Category: Community
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Tend to the birth in you
by Rachel Sensenig, pastor of Circle of Hope in South Philly Tend only to the birth in you and you will find all goodness and all consolation, all delight, all being and all truth. Reject it and you reject all goodness and blessing. What comes to you in this birth brings with it pure being…
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Seeing Women of the Bible (and Ourselves!) Without the Patriarchy
by Julie Hoke, pastor of Circle of Hope in Germantown I know people who don’t believe I should be a pastor based on my gender. I had to dig into scripture (and sift through patriarchal interpretations) to see all the Biblical evidence for women to lead. Women in the Bible have been historically marginalized, particularly…
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Don’t Give Up
by Rachel Sensenig, pastor of Circle of Hope in South Philly I’ve almost given up on pastoring several times in the past year. The loss of beloved partners in faith has been more than my heart could bear. But Jesus keeps bringing me home to the truth of who He is – in and beyond…
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See and Be Seen
by Ben White, pastor of Circle of Hope in South Jersey To be known we must be seen. To belong is to be known. If we want to belong, which so many of us do more than anything, it follows then, that we must be seen. We can think about this very concretely. We could…
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Who is your favorite poet? | At-Home Sunday Meeting (8.15.21)
From our At-Home Sunday Meeting, 8.15.21 About our Sunday Meeting: “We need to get down deep below the surface of things to see the true reality because there’s something more. That’s the whole idea of faith: there’s something beyond our sight. And poetry works to get at the heart of that.” Ben White talks about…
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Should the church be a safe place for everyone? | At-Home Sunday Meeting (8.8.21)
From our At-Home Sunday Meeting, 8.8.21 About our Sunday Meeting: “We set aside the forces that hold power and enter into transformation, enter into a new life with Jesus, a new humanity, where things of power are set aside for the sake of the community.” Jonny Rashid explores what being a safe place as a…
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What boundaries are we being called to cross right now? | At-Home Sunday Meeting (8.1.21)
From our At-Home Sunday Meeting, 8.1.21 About the Sunday Meeting: “We are all God’s children, all beloved, all bearing the image of God together. If God is in us and with us, we fail to fully see God if our gaze doesn’t encompass everyone.” Let’s hold space for community and connection, and for the next…
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What is God’s will for my life? | At-Home Sunday Meeting (7.25.21)
From our At-Home Sunday Meeting, 7.25.21 About the Sunday Meeting: “Discerning God’s will is not just about making a big decision, but about learning to attend to God’s presence with us in every stage of our lives.” We might be interested in finding our place and making contributions in the world, developing relationships, having a…