North Decatur Presbyterian Church

10.24.21. What do you have in common with absolutely every other person who ever has been or ever will be? Each of us has the shared experience of childhood . Our experiences of childhood, however, are not the same. Your childhood probably had moments of wonder and curiosity, moments of fear and hurt. Who was there for you in those moments, to help you translate them and understand...

10.17.21. If you were to make a list of the most challenging, controversial gospel stories, the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenecian woman in Mark 7 will be at the top of that list. Who is this woman? Why does Jesus dismiss her so cruelly? Does her response chasten Jesus? Why does Mark include this story in his gospel? How do this story’s messages about race, gender, and power functio...

10.10.21. Atlanta’s citywide Pride Celebration was cancelled again this year due to COVID, but we still celebrate Pride in worship in the sanctuary at NDPC. What does Pride mean to you this year?  How has the movement for LGBTQ+ liberation in church and society touched you and your family? What do you want to celebrate? What do you grieve? What do you need to confess? What work is left for us...

10.3.21. Some of the best conversations start with good questions—questions we’ve been meaning to ask, questions that keep us curious, and questions that lead us deeper into courage and connection. Our upcoming worship series from A Sanctified Art centers around four guiding questions: “I’ve been meaning to ask… Where are you from?… Where does it hurt?… What do you need?… Where do we go from here?...

9.26.21. Some of the best conversations start with good questions—questions we’ve been meaning to ask, questions that keep us curious, and questions that lead us deeper into courage and connection. Our upcoming worship series from A Sanctified Art centers around four guiding questions: “I’ve been meaning to ask… Where are you from?… Where does it hurt?… What do you need?… Where do we go from here?...

9.19.21. We had some trouble with the audio this week. Please find a video of the full service on the website. ndpc.org. We'll try to do better.  Some of the best conversations start with good questions—questions we’ve been meaning to ask, questions that keep us curious, and questions that lead us deeper into courage and connection. Our upcoming worship series from A Sanctified Art centers ar...

9.12.21. We had some trouble with the audio this week. Please find a video of the full service on the website. ndpc.org. We'll try to do better.

This week's worship was a mix of music and reading. We don't have a regular recording this week. The theme of today’s worship is “A Psalm for Every Season,” which explores how the Psalms can help us celebrate the seasons of the Christian year: Advent, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, and the Feast of Christ our King. The Psalm settings, set to famili...

8.29.21. The body is one of the central images in Christianity. Jesus Christ is the embodiment–the incarnation–of God. Paul imagines the church as the Body of Christ. Our tradition clearly loves bodies–and yet somehow Christianity became known as a religion that feared and discounted the body. We will explore the role of bodies in the Christian life–the individual body, the relational body, the so...

8.22.21. The body is one of the central images in Christianity. Jesus Christ is the embodiment–the incarnation–of God. Paul imagines the church as the Body of Christ. Our tradition clearly loves bodies–and yet somehow Christianity became known as a religion that feared and discounted the body. We will explore the role of bodies in the Christian life–the individual body, the relational body, the so...

8.22.21. The body is one of the central images in Christianity. Jesus Christ is the embodiment–the incarnation–of God. Paul imagines the church as the Body of Christ. Our tradition clearly loves bodies–and yet somehow Christianity became known as a religion that feared and discounted the body. We will explore the role of bodies in the Christian life–the individual body, the relational body, the so...

8.8.21. The body is one of the central images in Christianity. Jesus Christ is the embodiment–the incarnation–of God. Paul imagines the church as the Body of Christ. Our tradition clearly loves bodies–and yet somehow Christianity became known as a religion that feared and discounted the body. We will explore the role of bodies in the Christian life–the individual body, the relational body, the soc...

8.1.21. There’s a party goin’ on right here A celebration to last throughout the years So bring your good times and your laughter too We gonna celebrate your party with you So sang Kool & the Gang in their immortal party anthem, Celebration. Celebration is not something reserved for Saturday night. It’s also a part of Sunday morning–and of our whole life with God. As we wrap up our summer seri...

7.25.21. Throughout June and July, as we return to in-person worship and begin new rhythms for life after quarantine, the NDPC community will focus on “re-booting” our basic operating system for the Christian life: worship and prayer and storytelling and hospitality and justice and appreciating beauty and forgiveness. Can you recall the last time that something beautiful took your breath away? &nb...

7.11.21. NDPC is pleased to welcome our preacher for Sunday, July 11th, Ashley M. Wilcox. Ashley is a Quaker minister and the author of The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible Throughout the Year (forthcoming from Westminster John Knox Press). She is a graduate of Candler School of Theology and Willamette University College of Law. Ashley teaches preaching at Candler School of The...

7.4.21. DPC is pleased to welcome our preacher for Sunday, July 4th, Zeena Regis. Zeena will be joining the NDPC staff this fall as one of our new Ministry Fellows. Zeena has worked in hospice and palliative care as a chaplain and grief counselor since 2012. Her training includes a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Agnes Scott College and a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theologi...

6.27.21. Throughout June and July, as we return to in-person worship and begin new rhythms for life after quarantine, the NDPC community will focus on “re-booting” our basic operating system for the Christian life: worship and prayer and storytelling and hospitality and justice and wonder and forgiveness. This Sunday, Erin Reed Cooper reminds us of the importance of storytelling. One of the most i...

6.20.21. Throughout June and July, as we return to in-person worship and begin new rhythms for life after quarantine, the NDPC community will focus on “re-booting” our basic operating system for the Christian life: worship and prayer and storytelling and hospitality and justice and wonder and forgiveness. This Sunday, we talk about the importance of prayer. Is there a stranger thing than prayer th...

6.13.21. Re-boot: Sabbath, Rev. Lewicki, preaching. Throughout June and July, as we return to in-person worship and begin new rhythms for life after quarantine, the NDPC community will focus on "re-booting" our basic operating system for the Christian life: worship and prayer and storytelling and hospitality and justice and wonder and forgiveness. This Sunday, we talk about the importance of sabba...

6.6.21. Throughout June and July, as we return to in-person worship and begin new rhythms for life after quarantine, the NDPC community will focus on “re-booting” our basic operating system for the Christian life: worship and prayer and storytelling and hospitality and justice and wonder and forgiveness. This Sunday, we talk about the importance of ritual, specifically, the ritual of worship. The...

5.30.21. You know when your computer has been running for a long time and it starts getting slow and you get that little spinning wheel and it feels like you should just throw the whole darn thing in the garbage? That’s been me–my life–during quarantine. Sometimes the best thing is to shut it all down and re-boot. That’s kind of what we imagine doing together this summer in worship. We’re going to...

5.23.21. God’s presence is manifest in many ways throughout scripture. Pentecost celebrates the arrival of the Spirit of God into the church, but God-as-spirit has been on the scene since the very beginning. As we look into the creation story as told in the Psalms, we recognize how God is present as creator, redeemer and sustainer from the very beginning of the universe and in the destinies of all...

5.9.21. Many of you have been extensively trained. Most of you had more than a decade of "formal" classroom education. You trained for your work so that you could learn the precise skills you need to do it well. You practiced a sport for hours under the supervision of a coach, or a musical instrument under the eyes of a teacher. Where did you go to learn to love? Who taught you? Did you get a grad...

5.2.21. “God is love.” It is one of the simplest, most impactful, most misunderstood, and most ignored teachings in Scripture. This Sunday, Rev. David Lewicki explores this fascinating passage from 1 John 4 and what it means for our lives to affirm the claim that God is love.

4.25.21. The Power to Lay It Down and the Power to Take It Up. Text: John 10:11-18  Rev. Beth Waltemath Preaching If Jesus is the good shepherd, what does it mean to be good sheep? The intelligence of a sheep may surprise us. This Sunday, we explore the ways we have distorted our relationship with power. Perhaps there are more ways to relate to power than exerting it or giving it up. Come to...