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Thursday, June 18, 2026

This Week in Worship

Our lectionary readings from Genesis 21:8-21 and Matthew 10:24-31 ask us to explore these questions: To where do our exiled souls wander, and how do we bring them back home to God? Music - prayers - contemplation - Scripture - fellowship. We hope you join us this Sunday in person or online for worship.

As a prophetic preacher and activist, Howard Thurman chose the word "disinheritance" with great intention.  Consider that when one is denied an inheritance as an individual, they fail to receive what is rightfully theirs.  Yet when committed collectively, the consequence of disinheritance is graver: rights, property, benefits, protections, and blessings are unjustly denied to many.  

When he wrote Jesus and the Disinherited, Thurman linked severe inequities to the heart of the Gospel. Addressing systemic racism against his people, Thurman showed that Jesus’ ministry focused on the ruthlessness the Roman occupation imposed on the vulnerable. The “religion of Jesus,” he said, should be a survival technique for the oppressed.  Thus, though first published nearly eighty years ago, the book is as relevant now as it was then, exposing the thin veneer that had constituted nativist Christian ideology then, as it does now. 

So where does this leave us, as congregants of FCCW and as folk who identify as followers of Jesus?  As put forth by our ministerial leadership, the challenge is to live out the Gospel’s message in a society that all too often tragically celebrates power over mercy. We must ask: How do we practice survival for the oppressed when we ourselves are not the target of oppression?

While we do what we can to look after one another, I would suggest that being followers of Jesus calls us to be nothing less than ambassadors and vanguards for the least of these, including the earth itself. To courageously stand for and with those excluded from the benefits of healthcare; those who live in fear of deportation, those targeted for who they choose to be and love, and those denied the basic necessities of shelter, protection, and food. To fiercely protect the natural world and its creatures who need our voices against hoarding and misuse; while fearlessly advocating for all the world’s children, including the diseased, the infirm and the aged.

In this Season of Pentecost, may the Spirit boldly lead us to reclaim what has been disinherited from the Gospel’s message in our time.  

Jessica McArdle

for the Justice Ministry

Help Make Winchester a Safer, More Bikeable and Walkable Town

Would you like to see Winchester become a safer, more walkable, more bikeable town? A group of your neighbors are part of an initiative called Walk and Roll, working with the Town's Climate Action Advisory Committee to find out how we can make Winchester safer and more accessible. We would like to know how you travel around Winchester and how we can support safer and greener transportation in town. Please fill out this short survey with your ideas.

All God's Creatures Got a Place in the Choir

Do you really know what your deacons do? Whatever it takes! Here’s Robin Delurey helping a young woodpecker get unstuck from our entry door on Sunday. I guess he wanted to sing the Cantata with the choir.

Summer Office Hours

Summer office hours start next week. The office will be open from 8 am - 2 pm Mondays through Thursdays and closed on Fridays.

Staff Vacation Schedules

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