Recent Blog Posts

5/7/2023 – Suffering Well This Sunday we read the story of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. What can his story teach us about the life of discipleship (and human life in general)? Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel...

4/30/2023 – 5th Sunday Worship with Bryana Clover Jesus' encounter at the well with a Samaritan woman is a model for racial healing today. Our services are streamed every Sunday on our YouTube channel (https://ekklesiaraleigh.org/youtube). Join us Sundays online at...

4/23/2023 – Jesus in a Different Form On the road back home to Emmaus, Jesus appears to two disciples, but "in a different form." Why? It seems we ALL need to see Jesus "in a different form" from time to time in order that we see him more fully. What does this mean...

4/16/2023 – Doubting Thomas On this first Sunday after Easter, the lectionary gives us the text of doubting Thomas. Often in the church we downplay or hide from doubt. But what if doubt is actually a gift that can lead to greater insight and wisdom? Our services are...

4/9/2023 – Easter 2023 – Do Not Hold On to Me When Mary sees Jesus in the garden outside the empty tomb, she fell to the ground, "clasped his feet and worshiped him." In that moment, Jesus says to her "Do not hold on to me." Today on Easter Sunday, we explore the...

4/2/2023 – Liturgy of the Passion On Palm Sunday, the lectionary gives us two choices for worship: the liturgy of the palms, or the liturgy of the passion. Though we might prefer the singing and excitement of the triumphal entry, this Sunday we will look forward to...

3/26/2023 – Dry Bones According to a recent study from the Pew Research Center, the category of non-religious/unaffiliated has become increasingly "sticky" (gaining a lot more people than it is shedding). Christianity is experiencing the opposite. In the most...

3/19/2023 – Mud, Blindness, and the Pool of Siloam Our Gospel lectionary text on this fourth Sunday of Lent is the story of Jesus healing a man born blind and sending him to the pool of Siloam. This is a powerful act with resonance beyond what we often realize. And it...

3/12/2023 – We Are Not Nowhen In the beautiful and compelling story of Jesus encounter with the woman at the well, we realize that God does not just meet us where we are, he meets us *when* we are. What does this mean? What gift might this create for us and for the...

3/05/2023 – Cell Phones and the Spirit Today is our annual meeting. We'll spend a few minutes talking about how much things have changed over the last 12 years of our life together as a church. And we'll also discuss the famous passage when Jesus tells Nicodemus you...