All Blog Posts (139)

... at our 11 am Worship, we conclude a three-Sunday focus, "Our Healing Church", with the healing of two lepers: Naaman the Aramean warrior in 2 Kings 5 and an unnamed gentleman in Mark 1. The two-way flow of God's compassion signified by…

A Lieutenant's Healing Journey! In keeping with Our Healing Church three-part series and the second of three successive healing stories from Mark 1, Marine Lt. James Byerly, who lost both his legs in an IED explosion during combat operations in Afghanistan, will join us in sharing a bit about his healing journey -- with a challenge to our church to be wounded healers, as well. Several of us have met James in his visits to our congregation, as he…

We take in -- both in adult Christian education and in Worship -- the very first healing story of the very first gospel written. Jesus' act of healing in a synagogue on the Sabbath speaks in a bold and fresh way how God's grace wreaks holy disorder into our carefully ordered universe we sometimes call "church". Listening to the scripture, we…

"Jesus said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.' And immediately ... they followed him." (Mark 4:17-18). I've often wondered: Didn't Simon and Andrew at least have the presence of mind to ask, "How?" or "Where?" Or perhaps the Holy Spirit was simply too ... compelling? Scriptures this Sunday: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 and…

Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend, we welcome The Rev. John C. McNeill, Jr. to our pulpit! Message: "The Spirituality of the Dreamer". Rev. McNeill matriculated at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in…

... we celebrate at our 11a Worship both The Light of the World and The Living Water of Christ! Our ever-colorful bulletin can be found here. Christ as…

Start the new year on spiritually solid footing, and join us for our 11a Worship Celebration. Bulletin here. New Year's Message:…

In the midst of the malling of America this season, we could all use a spiritually-centering, meditative means for celebrating Christmas. It doesn't get much better than our annual Lessons & Carols service --…

Advent 4, during Worship, we celebrate our faith with our annual Children's Pageant! Our colorful bulletin can be found here.

We also celebrate what our higher church…

... the Third Sunday of Advent, we join millions of our sisters and brothers worldwide in a liturgical glimpse of Christmas joy! We celebrate as we go Communion once again, in preparation for the joy of new life abounding from the old two weeks hence. Our rich & richly colorful Worship Bulletin can be found…

... ... the second Sunday in Advent season, we celebrate Communion in prayerful expectation of new life -- unexpectedly ours, the other side of this crowded and commercially dense "Christmas season". Here's our colorful…

... celebrates the New Year of the Church Universal! A guest preacher helps lead us into this waiting period for Jesus' coming known as Advent: the Rev. Dick Houghton. Communion is celebrated. Our ever-colorful bulletin can be found…

... we celebrate the impending arrival of The Del Ray Club (12 Step community of 40 weekly meetings!) to our facilities with a stewardship message, "Equals" (Matthew 25:31-46). "The Least of These": In this passage, we discover Jesus takes them very…

... we welcome the Rev. Dr. Richard Boyce, Associate Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Leadership at Union Presbyterian Seminary, to deliver the good word to at our 11 am Celebration of Worship.…

For some, The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) is quite familiar & predictable: Two slaves double their investment for the master & are praised. One slave buries his talent for that same master & is condemned.

The Moral Of This Story: Invest your time/talents/treasure for God's purposes, & you will go…

We celebrate Reformation Sunday (10/31) and All Saints Day (11/1) both this Sunday with incredible original music from our resident composer/chorister…

What does diversity in a faith framework mean? Of course, it's related to the wide and wild panoply of God's Creation -- check that: Creativity -- before us each day, as well as Sunday morn at BPC. We at BPC openly affirm that with our Statement of Welcome (home page, left). And yet, human diversity is practically a given for Jesus & Paul in particular. What's diverse about us on the *inside*? And how can an…

This Sunday, October 16, we welcome to our pulpit & a lunch Q-&-A a provocative scholar: Rev. Dr. Frances Taylor Gench, New Testament professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary. Details…

"Song is a response which engages the whole self in prayer." This constitutional affirmation of our Presbyterian Church (USA) bespeaks the wisdom of the scriptural ages. We celebrate the Passionate of our church identity Sunday with six spiritual songs, a choir anthem, and a beautiful solo to boot! Come, take a break from the Metro DC mania this Sunday and…

Join us for World Communion Sunday, with our annual Peacemaking Offering!

Sermon: "From Passion to Compassion: Our Communion with God's World". Isn't there more to worshiping God than one hour each Sunday? How can God's Communion with the world be reflected in *our* communion with God's world: our daily lives, through our ministries of justice and mercy? Join us:…