First Presbyterian Church Of San Anselmo

As we celebrate the Reign of Christ, we sing our part in God’s new song that sings of loving God and loving neighbor.

On All Saints Day, the past, present, and future converge in one eternal moment before God, as we live forward together toward a better day.

God’s generosity requires the practice of generosity at the heart of community, in the systems we inhabit, and in our everyday lives.

In the heavenly throne room, John hears Lion but sees Lamb.  Whether we recognize it or not, we are tempted to see God as a Lion, one who conquers through might and strength.  But God's power and strength is most clearly expressed in the self-giving sacrificial love of the Lamb.

In a world full of displaced peoples seeking shelter and home, welcoming each other is the work we are called to do.

The wisdom of God turns the wisdom of the world on its head.  The wisdom of God is embodied in Jesus and in a community that stands with those whose backs are up against a wall – in ways of living that lead to more life for all people.

When Woman Wisdom rises up off the page, she smashes through the confines of patriarchy and invites us into a more expansive, freer world. 

Created in the image of a God who speaks worlds into being, our words have the power to speak realities into being. Wisdom helps us use that power for good.

Wisdom invites us to into lives of reflection, rethinking, and action – to live out the life of Christ in the lives we live.

On Labor Day weekend, we share a conversation about work in the time of pandemic -- wisdom at the intersection of work and our life of faith.

Wisdom is always-active, engaged, inter-generational, community learning – as we seek together for ways of living that lead to more life – for this moment and then the next.  

In Wisdom, God is present with us in the questions, in the struggle, in the real stuff of life – helping us find ways of living that lead to more life. The beginning of wisdom is knowing that we know not, and listening with our whole heart – our whole selves – for the steadfast, loving presence of God, walking with us always into life.

God calls us to welcome all God's children.  As we welcome children, God welcomes all of us.

The Welcoming Body of Christ works for the freedom of all bodies so that, individually and together, we can all be all that we are created to be, in love. The body of Christ is not complete until all bodies are free.

In the rhythm of all our coming and going, in our gathering and going out and gathering again, Jesus says: “I am the bread of life – I will always welcome you in. Trust into me.” Moving forward together, we act in vulnerability and courage in the midst of the unknown; we experience authenticity; and we build trust.

With discomforting Scriptures, the Spirit unsettles us and challenges us to see and name how we participate in systems that oppress, to change, and to join God's work of welcome and justice.

The welcome we return to God must be as loving and liberating as the welcome we have received – a welcome that names and dismantles every system that holds anyone anywhere down, a welcome that leaves no one behind, a welcome that sets the whole world free. 

Jesus rejects inhospitality, welcomes everyone, and insists that we do too – through the spiritual practice of hospitality. The practice of hospitality invites us to approach every encounter (in our families, church, community, and nation) with a commitment to welcome:  What are the barriers here?  What does hospitality require of us?

We are how love shows up in the world – God’s love for the whole world, embodied in humanity, in us.