David's UCC 7/26/26: Rev. Tony Minear, Ph.D. Sermon: "Dust That Has Learned To Love"

9th Sunday after Pentecost You are welcome here. As exemplified by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the congregation of David’s Church welcomes and affirms the worth of all people. At David’s Church, we strive to be an inclusive and liberating congregation where all people can be their true selves and feel safe and free. We celebrate God’s unconditional acceptance of every individual and Jesus’ commandment to love one another. Therefore, we invite, embrace, and support: those of all ages and household compositions those who are conventional Christians, questioning skeptics, or somewhere between those of all cultures and ethnicities those of all mental and physical abilities those of all political and theological backgrounds and beliefs those of all sexual orientations and gender identities those alienated, rejected, oppressed, or imprisoned by society those of all socioeconomic conditions those who have lost hope and those who hope for a better world to participate fully in the life, leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings, sorrows, and joys of our church family. Whoever you are, know that at David’s Church, you are both worthy and welcome. Wherever you are on life’s journey, we invite you to walk with us as we seek to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8) In affirming the gifts of creation and in affirming our connection to God, each other, and the world around us, we unconditionally commit ourselves as individuals and as a congregation to the intertwined responsibilities of caring for creation and seeking justice for the marginalized and under-resourced.  With purposeful resolve, we commit ourselves with an awareness of how the abuses of creation inevitably cause human suffering and of how factors such as race, class, and global inequality inevitably cause some to suffer more than others. Furthermore, as humanity confronts the current and future crisis of damage to our climate, we commit ourselves with an urgent sense of calling. We desire that these deeply felt commitments be reflected in all the dimensions of our congregation’s life both inside and outside the walls of this church to make good on our promises to God and to each other. David’s UCC was designated a Creation Justice Church on August 15, 2024 after a year-long application process in which we made application to join the United Church of Christ’s Creation Justice Covenant documented how we have integrated care of God’s creation and justice into our theology, worship, the life and work of it our ministry team, committees, governance council and advocacy efforts in the community.