The Birth of an Alternative Community

I’m preaching this Sunday at First Friends Meeting here in Greensboro, the meeting my family and I attend. I don’t get to preach all that much any more, so I find it exciting to get the opportunity from time to time.

This week is advent but I’ve opted to do something a little different at the suggestion of our pastor, Jaimie Mudd, who wondered if I’d consider reflecting on Revelation 12 along side the Matthew birth narrative.

That work is in process so I won’t share too much on that yet, but I invite you to reflect on Revelation 12 and Matthew 1:18-25 and see what you find. Currently, I’m focuing on origin/creation/birth stories and how these stories shape who we are, our limits and our possibilities, and often the trajectory of our lives.

Here are three Queries around origin stories I’m working with this week:

• What is your origin story?
• What role does origin/creation stories play in the formation of community?
• What role does those on the margins and “all of creation” play in the our conceptions of community?