Chapel Hill Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

12/12/2025

My Friends:

This Sunday, December 14th, we will celebrate our nearly 23 years of ministry with our final worship service.

Our Regional Minister, Bishop Valerie Melvin, will join us and we are looking forward to her presence and support.

The service will begin at 10:30 am and will be held at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, 110 W. Main Street in Carrboro. We have been notified by the director of the IFC that the room we worship in - the Community Meeting Room on the top floor of the building - may have some issues with heating properly. They are addressing the issue, but have encouraged us to dress accordingly. The heat is working in the other rooms and the hallways on that floor, so please know that we will be relatively comfortable.

We will be going out for lunch following the service. Please join us.

It has been a privilege and honor to be associated with this faith community for all these years. Having the opportunity to serve this congregation and the community in various ways has been a precious blessing.

This week's devotion comes from Molly Baskette.

Be safe and well. Godspeed to all of you.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. (Romans 8:22, MSG)

Christ in the Chaos

Molly Baskette

My daughter and I have a longstanding tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree, and drinking homemade cocoa on the tailgate right afterward to celebrate our lumberjack skills.

One year we went on a hike beforehand and came back to a smashed car window, a stolen electric saw, and a spectacular amount of broken glass all over the car seats. We drove to the tree farm and met my sister and her 4-year-old. We wrestled the 6-inches-too-long tree into the car amidst the sparkling glass, and toasted our mixed morning.

Then the 4-year-old splattered a tsunami of cocoa all over himself, the tree, the glass, the ground. He looked down. He looked up. He looked at us, paused a beat, and said loudly: “It’s all right. It’s just a mess.”

My nephew’s prophetic pronouncement has become my mantra. With every fresh setback in my life, I hear his little voice. Every time I am tempted to give in to despair or fury, I hear his little voice.

“It’s just a mess” isn’t meant to dismiss the complexity and horror of what is happening in our wounded world. It’s not an encouragement to hide our heads in the sand and ignore the suffering and systemic change that needs our attention. After all, you can drive around with a missing car window for a few days, but that broken glass is going to hurt someone eventually if you don’t clean it up.

But acknowledging that something is a mess, and somehow it’s all right, can help us stay engaged when we feel overwhelmed and want to check out. It’s an entreaty to keep our hearts soft and open, to avoid assigning blame, lashing out or shutting down. To see the mess for what it is: a temporary setback, or even, a portal to birth.

Advent reminds us we worship a God who isn’t afraid of a little chaos. Contractions, wrenching pain, pungent blood and placenta, squalling squished infant savior. These are how the world gets remade.

Prayer

May this mess we are in be the last of the birth pangs, Mother God. Amen.

02/28/2025

My Friends:

As many of you know, the first sentence in our identity statement as members of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ says, 'We are a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world."

In our current world, and especially here in our country, we are seeing the consequences of explicit efforts by our government and many of our political leaders to fragment people into those who have and those who don't. There is much pain, fear, anguish, anger and disillusionment for those who are being excluded.

In this week's devotion from Lillian Daniel (see below), we are encouraged and reminded to be the church which Jesus taught his disciples to be - a church that practiced a faith predicated on choosing to be the church who "cares first for the poor, stands up for the dignity of workers and the rights of all God's children, and risks getting kicked to the sidelines when it does so."

I believe wholeheartedly in Lillian's message and invite you to consider what it has to say to you.

Join us for worship this Sunday, March 2nd at 10:30 am in the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, 110 W. Main Street in Carrboro.

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2, NIV)

The Church of Sandpaper

Lillian Daniel

As you follow Jesus, hear the scriptures, preach the gospel, and bravely worship something other than yourselves, you are increasingly going to feel the Holy Spirit rubbing like sandpaper against the culture around you. There are certain moments in history, time and space where the gospel is especially grating, and this is one of those times. Be the church of sandpaper.

The church at its worst simpers behind the culture in the pursuit of prestige, blessing bullies and licking boots, eyeing the best real estate on the richest highways.

The church at its best calls the culture to conscience, cares first for the poor, stands up for the dignity of workers and the rights of all God’s children, and risks getting kicked to the sidelines when it does so.

Remember: we follow a savior who lived and died on the sidelines. Whose teachings grated against the rich. Whose miracles scraped against the exclusive and exclusionary.

The debate in American politics about who gets to speak spiritually and who gets silenced is nothing new, nor is threatening one religious ideology while elevating another with promises of political patronage. Choose to be the church on the sidelines with the threatened and silenced.

Scratch like sandpaper, stay strong, and stand up for Jesus.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, be the sandpaper that scrapes away my comfort with the patterns of this world. And transform the church to live out a sandpaper gospel. Amen.

02/21/2025

My Friends:

We will be taking a Sabbath Sunday this weekend. We have designated Sabbath Sundays as the 4th Sunday of each month (as well as the 5th Sunday for months that have five Sundays.) On these days we are inviting each other to rest - encouraging each other that rest is a gift from God - to set aside time for rest and play, for being instead of doing, connecting with God and others, and embracing the world with awareness and gratitude.

Our next formal worship service will be held on Sunday, March 2nd.

Our devotion this week comes from Mary Luti (see below.)

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20, NRSV)

Our Model, Jesus

Mary Luti

If you’re a handsome White bearded cis male with hair cascading to your shoulders, look good in sandals, and live in Utah, you will not lack work. People will hire you to come to their homes and pose with the family for Christmas photos, graduation photos, and wedding announcements.

It seems there’s a growing market in Utah for Jesus models. Some men are charging up to $200 per hour to be “there among them” when two or three are gathered.

According to the Morning Brew, their high hourly rate is owing to the small labor pool. Since many men in Utah are Mormons and they mostly shave and have short hair, they don’t look a lot like Jesus. Hence the lucrative side-hustle for “strapping fellas with long hair and beards who haven’t aged into the Mall Santa market yet.”

I confess I kinda love the idea of Jesus in the family photo (third to the left, with the piercing eyes). But are you going to break it to them, or shall I?

You don’t need a pricey professional for the job.

You could recruit a convict, a next-door neighbor, a refugee, a high school track coach, someone with a combover, beer belly, wrinkles and a cane. Heck, families could save a bundle just by looking harder at each other.

Some days, when his likeness in me is clearer than others; on days when the Jesus role I’ve been rehearsing for years is almost convincing; on those days, when by grace he shines, they could even call me.

And I’d bet good money that someone who really needs a Jesus could also call you.

Prayer

Jesus, may we model you convincingly. We may never make a living being you, but we’ll surely make a life. Amen.

01/23/2025

My Friends:

We will be taking a Sabbath Sunday this weekend. We have designated Sabbath Sundays as the 4th Sunday of each month (as well as the 5th Sunday for months that have five Sundays.) On these days we are inviting each other to rest - encouraging each other that rest is a gift from God - to set aside time for rest and play, for being instead of doing, connecting with God and others, and embracing the world with awareness and gratitude.

Our next formal worship service will be held on Sunday, February 2nd.

Our devotion this week comes from Charisse R. Turner. Rather than supplying one verse of scripture, she invites us to read all of John's story about the wedding in Cana (see below.)

Peace and blessings,

Mike

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the person in charge of the banquet.” So, they took it. When the person in charge tasted the water that had become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), that person called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
(John 2:1-11, NRSV.)

Simply Jump

Charisse R. Turner

When I was growing up, the girls in my neighborhood played double Dutch. Unlike other jump rope games, double Dutch requires at least three players. Two of them turn the two ropes (or one very long one tied together at the ends) toward or away from each other in alternating rhythmic motion. The third player determines the right time and then jumps into the middle of the ropes, making sure to avoid stepping on them or getting tripped up. It’s a game of timing and skill. Each role is critical to a good game. In my neighborhood, if you did not demonstrate that you were capable of turning the ropes with fairly consistent mastery, you were barred from the role.

I was a great turner. I had a rhythm that worked very well and could sync nicely with other turners in our neighborhood. But I wasn’t a great jumper. Once I got in the rope I did a decent job, but I struggled to get in the rope in the first place. You have to assess the speed and rhythm of the ropes and how that relates to your own speed and style. If you miss and get hit with the ropes, it could be painful. Often, I missed my moment due to my hyper-focus on the potential pain. More often than not, I couldn’t get past the fear. At some point I decided that it was best if I just stayed in the role of turner, where I could be counted on. It saddens me now as I look back on it. I wish I’d had more courage to take the shot, to risk the temporary discomfort and trust that I would get the timing right.

I am touched by Mary's interest in intervention in this story, especially in a season when so many are overcome by fatigue and overwhelmed by extreme needs that prevent additional room for any more caring. Though our bandwidth for grace and service is easily taxed, Mary reminds us that sometimes we get involved in the need right in front of us simply because we can.

I am also struck by Mary’s handling of timing: her own timing in making the request and her managing Jesus’ sense of his timing in response. We don’t know if she struggles with whether or not the moment is right, but for whatever reason she decides that her son’s presence and the need make for perfect timing. The possible sting of his dismissal does not stop her from positioning herself — and the people she seeks to support — to receive an answer, just in case he comes through.

She reminds me that despite the weariness of these days, I can do the same. Mary jumps into the moment, moves through the temporary discomfort, and trusts that she has the timing right. I cannot say that after reading this I am going to look for a jump rope. But I can say that I am inspired to check the places in my life where a need, my presence, and my ability to help in some way meet together in rhythmic motion. I do not know if Jesus will answer in the ways that I hope he will, but whether or not he does, I can risk the sting of missing the mark and simply jump.

Prayer
God, help us to check as often as we can for places where our presence and our abilities can come together to help. Amen.

01/16/2025

My Friends:

Some of you know that I grew up in the Chicagoland area. I do remember some interesting starts to some of the years I lived there. The one that has been running around in my mind lately is connected to the cold weather we've been experiencing this month.

That January of 1967 I went to bed on a cold, cold night with no snow on the ground. When I woke up the next morning, it was already 8 am and I panicked because I was supposed to be at the bus stop for school at 7:45. When I ran out into the kitchen to find my mom, she said, "No school today, Mike. Take a look outside."

I went to the living room to look out the big window and all I could see was white. It had snowed 23 inches in the span of 10 hours! Even in Chicago, it was an astounding amount of snow leading to a start unlike any other winter I've ever seen.

Yael Lachman has a story to share in this week's devotion about how the Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church begin every season of Epiphany with a start unlike most of us can ever imagine (see below.) Take a look at it and see what it conjures up for you.

Join us for worship this Sunday, January 19th at 10:30 am in the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, 110 W. Main St., Carrboro, NC.

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

It was then that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan River by John. Immediately upon coming out of the water, Jesus saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Then a voice came from the heavens: “You are my Beloved, my Own. On you my favor rests.” (Mark 1:9-11, NRSV)

Yael Lachman

A Fresh Start

Welcome to January, the time of year when we hear the call of a fresh start. You might hear it as the crisp flutter of fresh planner pages. Or dance music blaring at the gym you just joined. Or the hum of a shredder in the office you are definitely going to organize this month.

But here on the cusp of a brand-new year, if you listen beneath the sound of our collective organizing and resolving, you just might catch the notes of a more ancient call. One that sounds less like treadmill music and more like the crunch of boots on icy snow. Less like a personal trainer and more like the voices of family and friends, little kids and grandparents, whispering prayers and shouting with joy as they plunge into the freezing waters of the Dnipro River.

During Epiphany season, in Ukraine and Belarus, in Serbia and Bulgaria and the many lands of the Eastern Orthodox Church, folks are gathering to hear the story of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan. And they’re following him…right into the frozen waters of their home rivers. They’ll be wearing swimsuits under their parkas and carrying flasks of hot tea – along with a chainsaw or two, for cutting through thick ice. Then, one by one, they’ll run or tiptoe or leap all the way in. To remember their baptisms. To make a fresh start. And to hear the voice of the One who is calling, even now: “You are my Beloved, my Own. Come to me, and I will make you new.”

Prayer

God of new life, send us the practices, the companions, and the power tools we need, so that we might break through the surface of our days and give ourselves to the deep currents of your purpose, and your peace. Amen.

01/02/2025

My Friends:

We welcome in 2025 with our worship service this Sunday, January 5th at 10:30 am in the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, 110 W. Main Street in Carrboro.

Our devotion comes from Quinn G. Caldwell. Quinn shares some remarkable thoughts about JOY.

May 2025 be a year of JOY for all of us as we continue to be God's faithful servants.

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10, NRSV)

Parasympathetic

Quinn G. Caldwell

I used to worry about joy. Mostly I worried that I didn’t have any, but I couldn’t tell because I wasn’t sure what joy even was. I knew I regularly experienced happiness. But joy? I always sort of pictured it as happiness with a power-up applied. I didn’t know if it required airborne heel-clicks, but they sometimes seemed to be involved? Along with, like, trumpets? Advent and Christmas were always prime times for this worrying, because … well, you know why.

Then I had the good fortune to read This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley, creator of Black Liturgies. Among the bulbs she lit over my head: happiness is about the sympathetic nervous system, the excitable part. Joy, on the other hand, is about the parasympathetic nervous system, the part that has to do with calmness, repose. Happiness is quick, exciting, usually caused by something outside yourself. Joy is deeper, abiding, comes more from within than without. Happiness makes you breathe faster; joy makes you breathe slower, and delight in what you smell when you do.

Joy exists independently of happiness. You can have sorrowful joy, joy-despite. You can have joy without laughter—though probably not without at least an occasional smile. And you certainly, Riley says, can have joy without complacency. It’s joy that dreams of a better world, “…but it dreams in peace, not in terror.”

This joy I know, thanks be to God. I hope you do, too.

Prayer

Dear God, bless us so hard that our breathing slows down. Amen.

11/14/2024

My Friends:

I spent many of the years I worked with hospice as a grief counselor. What I learned from the people I served (as well as my own personal losses over my life) is that grief is a powerful, mysterious and unique experience for every person.

Many of these folks felt their grief was often overlooked or ignored or that they were being asked to implicitly or even explicitly "move on" from their pain and loss because those around them felt uncomfortable. Sometimes they even questioned themselves about their inability or weakness to get back to normal - back to the way they used to be before the loss.

One of the things that I encouraged them to understand is that grief changes us. None of us are ever quite the same again. We have the right to find our way through the loss and the pain in our own time and on our own terms. We have the right to ask for help, to tell others what we need and what we don't need. We have the right to tell our story, to be heard and to take the time to discern the ways in which we can find healing, hope, comfort and strength

Vicki Kemper in this week's devotion (see below) asks us some excellent questions regarding how we as people of faith might make ourselves available to those who are mourning and in pain. See what you think.

Join us for worship this Sunday, November 17th, at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, 110 W. Main Street in Carrboro. Service begins at 10:30 am.

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

She said to them, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” (Ruth 1:20-21, NRSV)

Where You Go, I Will Go

Vicki Kemper

We love the story of Ruth and Naomi for its poignant embodiment of faithful love: Ruth, recently widowed, refused to do what was expected of her and go back to her family of origin. She refused to allow her widowed mother-in-law to live out her days with nothing but grief and bitterness for company.

“Where you go, I will go,” Ruth told Naomi. “Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried” (Ruth 1:16-17).

It is a love story for the ages, one that sets a high standard for faithful marriage, family, friendship, and community. It has inspired countless wedding vows. What’s not to love?

And yet: In our celebration of Ruth’s love and devotion, have we ignored Naomi’s grief? Have we romanticized the story by overlooking the inevitability of loss? And what do we do with Naomi’s heartbreaking sense of divine punishment and abandonment?

Even more to the point: How do we treat the grieving ones in our own lives? Do we rush in to fix their pain, or do we offer to witness it and share it? Do we avoid the grieving because their pain makes us uncomfortable? Do we suggest they get over it and move on?

In the grand story of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz, Naomi quickly becomes a minor player. In the grand story of our own lives, how can we draw the grieving ones in the center?

Prayer

God who grieves every loss, grant us a love faithful and courageous enough to accompany the bereaved with undying devotion.

10/17/2024

My Friends:

Our work as a church is always based in being practitioners of Christ's ministry and work. We live and practice the faith he taught, lived and practiced.

One of the tenets of his faith was establishing peace by both speaking about peace and manifesting peace through our actions.

As Christy Lohr Sapp points out in her devotion (see below) that requires us to be diligent and conscientious. We are invited to be both messengers and doers of peace - for the sake of our community, our nation and the world. May we do it well and persistently.

Our worship this Sunday, October 20th, will be at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, 110 W. Main Street in Carrboro at 10:30 am. We look forward to seeing you then.

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

As shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15)

Proclaimers of Peace

Christy Lohr Sapp

As a country this fall, we are moving into what is shaping up to be an incredibly contentious election. Political ads are filled with cringe-inducing fear-mongering and name-calling, and staggering amounts of money are funding campaigns in each political party.

In many religious traditions it is a commonly-held understanding that worshiping communities play a role in civic life — both individually and corporately. In some churches, the weekly worship liturgy (liturgy means “the work of the people”) is understood as preparation for people to confess our own shortcomings, proclaim the good news of God’s work among us, partake in rituals of reconciliation, and finally be sent out into the world to share all of this with our neighbors.

With that in mind, in this season, leaders at my congregation have prepared a special emphasis on prayers for peace as part of our weekly worship. This fall through the end of November, we will add a specific prayer for peace to the start of our liturgy of confession and forgiveness — making more earnest and intentional prayers that we regularly pray.

As a visualization of this aspiration toward God’s shalom, a peace pole has been added to our worship space for this time. These tall white poles are emblazoned with the words, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” The Peace Pole project grew out of a Japanese initiative in the late 1970s and has become a grassroots movement to inspire and foster peace in our hearts and around the world.

The peace pole in our sanctuary has a prayer for peace in nine languages: English, Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Hmong, Cherokee, American Sign Language, and Braille. A rainbow also reminds us of God’s covenant of peace with the whole Earth. Each week we light a candle and pray for a specific peace — starting internally with peace in our own hearts and broadening out to our schools and communities until we reach peace in our world. In so doing, we will join our prayers with those of every age and across myriad traditions who pray for a peace that passes all understanding. Peace is not a new longing. For as long as there have been people, our world has been marked with a restlessness that makes God’s shalom elusive. Most of the world’s scriptures offer a rationale for all people to be peacemakers. In the season ahead, may we as a community live into the gospel of peace that marks Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In that epistle, we are called to put on the armor of God but also to don shoes fit for pounding the pavements in proclamation. May we work together to break down the dividing walls of hostility and live into the promises of reconciliation found in God’s shalom. May we all be promoters of peace in our homes, in our communities, and in our world.

Prayer

God, use us to bring your peace to others in all we say and do. Amen.

10/01/2024

Friends:

As we hold the people of Western North Carolina in our hearts and minds, there are a number of ways we can contribute to their efforts to recover, heal and move forward.

If you have food and water to donate locally here in the Chapel Hill area, you may take it to Freehold Land Surveys, Inc. at 1777 Fordham Blvd., Suite 104, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514 (near Wegmans). Donations will be received from 8 am to 4 pm Monday - Friday.

Here is a list of reputable agencies where funds may be donated.

We pray for all those who have lost loved ones, their homes and livelihoods. May God grant them hope and healing. We pray for the first responders and volunteers offering help and assistance. May God grant them resilience and strength. We pray for the local, state and federal officials providing the leadership and coordination of resources. May God grant them wisdom and diligence.

Godspeed to all.

Hurricane Helene unleashed devastating flooding in the mountains of North Carolina. Here are ways to help local flood victims in Western North Carolina by donating relief funds or volunteering.

08/29/2024

My Friends:

The summer is coming to a close and fall will soon be with us. Cooler weather, students attending classes and the gorgeous colors of the changing of the leaves will fill our world.

In September we will hold two events:

On Sunday, September 15th, we will collect food and other items for the IFC Pantry at our 10:30 worship service.

Our good friend, Debra Vestal, is always looking for rolls of Toilet Paper to bring to the clients she works with, so I encourage us to gather them. We also are committed to our identity as the Jelly Church and want to gather as many jars as possible.

For those of you who wish to contribute money to this effort, then please write your check to Chapel Hill Christian Church and put "IFC Drive" in the memo section. We will use whatever funds we raise to purchase other items to give to the IFC. Donations can be made via PayPal on our web page at chapelhillchristianchurch.org or you can mail checks to our post office address below:

Chapel Hill Christian Church P.O. Box 3424, Chapel Hill, NC, 27515

On Saturday, September 21st, at 12:00 pm we will gather for a lunch together at a local venue which will be announced soon. We look forward to a time together to share a good meal and conversation together. Please invite friends to join us.

This week's devotion comes from John Edgerton. John is the Senior Pastor of Old South Church United Church of Christ in Boston.

Be safe and well.

Peace and blessings,

Mike

Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last — and so that whatever you ask in my name God will give you. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:16-17, NIV)

Church, It's the Final Rose Tonight

John Edgerton

I love General Synod. I love everything about it: educational intensives where the church learns deeply, worship where the church prays expansively, resolutions where the church works collaboratively. But what I love the most is the Holy Spirit acting in unexpected ways. This past Synod, the Holy Spirit acted through…a cheese raffle.

Allow me to elaborate.

A colleague won a large amount of cheese in a raffle. This necessitated gathering multiple people to eat said cheese. But one does not simply eat large amounts of cheese silently; it demands an occasion! And on that evening, the occasion was watching the latest episode of The Bachelorette. This was my first experience with The Bachelor franchise, and I needed a lot of things explained. PTCs and Love Levels, Hometowns and the dreaded two-on-one. There’s a lot going on.

I was hooked. Quickly, I joined a Bachelor bracket with pastors, rabbis and theologians. The season culminated in a finale watch party at a le***an sports bar which was — and I cannot stress this enough — absolutely packed for the occasion.

Strangers became friends, every question raised was answered joyfully by anyone close enough to overhear. Bread was broken and the cup shared. And though I was a guest, I was welcomed in. It was church. The realm of God is like a cheese raffle leading to found community at a le***an sports bar.

Prayer

God, thank you for choosing us and making your good fruit flourish in so many ways. Amen.