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The road of life is long and weird and winding. Along the way, I think that all of us spend some time putting on a “brave face,” trying to mask pain(s) that we have long carried. In many cases, the pain that we carry is physical. But many of us are also carrying emotional and spiritual pain too. Regardless of the pain that we have, our society really doesn’t like talking about it.

Our cultural signals suggest that pain is something we should hold in silence, or that we should only share in “appropriate” settings. Think about the settings that we’ve decided are “appropriate.” There aren’t many. They typically aren’t free. And, they often include person(s) who would not otherwise be part of our communities, but for their presence in the setting we’ve decided is appropriate for one to lay their burdens down.

You may be thinking, “but what about church!” Does church really make space for your pain?  Does it really provide space for the pain that everyone might be carrying? We’d all love for the answer to be “yes!” But, I’m not sure that the present answer actually is “yes.” Indeed, there are plenty of folks who have found their churches to be sources of pain, even when they proclaim an extravagant welcome.

We’ve all heard the refrain “God loves [us] as we are, and loves us too much to let us stay that way.” One day, maybe that’ll apply to the church as an institution too. You’ll find throughout this worship series that I believe all of its questions are, at their core, about belonging and being a part of. I believe that these questions also invite us into a an intentional kind of curiosity that might help us anchor ourselves in who we are(and who we might like to one day be).

• Where Are You From?
• Where  Does It Hurt?
• What Do You Need?
• Where Do We Go From Here

Perhaps we’ll also be open to whatever the responses may be. Below are a few things have been in my head over the past few weeks, in addition to the usual commentaries I consult:

Music: “Messy” by Lola Young

Film: “Inside Out” by Disney-Pixar, “Wreck It Ralph” by Disney

Writings: “Sorrow Turned To Song” in The Book of Belonging:  Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids by Mariko Clark and Rachel Eleanor, “Fat Church: Claiming a Gospel of Fat Liberation” by Rev. Dr. Anastasia Kidd, and “After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging” by  Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings

Welcome to the first (published) edition of Sermon Sandbox! This won’t happen every week, but, from time to time, I think it’s helpful to give you an idea of some of the things that I’ve encountered and found helpful in preparing a sermon or worship service. The content below is by no means exhaustive! And it is in addition to a handful of commentaries that I tend to consult. If you’re curious about the things that go into a sermon, then the Sermon Sandbox is for you! See below for for this week’s edition!

On March 27th, 2002, the Christie’s Auction House sold a 2-page document, in fine condition, oblong in shape, that noted a list of supporters of a student enrolled at the Charity School of Wolverhampton, England. The document was sold for 270,000 dollars, which is nearly half a million dollars today. In almost every other case, a document like that would be more sentimental than monetarily valuable. And yet, this document carried significant value. It’s not the content of the document that mattered, but rather one of its signers: Button Gwinnett. Gwinnett’s signature is among the rarest of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This is due mostly to his death in a duel a few years after the signing of the declaration. Button Gwinnett was born in England, was a failed businessman in the colonies, but was respected politically. When Georgia sent its representatives to Philadelphia, Gwinnett was one of them. Before his death, Gwinnett also briefly served as the President of Georgia, one of the only people to hold that office. All of this may seem random, but it’s important to note that Gwinnett was a Congregationalist! Gwinnett, and one of Georgia’s other signers,  Lyman Hall, were both members of Midway Congregational Church. This really shouldn’t be a surprise. Congregationalism is linked to an unending thread of independence. 

A handful of Central members were once members of the now closed, Button Gwinnett UCC! I don’t imagine we’ll talk much about Gwinnett on Sunday, but reading more about his story has been very helpful in thinking about what relationship might exists between the reformations and the journey of the United States.

A few other things have been helpful in my reading and preparation  for this sermon, you can find a few of those things listed below:

Music: “American Dreaming” by Sierra Ferrell, “American Anthem” by Norah Jones, “eyes locked on the king” by abbie gamora & the upper room, “The American Suite Op. 98 B. 190” by Antonin Dvorak

Film: CARS by Disney Pixar

Art: “Statue of Liberty” by Ulysses Davis, “The Boy with No Past” by Amy Sherald, “Sunshine to Put in My Pocket” by Amy Sherald, “Transforming Liberty” by Amy Sherald, “For Love, and for Country” by Amy Sherald. All of these pieces are currently on display at the High Museum, as part of the “American Sublime” exhibit

Writings: “On Being a Christian in a Time of Peril and Pain” by Rev. Dr. Nancy Taylor, “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom(Jan. 1989)” by Ronald Reagan, “Remarks on 2008 Presidential Election” by George W. Bush, “2012 DNC Speech” by Rev. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, “The Principle of Protestantism” by John W. Nevin, “Ain’t I a Woman” by Sojourner Truth, “Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America” by Catherine Brekus