The Loft LA: Recent Episodes
The Loft LA
The Loft is an innovative approach to Christian Community for those willing to re-think church. Conversation is the center of our gatherings. We facilitate a conversational approach to thinking about and living out our faith together. Creativity comes from those who call the Loft home. It shows up in our music, in our use of poetry and painting, and even in our sermon design. Compassion is God’s love in action. It is in serving and helping others – we actively take the good news out into our city and the world. We are part of Westwood UMC and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Our pastoral staff works with an empowered and diverse group of leaders to make the weekend gatherings and mid-week groups happen. We are Christian community that is open & affirming – comprised of people of different races, cultures, sexualities, and religious backgrounds.
In times of unrest, Jesus often responded by tending to his immediate needs and those of his community before deciding what to do. As we emerge from this season of political unrest, the healing stories of Jesus show us that our response to this unrest is to begin with personal and communal healing. Doing so reminds us that God cares for all of God’s creatures, great and small.
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The gospels tell us that Jesus practiced nonviolence and taught his followers to expand their preconceived ideas about who was welcome at God’s table. Despite this inclusive theology, we are currently in the midst of another rise of Christian Nationalism—a belief system rooted in mythological lies about American history and the Divine. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we unpack the lies of Christian Nationalism by centering the life, teachings, and politics of Jesus.
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What role should churches, and specifically our church, play in addressing the challenges of loneliness in our faith community? We invite you to join us for the last sermon of this series as we explore how following the religion of Jesus should transform our relationship with ourselves and each other.
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We all want to be accepted and belong to a supportive circle of friends. However, our desire for relationships and community are often in conflict with what we actually prioritize, and we are now learning that children are noticing this behavior and mirror it. How can we close the gap between what we say we want and what we actually prioritize? How might we prevent our children from developing habits that promote social isolation? What we see in the gospels is that Jesus invites us to view ourselves as a family of families, interconnected and embodying the compassionate instinct that we were born with.
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What does it mean to be someone’s friend? How does friendship expand our experience of the Divine? As humans, we all need the social connection of friendship to help prevent us from feeling lonely. To be sure, making friends and keeping friendships alive is not easy. However, as we see in the friendships between David and Jonathan and Jesus and his disciples, friendship is essential to our spiritual growth.
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For those of us who struggle with loneliness, the obvious “solution” to our challenge would be to go and spend time with people. If only it were that easy. While there are several practices that we should adopt to address our longing for community, the most important one is somewhat counterintuitive. Jesus teaches his disciples that we must first deepen our connection with ourselves, which builds the foundation upon which we establish new or strengthen existing relationships.
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Rugged individualism and self-determination are among the core values that dominate American culture. These values have simultaneously incentivized many of us to prioritize our vocations or social obligations at the expense of and for the benefit of our relationships. The result is that far too many of us struggle with loneliness and long for connection and belonging. As the writer of Ecclesiastes makes clear, our feelings of loneliness are not new, and the antidote to loneliness is human connection.
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Jesus’ spiritual path is centered on love, and we embody love through actions that aim to ease the suffering and promote the flourishing of all life. Throughout his ministry Jesus shows us that compassion begs for embodiment and that compassionate actions are contagious. www.TheLoftLA.org
Jesus’ way of radical compassion is, in fact, radical. In his parables on forgiveness and love, he encourages his followers to forgive those who have wronged them as many as seventy-seven times and to love their enemies! Given our polarized society, is this kind of compassion possible or even practical?
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Jesus’ path of radical compassion is not limited to grounding ourselves in the truth of our belovedness and recovering our compassionate core. In its truest form, compassion always moves us to compassionate care towards others. As we see in the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus, compassion for others can break boundaries, dismantle stereotypes, heal, and transform both others and ourselves.
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Compassion can be misunderstood as mere tenderness or sentimentality. Self-compassion moves us to ask ourselves, “What do I need to help alleviate my suffering?” The answer to this question changes depending on the circumstances. Sometimes, we need to rest in our belovedness. At other times, when we need to protect or provide for ourselves and our loved ones, self-compassion can be fierce. We find an example of such fierce self-compassion in the story of the Prophet Miriam and the actions she takes to save her brother and, in the process, her people.
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The speeches of Dough Emhoff, President Barack Obama, and Gov. Tim Walls gave us a very different portrayal of masculinity and, unsurprisingly, raised the alarm of some Christian conservatives. In this episode, we discuss what progressive Christian masculinity can look like, and we critique the toxic masculinity of “biblical patriarchy.”
The books we mentioned in the podcast were:
The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo
The Loft Conversations podcast has now become The Progressive Christians Podcast - and has its own podcast feed! So please use the links below to subscribe to the new feed to keep up with the latest progressive theological discourse.
https://open.spotify.com/show/5HrRpHbClmrZrwMZPf8Huj https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-progressive-christians-podcast/id1763114936
The cultivation of compassion is a process of recovery—of retrieving the compassionate instinct that has become buried and obscured, either in the moment or over time. In this way, self-compassion, personal restoration, and healing are essential components of Jesus’ spiritual path of compassion. Our tradition teaches that every human being is created in the image of God, and thus, God’s compassionate instinct lives within us. We are most fully alive when we live from this essence.
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The persuasive power of the Black Church tradition has been center stage during the first two days of the Democratic National Convention. The speeches of Senator Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock and Michelle and Barack Obama found their footing in the black preaching tradition. In this episode we discuss the connections between the Black Church tradition and progressive politics.
The Loft Conversations podcast has now become The Progressive Christians Podcast - and has its own podcast feed! So please use the links below to subscribe to the new feed to keep up with the latest progressive theological discourse.
https://open.spotify.com/show/5HrRpHbClmrZrwMZPf8Huj https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-progressive-christians-podcast/id1763114936
The cultivation of compassion is a process of recovery—of retrieving the compassionate instinct that has become buried and obscured, either in the moment or over time. In this way, self-compassion, personal restoration, and healing are essential components of Jesus’ spiritual path of compassion. Our tradition teaches that every human being is created in the image of God, and thus, God’s compassionate instinct lives within us. We are most fully alive when we live from this essence.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Jesus’ spiritual path of compassion invites us to stay grounded in the truth of our belovedness. But all too often we become disconnected from this truth and forget. In moments of stress, anxiety, or loneliness we can even begin to think that perhaps we aren’t worthy of being loved. However, Jesus invites us to remember who we are and whose we are so that we can reground ourselves in the sacred Source of Compassion whenever we feel lost.
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The Loft Conversations podcast has now become The Progressive Christians Podcast - and has its own podcast feed. So please subscribe to the new feed to keep up with the latest progressive theological discourse. The show will continue to appear in The Loft Gathering feed for a few weeks.
Has Western Christianity weaponized marriage and made those who are single, especially women, feel as though they are “bad” Christians? What should progressive Christians think about the Harris/Walz ticket? And breakdancing at the Olympics - wow!
Mentioned in the podcast:
Funky Friday podcast featuring Kirk Franklin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbTAUsXheyg
To practice a Christianity that models itself after Jesus’ teachings is to follow a spiritual path of transformative compassion. Indeed, compassion was fundamental to Jesus’ ministry and the primary lens through which he engaged his community. What might this compassion look like today? How might compassion transform our relationship to the Sacred, to our communities, and ourselves?
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This Sunday, Dr. Kyle Brooks leads us in an exploration of Ephesians 3:14-21, with emphasis on the 20th verse–which speaks to how God’s power within us enables us to do more than we can ask or imagine. Rev. Dr. Brooks, a native of Detroit, MI, serves as the Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. His work broadly explores the communicative conditions of religion, politics, and black expressive cultures. In his teaching, his courses reflect his wide-ranging interests within the realms of religious studies, theology, creative arts, and Africana studies.
www.TheLoftLA.org
We are pleased to welcome Rev. Blair Trygstad Stowe back to the Loft, to lead us further into a conversation about what evangelism can look like in our tradition and community. (Spoiler: Our conversation will lead to the communion table, because we believe in the abundance of grace.)
Rev. Blair Trygstad Stowe is an ordained elder in the Cal Pac Annual Conference of the UMC. Rev. Blair has served at churches big and small, historic and brand new, in rural, suburban, and urban contexts across Southern California, Georgia, and Massachusetts. She is currently working on a PhD at Boston University with a focus on evangelism, contemporary missiology, and feminist practical theology.
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Believe it or not, there is a business story in the Bible. It’s about this small business that got $0 in revenue one night…until something happened and revenue went through the roof. Let’s be honest about work, money, and success for a little bit – the way that Jesus might want us to be for a Sunday morning.
James Kang is the co-founder of PASTORIA – something that he calls The Regenerative Innovation Company. He sees his purpose in life as seeing every life as healing and every person as a healer. Like his friend Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter, he is a graduate of Claremont School of Theology, back when they both drove cars with only two doors on them. Today, James, along with his spouse, pretend to be in charge of their three children and five plants.
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We’re continuing our summer series of guest speakers and are excited to welcome Rev. Blair Trygstad-Stowe to The Loft.
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We are pleased to welcome Rev. Kevin Kim Wright back to The Loft, to speak from the center on this last Sunday in Pride Month. An ordained United Methodist pastor, Rev. Kevin serves as Chief of Staff for the Point Foundation here in Los Angeles. In conversation with a double story of healing from the Gospel of Mark, he invites us to consider the ways we are invited to step out of powerlessness and into God’s opportunities.
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We are pleased to welcome Rev. Dr. Kyle Eugene Brooks as our guest preacher in the Loft. Rev. Dr. Brooks, a native of Detroit, MI, serves as the Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego. His work broadly explores the communicative conditions of religion, politics, and black expressive cultures. In his teaching, his courses reflect his wide-ranging interests within the realms of religious studies, theology, creative arts, and Africana studies.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Everest Harvey and Rev. Molly Vetter - In listening to the lives and stories of Trans siblings, we understand more about God, who exists beyond the boundaries of our categories.
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As Christians, we are called to love our enemies and to practice nonviolent resistance. But is this commandment impractical or even dangerous for Christians who want to stand against the evils of "christian" nationalism?
We are taking a two month break while Dr. Carter is on research leave to work on his forthcoming book project. Loft Conversations will return in August. As we map out our series for the rest of this year please let us know if there is a topic that you would like us to discuss!
As we begin Pride month, we open a conversation about why LGBTQ+ inclusion matters to our faith. Although loud voices might try to claim otherwise, Christian theologies build a compelling case for our call to celebrate diversities in sexual orientation and gender identity.
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Far too many progressive Christian churches are defined by what they don’t believe. How might centering our conversation on what we do believe strengthen our religious communities?
Jesus’ way of nonviolent resistance and love of enemies is often dismissed as impractical and idealistic. To be sure, the persuasive power of the myth of redemptive violence is dependent upon our belief that our enemies are not worthy of love. However, if our enemies are lovable and we choose not to love them then we are morally culpable for our failure to love. It is no wonder then, that Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies because God loves us and because God loves them, and this is a sign of a mature love that can lead us towards collective peace.
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At their best, Christian communities should reflect the vision laid out in Acts 2, collectively sharing our gifts, tragedies, joys, and resilience. However, we have struggled to live up to or into this vision of a peaceful Christian community. Why? Peace requires repair, and for our churches to become an oasis of peace, we must learn how to work through the obstacles that divide us so that we can live in peace with one another.
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The protests to the war in Gaza taking place on college campuses around the world remind us that students are often the conscious of our society. In part 2 of our episode discussing the war in Gaza, we focus on what is happening in Westwood California, where our church and the Univeristy of California, Los Angeles is located.
The suffering and violence that is taking place in Gaza is unconscionable. According to the United Nations, at least 34,560 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 77,765 injured; nearly all of the 600,000 children now sheltering in the southern border city of Rafah are injured, sick, or malnourished. In part 1 of our episode discussing the war, we examine Rev. Dr. Carter’s suggestion that non-violent resistance that includes divestment is the appropriate progressive Christian response.
Saying “yes” rather than “no” to an invitation is much easier. A part of the pleasure of saying yes is knowing that someone wants you and wants to be in relationship with you in some way. To be sure, the spiritual practice of saying no is difficult. And yet, given the busyness of contemporary life, a “holy no” may be precisely what we need. Jesus encourages his followers to “stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.” What if the path towards inner peace is more about removing, rather than adding, things to our lives and spiritual practices?
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Television, film, Hollywood, and popular culture tell us that vigilante heroism is necessary to save us from ourselves. But is this true? In this episode, we discuss the myth of redemptive violence and our personal struggles with the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance.
The roots of war and conflict are apparent in how we are socialized to live our daily lives. American political and economic policies and our social imagination of the “other” entice us into a zero-sum game where mutual flourishing feels impossible. This way of thinking is inconsistent with the spiritual path of Jesus and his disciples. Instead, we are invited to wage peace within ourselves and between each other because peace and justice are inextricably linked.
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In her book All About Love, bell hooks writes that we ought to “view our homes as our original school of love.” Love is essential for cultivating peace, so how might we intentionally teach it in our homes? How might we reimagine our church community as a school of love? What would it look like to teach young people how to cultivate the will and the courage to love, how to extend themselves to nurture their own or another’s spiritual growth? To help us answer these questions, we will be joined by Rev. Dr. Timothy Murphy, whose most recent book, Jesus Learns to Glow, is a children’s book whose story offers some answers to the aforementioned questions.
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Though our culture tends to teach and practice an approach to the natural world that seeks to control, tame, and extract resources, Jesus’ teaching suggests a different way: he asks us to “consider the lilies,” and learn from the birds. The Gospel beckons us toward a mutuality with the earth, honoring the integrity of creation.
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There is something inside all of us that longs for security, stability, and peace. However, human history reveals that we tend to try to meet this longing through coercion and force. This tendency has led us to view violence as a tool for peace rather than an obstacle that prevents peace. The spiritual path of Jesus reveals to us a pathway to peace beyond the myth that violence has the power to redeem or save us. Even after his own death, Jesus still whispers peace—and not once, but over and over again, speaking directly to the fears and insecurities that arise when choosing peace over domination.
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What role might friendships play in our spiritual growth and formation?
In this episode, we explore how mature friendships can help us see the truth of who we are - even, and especially, when the truth hurts.
Among all of Jesus’ disciples, Peter’s spiritual pilgrimage is a good example of what it means to fall upward. Just before Jesus ascension into heaven, he finds Peter at the shoreline, casting his nets yet again. He turns to Peter and asks three times, “Do you love me?” as if each answer washes away Peter’s earlier three denials. To be sure, no matter how far we wander off our path during our spiritual pilgrimage, no matter if our faith is strong or weak, what we can give is our love.
Conversation Question – Are you able to name one or two people who have been a true mirror for you? If so, how has their friendship helped you?
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We invite you to join our Loft community in the Sanctuary for an Easter Sunday Celebration featuring the Singers of Soul Gospel Choir as we reflect on the hope we find in the resurrection of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus’s question to Mary while standing at his empty tomb is the central question of Easter: Who—or what—are you looking for? What kind of Jesus are you looking for? What kind of Christianity are you looking for? Where do you see hope in the resurrection of Christ?
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Rather than spending our time wondering why bad things happen to good people, how different would our faith be if we focused our energy on what to do when we experience suffering?
During the final week of his earthly life, Jesus enters Jerusalem to much fanfare. Moreover, Jesus began to speak more frequently about the purpose of his life and why living out of his purpose might cost him his life. Living with purpose connects us to our deepest sense of self and the Sacred. Join us this Sunday as we explore how we might practice living with a sense of purpose.
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After leaving the wilderness, Jesus began his ministry of theological and social healing in earnest. While many welcomed his message and the community work he was doing, some of the most religious people bristled. Jesus taught and practiced a boundary-breaking love, and breaking boundaries almost always makes us uncomfortable. However, the spiritual path of Jesus invites us to hold a creative tension between law and freedom. Join us this Sunday as we explore how to unburden the parts of ourselves that seemingly love rules more than people.
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What does it mean to be a "progressive Christian?" How does attending a progressive Christian church inform your theology? Today's episode is the first of a two-part series of interviews with members and staff from The Loft community where we answer these and other questions. These episodes give you a glimpse of what it is like to worship in a community of people committed to following Jesus' spiritual path of radical compassion.
After his baptism, Jesus continued his spiritual Pilgrimage in the wilderness. Wandering alone, he spent time in prayer and fasting as he sought clarity about the next steps in his ministry. His experience in the wilderness and the temptations he faced gave him insight into the obstacles we create that stifle our own spiritual formation. We are excited to be joined by Lola Davidson, Peer-to-Peer Manager at Covenant House LA, to discuss the Sleep Out event that Westwood UMC is participating in!
Question to Consider – How, if at all, do you distinguish between pain and suffering?
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Would you walk over 500 miles to discover the truth of who you are - the raw, naked, truth?
In this episode we are joined by Rev. Anne Gardner to discuss her book And So I Walked: Reflections on Chance, Choice, and the Camino de Santiago. Using the famed pilgrimage path as a backdrop, Gardner’s memoir weaves together her personal narrative with the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges presented by the Camino.
You can learn more about Anne at her website, https://www.anne-gardner.com
What does it mean to "fall upward?" How might our failings be the foundation for ongoing spiritual growth? In today's gathering we explore how the two halves of life work together to guide us on our pilgrimage towards the Divine.
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How do we as progressive Christians understand what it means to “be humuan” in light of our encounter with the Divine? In today’s episode we discuss the principles of a progressive Christian theological anthroplogy and what our key take-aways were from this series.
Our life’s journey is a combination of joy and suffering, hope and disappointment. And while no one enjoys suffering or disappointment, what we see in the life of Jesus is a practice of responding to such suffering in ways that allow us to grow in spiritual maturity. The pilgrimage that we call life will not always be easy, but as Jesus promises in Matthew, it can be light. This Sunday, we will be joined by Rev. Anne Gardner, a chaplain at Harvard-Westlake, and the author of And So I Walked: Reflections on Chance, Choice, and the Camino de Santiago. We will explore the importance of pilgrimage in spiritual formation and the impact that walking the Camino de Santiago had on her.
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Jesus doesn’t seek out trained rabbis and priests to be his disciples; instead, he calls a few Galilean fishermen to follow him and join his ministry. In this story, Simon Peter encounters Jesus after a long night of work, and despite his exhaustion, their encounter leaves him woken up to God, and gives him a new vision of what his life can become.
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The systems, structures, and churches in which we live our lives mirror the societies that made them. They are created and upheld by humans who carry biases, beliefs, and feelings of shame, just like we do. And while some of our systems have changed for the better over time, change is often difficult and not inevitable. We cannot talk about becoming an Unapologetically Inclusive community unless we examine and rebuild the systems that govern our bodies in ways that promote our collective flourishing.
Opening Conversation Question: Describe your ideal chair or couch, with as much detail as possible.
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We know that our Christian faith calls us to love ourselves. And yet self-love is often elusive - something we want to have but perpetually struggle with. Why? And how might progressive Christianity help us finally learn to love ourselves, regardless?
Being Unapologetically Inclusive forces us to ask how we are to live with one another in ways that foster self-love. To be sure, “it is not our differences that divide us. We cannot recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” Loving our bodies and the bodies of others is an invitation to make peace with bodily difference, and to live in solidarity with one another.
Conversation Question: Please reflect on the following “radical” idea – all of our body rules are made up!
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The foundational spiritual practice within Christianity is our commitment to love God, our neighbor, and ourselves, “all the law and the prophets rest on these commands,” according to Jesus. But truly loving ourselves is often easier said than done. Radical self-love asks us to let go of our doubts about our worthiness for love and embrace the Divine command to see the image of God in ourselves and others.
Conversation Question: Recall a time when someone chose not to try to understand your experience of a situation. What psychological and/or social impact did this experience have on you?
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How might we practice being human in ways that enable us to love ourselves and heal from the psychological terror of colonial thinking? It won’t be easy, but progressive theology can help us craft a renewed understanding of what it means to practice being human, one that fosters an anti-oppressive and liberative way of being in the world.
What does being created in the image of God mean for you?
While Christianity teaches that all human beings are created in the image of God, in this sermon Rev. Dr. Carter explores the meaning behind this idea and how it is this relevant for us today.
How might we create a world for every body, a world that is unapologetically inclusive where all bodies know they belong? It begins with learning to love our own bodies and it expands to include learning to love the bodies of others. How might Christian theology help create such a world?
What role has Christian theology played in enabling and encouraging a culture where so many of us feel like our bodies are wrong? To be sure, many of us believe that our bodies are somehow wrong, and every January, we try to change our ‘wrong bodies’ while apologizing for the presumed discomfort our bodies rouse in others.”
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After eight days have passed, Mary and Joseph circumcise their child and give him the name Jesus. They return to the temple in Jerusalem to enact the sacred birth rituals of their culture and tradition. How do our sacred rituals root us and help us live into new chapters with courage? As new parents, Mary and Joseph likely felt what all new parents feel – a mix of joy and weariness. How might grounding ourselves in ritual give us the courage to face the unknown? Conversation Question: Imagine you are Mary in this story. Recall Simeon’s prophecy that a sword will “pierce your innermost being.” Also, consider Luke 2:19 when Mary “ponders” the shepherds’ message in her heart. How do you think Mary summons the courage to mother Christ How do you summon the courage to live into difficult callings?
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Experience the holy mystery of Christmas as we celebrate Christ’s birth with music, scripture, prayer, preaching, communion, and candlelight. Featuring music from our Loft musicians, you are invited to sing beloved carols with us, share communion at our open table, and hold candlelight as we sing “Silent Night” together.
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Why are people drawn in by White Christian Nationalism? Is there anything progressive Christians can do to offset the terrible impact that WCN has on American democracy? Yes…and unfortunately it requires us to, on some level, engage with people we’d rather avoid.
In this episode we refer to Pamela Cooper-White’s book “The Psychology of Christian Nationalism.”
What does it sound like when unhoused young adults sing stories of hope? Join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Carter is joined by Anthony Conley, Director of Supportive Services for Covenant House California as they discuss the importance of hope during weary times.
In the first chapter of Luke we read that after Elizabeth exclaims blessings upon Mary, Mary sings: “My soul magnifies God; my spirit rejoices in God.” Mary sings about a God of liberation who pulls the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly. Mary sings a story of hope, one in which justice and joy are interwoven. As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, may we also sing stories of hope, justice, and joy.
Question to consider – What gives you a “thrill of hope?” If you were to write a song of hope, what would the lyrics be? www.TheLoftLA.org
What is the political theology of White Christian Nationalism and what are the dangers of this political theology for our democracy?
In this third of a four part series on White Christian Nationalism, Julia, Rev. Dr. Carter, and special guest Dr. Andy Tirrell, Associate Professor of Politcal Science at The University of San Diego, examine these questions and discuss what strategies progressives can employ to counteract the rising influence of these un-democratic beliefs.
After Elizabeth gives birth, her neighbors and family celebrate with her. When it comes time to name the child, Zechariah affirms the name given by the angel and by Elizabeth. In that moment of affirming the promise, Zechariah’s speech is restored. Everyone is filled with awe. How often do you allow yourself to be amazed? Wonder is all around us—can we recognize it? As we learn how to rejoice in a weary world, can we live in a way that allows amazement and wonder to surprise us often?
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What are the theological foundations of White Christian Nationalism? How are these beliefs used to support the marginalization of queer folk? What are their impact on young people? In this second of a four part series on White Christian Nationalism, Westley, Rev. Dr. Carter, and special guest Everest examin these questions and discuss the limitations of these theological beliefs.
In this episode we reference the following:
- 1946 - A documentary on the history of translating the bible to include the word “homosexual.” More information can be found at https://www.1946themovie.com
- The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill - podcast by Christianity Today.
Mothers have always had to depend upon each other for guidance and support during difficult times. We see this in the story of Mary and Martha in the Gospel of Luke and we see it today, especially in middle class and poor communities. In today's Gathering, Rev. Dr. Carter speaks with Jenniffer Duran-West, the Employee Development Manager for the Lundquist Institute WIC program, and they explore the importance of community for mothers, parents and caregivers, whose backs are against the wall.
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What is White Christian Nationalism and why might it be the biggest threat to Christianity and democracy in America today?
In this first of a four part series on White Christian Nationalism, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter begin to disentangle what White Christian Nationalism is, what it isn’t, and how the deep stories of the founding of America are mythologized to create this dangerous political theology.
In this episode we reference the following books: Jemar Tisby’s “The Color of Compromise,” Joe Feagin’s “The White Racial Frame,” and “The Flag & the Cross” by Philip Gorski and Samuel Perry.
As Advent begins, we start by acknowledging the weariness, grief, rage, and hopelessness we carry. We remember the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and their struggle with infertility. Perhaps they feel the weight of hopes and dreams unattained. Even when the angel comes to Zechariah with a promise of good news he can’t fully receive it. Sometimes weariness can harden us and prevent us from living fully. How might acknowledging our own weariness and disbelief allow us to move towards healing and to remember that we are made for joy?
Question to Consider: Do you find it easy or difficult to acknowledge your weariness with your friends and loved ones?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter continue their discussion on Christian faith and economic practice. Do you believe that it is possible within American society for poverty to be practically eliminated? This question that frames much of their conversation. They end with a discussion on how progressive Christianity should push us to form identities that take sabbath practice seriously and how this practice deepens our spirituality.
In order to heal, we must first be able to imagine that an alternative to the economic structures we have created is possible. Scripture calls us to reimagine a world where our social and economic systems are not built to disparage or impoverish, but instead to provide for and benefit all. The Jewish practice of the Jubilee year invites us to imagine leaving the edge of the harvest for the poor and immigrant to reap; in the fiftieth year, the harvest is shared and disparities are rebalanced. In today’s gathering, we will examine the lessons we can learn from the Jubilee year and how those lessons can help us begin to heal.
Question to Consider: Do you believe it is possible within American society for poverty to be practically eliminated? Why or why not?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss the intersections of Christian belief and economic practice. They examine the uncomfortable truism that to create an equitable economy some people will have to be willing to have less money! Why this is so difficult for people to accept (spoiler - people love money!). Lastly, they end their conversation exploring how we can grow to see money as a gift to be shared rather than something to be horded.
Books that we discussed in this episode:
Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
The Myth That Made Us by Jeff Fuhrer
Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams
It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver
In this episode we discuss the importance and challenges of teaching progressive theology to young people. To help us have this important conversation, Rev. Dr. Carter was joined by the newest member of the staff at The Loft, Everest Harvey. Everest is the Director of Youth and Social Justice Ministries at Westwood UMC. In their conversation they discuss what progressive theology is, why young people need a space where they can experience the fullness of God, and how by creating spaces where young people are seen as people capable of contributing to the betterment of the community, young people’s ministries can thrive.
We begin our series by exploring some of our spoken and unspoken economic mythologies. Whether it is the myth of the “self-made man” or the belief that wealth will “trickle down” to the poor, these myths obscure the truth about how wealth is created and distributed in America. We cannot heal from the pain caused by poverty and exploitation if we do not know where the hurt comes from. In the story of the widow’s mite, Jesus shows us that acknowledging the pain caused by unjust people and systems can allow us to identify corrupt systems that must be changed so that all people might have life and have it abundantly.
Question to Consider: How and in what ways does the economic background of your childhood influence your views about money today?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter continue their conversation on patriarchy and the church. We begin by discussing how the concept of “patriarchy” can feel overwhelming and how crafting a precise definition can help us understand what we are fighting against. We discuss how and why progressive spaces can still be sexist and how that sexism is often rooted in gender stereotypes. If we understand patriarchy to be a habit, we suggest that it is possible to develop habits that can help us dismantle patriarchal structures.
From the time a child is born, their homes become places of learning. While at their best, our homes may be schools of love, compassion, justice, and grace, it would be naive of us to believe that our children’s first encounter with patriarchal thinking is outside of their homes. And yet, the life of Jesus and those within his community reveal to us a vision of home that consistently invites us to break free from the oppressive ways of thinking that have harmed us and made it difficult to be in a relationship with the Divine. Join us this Sunday for the conclusion of our series, Breaking Patriarchy, as we examine how breaking patriarchy ultimately begins at home.
Question to Consider: How, if at all, was patriarchal thinking normalized in your childhood home?
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One of the earliest Christian baptismal covenants states that “there is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The church has repeatedly compromised our covenant with God to treat each other as one. How does patriarchal thinking prevent us from structuring our community in ways that encourage the flourishing of all people? Join us this Sunday as we explore how we can break the cycle of patriarchal thinking that shapes our Church.
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Our personal identities, thoughts, and social assumptions influence how we read everything, including how we read the Bible. Men have been the primary interpreters of the bible, history shows us that men have, and continue to, read the bible in ways that reinforce (or at least doesn’t challenge) the everydayness of sexism and gender discrimination. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we explore how to break free from the habit of reading the bible through a patriarchal lens.
Question to Consider: What, if any, method or approach do you use when you read Sacred texts?
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In this episode Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter explore the ways patriarchal thinking influences the world around us and, more often than not, our inner monologue. We begin the episode by connecting the violence happening in Palestine and Israel to the violent nature of patriarchal thinking. We discuss where we see patriarchy in our own lives and some subtle and overt types of patriarchal thinking that impact the Church. We end the episode by exploring some of the values we can adopt to help us unlearn patriarchal thinking.
In this episode we reference Ivone Gebara’s book “Longing for Running Water” and Carol Gilligan’s “In A Different Voice.”
How have you come to know what you “know?” What sources of knowledge have shaped your understanding of American culture, Christianity, or your own self-understanding? Patriarchal thinking has been foundational to much of what we have come to believe is “normal.” Join us this Sunday as we use the theological writings of Latin American Eco-Feminist theologian Ivonne Gebara to help us understand the depths of Christian Patriarchy and offer us a framework for breaking patriarchal thinking.
Question to Consider: What sources of knowledge have influenced your way of thinking about yourself and/or your faith?
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In this 1-year anniversary episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss one of the four values that shape the theology of The Loft - Compassion. We begin by listening to the less-than-dulcet tones of Dr. Carter singing Anniversty by Tony, Toni, Toné and quickly transition into a discussion on what we mean by compassion and how compassion is often conflated with sentiment. We end by examining how true compassion for others leads to restorative actions and avoids the lure of saviorism that can creep into justice movements.
The articles we discuss in this episode are:
The White Savior Industrial Complex by Teju Cole
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/
A New Way to Read Gatsby by Alonzo Vereen
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/03/great-gatsby-book-fitzgerald-race-interpretation/672778/
Compassion was fundamental to Jesus’ ministry and the primary lens through which he engaged his community. At The Loft, we strive to follow Jesus’ spiritual path of radical compassion and view compassion as one of our guiding values. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we explore why compassion is fundamental to our spiritual practices and essential for both inspiring and guiding our actions.
Question to Consider: How would you distinguish between restorative actions guided by compassion versus actions guided by saviorism?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter talk about one of the four values that shape the theology of The Loft - Decolonization. We discuss what we mean by “colonial theology” and explore the ways colonial theology shapes how many of us practice Christianity. We end our podcast by unpacking the decolonial strategies that we see modeled by Jesus in the gospels.
At The Loft, we have a conversational approach to “doing” church and our hope is that this approach helps build and deepen relationships throughout our worshiping community. But what exactly do we mean when we say we are a conversational community? In Matthew 18, Jesus tells his disciples that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” Indeed, relationships are at the core of Jesus’ spiritual path of radical compassion, and conversation is one way we build relationships. We invite you to join us this Sunday as Pastor Molly is joined in the center by Liberty and Jay Worth to explore the role and importance of conversation in constructing a liberatory theology.
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At The Loft, there are four fundamental values that we draw from the teachings of Jesus that inform how we practice Christianity: Compassion, Decolonization, Belonging, and Conversation. We have spent the summer exploring belonging and in our current series, The Loft 101, we will explore how the remaining three values inform who we are and who we aim to be as a faith community.
This Sunday’s gathering will focus on decolonization. Jesus was a Jew who was born and died in subjugation to the Roman Empire. His body was and remains marked by gender, culture, and religion. Given this, we must ask ourselves how Jesus’ cultural context as a colonial subject shaped his religious and social practices. A decolonial analysis is one of the four key values that inform the theology of The Loft community. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we examine the importance of decolonial thinking and practicing Jesus’ spiritual path of radical compassion.
Question to consider before we gather – How would you respond in a situation where your supervisor (or someone who is your superior) asks you to do something that goes against your moral standards?
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We invite you to join us for our annual Homecoming Gospel Concert at The Loft. Homecoming is an opportunity to celebrate our community, reconnect to our spiritual roots, and cultivate a culture of belonging. This will be a musically driven worship service led by Dedrick Bonner and the Singers of Soul. Rev. Dr. Carter will conclude our summer sermon series on Belonging by exploring how belonging is a central part of our calling as people of faith.
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter are joined by Rev. Dr. Nikia Smith Robert, assistant professor at the University of Kansas and founder of Abolitionist Sanctuary to discuss the intersection of abolition and Christian praxis. We discuss how abolitionist thinking can help us imagine strategies of resistance and repair for the writers and actors who are on strike and those who are impacted by the devastating wildfires in Lahaina.
You can find more information about the Abolitionist Sanctuary at their website: https://www.abolitionistsanctuary.org.
Additionally, here is a link to the CNN article about restaurants that are trying to recover from the wildfires https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/23/business/maui-fire-restaurants
As followers of the religion of Jesus, we are called to seek out and create homeplaces, communities to which we can feel safe, be seen, and develop a sense of belonging. And yet, daily, we are confronted with the reality that we live in a society founded upon the principles of class division, racial segregation, and patriarchy. Abolitionists have been working against these divisions for centuries, and recently, there has been an increase in the number of people using abolitionist values to help give us a framework for how we can build a better society for everyone. One of those people is Rev. Dr. Nikia Smith-Robert, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Kansas University and founder of Abolitionist Sanctuary. We invite you to join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Carter and Rev. Dr. Smith-Robert explore how the values of abolition are crucial for creating a culture of belonging.
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On today's episode, Julia and Westley are joined by community member Alex Smith, and housing rights attorney and affordable housing activist Ysabel Jurado! We discuss the negative mental health effects of becoming unhoused, the social conditions we subject our unhoused community to, and the various statistics around housing affordability in Los Angeles. Our conversation delves into the myriad ways that societal and legal structures push us away from a community-focused society, and we discuss what we can do to help move our communities toward addressing and fixing these problems.
There are many things that Angelinos love about living in LA, but the cost of living – especially housing – is not one of them. Our sacred text is filled with passages encouraging people of faith to care for the poor, the widowed, and the orphan. As progressive Christians, we know that we ought to do something to address housing insecurity, but what exactly can we do? How might the theological principles of belonging help us advocate for affordable housing? This Sunday, housing rights attorney and affordable housing activist Ysabel Jurado will share the center with Alex Smith and Pastor Molly as they discuss belonging and housing insecurity.
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss healing from the trauma of feeling exiled from the spiritual communities of our upbringing. Our conversation turns to the film Barbie as we find inspiration in Barbie’s journey to discover who she is and create the home that she longs for. We end our conversation by exploring how we can heal from the traumas of our past to create the church community that we want to belong to.
At The Loft, we strive to be a community of care, a place where all people can feel like they belong. As a community, our belonging finds its center at our church and in our worship space. Belonging to a community asks us to develop an attachment to a place. How might our attachment, or lack thereof, to our sacred space influence our ability to foster a culture of belonging?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss spiritual formation for young adults. We begin our conversation discussing the difficulty young adults face when trying to find a spiritual home that allows them to genuinely question their embedded beliefs. Organizations such as Young Life and Intervarsity tend to fairly conservative. We then transition to discussing how the concept of Wayfinding from the Disney film Moana gave us a better understanding of what the process of young adult spiritual formation actually entails.
During this episode we mention the work of The 580 Cafe, a progressive Christian campus ministry of UCLA. If you believe in the value of campus ministry, please support them. We also discussed the Race/Class Narrative project created by Heather McGhee, Anat Shenker-Osorio, and others.
Whether in school or our professional lives, our journey into young adulthood grants us the freedom to discover who we are outside of the gaze of our immediate family. How might our church support and accompany young adults on their journey to discover where they belong? Join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Carter will share the center table with Deaconess Jeanne Roe Smith, Executive Director of 580 Café, an Immigrant Welcoming, LGBTQIA+ Inclusive, and Gender Affirming Community that serves the UCLA campus community and other institutions of higher education.
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Whether our homes are happy or troubled, our families functional or dysfunctional, our homes and our communities are our original schools of love, compassion, justice, and belonging. Children develop their sense of identity as it is reflected to them from within these spaces, and they are ever attentive as they discern who and whose they are. Join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series on Belonging as Rev. Dr. Carter is joined by our Pastor for Family and Children’s Ministries Rev. Dr. Diana Holbert as they discuss what a church that helps children feel like they belong looks like.
In Preparation for Sunday: Looking back on your childhood, what spaces beyond your home did you feel a sense of belonging? What set those spaces apart from others?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss the challenges churches face when they attempt to be a community where people who are reconstructing or building their faith identity can belong. All too often, churches will want you to confess certain beliefs that do not align with what you believe. We end the podcast discussing how we at The Loft are trying to address this dilemma by creating a community focused on values rather than specific doctrinal beliefs.
Each week I begin our gathering by stating, among other things, that all people should feel welcome at The Loft, regardless of belief or unbelief. However, can someone who isn’t sure what they believe about the Sacred feel welcome in a church? This week, Rev. Dr. Carter will be joined by Dr. Fay Lin, a member of The Loft community who started attending our gatherings as she constructed her own spiritual beliefs. We invite you to join us as we discuss the challenges of finding and creating a community for the spiritual but not religious.
Question In Preparation for Sunday: Imagine you are in a conversation with someone at The Loft. It’s one of their first times at a gathering, and they say that they identify as spiritual but not religious. How would you respond to them?
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter are joined by Dr. Katie Schellenberg-Bell, a holistic advocate for students with exceptionalities, and founder Learning Lab LA. We talk about the history of disability justice, how our contemporary society falls short of creating spaces that are welcoming for all bodies, and how those who are already marginalized are disproportionately impacted. We wrap up our conversation by exploring the possibilities of Universal Design for religious communities.
The Christian church has not done a good, or perhaps even decent, job of creating spaces where disabled people can feel like they belong. Unfortunately, our inaction builds upon a long legacy of a complicated relationship with the disabled human body. The biblical writers often used the disabled body as a metaphor for broader social or personal sins or as punishment for the sins of their ancestors. Join us this Sunday as we explore what a liberating theology for disabled persons might include. Julia and Westley will lead a conversation with Dr. KT Schellenberg Bell, a holistic advocate for students with exceptionalities and founder of Learning Lab LA.
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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter continue their conversation about creating communities of belonging. We discuss the challenges of creating communities that include “outsiders” and how our failure to love our neighbor ultimately reflects our inability to love the totality of ourselves. So what must we do to love ourselves? We have lots of thoughts about this, but the overarching theme is that it will require a reversal of our social and political values. Or, as Jesus put it, in the kin-dom of God “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”
“And who is my neighbor?” How we answer this question, which was posed to Jesus by a legal expert in the parable of The Good Samaritan, directly informs our practice of creating a space of belonging at The Loft. This Sunday, Kathleen Rogers will join me in the center to discuss the documentary film With This Light. The film profiles the life of Sister Maria Rosa Leggol, who, for over 70 years, helped over 87,000 Honduran children escape poverty and fortified her legacy as an activist and visionary. Sister Maria saw these children as her neighbor, and her legacy invites us to discern what is required of us at the Loft if we want to cultivate belonging among our neighbors.
Question to consider before worship: Sister Maria was known as a person who asked for forgiveness rather than permission. If she saw a need and believed she could help address it, she acted, even if it meant that she was going against “tradition.” What is one justice-oriented thing you would do if you chose to ask for forgiveness rather than permission?
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The structure of our modern world gives us the illusion of control. We can control the temperature of our cars and homes. We can control where we purchase our groceries or what types of foods we buy. There are numerous other areas of our lives where we like to think we have control. However, events such as natural disasters or a pandemic serve as reminders that, as human beings, we don’t have as much control as we often think we do.
In today’s episode of Loft Conversations we discuss the human desire for control, how this desire was amplified during the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, and how this desire for control alienates us from nonhuman nature and ourselves. We end the episode by suggesting that cultivating awe and wonder for what we often see as “basic” things can help us heal from the loneliness that often drives our desire to control and conquer others.
If we are not careful living in urban and suburban communities can lead us to believe that human engineering can control nature. However, climate science and human history show us that ultimately nature rules. We all belong to the earth, and we participate in its wonder. How might we live in ways that honor this belonging? How might the wonder we find in the created world encourage us to view ourselves with sacred awe?
Conversation Question: In her book This Here Flesh, Cole Aurther Riley describes wonder as “the practice of beholding the beautiful.” Think back to a moment when you experienced wonder and be prepared to share that moment with a friend.
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When have you experienced genuine belonging? Our answer to this question is a window into our community life. We all have a longing to belong and the church has historically been a place for building one's community. However, for progressive Christians, the church has sometimes been a place of dysfunction and spiritual abuse and was no longer a space for genuine community. But the longing for community persists.
For the next two months, we will discuss what it means to create a culture of belonging where all people are welcome to be their authentic selves. In today's episode, we discuss the trauma's that we carry from church dysfunction and the importance of creating a church that is what bell hooks defines as a homeplace, a safe place where people can affirm one another and by doing so heal many of the wounds inflicted upon members of the community by the dehumanizing traumas of racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and queer hatred.
Show Notes:
"Belonging: A Culture of Place" by bell hooks
"Homeplace: A Site of Resistance" by bell hooks
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Given the effort required to develop meaningful relationships, what is the value of finding and creating spaces to which we belong? This question is at the heart of the epidemic of loneliness that faces so many people in our country. As progressive Christians, we are often afflicted by a kind of loneliness, a longing for our past religious communities where we experienced both love and abuse. We all desire to feel a sense of belonging, but this desire can only be met by creating and inhabiting spaces where we both feel loved and free to be our authentic selves.
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This week we’re joined by Rev. Kimberly Scott, incoming Senior Pastor at Grace UMC in Baldwin Hills, to discuss how resilience is rooted in our ability to remember that we didn’t get to where we are alone.
Show Notes:
"Alabama Grandson: A Black, Gay Minister's Passage Out of Hiding"
Book by Cedrick Bridgeforth
"In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens"
Book by Alice Walker
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This episode we’re joined by Reverend Kevin Kim Wright to have a freewheeling conversation about helping people find liberation as a form of spiritual formation, the self-preservation of institutions like the Church and how that can sometimes find itself at odds with the community-based work necessary for a thriving society. We also talk about the corrosiveness of hate and how we can listen for the Holy Spirit and her prompting in our lives.
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Given the realities of suffering we see in our world – poverty, hunger, climate change, violence – there are many who see Christian hope as naive, as a way to avoid engaging in the realities of suffering. What does Christian hope look like in an age of nihilism? In today’s gathering we will examine the role and importance of hope for the Christian faith. Question to Consider Before We Meet: How do you define hope? What role, if any, does hope have in your spirituality?
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What does it mean to be created in the image of God? The history of Christianity has shown us that Christian communities have historically struggled to view all humans as bearing the image of God equally – especially marginalized groups such as women, people of color, and those who identify as queer. This Sunday Rev. Dr. Carter will be joined by Dedrick Bonner as we learn about the challenges and triumphs of queer folk seeing themselves as beloved children of God. Question to Consider Before We Meet: What image comes to mind when you think of a human being? What might your answer reveal about your assumptions regarding what a default “human being” looks like?
AUDIO NOTE:The introduction to this message was not captured on audio, but we pick up at the beginning of the conversation.
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We welcome Rev. Kimberly Scott to our center conversation with Pastor Molly, sharing about her theological work on practices of resilience, drawn from the wisdom of Queer Black Clergy Women. Her work invites us into practices of remembrance, hope, defiance, and action. Rev. Kimberly is a doctoral student at the Claremont School of Theology, and a United Methodist Elder.
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This Sunday, Rev. Kevin Kim Wright returns to The Loft for conversation with Pastor Molly, as they explore how the Holy Spirit’s calling leads us to live out our faith. Currently Chief of Staff at The Point Foundation, an LGBTQ+ scholarship granting organization, he is an ordained Elder in the UMC. www.TheLoftLA.org
Despite our lack of engagement with the doctrine of the Trinity, I believe that it has continued to persist because it reveals something about the nature of God: a Divine and Dynamic relationship rooted in love. Join us this Sunday as we explore how we can take our place in God’s divine dance. www.TheLoftLA.org
Why has there been a sudden increase in anti-trans legislation across the country? In this week's episode of Loft Conversations, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter examine the roots of the increased anti-trans political activism and how it's tied to a broader structure of religiously conservative theology. We also discuss the facts and popular fictions of gender-affirming care. We end the conversation discussing the role theology has played in moralizing this attack on a marginalized group and how a renewed theological anthropology can help create the beloved communities that we desire. In this episode, we mention or reference the following articles: "What Decades of Providing Trans Health Care has Taught Me" by Dr. Marci Bowers "How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives" by By Adam Nagourney and Jeremy W. Peters "From millionaires to Muslims, small subgroups of the population seem much larger to many Americans" a YouGov survey
Last week, we discussed how our response to the inevitable suffering of human life can grow our faith. But what about manufactured suffering? What impact might that have on one’s faith? This week Rev. Dr. Carter will be joined by Sarah Wilson, Executive Director of Harvest Home, a nonprofit whose mission is to transform the lives of homeless pregnant women and their children by providing housing, support, and programs that equip women to become great mothers. We invite you to join us as we discuss how the women and those who work with them cultivate faith. www.TheLoftLA.org
What is the difference between belief and faith? One definition that we discussed was that belief requires a lot of "religion," but faith asks us to construct a theology. In today's Loft Converations episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss the nature and meaning of faith for Christians and why some people fear asking the kind of questions or experiencing the type of life events that enable our faith in God to grow.
One book that we mentioned during the episode was "Falling Upward: Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life" by Richard Rohr.
What Christians are to believe and how those beliefs translate into actions have been the source of personal anxiety at a minimum and social conflict at its worst. The human desire for structure and clarity has led many Christians to develop theologies that fear difficult questions and demand blind assent. However, a mature theology should dare to raise questions on our quest for a deeper understanding of the Divine. www.TheLoftLA.org
If we only use the same handful of metaphors to describe God, they hide the full wonder of divine love. So, this Sunday, we will talk about old and new metaphors for God; bring your poetic, prophetic imagination to help with the project. Plus, we share Holy Communion.
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How might we eat in ways that align with our moral and cultural values? This question will be the starting point for our gathering this Sunday. A few weeks ago we discussed the realities of our food system and the ways it profits from the manufacturing of suffering. This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Carter will share the three theologically informed eating practices that allow us to remain true to the principles of compassion, love, justice, and solidarity with the marginalized. www.TheLoftLA.org
In today's episode of Loft Conversations we discuss the "other work" that Rev. Dr. Carter attends to when he is not doing church work - food justice. We begin by discussing his book, The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice, and his motivation for writing it.
Rev. Dr. Carter notes that the guiding question for the book was "how can I eat in ways that are in alignment with my moral and cultural values?" The resulting conversation covered race, immigration, politics, and religion. In part two, Dr. Carter will disciss the tangible changes we can make to our diets and consumption when we progressives begin to think theologically about our food.
Rather than an excuse to set our focus in some heavenly realm, Jesus’ resurrection helps us see God’s presence here among us, on earth.
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In this weeks Loft Conversations episode we speak with Dedrick Bonner. Singer, actor, musician, producer - he has done it all! Dedrick founded a gospel choir, The Singers of Soul, and we have been blessed to have them sing at The Loft for the past few years.
In this conversation, we discuss Dedrick's journey from Alabama to LA and the difficulties he has faced as a large Black gay man. We also discuss the role Christianity has played in his life how singing gospel music has helped him and the choir heal from difficult and fraught church experiences.
How might we eat in ways that are in alignment with our moral and cultural values? How might we think theologically about our food choices and agricultural systems? These questions have shaped the trajectory of Rev. Dr. Carter’s diet and his research the over the past 13 years. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we discuss how eating is a spiritual practice. Preparing For Sunday: Please be prepared to share a food memory with your small group. For example, perhaps your family has a particular holiday tradition where the meal feels significant to you, or maybe there is a certain food that connects you to the story of your people and your community.
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The question that Jesus poses to Mary at his empty tomb is the central question of Easter: who, or what, are you looking for? What kind of Jesus are you looking for? What kind of Christianity are you looking for? Where do you see hope in the resurrection of Christ? We invite you to join us this Easter Sunday as we finish our Lenten series, The Inward Journey and boldly proclaim the hope that we find in the resurrection of Jesus. www.TheLoftLA.org
Jesus quotes the psalmist when he cries out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” His final lament gives voice to all those who have been forsaken—those who suffer injustice, those who are abandoned, those who are unjustly convicted. And yet, when we read this lament in light of his prayer in the garden of Gathsemene that God would “take this cup of suffering away from me” we see that these words are the culmination of a prayer between he and God. In his quest for God, in giving up his life, Jesus shows us that we can be confident in knowing that for every sunset there is a sunrise. www.TheLoftLA.org
On Palm Sunday, our lenten journey brings us to the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem; the crowd cried “Hosanna,” which means, “Save us.” We, too, are hungry to be saved, eager to be liberated from the destructive power of violence and oppression. In conversation and at the communion table, we claim our part in a different way, a way of peace. www.TheLoftLA.org
In this week's Loft Conversations episode, we discuss the tragic mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville. This was not an easy conversation for any of us, but it was necessary. We were joined by Kathleen Rogers, a member of the Loft community and Nashville native. Kathleen was connected to two of the victims and offers insight into how the community is processing and grieving the loss of life.
We then shift the conversation to discussing the conservative Christian arguments for maintaining gun rights, up to and including assault weapons - and then subsequently dismantle each of those arguments as inconsistent with the Gospel of Jesus. We close this episode by imagining a way forward - could gun reform become a "single issue" similar to abortion in our political context?
When Jesus and the disciples encounter a blind man, the disciples immediately ask, “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In our quest for healing Jesus encourages us to ask more precise questions; questions that reveal the interconnected nature of our existence. Read For Sunday: Howard Thurman’s essay “The Subtleties of Pride” will inform our conversation on Sunday. One of the questions that we will discuss in the gathering is taken from this essay. Thurman writes that “if a person thinks more highly of themselves than they ought to think, they can never know what is perhaps the most important truth: the truth about themselves.”
- Do you agree with Thurman’s statement?
- How do you learn the truth about yourself?
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What happens when we center the unnamed in scripture or society? In today's Loft Conversations episode, we discuss the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the well. While the Samaritan Woman is not named in the gospel, the influence she had on her community and the theological discourse that surrounds her proves that she is a person that deserves our attention. We end our conversation discussing the potential impact of centering the unnamed in our communities. www.TheLoftLA.org
Risk is an inevitable part of our quest for fulfillment. However, as Jesus and the Samaritan woman demonstrate, if we are to change our present circumstance we must not be daunted by fear of taking those risks. These two essays from Howard Thurman’s Inward Journey will help inform our conversation on Sunday. Some questions that I would love for us to discuss during our gathering are: What are some of the fears that arise within you when you make the decision to act in ways that resist cultural norms? (i.e. attending a LBGTQ affirming church despite push back from family). How do you work through those fears and decide to act?
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In today's Loft Conversations episode, discuss the problem with the idea that life is supposed to be free of all types of suffering. Who thought of this idea and who had it benefited, who has it harmed? And then we end our conversation discussing what a realistic utopia would look like.
After his baptism, Jesus continues his Inward Journey in the wilderness. Wandering alone, he spent time in prayer in fasting as he sought clarity about what the next steps in his ministry should be. This time in the wilderness gave him the opportunity to discern what a meaningful life would be for him. The quest for a meaningful life is as old as humanity. From Adam and Eve to Jesus to today, all human beings embark upon this quest. In his essay “When the Knowledge Comes” Howard Thurman invites us to consider how this quest is a perpetual journey from innocence to knowledge. As we continue our own inward journey during this season of Lent, we too should ask ourselves, what does a meaningful life look like for ourselves? When we quiet our minds to listen for and seek an answer, who are we listening to? How might we filter out the noise so that we can hear the prompting of the Spirit? www.TheLoftLA.org
It's the season of Lent, and in today's Loft Conversations episode, we discuss the importance of understanding Jesus the person by exploring the context of his community. How might his background as a poor Jewish subject of Roman colonial occupation have influenced his teachings? What does it mean to view Jesus as a religious subject vs. a religious object? And we end our conversation with a fascinating discussion on how class can inform our theology.
This Lenten season at The Loft will be a time of reflection and self-examination to prepare for the ministries that God has gifted and called us to live out, both as individuals and as a community. At its best, the spiritual path of Jesus is an Inward Journey that leads to profound transformation; his spiritual practices, boundary-crossing relationships, and social teachings reveal that his quest toward God set him on a path where he sought to liberate and heal his community from the trauma of empire. Where might this quest lead us today? This is the central question that will animate our conversations during this Lenten season. . The writings and teachings of Howard Thurman will help guide us on our Inward Journey. This Sunday’s gathering will be informed by his essay “Jesus: An Interpretation” from Thurman’s most popular book, Jesus and the Disinherited. The context surrounding Jesus’ life was complicated by poverty and Roman colonial occupation. How might understanding his earthly background help us to recognize the importance of his baptism as a way to prepare for his time in the wilderness, his inward journey? www.TheLoftLA.org
In today's Loft Conversations episode, we discuss Rev. Dr. Carter's Black History and Theology sermon that he gave in The Sanctuary, Between The World & Me. We explore what it looks like for progressive Christians to take on the challenge that white supremacy poses to the religion of Jesus. We then discuss the conversations on art and theology that took place in The Loft. How does art help us connect to the Divine? Is all art inevitably theological or spiritual?
You can find the artwork of Liberty Worth at www.libertyworthart.com.
Today is Ash Wednesday, and it marks the beginning of Lent, a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation to sin - the temptation to love oneself more than your neighbor or God. This wilderness experience prepared him for his ministry. This podcast episode is an invitation for you to begin your Lenten journey by meditating on Jesus' time in the wilderness as a way of preparing us for our own Inward Journey during these weeks of Lent.
Given the history of racism and white supremacy within the Christian tradition and the rise of white Christian nationalism in our country, how and why do people of color even claim Christianity as their faith tradition? To be sure, many of us live with the awareness of a veil that exists between "us" and the world, and living with the awareness of this division is one of life's great challenges. The prophet Jeremiah tells us of the consequences of living behind a veil of ignorance, and the gospel of Jesus shows us what it requires of us to tear down the veil that divides us. www.TheLoftLA.org
For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. And yet we know that “sacred” texts exist beyond our traditional religious texts and include literature, film, music and art. This Sunday we will explore the ways in which art can be a Divine expression. Kyle Abraham will be performing a dance and we will discuss the connection between dance and the sacred. Liberty Worth is a professional artist and we will be discussing her journey to seeing herself as an artist and the healing power of art. And lastly, Jay Worth works in the field of visual effects and his masters thesis focused on religion and art. Join us this Sunday for what will be an amazing worship experience. www.TheLoftLA.org
In today's Loft Conversations episode, we begin our conversation by discussing why we haven't been able to record for a few weeks - Rev. Dr. Carter has been traveling and traveling quite comfortably. After poking fun at Dr. Carter, we talk about the books, plays, musicals, films, and television shows that have deepened our notion of the Sacred.
For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. Throughout this series, we have suggested that there is an art to reading sacred texts. Moreover, we have suggested that “sacred” texts extend beyond traditional religious texts. Religious scholars define sacred texts as meaning-making tools, artifacts that help us make sense of and interpret our lives. What objects have helped you make sense of your own life beyond the traditional ones offered within religion? What have you read, watched, or seen that made you feel seen and heard? Join us this Sunday as we explore how film, television, and screenwriting have given voice and hope to those who feel otherwise invisible. www.TheLoftLA.org
For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. Throughout this series, we have suggested that there is an art to reading sacred texts. Moreover, we have suggested that “sacred” texts extend beyond traditional religious texts. Religious scholars define sacred texts as meaning-making tools, artifacts that help us make sense of and interpret our lives. What objects have helped you make sense of your own life beyond the traditional ones offered within religion? What have you read, watched, or seen that made you feel seen and heard? Join us this Sunday as we explore how literature has given voice and hope to those who feel otherwise invisible.
www.TheLoftLA.org
In today's Loft Conversations episode, we begin our discussion by reflecting on the tragedy in Memphis and the murder of Tyre Nichols. We discuss the role Christian theology has played in morally justifying a system of carceral punishment and how our reading of the bible calls us to dismantle these institutions. We then discuss how our identities inform how we read everything - especially the Bible! We end the episode discussing the Bible's role in our lives and how we use it - or don't - when examining contemporary social and moral issues.
In our society, sacred texts are seen, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as an excuse to incite violence, hatred, and division. It seems that the loudest voices within American Christian culture are fundamentalists who have co-opted the sacred texts and insist that they must be taken literally or conservative evangelicals who interpret scripture to bolster their own biases. As theologically progressive people of faith, many of us know how we don’t want to read sacred texts such as the bible, but we are still struggling to find a method for how we do want to read and engage sacred texts. Join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Carter and Pastor Molly discuss their journeys with the bible and how they have learned, and are still learning, how to read it. www.TheLoftLA.org
In today's episode, we discuss the conversation between Rev. Dr. Carter and Dr. Lailatul Fitriyah, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education at Claremont School of Theology. We begin our conversation by discussing our reactions to the tragic shooting in Monterrey Park, California. We then discuss our reflections on Dr. Fitriyah's remarks about the worship of "freedom" in American culture, the importance of justice within Islam, and how we can hold multiple identities - such as being a feminist and a Muslim - and faithfully practice our religious tradition.
How people of faith are supposed to read and engage sacred texts is one of the most controversial topics of our time. To be sure, this controversy extends beyond Christianity and into other religious traditions that use ancient texts to help form and inform modern religious practices. This Sunday, we will be joined by Dr. Lailatul Fitriyah, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Education at Claremont School of Theology, to discuss the art of reading Islamic sacred texts from a Muslim feminist perspective. Join us this Sunday as we discuss how she holds these identities in concert with her faith. www.TheLoftLA.org
This week's conversation is the first of a series of conversations on Sacred Texts. So many of us progressive Christians struggle with the Bible. We question its usefulness given that so many people have used it to justify evil. To be sure, we are not alone. Several religious traditions are going through this same struggle. We see the common thread through these traditions is a failure of practitioners to learn the Art of Reading Sacred Texts. We spend the first half of our conversations discussing how and why people of faith have come to this decisive point with our texts.
Then, we finish our conversation talking about Martin Luther King Jr., in honor of his holiday. His speeches and writings are sacred, and yet, we see them being misused in ways similar to our religious texts. Rev. Dr. Carter discusses some of his favorite sermons and speeches by King and how we can reclaim King's liberatory message.
In our society, sacred texts are seen, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as an excuse to incite violence, hatred, and division. So what value, if any, can sacred texts hold for us today? And given the context in which they were written, what role, if any, should these texts play in forming our spiritual practices? For thousands of years, oral traditions and sacred texts were viewed as spiritual tools that helped individuals connect with the Divine and transcend themselves and their egos. There is an art to reading sacred texts, an art form that has been pushed aside since the onset of modernity. In this series, we will rediscover this lost art form within religious traditions. And while we will discuss formal religious sacred texts, we will also explore other sacred texts that inform our moral and spiritual practices, such as literature, art, film, and music.
www.TheLoftLA.org
We start 2023 with an initiation of sorts: a declaration of belovedness and a dip in the Jordan River with Jesus and John. In Jesus’ baptism, we hear voices of God’s affirmation; tucked into the gospel account are conversations about righteousness, and reminders of divine belovedness. As a Church that practices the sacrament of baptism, we hear ourselves in these words of blessing, as we claim belonging with a God whose love is both specific and expansive. The water invites us to imagine what God’s love offers: refreshment, a clean start, a tactile reminder of grace. www.TheLoftLA.org
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As we enter into a new year, we want to thank you all for your support and encouragement during these early stages of the podcast. We also want to invite you to share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas that you would like us to discuss in the coming months. While Dr. Carter raised the questions pasted below during the podcast, feel free to expand upon them as you see fit, and email your responses to theloft@theloftla.org.
- What would you like us to discuss that we haven't touched on yet?
- What types of conversations would you like us to have? Would you like us to spend more time on the intersections of politics, pop-culture, and religion? Or examine the deeper theological issues that still plague the church such as the dehumanization of the BIPOC, Queer, and Disabled communities?
- What would make you want to share this podcast with someone?
This week's conversation centers on the stories of Mary and Elizabeth and what their story can teach us about love, faith, and solidarity. In a moment of Divine joy, Mary utters one of the most famous and radical prayers in the Christian tradition, the Magnificat. In this prayer, Mary proclaims that God's liberation love is at work in her, her cousin, and her community. She proclaims that God will overthrow the occupying colonial Roman Empire. This prayer is amazing, beautiful, and inspirational, but - how should we read this given our status as folks who benefit from occupied colonial land? We end the podcast by returning to last week's conversation. Given the way that Mary and Elizabeth see the Divine in each other, we wonder how this perspective would influence how we interact with others. www.TheLoftLA.org
This week we return to Mary’s experience. After receiving the news from the angel, she retreats to her cousin Elizabeth’s house. When Mary arrives (perhaps unannounced), Elizabeth doesn’t just welcome her—she is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks a blessing upon Mary as her own child leaps and kicks within her womb. Elizabeth sees how God is at work and names it out loud. In this moment of profound solidarity, Mary and Elizabeth see the divine in one another. This connection inspires Mary to sing her radical hymn of praise, declaring how God’s liberating love remains steadfast throughout the ages. How might cultivating solidarity with each other help us see the Divine in each other? Join us this Sunday as we examine how from generation to generation we can see how God was and remains at work in our relationships and those of our ancestors. We find God in each other. The way we see the divine in each other impacts how we live and move in the world. When we view every human being as a child of God, we generate a different world. www.TheLoftLA.org
What is the purpose of calling someone out? Do you think calling out is effective at achieving its goals? If you have ever been called out, how did it make you feel? On today's episode we discuss the theological merits of call-in rather than call-out culture. The primary question that guided our conversation today is: how might we practice calling folx in rather than calling them out?
Loretta Ross coined the term call-in culture and you can read more about her amazing work and watch her Ted talk using the links provided below.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/style/loretta-ross-smith-college-cancel-culture.html https://www.ted.com/talks/loretta_j_ross_don_t_call_people_out_call_them_in
As far as Joseph knows, his new wife has been unfaithful to him and broken their marriage contract. And yet, instead of punishment, he chooses not to publicly disgrace or humiliate her. This interruption in his life becomes a holy invitation when the angel comes to him in a dream and says, “Do not be afraid.” When he awakes, Joseph once again has the courage to choose a better way. He chooses to stay with Mary, to become an adoptive parent. He chooses peace over violence, grace over condemnation. Like Mary, he chooses to say “yes.” When have our ancestors also chosen a better way, and when have they not? What might we learn from the angle about the power of inviting people to become their best selves? www.TheLoftLA.org
"Do not be afraid" is one of the most common statements in the bible. "Do not be afraid" appears 365 times - one for each day of the year. And yet, fear is a natural and normal human response. There are lots of reasons to be afraid, and when we consider the story of Gabriel's visit to Mary to inform her that she had been chosen to give birth to Jesus, fear seems like a reasonable response. However, what we learned through our conversation with Frank Rogers on Sunday is that one way to read this passage is to recognize that the angel isn't telling her to avoid her fear. Rather he is inviting her to not succumb to it, not to become enmeshed with her fear, and to invite the Sacred inside of her so that she can work through her fears. We tried to work through this amazing interpretation in today's conversation.
Books that we mentioned: Practicing Compassion by Frank Rogers Compassion in Practice: The Way of Jesus by Frank Rogers From Mindfulness to Heartfulness: A Journey of Transformation Through the Science of Embodiment by Alane Daugherty www.TheLoftLA.org
“When the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, she is perplexed and confused—and no doubt, afraid. And yet, the angel’s news is: “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid. We hear this refrain all throughout the Christmas story and remember it is the most common phrase in all the bible. From generation to generation, God shows up in the midst of our fear and uncertainty and confusion. From generation to generation, faithful people have said, “yes,” despite apprehension. From generation to generation, our ancestors in faith have accepted the invitation. I’m delighted to be joined in the center by one of my mentors, Dr. Frank Rogers, as we explore the power fear can have over us and the ways in which we can tend to those fears in order to discern how God may be speaking to us. Dr. Rogers is the Muriel Bernice Roberts Professor of Spiritual Formation and Narrative Pedagogy and the co-director of the Center for Engaged Compassion at the Claremont School of Theology. He specializes in contemplative practices and was one of the co-creators of the Compassion Practice that I have spoken about during my time at The Loft. www.TheLoftLA.org
Storytelling is embedded in the Christian tradition. We use stories to help us make meaning out of our lives and the world around us. So what stories has the Church told itself that might help us understand the evil actions and loss of life that we witnessed in the Club Q shooting in Colorado? We spend the last half of our conversation thinking through this very difficult question as we process the murders that took place at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. To be sure, some - ideally many - of the stories we tell about ourselves have had a positive impact on our lives and the life of the church. We begin our conversation exploring the role stories have played in shaping our self-understanding. The holidays are a reminder of how interconnected we are with our families, friends, and communities. Our interconnectedness is especially evident during the Christmas season as our re-telling of the Christmas story - Jesus' connection to his Isralite ancestors, Mary's visit by an angel, Joseph's dreams, and Jesus's birth help us remember how God has shown up in the past, to continue the work of collective liberation, to behold the presence of God in flesh and bone.
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This week is the first Sunday of Advent, the period in the Christian calendar when we prepare for and celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ. We are beginning a new series titled From Generation to Generation, which I am really excited about because my friend and fellow Claremont School of Theology alumnus Rev. Dr. Christine Hong helped create it.
The stories, scriptures, and traditions of the Christmas season have been passed down to us throughout the generations. Many of us enter this season with a swell of memories and emotions as vast as the cultural and religious rituals this holiday holds. Like a tapestry woven throughout time, the Christmas story weaves us in—to remember how God has shown up in the past, to continue the work of collective liberation, to behold the presence of God in flesh and bone. This series aims to remind us of the ways our lives, histories, actions, and stories are interconnected and woven together. The work of God is always unfolding—in and through us. This Advent, we want to remember our collective belongingness, how we belong to a story etched into the wrinkles of time, to generations that have come before and will come after, and to a love that won’t let you go.
Our series begins with Matthew’s genealogy. In that long list of names, we remember the trauma and triumph of those who came before; each name holds a story and their story gives way to Christ’s story. God works through the unexpected people and stories of the past and present. The Isaiah passage illustrates a convergence of opposing groups and identities coming together. Instead of the way of the past—of war—they learn a new way by transforming their weapons into gardening tools. What are the old paths that we’ve followed, and where must we diverge into a new way?
How should our Christian faith and spirituality influence our economic practices? This question has guided our conversations the past few weeks, and in today's final episode of our series Live Generously, we explore the role of consumerism in American culture. American culture is, in many ways, a consumer culture. But what does it mean to be a consumer, and is being a consumer necessarily a bad thing? We begin our conversation by noting the ways consumerism has affinities similar to a spiritual discipline, which is precisely why so many of us are drawn to behave as consumers without even knowing it. We wrap up our discussion by unpacking the oft-quoted but kind of strange saying in Luke 12:21 that Christians are to be "rich towards God" - what does that even mean? We did mention the Free2Work website and app in our discussion. Check them out if you want to be a more conscious consumer.
American culture is, in many ways, a consumer culture. But what does it mean to be a consumer, and is being a consumer necessarily a bad thing? To be sure, consumerism is often equated with greed and the hoarding of resources. However, the biblical text paints a more complex picture about consumerism and materialism. Jesus suggests that our detachment from the stories of all those involved in creating the products we consider “our own” is at the heart of consumer culture. Importantly, the religion of Jesus offers another way through the cultivation of authentic and deep relationships. This teaching is best exemplified in the Eucharist where we learn how detachment from material things ought to lead to greater attachment to God, other human beings, and nonhuman nature.
www.TheLoftLA.org
We pick up today's conversation where we left off last week - we're still talking about money, desire, and American capitalism. The very basis of our free market economic system, trade - giving up something to get something else - assumes scarcity. But the Eucharist tells another story about hunger and consumption, it is the story about one who came that we might have life and have it abundantly.
So how do we develop economic habits that promote a spirituality of abundance? In our wide ranging conversation we toss around a few ideas. All of our suggestions point back to the stories in the bible which show us that developing relationships with our neighbors seems to be the best way to create the communities that we all claim we want. The books we mentioned in today's episode are: Dr. William Cavanaugh's Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together The Eucharist is a model, an invitation to live generously. Many of us learned what it means to live generously by observing the lives of our elders, those living and those whose spirits still live within us. Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on stewardship and we will also remember those Saints who are no longer with us, but whose abundant love still resides within us.
How should our Christian faith and spirituality influence our economic practices? Unfortunately, most of the time when church leaders speak about money it is in the form of a request. Consequently, Christians are left to their own devices to discern how we navigate the capitalist system we were born into. In today's conversation, we do the thing your parents told you never to do with company, talk about money and politics!
Throughout the biblical text, we find stories demonstrating the important connection between our faith and our relationship with money. As people who live in America, we benefit from what economists call “the free market,” and during the first portion of our conversation, we discuss whether or not it is possible (or worth it) to follow Jesus' teaching that we can't serve God and wealth. We end our conversation by exploring how Christians can engage in our economic system in ways that are consistent with our goal to love and to build a society built on the principle of human dignity.
Throughout our current sermon series, Live Generously, we will be in conversation with Dr. William Cavanaugh's book Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire.
www.TheLoftLA.org
How should our Christian faith and spirituality influence our economic practices? Throughout the biblical text, we find stories that demonstrate the important connection between our faith and our relationship with money. The teachings and practices of Jesus and his followers suggest that Christians are to live generously. We find joy, connection, and liberation from the lure of greed and selfishness in both the giving and receiving of gifts from others. This year our stewardship campaign will explore what it means for theologically progressive Christians to live generously. Over the next four weeks we will be exploring “free” markets, consumerism, globalization, and scarcity – issues relevant to our current economic realities.
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As people who live in America, we benefit from what economists call “the free market.” On the one hand, government interference with the cost and consumption of goods is restrained; on the other, there is a sense of resignation to “market forces” when prices skyrocket during a global pandemic. Given this, as people of faith who find freedom in salvation through Christ Jesus, we must ask ourselves when is a market free and what makes a market free? How might we foster economic practices in alignment with God’s love, practices that encourage us to live generously? Join us on Sunday as Jeff Arnold joins Rev. Dr. Carter in the center to discuss the complexities of the free market and Christian practice.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Conversation is at the center of our gatherings in The Loft; it's the way we do worship. In today's conversation we discuss why conversations about theology, spirituality, and religion are key to the spiritual formation process at the Loft. One reason why conversation is central to our identity is that we see this method modeled throughout the biblical text. Stories such as the woman at the well (John 4) illustrate the importance of conversation in Jesus' ministry and the importance of having a conversation about the passage to deepen what we might learn from this story.
www.TheLoftLAo.org
Conversation is at the center of our gatherings in The Loft; it’s the way we do worship. On this final Sunday of our Loft 101 series, we turn to a well-known story from John’s gospel, where Jesus shares conversation with a Samaritan woman, near Jacob’s well. There, deeply embedded in scripture, Jesus gives us a model for how conversation can be at the center of things. We will, of course, have to do some excavating to get through layers of assumptions, to make sure we’re working toward conversation that also embodies our other values: compassion, decolonization, and belonging. There is, at the center of it all, an invitation to liberation.
www.TheLoftLA.org
What is the difference between feeling welcomed within and belonging to a community? All of us have a core group of people that we feel close to, but what makes that group distinct from others? In today's conversation, we try to tease out the subtle and overt differences between welcoming and belonging to a community, spefically discussing the ways LGBTQ folx are often "welcomed" in spaces but are not made to feel as though they belong. We also discuss the lengths that some of us go to in order to fit into our communities. Dr. Carter described "theological passing" as suppressing our authentic selves and beliefs in order to be accepted by people who you fear would otherwise reject you. We want to give a special thanks to our friend Lauren McBrayer for raising the question about welcome and belonging a few weeks ago during one of our Loft gatherings. Please check out her new book Like a House on Fire, which is amazing!
www.TheLoftLA.org
All of us have a core group of people whom we feel a particular kinship with. Jesus was no exception. Whether it was the twelve disciples, Mary, Martha, or others, Jesus had a community that he belonged to, a community where he could just be himself. In a world that prioritizes individualism, as followers of the religion of Jesus we are called to seek out and cultivate communities to which we can belong. Whether it is the pandemic, racial terrorism, or the fight for bodily autonomy, we must work towards the creation of beloved communities for our survival. At Westwood UMC, we have sought to do this in multiple ways, including developing separate worship services with the goal of expanding the community that we all belong to. Join us this Sunday in The Loft for a joint worship service with the Sanctuary as Pastor Molly and Rev. Dr. Carter explore what it means for Westwood UMC to create a culture of belonging.
www.TheLoftLA.org
There is a lot of conversation happening on social media about theological deconstruction these days. People making arguments for it, and others pushing back against it. At its core, theological deconstruction is a movement to question some of the traditional teachings and theological arguments made by conservative and moderate Christianity. And while deconstruction is good, does it go far enough? For this podcast we were joined by Rev. Dr. Yuki Schwartz, Assistant Professor at Claremont School of Theology, to discuss the differences between deconstruction and decolonial thinking, and how decolonizing Christianity can help us build institutions of love and justice.
Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Carter mention several books during this episode, but the ones they wanted to be sure to highlight were:
• The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon
• Black Skin White Masks by Franz Fanon
• Borderlands / La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa
Jesus was a Jew who was born and died in subjugation to Roman Empire. His body was and remains marked by gender, culture, and religion. Given this, we need to ask ourselves how might have Jesus’ cultural context as a colonial subject shaped his religious and social practices. What we see in his ministry is that he sought to resist the lure of both colonial and religious power. In today’s parlance, we can say that in some ways Jesus utilized the tools of decolonization in his ministry. Given the legacy of European colonization, American imperialism, and Christianity’s role in supporting both, decolonial thinking is a key value that informs the kind of community we seek to create at The Loft. This Sunday, we will be joined by Rev. Dr. Yuki Schwartz, assistant professor of constructive and political theologies at Claremont School of Theology, to explore the role and import of decolonial thinking at The Loft and the future of the Church.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Let's be honest, sometimes it isn't easy to be compassionate. At our best, we are constantly striving to follow the spiritual path of radical compassion that is the religion of Jesus. But in today's polarized society, it is difficult to be at our best when it feels like our very humanity is at stake. In today's conversation, we discuss some of the challenges of being compassionate towards "difficult others." We also discuss how within the bible, works of compassion can be seen as transactional, suggesting that we should do good works to receive the Divine's blessing. How should we read these passages today given the realities of capitalist exploitation and individualism?
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One morning as he and his disciples were walking, Jesus asked his closest friends a piercing question – “who do you say that I am?” As followers of the religion of Jesus, our answer to this question is foundational to how we practice Christianity. At the Loft, there are four fundamental values that we draw from the teachings of Jesus that inform how we practice Christianity: Compassion, Decolonization, Belonging, and Conversation. These four values help us articulate who Jesus is and how we find salvation in following his teachings. We will be discussing these values over the next four weeks during our sermon series, The Loft 101, and we will explore how these values inform who we are and who we aim to be as a faith community.
This Sunday, we will be exploring how compassion informs our being and doing. In his book, Compassion in Practice: The Way of Jesus, Frank Rogers describes the religious practices of Jesus as a “spiritual path of radical compassion.” Compassion was fundamental to Jesus’ ministry and his understanding of the human person. Drawing our inspiration from Jesus’ ministry, compassion is the foundation upon which we build The Loft community. Join us this Sunday as we discover why compassion is fundamental to our spiritual practices and essential for the survival of our species.
www.TheLoftLA.org
In a political moment of intense polarization, and in a faith tradition where “hold on to your faith” is often read as an invitation to do battle against other perspectives, how do we carve out some generous space for re-thinking things? Somewhere, buried under the baggage of harmful legacies that seek to “defend our faith” and perpetuate oppressive systems, our church tradition also offers tools for changing our minds. Not in spite of our faith, but because of it.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Gun culture is an American tradition with deep roots. It seems that every few years, after the tragic loss of life on a mass scale, we debate, yet again, about access to guns. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have already been 450 mass shootings this year alone. To be sure, the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde which targeted Black people and children, should prompt all people, regardless of their religious or political affiliation, to push for policies that reduce and eliminate gun violence. This Sunday we will explore the human side of gun violence, from school children to soldiers, and wrestle with the challenges that nonviolence presents us with as followers of the religion of Jesus.
www.TheLoftLA.org
In this series, we have explored loves meaning by giving love words. We settled on a definition of love as the will to extend yourself, to nurture your own or another’s spiritual growth. We explored the ethical implications of living by a love ethic, and the ways in which our social identities cause us to think about love in a multitude of ways. Throughout this series, we have sought to shape our community into a school of love, a place where all people can feel as though they belong. This is a love that leads to justice, solidarity, and freedom. The Singers of Soul gospel choir will be joining us this Sunday as we celebrate the freedom we find in love. This Sunday will be unlike anything you have ever experienced before in church! Ten songs intermingled with spoken word, prayer, and holy communion. We invite you to join us as we collectively make a joyful noise unto the Lord!
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In her book All About Love, bell hooks writes that whether our homes are happy or troubled, our families functional or dysfunctional our homes are our original school of love. We would like to believe that most children are born into homes where they will be loved. However, as we have discovered in our series, many adults are still learning how to love and how to distinguish between love and care. Given this, how might we reimagine our homes and church community as a school of love? What would it look like to teach young people how to cultivate the will and the courage to love, how to extend themselves, to nurture their own or another’s spiritual growth? To be sure, this is not just a conversation for parents! We all have relationships with young people, even if tangential, and thus we are all in some way responsible for nurturing the next generation of human beings whom we hope will strive to be loving people. Rev. Dr. Carter will be in conversation with Owen Shiflett and Kristi Salmeron-Meneses as they discuss and explore how they are trying to approach teaching young people how to love.
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Every person experiences love in ways unique to them. Yet, as we have learned, our experiences of love as children and young adults inform how we think about love as adults. This Sunday we continue to broaden the scope of our exploration of love to focus specifically on the Queer community. Given the pervasive reality of sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, and transphobia, what are the visions of love that queer folks have constructed that have enabled them to flourish in the midst of marginalization? Rev. Dr. Carter will be in conversation with Westley Garcia, Celeste Frey, and Lauren McBrayer as they examine how and in what ways our notions of gender, sex, and sexuality inform how we perceive love.
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Among men in our contemporary society, our longing for love is often implicitly stated. So, when love is discussed the discussions are usually driven by women. To be sure, for most men, their longing for love is rarely, if ever, discussed. If love is the will to extend yourself, to nurture your own or another’s spiritual growth, we must ask ourselves why is it that most men seem to lack the will to love? How and in what ways has our religious tradition enabled a masculine vision of love that is rooted in the preservation of patriarchy to exist? To know love, men must be able to let go of the will to dominate. They must be able to choose life over death. They must be willing to change. To be sure, our sacred text offers visions of love that disrupt and dismantle patriarchy. How might we fashion communities that encourage and support men in their quest to feel, to love?
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In our society, the majority of discussions about love are driven by women. Women are encouraged to learn how to love, seek love – and in turn confront their fears of not being loving or of not being loved enough. As bell hooks writes in her book Communion, “that females are born into a patriarchal world, which first invites us to make the journey to love and then places barriers in our way, is one of life’s ongoing tragedies.” Rev. Dr. Carter will be joined by Pastor Molly and Kathleen Rogers as they examine and unpack the cultural narratives around women and love. Join us as we explore how the religion of Jesus can help all of us, but especially women, come to the place where we can find communion, know joy, and join the circle of love.
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Every person experiences love in ways unique to them. Yet, as we have learned throughout this series, our experiences of love as a child inform how we think about love as adults. This Sunday, we broaden the scope of our exploration of love to include our respective communities. Given the pervasive reality of white supremacy, what are the visions of love that people of color have constructed that have enabled them to “make a way out of now way?” Rev. Dr. Carter will be joined in conversation with our Lay Leaders Shiran Witt and Alex Smith as they examine how and in what ways our racial, ethnic, and cultural communities taught us what love is and what love isn’t. Join us as we explore how the religion of Jesus has and can continue to help marginalized communities tend the wounds of dehumanization with love and compassion.
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When I think about what our culture teaches us about love, I don’t immediately think about it being something that’s in opposition to greed. Yet, the deeper we go into our exploration of love, using wisdom from bell hooks’ All About Love and our study of scripture, the more the two come into sharp contrast. By looking at love in contrast to greed, we see clearly ways that the kind of love we’re called to practice as followers of Jesus is an antidote to rugged individualism or selfish possessiveness of what we might call “greed.”
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Let’s be honest, some people are difficult to love, especially if they have harmed us or our community. Not loving these people feels like the right thing to do, even if we intellectually know that it isn’t. If love is the will to extend yourself, to nurture your own or another’s spiritual growth, how might we bring our internal world into alignment with our moral commitment to love our neighbors – all of our neighbors? The religion of Jesus shows us that it is possible to extend compassion and the hand of reconciliation to anyone, even those whom we think of as enemies.
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Love is essential to human flourishing, it is a powerful remedy for our soul. And yet, despite our awareness of the power of love, we live in a society where the consequences of lovelessness are evident to anyone who cares to look. The spiritual path of Jesus shows us that it is possible to live a life grounded in the power of love. Given that the greatest commandment exhorts us to love God, neighbor, and self, how might understanding sin as a failure to love help us foster more loving communities? How might a more well developed theology of sin help us develop habits that will strengthen our will to love?
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In our previous sermon, we defined love as the will to extend yourself for the purpose of nurturing your own or another’s spiritual growth. Love is an act of the will – which begs the question, why do some people choose to love while others do not? Why do you choose love? While there are laws and commands in the bible that tell us to love God, what we see in practice in the bible are people who love chose to love in response to the ways in which they have experienced the love of God. Join us this Sunday as we explore how our experiences of receiving the gift of God’s love inform how we go about loving ourselves and our neighbors.
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Everyone wants to know more about love. We want to know what it means to love, and what we can do in our everyday lives to love and be loved. Yet, outside of the realm of popular culture, there are few public discussions of what love is. There seems to be an assumption that human beings should instinctively know how to love. But do we? Is love innate or is it something that we grow to learn? This series is an opportunity for us to explore the gift of love and the ways in which our lives are impacted by love and lovelessness.
We begin this series by asking how might we give love words – how might we define love? To be sure, love is notoriously difficult to define because it is as much a feeling as it is an action. We all have “common sense” definitions of what constitutes love, usually a combination of what we learned as a child and what we have experienced as adults. What feelings arise for you when you think about your definition of love? And how might your definition of love inform the power, or lack thereof, that you ascribe to the spiritual gift that is love? Join us this Sunday as we attempt to give love words so that we might know what it means to live lives that are all about love.
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The overturning of Roe v. Wade will have devastating consequences for millions of people in America. The loss of constitutionally protected bodily autonomy will have lasting implications for marginalized persons – women, people of color, the disabled, and queer persons. You may be wondering “what does this have to do with Christianity or Christian theology?” The approach the conservative justices used to interpret the constitution and make their arguments has its roots in the fundamentalist interpretation of the bible. How and why did the traditionalist approach (a relatively new approach) to reading the bible emerge and how are we to push back against it? Join us this Sunday as we explore how queer theology can help us learn how to read the bible in ways that draw us closer to the God revealed through the biblical witness.
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That human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (imago Dei) has been a fundamental theological pillar in the history of Christianity. However, who images God and to what degree do they reflect God’s image has been a consistent point of contention. This Sunday millions of folk will celebrate Juneteenth as a way to commemorate the struggle and remember the joy of Black people as they fought for their humanity. Similarly, queer persons are now facing the same scrutiny over their humanity that black, female, disableed, and other nonwhite bodies have (and still are) facing. What might the bodies of Black LGBTQ women tell us about being made in God’s likeness and image? How might their experiences help us make sense of the ethical requirements of imaging God?
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Christian apologetics is an ancient form of Christian speech that developed as a way to respond to “pagan” Romans who were skeptical of certain Christian beliefs. Similarly, apologetic strategies in queer theology start from theological disagreements about sex and sexuality and move towards places of theological agreement, such as all humans are created in God’s image. While this strategy has proven useful in theological debates it does point us to a more interesting question - as it relates to our sexuality, should sexual ethics be fundamental to Christian practice? Join us as we explore how queer theology can help us move beyond bodily apologetics.
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June is Pride month and our sermon series, Queer Theology, will center the thought and work of LGBTQ+ theologians, activists, and scholars. As Pastor Molly notes, we are “a congregation that sees the image of God in all people, including people of every gender identity or sexual orientation, and we are committed to celebrating the gifts of our LGBTQ+ members and neighbors.
Yet, some of you may be wondering what exactly is queer theology? What does queer have to do with Christianity? To be sure, much of what gets called queer theology is theological discourse “about” queer people, writings that aim to demonstrate that there are ways to include LGBTQ persons into Christianity. However, this series is an invitation for us to challenge this traditional definition of queer theology. Rather than apologizing for the inclusion of queer people in the church, queer theology should push us to focus our energies on building liberatory theologies where all people can find themselves in the Church – where no apologies are necessary.
This Sunday we will explore how queer theology can help us expand our understanding of the role solidarity should play in our celebration of Holy Communion. We invite you to join us as we explore what the Eucharist can look like when we include the stories of queer folx who have always been here.
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“Where Do We Go From Here, UMC?” is a weekly podcast featuring conversations between Rev. Molly Vetter and denominational leaders about the challenges ahead as we live toward a United Methodist Church that is fully inclusive of our LGBTQ+ siblings.
Despite the anti-gay policies that remain in our UMC Discipline, more and more of us continue to move forward with the work of full inclusion. Still, institutional barriers to change and the formation of a splintering denomination provide real challenge. So, as people committed to our grace-filled way of living the gospel, where do we go from here?
This podcast is produced by Westwood United Methodist Church, with partner support from other groups who are working for a more just and inclusive United Methodist Church. EPISODE 002: Pastor Molly checks in with Randall Miller, one of the most United Methodist people she knows. As a lay person, he has served as a delegate to every GC since 1988, as a Director the Board of UMCOR and the General Board of Church and Society, and as an alternate member of the Judicial Council. He has been an active leader in the Reconciling Ministries Network, and serves on their Board RMN, and was a member of the Mediation Team that crafted the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. He lives in San Francisco with his husband, Glenn.
SUBSCRIBE: Don't miss a single episode by subscribing via your favorite podcast app for free.
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Joy doesn’t wait for our struggles to be over. This Sunday, we dig into our Advent scriptures, drawing out Mary’s song: Mary “rejoices” in this iconic scripture passage during her pregnancy, a state of affairs that would have put her in a position of dishonor among her people. Instead, she sings out powerfully because she knows that this turn of events will usher in the Presence of justice for the oppressed and freedom for the captive. As we join in a prophetic chorus of joy together, we are more deeply bonded as a whole, multiplying and magnifying the exuberance to all.
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Howard Thurman penned an essay titled “Joy is of Many Kinds” where he discusses the various ways in which we experience joy. After reading his essay, I wonder how he would have categorized the type of “joy” we see on Instagram? To be sure, there is a kind of faux, toxic, type of joy that can be found within our nicely curated Instagram accounts. However, the joy that we see embodied in Jesus, Tutu, and the Dalai Lama reveals to us that a sustainable joy asks us to accept and be compassionate towards ourselves and others lest we become ensnared by the subtleties of pride.
With all that is going on in our country and in the world, it is understandable if we feel like there is little to be joyful about. In these moments I find it helpful to remember the struggles and suffering of other people who made a way out of no way AND cultivated joy in the midst of their struggles. Leaning into their full humanity and expressing the joy they had for their lives became one way they could resist the dehumanizing evils forced upon them. I invite you to join us this Sunday as we explore how joy can be a means of resistance.
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How do you define joy? In a country designed to offer instant gratification to those who can afford it, joy could be understood as something that we all can acquire if we work hard enough. However, once our basic needs of food, shelter, security, and sense of purpose are met, does the acquisition of more “things” truly bring us joy? Rather than “joy” being yet another word for “happiness,” the spiritual path of Jesus, and the teachings of prophetic leaders such as Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama reveal to us that true joy is a spiritual practice that helps us see joy in all the complexities of life.
This Sunday we will explore what joy is. Can joy be sustained or is it just momentary feelings? While joy is a feeling, the Christian tradition teaches us that it is also influenced by the way we choose to view the world. How might being open to the perspectives of others offer insight into what it means to be joyful? Join us as we explore how the story of the Good Samaritan teaches us that changing the way we see the world can help shift the way we feel, think, and act, which in turn changes the world itself.
This series is inspired by the writing of Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, particularly The Book of Joy.
Rev. Molly Vetter with Rev. Kevin Kim Wright
On this Sunday after Easter, we will spend some time with St. Thomas the Apostle, patron saint of all of us who have our doubts and ask good questions. What if his doubts were faithful curiosity, a posture and practice that are companions to a belief that is in search of deeper understanding?
Especially on Earth Day, Thomas’s hunger for evidence is a helpful piece of our story–and an invitation to be people who integrate new information into our understanding of the world. A curious posture may be necessary, for example, if we are going to be able to participate in helpful action against the climate crisis.
Join us as we worship, honoring the gift of curiosity and the Christ-like grace that is open to examination.
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In Modern culture we are taught that for something to be “real” it must be something that we can see, touch, taste, hear, or smell. Anything that is beyond the level of our physical senses cannot be scientifically validated and must be approached with caution. There is wisdom in this caution. And yet we know there is more to life than what we can physically sense.
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We often have a “cast of characters” living inside our heads that love to carry on endless conversations — each from their own perspective. The chatter of our minds can sometimes keep us from a deeper listening and it is often difficult to decipher exactly what constitutes a mystical connection to God. How might we ground ourselves, tune out our distractions, and listen for the prompting of the Spirit? This Sunday, we will be joined by Dr. Seth Schoen whose research centers on Spiritual Formation, Contemplation, and the cultivation of Compassion. Dr. Schoen will share a bit about his own prayer journey and how discovering ancient Christian practices helped him reconnect to the Sacred, to himself, and to his community.
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Our sacred texts connect the breath of God with our own aliveness—God blew breath into us at creation and we continue to breathe all of creation in and out of our bodies constantly. The early church also believed that breath and Spirit were one and the same. How might the meditative practice of paying attention to our breath be, in and of itself, a prayer of connection to God? Message by Pastor Molly Vetter.
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The Wisdom tradition within Christianity invites us to love knowledge, especially the self-knowledge that comes from examining ourselves in relationship to the liberating Word of God. But all too often we can conflate knowledge of a text with the wisdom that the writers of scripture intended to convey. How might prayer and meditation help us unearth the wisdom within our sacred texts? What will we hear when we let go of what it all is “supposed to” mean and simply let it reside within us? This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter will be joined by Rabbi Joel Nickerson and we will discuss the meaning and significance of prayer within Judaism and how prayer can help us engage our sacred texts anew.
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This Sunday, we finish our sermon series “Love Never Ends” by discussing how love is not only a spiritual gift but also the greatest gift that we can give to ourselves, others, and to God.
Love is notoriously difficult to define because it is as much a feeling as it is an action. We all have “common sense” definitions of what constitutes love. However, it is not until we sit down and discuss what we mean when we say we love someone or something that we realize these distinctions. How should we define love? What makes love a spiritual gift? How might we love in ways that honor the diversity of peoples we encounter?
Join us this Sunday as we describe what love is and explore how we might embody such love in our day-to-day life.
We welcome Mandy McDow back to the Loft this Sunday; Senior Pastor at Los Angeles First UMC (a church without a building), Mandy brings fresh depth and insight to the prophetic proclamation Christ speaks, as he takes up the ancient scroll that declares a mission to “let the oppressed go free.” In her words and in conversation with Pastor Molly, Mandy will invite us into conversation about what this might look like today (even though most of us are totally exhausted). This Sunday in The Loft, we will be baptizing Dante, son of Mary and David Marroquin. We encourage you to hold him and his family in prayer as this sacrament marks his belonging in the Church.
We encourage you to join Pastor Molly and Ryan Parker in conversation this Sunday, as we attempt to make sense of what all it means for us that we are given varieties of gifts. We’re excited to let this idea push back against ideas we’ve been taught by a church and culture more interested in conformity.
What does it mean to claim an identity as God's beloved children? And how does it change us to believe that God finds pleasure in us? Join the conversation and spiritual practices as we contemplate this good news.
One of the words New Testament writers use to describe Christ’s gift to the world translates pretty literally as “mystery.” I treasure how this description honors that there’s something transcendent, and not fully understood, about how divine love works. Even as we celebrate Epiphany this Sunday, we honor that there’s more to see, learn, and understand about God.
This Sunday we finish our sermon series “Housing the Holy.” This series used the “Innkeeper” from the Bethlehem narrative as its starting point and asked us how we could make the most of our resources, personal and congregational, to best “house the holy” among us?
Celebrating the birth of new life is a beautiful, joyous occasion. I can only imagine the overwhelming emotions that Mary, Joseph, and those who came to visit the Christ-child would have felt. What emotions do you feel as you remember the Christmas story? What memories return to you as you reflect upon past Christmases? What floods your imagination as you contemplate what future Christmas celebrations may bring? Rather than checking “Christmas party” off of our proverbial to-do list, the invitation for us this year is to dwell in the Spirit of Christmas.
Developed in the 14th century, the word “dwell” became known as a “lingering” or “abiding.” It had connections to “in-habit”–another word developed at that time. After an Advent season of focusing on housing the holy, how will we linger and abide in this habit of hospitality? What habits did you invite into your heart in this season that you desire to take with you into the new year? How might we sustain the dwelling places that feed, house, clothe those who need it most?
Join us this Sunday as we lean into some ancient wisdom regarding how we are called to live and how dwelling in the Spirit of Christmas can help us discern how each of us can do our part to house the holy.
This Sunday, Pastor Molly will join me in the center as we continue our advent worship series “Housing the Holy,” and we will also be joined by the Singers of Soul Gospel Choir!
Our sermon series takes the “Innkeeper” from the Bethlehem narrative as its starting point and asks us how we could make the most of our resources, personal and congregational, to best “house the holy” among us? I can only imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt, arriving in Bethlehem only to find that their room was no longer available. Then again, I wonder if they had already gotten used to responding, rather than reacting, to unexpected circumstances.
I wonder how Mary, whose womb was literally housing the Holy, felt in the moments after learning that they were going to have to find another place to stay – another place for her to give birth? The biblical account leaves this question unanswered, however the bible does tell us that Mary had just spent three months with her kinfolk Elizabeth. What did they discuss and how might it have shaped the ministry that both of them and their children would take up? Did they leave each other feeling confident that they were more than capable of birthing something life-changing into the world?
As we consider the ways that we might also “house the holy,” we must ask ourselves do we believe that we are capable of birthing something life-changing for the people in our community? As the Body of Christ, could we live with more expectation of what is possible? Could we look more closely at what is right in front of us?
Join us this Sunday as we learn from the wisdom of Elizabeth and Mary how leaning into the love that we have for each other might reveal potential that we never knew we possessed.
This Sunday we continue our advent worship series “Housing the Holy” which will culminate the Sunday after Christmas. This series takes the “Innkeeper” from the Bethlehem narrative as its starting point and asks us how we could make the most of our resources, personal and congregational, to best “house the holy” among us?
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Many imaginative tales have been spun about “The Inn” and the people who may have been involved in the story. As we’ve already said, we know very little about the circumstances from the Bible. Another theory is that it wasn’t an Inn at all, consistent with ancient near-east dwellings of the time some scholars argue that it was more likely the downstairs of a house where the family animals were kept, under the top floor where the family lived. This scenario suggests that each and every home can be a birthing place for more goodness in this world. It suggests that this House of God, our church, might contain a surprising nook or cranny that could house a holy endeavor for bringing more joy to someone’s life.
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Join us this Sunday as we learn from the words of John the Baptist how we might live lives full of joy and help bring joy into the lives of others.
This Sunday, we continue our advent worship series “Housing the Holy” which will culminate the Sunday after Christmas. As I noted last week, this series takes the “Innkeeper” from the Bethlehem narrative as its starting point and asks us how we could make the most of our resources, personal and congregational, to best house the holy?
Some scholars have wondered if “The Inn” and its “Keeper” were part of Joseph’s family–after all, he went back to his hometown for the census. Or perhaps Joseph’s own family did not or could not make room for them and they had to look elsewhere for a place to lay their head. As many of us know, family can be complicated. We’ll never know the real circumstances of Joseph’s family relations but the story can help us gain deeper compassion for what we DO know–too many people experience rejection, even from family. What if we endeavored to BE family to those who need it most, to “house the Holy” in ways we have not yet imagined?
Join us this Sunday as we explore how the sacrament of the eucharist (i.e. communion) invites us to expand our understanding of family, to create space to allow for healing, and to embody a peace on earth as it is in heaven.
This Sunday, we begin our advent worship series “Housing the Holy” which will culminate the Sunday after Christmas. Interestingly, rather than Jesus, Mary, or Joseph, this series takes the “Innkeeper” from the Bethlehem narrative as its starting point. You see, the Innkeeper was confronted with a huge problem and they had to figure out something, anything, to help this family. So they used the resources they had for good, and in the birth of Jesus we witness the inbreaking of the Divine into our world. How might we make the most of our resources or the resources at Westwood? How can we best house the holy?
One thing is for certain, more often than not we have to make space when we invite anyone into our homes. For our sermon this Sunday we are going to explore the spiritual practice of fasting and what we might learn from this practice to make room for the holy. To be sure, we usually associate fasting with Lent, but the Eastern Church observes a “Nativity Fast” in preparation for the birth of Christ, understanding fasting as a way to “make more room” for the Holy and shift our focus to care of the neighbor. In a time when so many are suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic, we are invited this year to create room for more hope in the world as we learn to reallocate and multiply resources in ways that are just and right.
This week, we will be finishing our series “Saints Who Were Sinners” with an exploration into the work of Fannie Lou Hamer through the lens of the story of Jesus feeding the (more than) 5000. Hamer is mostly known as someone who caused “good trouble” through her political activism during the civil rights movement.
However, Hamer also grew up on a farm and she understood the important role access to food plays in providing people with an opportunity to live flourishing lives. She knew how to identify and rehabilitate land that some might believe to be barren or useless. Join us this Sunday as we ask how might we learn to see value, to see the sacred, in what others overlook?
We continue our series, Saints Who Were Sinners, with a focus on Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman. Each of the figures in our series were known for causing "good trouble," yet despite the justice oriented work they did they were often viewed with contempt by many within traditional church communities.
Howard Thurman's Christian faith was formed in the midst of institutionalized white supremacy and segregation. Still, he found in God an expansive affirmation of his humanity, and of the full humanity of all others. His Jesus and the Disinherited laid out a Christian theology that identified Jesus with those who have been oppressed, and laid the foundation for a radical re-interpretation of the gifts and challenges before us as the church. It pointed him to interracial and interreligious work that remains radical. We ask: what can we learn about being the church today?
This week we will be beginning our new series Saints Who Were Sinners. This series will build on the tradition of All Saints' Day and we will be celebrating four saintly figures within the Christian tradition. Each of these figures were known for causing "good trouble," yet despite the justice oriented work they did they were often viewed with contempt by many within traditional church communities.
This Sunday we will be exploring the work and legacy of Dr. Delores Williams, one of the foundational figures in the development of Womanist Theology. Through her rereading of the biblical figure Hagar, Williams shed light on the issues of reproductive justice, suffering, and surrogacy for Black women. How might centering the experience of Black women shift the way we view the story of Hagar, Sara, and Abraham?
This week, we will be concluding our series "Are the Kids Alright?" During this series, we wanted to explore how difficult the past year and a half has been for some of the most vulnerable among us - kids. This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Carter will be speaking with some young people from our church, Lauren Pang and Jude Williams, about the impact the past year and a half has had on them and how they are navigating school, friendships, and life during a pandemic. By now we all know that "the kids are not alright," so this concluding conversation should move us to discern where we have fallen short meeting the needs of the young people in our community, and give us an opportunity to figure out how we might make amends and be the Church we aim to become.
We continue our three-week series, asking: Are the Kids Alright? The past year and a half has been particularly for some of the most vulnerable among us – kids. This Sunday, Pastor Molly will be speaking with Rachel Gipson about mental health, looking at the particular costs of this pandemic to the wellbeing of young people–and what we might do about it. We think talking about mental health matters, and are glad to have a chance to do that together. We hope you’ll join us for the conversation.
This week we will begin our new sermon series Are the Kids Alright? This series will explore how difficult the past year and a half has been for some of the most vulnerable among us – kids. This Sunday Rev. Dr. Carter will be speaking with Regan Williams and Kristi Salmeron Meneses about the impact the past year has had on children and young adults from the margins, particularly those in foster care. Distance learning, recreational activities canceled, masking at school (or not), arguments about critical race theory: our young people are dealing with so much, probably too much. What short term impact might the pandemic have on them? And what might we do to compassionately attend to their needs? Join us as we spend the next few weeks discerning Are the Kids Alright?
We have spent the past several weeks examining the role Church and spirituality can play in our lives. And yet, we know that for many people the idea of “church” still seems irrelevant or outdated. They argue that perhaps the “church” is not the best place or even the best mechanism for accomplishing the work of social transformation. For our series conclusion, Rev. Dr. Carter will explore why Churches remain an important force for social and spiritual transformation because of their capacity to ground us in the Truth of who we and others are, and to move us toward a collective vision of the Beloved Community.
Women have frequently given of themselves in the ongoing work of building and maintaining Christian religious communities. At their best, religious communities have been places of refuge for women seeking community and agency in a patriarchal world – at their worst (or perhaps normal?) religious communities have been spaces that are dependent upon womens work but refuse to see them as human beings who also reflect the image of God. How can The Loft community be a liberating place of refuge for those who identify as women? Join us this Sunday as Lauren McBrayer joins Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter in conversation as we continue our series Why Church? by exploring how the Church has been, and can continue to be, a place of refuge for those in need.
Historically religious communities have been places of refuge for folx who are seeking shelter during times of unjust persecution. Given this, how should we be responding to the ongoing Afghan and Hatian refugee crisis? Join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter continues our series Why Church? by exploring how the Church has been, and can continue to be, a place of refuge for those in need.
On this Homecoming Sunday, Pastor Molly continues our series, asking: Why Church? As we make and re-make community in this long season of pandemic, we dig into a beloved parable of prodigal welcome for insight about what it means to be a church "home."
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter continues our series, as we connect and reconnect for in-person worship this season, asking: Why Church?
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter continues our series, as we connect and reconnect for in-person worship this season, asking: Why Church? One answer: We value The Loft as a place where we can explore new ways of relating to God, the world, and other people.
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As we connect and reconnect for in-person worship this season, we invite you to join us in asking a fundamental question: Why church? This Sunday, Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter begins this new series with an exploration of connection, and why and how it matters.
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On this final Sunday of our series, Pastor Molly and Dr. Carter share in leading a conversation about what compassion practices look like when we practice them together as a Loft community.
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Pastor Molly continues our summer series that explores who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there. This week, we turn toward those who we find difficult to hold compassion towards, as we expand these practices.
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Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter continues our summer series that explores who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there. This week, we go deeper in exploration of practices of compassion for others, drawing wisdom from Matthew's gospel. We will also celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion.
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Dr. Carter leads The Loft gathering again as we continue our summer series, in exploration of who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there. This week, we go deeper in exploration of practices of self-compassion, drawing wisdom from Dr. Howard Thurman.
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Pastor Molly continues our summer series, building on Dr. Carter's teaching of spiritual formation practices that explore who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there. This week, we consider what allows us to offer compassion to ourselves.
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Pastor Molly continues our summer series, building on Dr. Carter's teaching of spiritual formation practices that explore who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there. This week, we consider what allows us to be grounded in our belovedness.
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Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter, our Theologian in Residence, continues our new summer Loft series, as we go deep with spiritual formation practices of contemplation in exploration of who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter, our Theologian in Residence, starts off our new summer Loft series, as we go deep with spiritual formation practices of contemplation in exploration of who we are, who we are called to be, and how we get there.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Pastor Molly Vetter and former Loft Pastor Bo Sanders. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Sabrina Simmons at sabrina@westwoodumc.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Pastor Molly Vetter and Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Sabrina Simmons at sabrina@westwoodumc.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Pastor Molly Vetter and Ryan Dobson. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Sabrina Simmons at sabrina@westwoodumc.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter and Rachel Gipson, MSW. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Julia Black and Pastor Terence Hagans (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a special message by Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Rev. Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Cultivating Community" features a conversation between Rev. Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Rev. Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Rev. Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Rev. Dr. Monica Coleman and Julia Black. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "Trust the Process?" features a conversation between Pastor Terence and Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "A New Way" features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "A New Way" features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "A New Way" features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our series entitled "A New Way" features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
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Listen to the conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our new series entitled "A New Way" features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to conversation from our live, interactive Sunday service on Zoom about "Modern Epiphanies" featuring a Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Listen to conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our Advent “Love Arrives” series features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
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Listen to conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our Advent “Love Arrives” series features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Christian Copyright Solutions
WORSHIPcast License #10767
Listen to conversation from our live, interactive service on Zoom this Sunday. Our Advent “Love Arrives” series features a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. (We invite you to join us live next Sunday at 10am via Zoom. Find the link in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence at terence@theloftla.org.)
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll be continuing our live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also be kicking off our new Advent "Love Arrives" series with a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. The Zoom link is available in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence Hagans at terence@theloftla.org.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday we'll be continuing our live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also be kicking off our new Advent "Love Arrives" series with a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. The Zoom link is available in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence Hagans at terence@theloftla.org.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday we'll be continuing our live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also wrap up our "Reimagining the Holidays" miniseries with a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. The Zoom link is available in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence Hagans at terence@theloftla.org.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll be continuing our live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also kick off our new series "Reimagining the Holidays" with a conversation between Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence. The Zoom link is available in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence Hagans at terence@theloftla.org.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday at 10am, we'll be continuing our new, live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also move ahead in our Spirit+Care series with a conversation between Pastor Molly Vetter and Pastor Terence Hagans. The Zoom link is available in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence Hagans at terence@theloftla.org.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday at 10am, we'll be continuing our new, live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also move ahead in our Spirit+Care series with a conversation between Becca Braren and Pastor Terence Hagans. The Zoom link is available in your weekly e-news or by contacting Pastor Terence Hagans at terence@theloftla.org.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll be continuing with our new, live, interactive service format on Zoom. We'll also move ahead in our Spirit+Care series, with Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence inviting us into conversation on the ancient monastic concept of _acedia_ and how it might offer us some helpful ways of being and responding in the midst of everything happening in our world right now.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Starting this Sunday, The Loft will be kicking off a new live, interactive service format on Zoom that will replace our current, pre-recorded Facebook streaming services. Come join us for new music, an engaging dialogue with Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence, and live breakout conversations with fellow members of The Loft community. Click the Zoom link above to join the gathering!
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll be concluding our Dismantling White Supremacy series by engaging scripture and conversations on "Blending In or Speaking Out: Assimilation, Passing, and White Silence" with Matthew Lum, Mari Baldwin, Kathleen Rodgers, and Pastor Terence Hagans.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll be continuing our Dismantling White Supremacy through conversations on the relationships between scripture, faith, and White Allyship with Bryan Montano-Maceda, Kelly Thomassen, Elijah Reynolds, and Pastor Terence Hagans.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday we'll be continuing our Dismantling White Supremacy through conversations on the relationships between scripture, faith, and White Centering. We welcome former Loft Pastor Bo Sanders back as a special guest, with Alex Smith and Pastor Terence Hagans.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we’ll be kicking off our new series “Dismantling White Supremacy” through conversations on the relationships between scripture, faith, and White fragility with Pastor Molly and Pastor Terence.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Join us as we look at the theological concept of the “image of God” with artist, activist, and Ayurvedic Practitioner, Erica Rey. We will talk about her work, her story as an undocumented student, and her connection to the Wesley Foundation Serving UCLA.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Join us as we look at the theological concept of the “mission of God” with Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra. We will talk about her faith-rooted ministry (Matthew 25 SoCal) that works in solidarity with the immigrant and refugee community. There will be opportunities for our community to get involved with this work.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Join us for a three-week series on "Life Through the Latinx Lens" including three featured speakers. Our first week features Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero, author of Brown Church, and we will be looking at the theological concept of the "Word of God" and "Brown Christology."
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we’ll continue our series exploring the lives and experiences of Black people in and beyond our community through conversations on “Black Lives and The Church” with Karriann Farrell Hinds, Alex Smith, and Joshua Edwards.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll continue our series exploring the lives and experiences of Black people in and beyond our community focusing on "Black Resistance: Art as Activism", featuring the work of, and conversations with, spoken word artists Ameres and Austin Groves. To view, share, and make contributions in support of their work, please visit their website here.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we’ll continue our series exploring the lives and experiences of Black people in and beyond our community through conversations on oppression and Black rage with Ciji McBride, Yinka Bamgbose, Alex Smith, and Joshua Edwards.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we’ll continue our series exploring the lives and experiences of Black people in and beyond our community through a conversation on Black joy and self-love with our special guest Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter, Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at University of San Diego.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday, we'll be kicking off our series exploring the lives and experiences of Black people in and beyond our community, beginning with a conversation between Julia and Terence on Black achievement, value, and opportunity.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Our conversation includes stories of faith from LGBTQ+ siblings, as we explore the idea that Pride is holy work.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Our conversation invites us to listen to stories of faith from LGBTQ+ siblings, as we explore the idea of Pride as personal. We also lift a prayer for Juneteenth celebration, for Father's Day and more.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Join us for our conversation about connections among our Christian faith, protest, and Pride.
www.WestwoodUMC.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
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This Sunday we're welcoming our new Associate Pastor Terence Hagans and joining him in conversation about the authority we take up together, for the work of justice. Plus, Holy Communion, a graduation celebration and giving Bibles to new 4th and 5th grade students. Throughout the month of June, we will be celebrating the leadership and wisdom of our LGBTQ+ siblings.
Rev. Molly Vetter, Josh Lopez-Reyes, and Jeanne Roe Smith explore #loveinthetimeofcorona asking: How is the Holy Spirit moving through our world? How can we offer encouragement and life to one another?
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Rev. Molly Vetter, Josh Lopez-Reyes, and Susan Vincent explore #loveinthetimeofcorona asking: What is perfect love? Is it a belief, practice, or experience? We’ll talk about how we’re called to share love in this pandemic, too.
www.TheLoftLA.org
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Pastor Molly and Josh Lopez-Reyes are joined by Ryan Parker and Alex Smith, for conversation about love, letter-writing and how we see God in the midst of pandemic.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Join us this Sunday via livestream as we wrap up our #LoftCooks series. We will be joined by special guest Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter and fellow Lofter, Kelly Thomassen. We will also honor those who have mothered us, including Mother Earth herself. If you are able, watch episode four (Earth) of Michael Pollan’s “Cooked” on Netflix before Sunday. And, don’t forget to share what you’re cooking and eating using #LoftCooks!
www.TheLoftLA.org
Our cooking series continues this Sunday, as air helps turn wheat into bread. We'll talk about the miracle of the loaves and fishes (with help from some flannelgraph theology), bake bread, talk about slowing down and climate change, and share in holy communion. We encourage you to have some kind of bread as well as juice, wine or other drink ready.
www.TheLoftLA.org
Our series continues this Sunday, as we consider the transformation that's possible through the simple act of cooking with water. We'll talk about the connection between tasting and knowing, consider new ecological metaphors for naming and describing God, and talk about the spiritual and personal power of food as a way of remembering and recognizing. To prepare for Sunday, watch episode two (Water) of Michael Pollan's "Cooked" on Netflix. And, don't forget to share what you're cooking and eating using #LoftCooks!
www.TheLoftLA.org
www.TheLoftLA.org
Our new series begins this Sunday, and we're cooking with fire. We've got Jesus grilling, insights about our USAmerican food system and its relationship to pandemic, tips for redeeming things you might have thought were ready for the trash, and more.
Pastor Molly Vetter, Josh Lopez-Reyes, Jonathan Crisman, and Kat Armas unpack liberating Easter messages in each of the four gospel accounts of that morning. Plus, the Singers of Soul Gospel Choir will join us online, and you get to see the beloved faces from our Loft community as we gather together from our separate homes.
"Nothing Is Normal" - Bo Sanders and The Loft community
Palm Sunday teaching, conversation, and an experiment in online communion. (Have your own bread and juice/tea/coffee ready.)
This is definitely the strangest week before Holy Week of my 19 years as a pastor; there's a familiar level of busyness as we work out details for all these once-a-year celebrations, but everything else feels strange.
In a phone conversation this morning, I recognized the awkwardness of even familiar, every day greetings. "How are you?" becomes an uncomfortable question, as I acknowledge that I'm both weary and heavy from the burdens and concerns of this pandemic and very keenly aware of the gift of small joys I was in the habit of taking for granted.
This Palm Sunday, we won't gather in the sanctuary to wave palm branches together. From our separate homes, though, I suspect some of us will be crying "Hosanna!" with even more feeling than usual. I've often lost the significance of the meaning of the word, as I smile to see beautiful children annually reenact Jesus entry into Jerusalem; "Hosanna!" is a cry to God that means "Save us!"
Crying "Hosanna," then, is as good of a prayer as I know to offer: it's an acknowledgement that we need help, it speaks to our being a part of a complex global community that we can't alone control, it honors our human limitation and mortality.
Through the imperfect medium of the internet, we invite you to join us for online worship this weekend, so we can sing "Hosanna!" together. Our worship is streaming "live" on Facebook, and is available to watch anytime afterwards, too. (This week, we'll embed the video link directly on our website, too, in hopes that will make it easier to access for folks who don't use Facebook.) I encourage you to share it with a friend who might be feeling more isolated than usual, or be looking for a grace-filled, open-hearted church with whom to worship in this strange time.
I have been delighted by how good if feels to watch live together--to see the names of friends who are watching with me at the same time, and to be reminded that we really are in this together. I am grateful for the creative ways we're figuring out to be community together. Thank you.
grace and peace,
Pastor Molly
Loft guest Terence Hagans joins Pastor Molly for conversation about how God brings life out of what looks to be dead, sharing stories from his coming out experience and racial reconciliation in his family. We gather via livestream, from the homes of our Loft community.
Our faithful response to the novel coronavirus has disrupted life. This Sunday, we focus attention on what we've lost and who's struggling now. Then, we get to share conversation about what our faith has to say about disruption, and were we might find hope. Pour yourself some coffee, light a candle, and listen in.
To support efforts at safeguarding the health of our community, Sunday gatherings in The Sanctuary and The Loft will NOT be meeting in-person for the rest of the month of March. This Sunday, we invite you join us online for live-stream worship at 10am, led by leaders from both gatherings. Watch online at www.westwoodumc.org/response.
Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out.
It's been quite a week: our attention has been fixed on growing concern about the spread of COVID-19, a new coronavirus whose spread continues to grow. In an effort to mitigate its spread, our congregation has decided to cancel in-person worship gatherings. Currently, our campus is still open, and some small groups continue to meet, taking extra precautions.
As I watch my phone for news updates, I feel how easy it is to get drawn into a posture of anxiety. I want to remind you that we're undertaking these disruptive measures because we care about the well-being of our whole community. Our proactive choices to limit physical interaction now are done with the hope of preventing our hospitals from being overloaded with needs they cannot meet. We are choosing disruption for the sake of preventing greater harm, not just for ourselves but for the common good. Presently, we have the freedom to choose limitation and inconvenience, and we gladly choose both.
I am aware, of course, that this puts a lot more pressure on some than others: in addition to the anxiety of pandemic, some of you are worried about loss of income. Others are increasingly isolated and vulnerable. Parents are needing to figure out how to care for children whose school has been cancelled. Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers are carrying extra work and responsibility.
Even as some in our community are scrambling to figure out how to deal with the disruption, others are finding empty space in their days because of cancellations. Our lenten devotional, which focuses on the idea and practice of sabbath, gives us a helpful way of looking at this. I pray that this strange transitional space may open up opportunities for sabbath reflection. Rather than becoming drawn into frenzied anxiety, may you see an opportunity to pause and reflect, looking for beauty, offering gratitude, and lifting prayer.
We're going to be experimenting in these next few weeks at trying to figure out how to continue to grow closer to God and neighbor even as we restrict our physical interactions. This Sunday, we'll gather together as a community for worship via internet, in a first attempt at gathering in that way. I hope you'll join us. If you know someone in our community who might not yet know how to access a live-stream, I hope you'll reach out and offer help! (It'd be a good excuse to reach out, anyhow.) Similarly, if you have or know of an unmet need in our community, I hope you'll let us know and we'll try to figure out how to respond, together.
Thanks for being a part of this community, and for doing whatever you can to contribute to the well-being of our community and world.
grace and peace,
Pastor Molly
Reading poetry and spending time in prayer has been good for me this Lent. Poetry has a beautiful ability to tune me in to beautiful, little things; during a time when I'm especially aware of so many big, broken things (fear of pandemic, a sense that the patriarchy will never release its power grip in government, refugees in crisis in Syria, to name a few), my heart needs not only a hope-filled counter-balance, but a whole, alternative vision of reality.
So that's what I look forward to talking about on Sunday: to looking at an old-familiar scripture text in search of some powerful, transformative hope. We're going to sing some songs and share prayer, drink coffee and welcome each other, and share conversation about how we might make sense of the love of God in this world.
I hope to see you there.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Molly
We are so glad to welcome Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter back to The Loft this Sunday, to help us begin the season of Lent.
This Lent, we are inviting you to practice sabbath-keeping; hopefully, you've already picked up your free devotional, which connects our weekly scripture passages to poetry by Wendell Berry, and offers both meditations and practices for going deeper. (If not, I hope you'll pick one up on Sunday!) The introduction to the devotional describes sabbath keeping as "an ancient technology of health, dignity, and joy." It's useful in moving us toward wholeness, wellness and renewal.
I hope you will join us in exploring why and how this practice might help us this season.
grace and peace, Pastor Molly
All month, we have been focusing on how Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount give us a vision of the kind of beloved community that's possible through divine love. (It's 2020, and we think this is the kind of 20/20 vision we need...)
This week, we get to the end of chapter 5, where Jesus sets a high standard for us: we ought to love even our enemies. I confess that I find that complicated and difficult. (Maybe you do, too?) I look forward to sharing some of the people who inspired me to believe that Jesus really meant it when he gave these instructions. And, I look forward to conversation about how we can be a part of that kind of love; I think it just may be the only way to overcome evil, injustice, and oppression.
Grace and peace, Pastor Molly
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