Seeing Beyond the Silence
September 20, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
19th Sunday after Pentecost – Year A
Matthew 20:1-16
Gospel Text: Read the rest of this entry »
Hearing Other Voices – Week 2
June 14, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
June Worship – Hearing Other Voices
This week Church of the Servant used our worship time to hear the voices of St. Stephen A.M.E. church, led by their Pastor, Rev. Thomas Nixon. When I asked Pastor Nixon how they’re doing virtual worship in the midst of COVID-19, he shared the evolution…
It started with a video recording of worship from the sanctuary, providing Rev. Nixon with the familiar pulpit, yet preaching to empty pews. When the A.M.E. Bishops directed their clergy to no longer use the sanctuary, he began recording video-sermons seated in front of his computer camera – not his style. The congregation let him know that it was more important that they hear him preach “as he is” than to see him in a way that didn’t ring-true. So they’ve been worshiping each Sunday by teleconference. No video, just real-time, real Pastor Nixon, worship. Here is the sermon portion of that worship from today. He draws on Exodus 1:8-14.
Making Room
April 19, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
2nd Sunday of Easter – Year A
John 20:19-31
Social Distancing: A Means but Not the Dream
March 15, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
3rd Sunday in Lent – Year A
John 4:5-42
(gospel text provided below)
Not part of my vocabulary just five days ago, I’ve now used the phrase social distancing at least a dozen times in the past twenty-four hours. In response to concerns about the spread of the new COVID-19 virus, we’re embracing the call to limit in-person social interaction in the hope of “flattening the curve” (another newly adopted term) of the virus’s reach. 
And while social distancing may be new to our vernacular, its existence is as old as time. Perhaps not so much the mitigating risk kind we’re enacting today, but the kind that results when we exclude others because of who they are, what they’ve done, or how they live.
The story told in John’s gospel about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman demonstrates social distancing on multiple levels. Read the rest of this entry »
