Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor

Emily and Caroline have a conversation about mental health and spiritual communities. They touch on the language we use when we speak of mental health symptoms, the overlap of spirituality […]

Faith communities can be healing communities. We start out a new sermon series by talking about the conditions we cultivate as a church to make the space emotionally safe and healthy […]

Using the story of the man who lived among the tombs in Mark 5, we talk about the perniciousness of shame and finding community healing. Learn more about Blue Ocean […]

New scholarship by Rev. Dr. Mitzi Smith suggests the possibility that both Mary and Jesus had a slave status. We use that lens to look at how Jesus may have […]

A claim of the resurrection is that we have a rabbi who is still with us, able to teach and guide us, and—as part of that leadership function—to mediate Scripture […]

On Easter, Christians insist that Death has been overcome because, if the Creator can get through to us that we don’t need to be afraid, then maybe we’ll be less […]

On Palm Sunday, Jesus rides into the heart of Jerusalem—not as a conquering hero, but as a champion of the poor and the oppressed. He signals his commitment to a […]

Jesus understood the incredible power differential between Rome and the his people; he knew the Jewish people would need to be creative in how they fought back against their oppressors. We […]

Jesus lived his whole life under Roman occupation, and the particular region where he grew up—in the Galilee, in the north—bore deep scars from the Roman presence. We talk about the […]

Today, we explore the Pharisees. We look to transform widespread contempt for this ancient group through greater understanding and affirmation. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can watch […]

We talk about the Maccabean Revolt and the context for some strands of Judaism that existed in Jesus’s day. Learn more about Blue Ocean Church at a2blue.org. You can watch recordings […]

We take a broad-stroke look at the history of the Jewish people (understanding broad strokes mask nuance and complexity); the creation of the Torah; and the early formation of Jewish identity as […]

NOTE: sound quality for this episode is poor due to failure of our sound system. The recorded audio has been processed to try to improve intelligibility, but some sections are […]

God is still experiencing new things in relationship to you and me and all creation. There is more to God than we yet know or can put to words. The […]

Metaphors help us to see reality in new ways, but for some, the metaphor for God as a Big Powerful Person doesn’t work very well. Today, we explore the metaphor […]

We look at the metaphor of God as consuming fire, learning that God’s fiery nature exists because God is in the business of transforming the unjust systems of the world. Learn […]

God being my heart’s rock suggests there’s a place inside of each of us where we can turn for help in times of trouble. A place where we can be fed, and […]

Using the story of Jacob in Genesis 28, we talk about God as Ha-Makom, The Place. We recognize God can meet us wherever we are, no matter what’s going on […]

On this Epiphany Sunday, we hone in on Jesus’s dad, Joseph, and wonder about his role in being an ally to Mary both in her pregnancy and in facing the threat […]

Caroline reframes the legacy of St. Nicholas of Myra in light of Jesus’s teaching, that we are all children of God (who is both yours and mine). It’s not about […]

The prophet Isaiah promised God would “prepare the way” and send comfort to a suffering people. A few hundred years later John the Baptist came to enact that promise—bringing the […]

We can embrace the darkness in Advent, face it, name it, and turn our attention to the the coming Light. But, as we learn from the stories of oppressed people, […]

Guest speaker Gayle Boss, author of All Creation Waits, shares about her own discovery of Advent and how its practices are deeply rooted in the biological rhythms of creation. Includes an […]

We start Advent with the story of Zechariah in the temple. Sometimes our words, like Zechariah’s, manifest our own limits of what we can imagine, while silence makes more room for the […]

From the Sea of Reeds to the bitter springs of Marah to the oasis at Elim, Exodus 15 tells a story of finding spiritual refreshment and hope. Learn more about […]