University Christian Church

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” - John 20:19 (NRSV) Dear church, Happy Easter! One of the ways we continue our Easter celebration is by reflecting on the stories of Jesus’ continued appearances with his disciples and with the early church. Storytelling about how Jesus showed up in locked rooms, in the midst of fear, and in the confusion and chaos of the disciples’ lives gave them...

In this 40-day season as we journey toward Easter, you are invited to enter into a daily practice of prayer. There are many resources that are free and available for you to explore scripture, listen for God's voice, and stay deeply rooted to the Spirit. Here are some resources to get you started: Disciples Home Missions offers a free Lenten devotional by Rev. Dr. Beth Rupe. You can download it, print it, or bookmark it, and come back each day for readings and prayers. https://www.discipleshomemissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Lent-2021.pdf Wesley Theological Seminary offers a daily Lenten devotion. Visit the link below to read a devotion from...

In these past several months of pandemic, we have all discovered anew how important it is to be in community. Right now, even as we gather virtually, there are people from all walks of life and all faith journeys who are keeping our neighborhoods together - from doctors and nurses going in each day to care for COVID-19 positive patients - to leaders working phones and meetings to try to get resources to people in need - to teachers and administrative staff at school preparing lessons for remote learning - to the easily overlooked delivery drivers making sure groceries are picked...

With our lives disrupted by this pandemic called COVID-19, many of us are watching with anticipation for a vaccine that could potentially save lives and return us to some kind of normal. Wouldn’t it be nice to get a shot so we can return to something of the life we used to know? Wouldn’t it be great to go grocery shopping without having to duck and weave around people? Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to drop our kids off at school again, away from home, for several hours each day? According to a website called the History of Vaccines,...

Back in January, pre-COVID-19, which now seems like such a long time ago, I stood in the Church of the Multiplication by the Sea of Galilee in Israel/Palestine, the very spot where it is believed that Jesus fed more than five thousand people with just a few loaves and fish as we heard in our scripture passage today. On the chapel floor, right in front of the communion table, is a beautiful mosaic - intricately laid tile by tile - which reveals a basket of four loaves of bread and two fish. I have this same pattern on my communion...

Here we are again having to make a statement regarding unarmed African American men being shot and killed by police.  Two more incidents have surfaced for the world to see our behavior.  Saturday August 22nd, Trayford Pellerin was shot eleven times and killed in Lafyette, LA.  Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back at point blank range Sunday, August 23rd, and is paralyzed in Kenosha, WI.  Peaceful protests took place, only to be interrupted by violence and fires, and a shooter leaving two protestors dead and another seriously wounded. “How long, Lord, how long?”  Four hundred years is a...

In the movie Just Mercy, based on the book of attorney Bryan Stevenson and his fight for justice for many wrongly imprisoned, there’s a scene that captures a little bit of the Southern hospitality that folks down in Georgia and Alabama pride themselves on. Bryan goes to the meet the family of one of his clients, Johnny D, who is sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. When he shows up to meet the family, it’s not just Johnny D’s wife and kids there - it’s neighbors and cousins and aunts and uncles who show up to...

By Rev. Nathan Hill I want to begin by repeating the question you just heard asked of the crowds: “Who is this?” “Who is this?” This is the question asked by the crowds today as Jesus and his ragtag band of disciples made their grand entrance into Jerusalem. As the city got overflowed visitors from all over with anticipation for the high holy celebration of Passover, the people had heard rumors and caught glimpses of what Jesus had done throughout his ministry. There was excitement building - excitement among some that Jesus was their long awaited Messiah, come to deliver them from oppression. So, when Jesus...

Today, in our scripture passage, one that I invite you to return to over the course of the week because of its power and relevance to our time, Jesus asks Martha a question. In the past few weeks of our Lent series called Questions Welcome, we have explored questions that were asked to Jesus and about Jesus. But today, Jesus gets to ask the question of Martha and of us. "Do you believe this?" The word believe can be a problematic word in our faith and in our culture. Going back to its Gaelic or Germanic roots, belief is defined as placing confidence...

In this past week, as we have continued to grapple with our life disrupted by COVID-19, as we have refreshed our social media foods and watched TV, there has been too much to digest. So many questions. So many perspectives. So much information. And mixed in, of course, are a lot of bad takes. A lot of bad ideas. A lot of bad information. - We’ve seen images of young Spring Break partiers shrugging off their concerns over getting sick. - We’ve seen fear and anxiety over this virus get placed on the shoulders of an entire group of people - Asian Americans...