Bluegrass United Church of Christ

June is Pride Month, and this is Pride weekend in Lexington. Since our founding, BUCC is a welcoming church that proudly affirms those who identify as LGBTQ+, and we feel especially called to speak to the discrimination and mistreatment they often face as individuals and as a community. Pride is about celebrating who they are, their history, and their worth. We invite everyone to see them as God d...

Most of us white Americans have only recently become educated on the significance of June 19th. As Black communities have celebrated Juneteenth, a day that could rightly be seen as America's true Independence Day, too many of us who never learned about the final pronouncements of freedom to the enslaved people of Texas simply lived without the knowledge and the inspiration it brings. Most Amer...

We read in the bible that there is a season for everything. That means that at one point or another, it's okay to do the thing you may not be comfortable with - as long as it does nothing to harm others or yourself. But knowing when it is right to do that thing depends on whether you are listening and learning to wait on the holy prompter. For everything there is a season, and waiting for that...

There seems to be a lot of anger in our world these days. And too much of it is what the more conservative religious leaders like to call "righteous anger." But just how righteous can it be to devalue and discriminate against a population of people who are already struggling to survive in a secular culture, much less a holy one? Today, Pam talks to us about learning to do better, then do...

Today is Pentecost Sunday. The celebrations that have developed in the church over time have sometimes distracted from the original moment and God's first intention of bringing together the different cultures and voices and languages that were in that place 50 days after Jesus' resurrection. As we wrap up our spring series, "Be the Church," we remember the moment of empowerment t...

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on enjoying this life, its blessings, its j...

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on rejecting racism and fighting for the po...

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we continue our spring series on being the church, today's focus is on finding ways to show forgiveness toward...

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. Embracing the diversity of our city and our community was a founding tenant of BUCC. As we continue our spring series...

NOTE: Much of today's message is brought via video by the beautifully inspiring Robin Wall Kimmerer. You can learn more about Robin and find her books on her website at robinwallkimmerer.com It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of C...

It means something to "be the church." We can say we are the church, but actually being the church is something else altogether. It means we must do more than claim our position as followers of Christ, it means we must mimic his ways of compassion and embracing humanity. As we begin our spring series "Be the Church," today we are focusing on caring for the poor and sharing our...

Sometimes it seems like Sunday will never get here - Easter Sunday that is. Jesus' followers really didn't understand or expect even that the Sunday following his execution would be so eventful. From their perspective, there wasn't really a Sunday surprise to look forward to. For us, we look back at that time and those days between Jesus' death and resurrection with anticipation of...

We tend to think of Jesus' entry and ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the beginning of the end for his earthy work and ministry. The events of that day will lead to his last meal with his followers, his betrayal, his execution, his burial, and his resurrection. But it seems we've forgotten the reason the people were most excited to see this peasant leader. It was because he was supposed...

One of the most remarkable stories in the Bible is about a close friend of Jesus who had become ill and died. Jesus receives word of his friend's illness but lingers before going to check on him. When he finally arrives, his friend had been dead for several days. Then, in an act of compassion and community, Jesus commands those close by to remove the barriers that would hold a live man where a...

Recently, several state governments across the country, including here in Kentucky, have passed legislation targeting the LGBTQ community. Bills that limit public school teachers to only discussing heterosexual relationships around students, bills that place strict limitations and heavy restrictions on trans individuals, their parents and caretakers, and their doctors, bills that remove multicultu...

Continuing our Lent series, "Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Places," today we are looking for the Thirst Quencher - someone who will notice our need, and offer to meet it. As a first-person character growing up in a rural environment, Pam tells the story of a person injured by religion and relationships who one day finds compassion from an unlikely "Thirst Quencher" MESS...

Oftentimes we believe that we must “deserve” the love we receive. We work, work, work to get approval and to feel like our life is justified — pulling our own weight, thinking that whatever life we create, and love we get, is only what we ourselves can conjure up. But the scriptures today offer the image of God as our “keeper” — always helping, always present. Nicodemus has followed all the rules...

The invitation was couched within an offer to help a group of failed fishermen who'd spent the night pulling empty nets from the water. Their weariness and frustration was growing more and more intense as the night sky began to brighten with the morning sun. That's when Jesus invited them to throw their nets back into the water one more time. After a moment of protest, they obliged and ended up wi...

The journey toward Lent can be as exciting and renewing as the Lent experience itself. Our experiences along the way can prepare us for the challenges of living our Lent days set apart from our normal routines. And those experiences can sometimes make us more resolved when the temptation to give up and give in is strongest. MESSAGE: "A Lenten Journey" by Deb Core SCRIPTURE: Luke 4: 1-14 Learn more...

Everyone is dealing with things. Health issues, family issues, finances, pressures at work and school, there are so many things to make our lives stressful and hard. Then things get more intense when we add a supercharged political environment that seems more interested in stoking anger than fixing problems. People are feeling weary, used, and unheard, especially marginalized people They are feeli...

As a body of Christ-followers and believers, we are at our best when we work as one. We can do individual work and use the gifts we've been blessed with, but our goal and our aim is one - the be God's messengers of hope and promise, to be vessels of love and compassion. We do this best as one body because we are in it together. MESSAGE: "In it Together" by Pam Lee-Miller SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 1...

The blessings that Jesus lists in the beatitudes are meaningful and warm. They encourage us to be faithful and thoughtful and seekers of peace. But what do we do with such a message when the world around us is angry and in turmoil? It's important for us to remember that even when Jesus spoke blessings, he did so knowing that some of his hearers were fighting other battles, sometimes just to surviv...

Friends are important. Friends make sure we are not facing our issues alone. They provide support, encouragement, correction, and companionship. Jesus knew how important it was to have friends. When he called those who would be his disciples, he watched as they relied on each other and became fast friends. At the end of his life, it was the message that Jesus wanted them to know - they were his fr...

Twelve years ago this week, Marsha J. Moors-Charles started a new work in Lexington, Kentucky that continues today. She envisioned a place where questions could be asked, doubts would be welcomed, and healing could take place - especially for those who'd been injured by past church experiences. We are proud of the work we are able to do, and the healing that has taken place for so many. Today, as...

Many of us grew up believing that the moment of Jesus' birth was a crowded affair. Besides Mary, Joseph, and the baby of course, we place shepherds, wise men, angels, and livestock inside the barn and hang a star on top.  We don't know exactly who was there or what that moment looked like, but we have strong reason to believe that the sages who brought aromatic gifts to the young Emmanuel had...