Ankeny UCC

A Welcoming Church Family Exploring Progressive Christian Theology

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A Welcoming Church Family Exploring Progressive Christian Theology
Church Identity 2022

Caring in the Unknown

May 22, 2022
Paul writes about the tomb dedicated to an unknown (really an unnamed) god in Athens. How often do we treat those around us in church as unnamed and unknown?
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Acts 7:22-34
Service Type: Sunday Worship
A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Church Identity 2022, Plague Year

Exploring Progressive Christian People

May 15, 2022
In a world beset by unstable institutions and changing bedrocks and assumptions, we need a faith that teaches us how to adapt and change to meet the challenges of different…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2022, Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

The Exploration of Progressive Praxis

May 8, 2022
Progressive Christian Theology means learning from the stories in the Bible that life is complicated and messy, and that the only thing in front of us is to understand the…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Romans 6:5-11
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2022

Welcoming New Lives

May 1, 2022
Even before Pentecost, Jesus told his disciples that they'd have to do the work of building his ministry in the world. As a welcoming church family, we recognize that the…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Acts 1:6-8
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Church Identity 2022, Plague Year

Welcoming Questioning

April 24, 2022
The story of Thomas's encounter with the risen Christ shows us not only what our own reactions to good news can often look like, but the hope that there is…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 20:19-31
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

Resurrection in All Its Forms

April 17, 2022
Christ is Risen! In a new body that reminds us resurrection is not restoration, but the beginning of something new.
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: John 20:1-18
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Merely Christian, Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

Merely Christian: Beyond Personality

April 10, 2022
Christ enters Jerusalem in community. He exists with God and the Holy Spirit in the community of the Trinity. And we exist in community with them and with one another.…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 21:1-11
Service Type: Sunday Worship
A Woman's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Merely Christian, Plague Year

Merely Christian: On Christian Behavio(u)r

April 3, 2022
What does morality demand of us that come into a windfall? What does it demand of us in our interaction with others? And how do we square our grand idea…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 26:6-13
Service Type: Sunday Worship
A Woman's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Merely Christian, Plague Year

Merely Christian: What Christians Believe

March 27, 2022
Christians believe a lot of things. That's part of the deal with having free will. Central among them all is that something miraculous happened on the cross. We may not…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 12:46-50
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Merely Christian, Plague Year

Merely Christian: More Clues to the Meaning of the Universe

March 20, 2022
As we continue our theme of Merely Christian, we look at what Jesus says about people who reassure themselves that they are good people because they are, at least, better…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 5:21-26
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Merely Christian, Plague Year

Clues to the Meaning of the Universe

March 13, 2022
C.S. Lewis starts Mere Christianity by laying the groundwork for all religion: is there some morality outside ourselves? How might this question be illustrated in this story of Jesus feeding…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 14:13-21
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Merely Christian, Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

Merely Christian: What Are We Doing Here?

March 6, 2022
As we embark on our Lenten practice and Study of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, we ask ourselves, "what is the center of our faith?" In a world where faith is…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 3:1-6
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

Being Open to Transformation

February 27, 2022
We like to think that the world around us changes based on who we think is helped by the reality we choose to inhabit. War, violence against bodies, and acts…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 17:1-9
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

There’s Always a Reason

February 20, 2022
We often fool ourselves into thinking messengers who challenge us are flawed and should be dismissed. But Jesus tells us that being only human is an opportunity for hope.
Passage: Matthew 11:7-19
Service Type: Sunday Worship
A Woman's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Plague Year

A Gazelle is Never Just a Gazelle

February 13, 2022
Song of Songs reminds us that editors of the Bible throughout the ages have found it important to acknowledge the whole truths of our existence, and not to give into…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Song of Songs 3:1-11
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

The Committee on Un-Roman Activities

February 6, 2022
Paul and Silas went to help a woman and free her from (some) exploitation. Then they got thrown in the stocks. What happens when we challenge systems that exploit people?
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Acts 16:16-23
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

Called to Serve

January 30, 2022
It's easy, when reading the healing stories of Jesus, to miss the stories of the people being healed. It's important to listen to the details, so that we can hear…
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 8:14-22
Service Type: Sunday Worship
Plague Year, Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

Called to Go

January 23, 2022
In 2022, what actions can we take that take you back to the moment you were first called to the church universal or to Ankeny UCC in particular?
Preacher : Nathan Willard
Passage: Matthew 4:18-25
Service Type: Sunday Worship

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602 SE Delaware Avenue
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