Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria VA

Now I know this is an Old Testament text today, but the hospitality that Jesus calls us to is what Sarah and Abraham put into practice here in the 18th chapter of Genesis. The meal that Sarah and Abraham provide is a foretaste of the heavenly banquets that we all will experience here at communion. Rev. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, as part of a sermon series on Gen...

When Abraham and Sarah leave their trifecta of “land, birthplace, and family home,” they leave much of their own known world in their going forth in faith. Their movement is spiritual and existential, in addition to being geographical. We might even call it conversion. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Trinity Sunday, the second in "Beginnings," a series on Genesis. The Scripture lesson is Genesis 12...

I have often said that the world as God created it is one of beauty and harmony, but we live “after the Fall,” and it is that fallen state into which Christ has come as God’s own Son to redeem us. As believers in Christ’s ultimate redemption, we await and live toward “a new heaven and a new earth” that Christ alone will bring. In this reading of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the difference...

My study of parables often led me to separate the parable proper from the interpretation that Jesus often gave them in telling them. In a playful mood, I would sometimes reverse the order of events to see if a different outcome might illumine the story as Jesus told it. I would often try to look at a parable from the viewpoint of different characters within it. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the S...

We have something notable to celebrate today. Today we celebrate the sustaining power at the fringes: power moving on the margins of church and community, on the margins of faith and hope, of society and nation. Rev. Patrick Hunnicutt preaches on the Sixth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is Luke 8:43-48.

The Christians in First Peter who heard this call were not living in easy times. They were living a quarter a century after the death and resurrection of Christ. They were living in Rome. They were a minority, subject to persecution, some episodic, some systematic. They suffered for their faith, and knew they might be called upon at any time to given an account of why they believed the way they be...

"Let us remember Jesus as he was, rather than as we want him to be." The intention of this prayer from the Book of Common Worship is to encourage us to remember all of Jesus, hopefully reminding us that we are made in the image of God, not in the image of our idealized Christ. Rev. Jacob Bolton preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is John 10:1-10.

Despite its glory, or perhaps because of it, the First Letter of Peter also turns its attention to the rough and tumble, weal and woe, of life on earth. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The Scripture lesson is 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-25.

On this the 2nd Sunday of Easter, let us remember that resurrection is not about a certain day of the year but about an orientation to life, death, and life after death. This day, I invite you to remember that we all are witnesses, to remember when the name of God, the name of Jesus, became more than a mere word to you. Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches on the Second Sunday of Easter. The Scripture...

Perhaps in all those Easters we have anticipated and celebrated – with the size of the congregation, the beauty of the weather, the conviviality of the gathering, the suits and dresses and hats – we have overlooked that the first Easter emerged in darkness for people who like Mary were traumatized: going to a tomb at night, finding its entrance unsealed and presumably invaded by grave-robbers. Eas...

There are many questions that the continuous sweep of a pandemic has raised for us the past few weeks. For all these questions – theological and human – some will soon have answers, some will have answers in time, and some will never have answers. But there is one thing with which we are left: the witness of our fellow human beings. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on Palm Sunday. The Scripture lesson...

Hebrews boasts that “we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.” This assurance can only emerge from those who have been met by God not just in their strength, but in their weakness. Not those whom God finds to be puffed up, but those who are shrunken down. Not those who are found and can see, but those who are blind, and lost. That’s w...

On a small scale, I never thought I could accept that the worship of God could occur – at least for me – without the congregation being gathered, in the Sanctuary, in the Chapel, worshipping as a community. But when I walked into this Sanctuary last Sunday, even though the pews were empty, the place was filled with the Spirit. And this week whenever a familiar face has appeared on the monitor I no...

I was tearful on Friday when our Session made the final but correct decision – in a conference call in which nearly all thirty-three members participated – to cancel all our activities, to livestream our worship, and to close our facilities. It was clearly the right decision, but I never thought I would see the day when I would say, “I’m sorry, but you cannot enter this house of worship.” Rev. Lar...

Engage John Calvin’s "Institutes of the Christian Religion," that lengthy and often argumentative exposition of our faith by our tradition’s seminal theologian and leader. Join us as Patrick reflects on his pilgrimage of reading and reflection and shares some of the inspirations and astonishments he encountered along the way. Come to discover how this book, so foundational to our historically held...

During an illness, King Hezekiah, one of the three vaulted kings of Israel, is told by the prophet Isaiah, “Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.” In this sermon, we will see how Hezekiah faces news of his impending death. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Second Sunday in Lent, when the Westminster choir presents the Bach cantata, "God's Time Is the Best of All Times...

No matter how bleak or insignificant a human life seems to be, the most important thing is to seek wisdom, to seek a wise heart, to seek a heart that begins with awe, reverence, respect for the Lord as the first principle and animating force for life. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the First Sunday in Lent. The Scripture lesson is Psalm 90.

Engage John Calvin’s "Institutes of the Christian Religion," that lengthy and often argumentative exposition of our faith by our tradition’s seminal theologian and leader. Join us as Patrick reflects on his pilgrimage of reading and reflection and shares some of the inspirations and astonishments he encountered along the way. Come to discover how this book, so foundational to our historically held...

Rev. Frank Wade, former interim dean of the Washington National Cathedral and rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, will lead this four-Sunday series. The ancient Jewish practice of ‘midrash’ (to enquire, to seek) is a unique way to explore the common threads of the humanity we share with our biblical ancestors. Christianity has not fully claimed the harvest midrash provides. Frank Wade’s latest...

Rev. Whitney Fauntleroy preaches on the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture lesson is Matthew 5:22-26, and is read by Boy Scout Drew Berlett.

Rev. Frank Wade, former interim dean of the Washington National Cathedral and rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, will lead this four-Sunday series. The ancient Jewish practice of ‘midrash’ (to enquire, to seek) is a unique way to explore the common threads of the humanity we share with our biblical ancestors. Christianity has not fully claimed the harvest midrash provides. Frank Wade’s latest...

Rev. Frank Wade, former interim dean of the Washington National Cathedral and rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, will lead this four-Sunday series. The ancient Jewish practice of ‘midrash’ (to enquire, to seek) is a unique way to explore the common threads of the humanity we share with our biblical ancestors. Christianity has not fully claimed the harvest midrash provides. Frank Wade’s latest...

His name was George Steiner. He passed away Monday at the age of 90 at his home in Cambridge, England. He had served as the chief literary critic at The New Yorker for over thirty years. Now it may seem odd for so highbrow a figure as a professor of literature to serve as a connection to a sermon given on a hillside by an itinerant first century rabbi, to fishermen and tax collectors and other ord...

WPC member Curt Powell and and his team will be speaking on the Kairos Prison Ministry he chairs for Sussex I State Prison. The session will include an overview of the program, how we at WPC can help, open discussion and powerful testimony from a former inmate whose life was turned around by finding Christ through Kairos.

A few weeks ago, a member of our church told me that the Beatitudes are the most meaningful part of the Bible for her to read. Her comments have led me to think about the Beatitudes over the past few weeks, specifically, what they mean to me, to us; their role in the life and teaching of Jesus; their place in the faith out of which they grow and which they in turn shape and form. Rev. Larry Haywar...