we’ll reflect on what we’re truly seeking right now, especially in light of the grief, change, and questions many of us carry. How have our longings shifted over time? What do our answers reveal about the direction of our lives? In the sermon, we’ll explore how Jesus doesn’t ru

Image: Roy Gesley Dear Beloved Community, This Sunday Roy Gesley will guide us in a unique, do-it-yourself Epiphany service that is designed to be participatory, reflective, and fun. It will be a DIY Epiphany Worship Experience. Together, we’ll begin with our shared understanding of Epiphany. During the service, we will be invited to offer key words and concepts that come to mind when you think of Epiphany. Jim will capture everyone’s contributions on a whiteboard in classic