Yes! We're Open: Living Faith with Needham UCC

Shalom Auslander’s book, Beware of God , is full of cautionary tales about faith, including the short story “Waiting for Joe,” in which two hamsters from very different theological viewpoints try to cope with the absence of their owner. It may seem farcical on the surface, it’s a powerful call to interrogate our own faith (or lack thereof) and our image of God and remember that the God somebody ha...

To combat the current epidemic of isolation, loneliness, disaffiliation, and division destroying our physical, mental, and political health, experts prescribe a dose of social connection. Joining, sharing, learning to trust... and to be trustworthy... helps repair our social fabric, and our souls. Because, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, human beings are made for community. So, given how we'v...

“Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.” Every creature, all of creation, has a home in the heart of our Creator. Why is it often so hard for us to feel we do, too? (Psalm 84) Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The C...

In mathematics, a fractal is “a visual expression of a repeating pattern or formula that starts out simple and gets progressively more complex.” We see fractals in nature, in the patterns of pinecones and the spirals of sea shells, where, when we look closely, we see the signature of those basic building blocks repeating themselves throughout the whole. For us, God is that basic building block. If...

Even since the time of King David, church buildings have been a mixed blessing–well, not exactly, but you get the idea. Religious communities, churches, need places to gather for worship, but all too often, we can end up worshiping the building, when really it’s just a tool, a gathering place and a base of operations for the broader ministries to our neighbors to which God calls us. So how do chur...

The Church of Jesus Christ started out as a counter-cultural movement, a vision of how things ought to be to challenge the way things were, particularly for the people the powers of this world consider “the least of these.” But thanks to its adoption by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the church became one of those powers, kicking off the “captivity of the church,” the subjugation of the Gospel of...

Part of our Lay Preaching Series, members of our Open and Affirming team share reflections on the "whys" of their ministry with our congregation. Offered by Stephanie, Cheryl, and Barbra. Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a justice-seeking, peace-making, love-af...

Marina was born in 5th Century Lebanon and assigned female at birth. When, after their mother died, their dad decided to enter a monastery, Marina went with him—as a man, Brother Marinos. But one day, he was unjustly accused of a crime he could not have committed and expelled from the community. It was only upon his death that the world learned the truth about Marinos: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual,...

As part of our Lay Preaching Series members of our Prayer & Care team reflect on their "whys" of their ministry with and to our community. Dibby, John, and Sue preaching. Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a justice-seeking, peace-making, love-affirming, LGBT...

This sermon, "Why Are You Doing This?" is a reflection on Mark 11:1-11 and was offered by Rev. Maddie Foster on Palm Sunday (March 24, 2024) at Congregational Church of Needham, UCC. Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a justice-seeking, peace-making, love-affirmi...

This sermon was offered on Sunday, March 17 at Congregational Church of Needham, UCC. It is a reflection offered by members of our Environmental Ministries Team on a selection of readings including scripture and poetry. Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a justice-seeking,...

As part of our Lay Preaching Series, the Christian Education Committee (along with some special guests!) offers reflections on "Why" this ministry matters. This sermon was offered on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a justice-seeking, pe...

After the flood comes the rainbow, but who is that rainbow for exactly? In the first part of this Lenten sermon series we explore the covenant God makes with humanity -- is the rainbow a reminder for us or for God? (Genesis 9:8-17) Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Needham strives to be a just...

A list of rules or something more? In this second part of Rev. Maddie's Lenten sermon series on covenant we explore our relationship with God and with one another, and how the ten commandments can be a frame for and invitation into right relationship. Join us Sundays for worship, LIVE! on-site and online via Zoom @ 10am ET. Connect at www. NeedhamUCC.org . --- The Congregational Church of Nee...

When Jesus shows up in the synagogue at Capernaum, the crowds notice something different about him, that he teaches "as one having authority, not like the scribes," the professional religious class. So what about Jesus' kind of authority--his connection to the Author, not just an institution--makes it so different and so powerful that it can cast out demons... and where can we get s...

The story of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law is brief but it occurs in three of the four Gospels. It’s also pretty problematic to our modern sensibilities, with overtones of sexism and ableism. Fair enough. So what if we read it not as a one-size-fits-all prescription but the description of one person’s life-giving interaction with Jesus. When have you received a helping hand from Jesus, God,...

Ever heard of the LDB (Little Drummer Boy) Challenge? Participants try to avoid the song for as long as possible during the holiday season. As soon as you hear it, you're out. But why? Why so much ill-will for a song about a character who's not actually in the Biblical Christmas story? Sure, he's loud, he's annoying, and he just doesn't fit, but maybe that's the point...

There is no donkey in the official story of Jesus’ birth. But just try setting up a creche or nativity scene without one. We all know Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem, even when she didn’t. But how can this imagined donkey help us re-imagine our own role in the story of divine love? Because we do have one. You have one! Part of our "Non-Canonical Christmas" sermon series for Advent, exami...

This Advent season, we're taking a look at famous Christmas characters who aren't actually in the Bible ("non-canonical"), but maybe should be. Centuries of Christian imagination have created the character of the Innkeeper, often depicted as grouchy or greedy or just plain mean. Who else would turn away Mary and Joseph in their state? Who would make them sleep in a stable? But...

​“Idolatry” seems such an old-fashioned word–Old Testament, even. But even though we don’t see many Golden Calves these days, idolatry—mistakenly believing God is created in our image and not the other way around—is sadly alive and well, and not the sole province of any one church or political party.  And it’s just as dangerous as ever., because what we worship, we become. (Psalm 50:14-23) This se...

On the surface, these verses from 1 Samuel tell the story of the political maneuvering between King Saul and soon-to-be King David.  But between the lines, it's the story of the women relegated to the background, whose bodies, lives, are treated like commodities like cattle or crops to be exploited by the men in power.  But that was long ago, and we've embraced the full equality of women...

Spoiler: The Bible says “the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” What? A loving same-sex couple in scripture? “But no,” we’re told, “that can’t be true.” Why not? History and Biblical criticism can be complicated, but love is love, complicated in its own way, but also so, so easy and so, so real. (1 Samuel 17:55-18:9) This sermon is part of our...

This Sunday, as we celebrate Earth Day, we welcome a special guest preacher, The Rev. Noah Brewer-Wallin (he/they), the Assistant Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for our Southern New England Conference of our United Church of Christ denominational family. Rev. Brewer-Wallin's portfolio at the Conference includes both environmental and economic justice, and he'll be helping...

In this country we’ve long been told by so-called experts that the best way to help Main Street and the folks struggling to live there is to support Wall Street and the fat cat corporations that do very well there, that they economic blessings bestowed on them will trickle down to those below. But those below are still waiting. Good thing God doesn’t wait and helps them first. (Luke 4:16-27; 1 Kin...

God is still speaking, to be sure, but God speaks to each of us differently. As we prepare to embark on our Lenten journeys next Sunday, we are invited to listen to the ways that God might be stirring our spirits for the journey forward and to consider the different paths we are on, leading us all toward one end: the Love of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-13) Rev. Maddie Foster, preaching. This sermon is...