Second Sunday Messages
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.“”Second Sunday Community of Faith Presents:
February 11 – Love is Love
On Sunday, April 14, we made the difficult decision to suspend further gatherings of Second Sunday Community of Faith. We will be maintaining this page for archive purposes and may reintroduce the ministry or a form of it at a later date, but felt that it was an unfair use of our partners’ resources to continue. We owe a debt of gratitude to Lisa and Jennifer at The Bird and The Book/Southland Books and Cafe who provided space and personnel to host us each month, and to our musicians, Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle, for their support and encouragement during our 15 months of Second Sunday gatherings.
The original description of Second Sunday (for archive purposes):
“Second Sunday Community of Faith is not your typical “worship” service. Second Sunday is a gathering for those who have not felt welcome or been outright rejected by the churches they grew up in, who have become disillusioned with “religion,” who have questions or doubts about religion in general, or who’ve never experienced “church” but are seeking some kind of spiritual connection, and an opportunity for fellowship and friendship. We work to keep the services ecumenical, inviting area pastors and other guest speakers to lead the gathering from time to time. We introduced Second Sunday Community of Faith in January, 2023. Second Sunday services are welcoming, affirming, inclusive, and include communion open to all who wish to receive it. The goal of Second Sunday is to serve people of all faith traditions or none at all, people of all races and creeds, people of every gender identity and sexuality, seekers, searchers, believers, doubters, and those with unanswered questions. There is no set “order” to the gatherings, although we’ve developed a few “traditions” that we like in terms of songs we like to sing and prayers we like to share.
We are also fortunate to have the support of Jeff Barbra and Sarah Pirkle who provide music for us, and are developing a special Second Sunday Song Book of hymns and songs more inline with the folks who attend the gathering. One hundred percent of the offerings and donations received at Second Sunday gatherings are turned back arouond to area and national organizations relevant to gathering participants and have included Smoky Mountain Junior Appalachian Musicians and the Rainbow Youth Project. Second Sunday services are also livecast on Union Grove’s Facebook page, and are stored there and here on the website for those whose schedules don’t allow in-person or live participation.
Second Sunday services are held in-person at The Bird and The Book, 1509 East Broadway, Maryville TN 37804, on the second Sunday of each month. The gathering begins at 3:00 p.m. and is usually done by 4:00 or shortly after. For those who’d like to fellowship, we encourage you to come as early as 2:30. Second Sunday services are also live-cast on Facebook for those unable to attend in person. One-hundred percent of the monthly offerings from this service are donated to relevant community or national non-profit organizations. Past donations have include JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) Smoky Mountains and The Rainbow Youth Project.
Second Sunday Community of Faith is a ministry of Union Grove United Methodist Church.”
Archive Of
Present & Past Messages
A… B… Sea-Change – Second Sunday Community of Faith February 11 2024
It feels as though the stormy tides called up by Prospero in The Tempest to destroy Ferdinand and Ferdinand’s father are now threatening to shipwreck everything we know and everything so many have struggled to achieve. Where is our Ariel singing a song of solace, foretelling a “rich and strange” sea-change? Or rather who?
Keep the Change – Second Sunday Community of Faith January 14 2024
Earlier this week, I posed a question to ChatGTP: What would it take to shift humanity to a more compassionate species? … the answers led to today’s message
Union College at Second Sunday Community of Faith Nov 12 2023
We were privileged to hear from Rev. David Miller, Director, Office of Spiritual Life at Union College and from two members of the UC Student Justice Leadership Group, Taya and Carlos, who led our gathering.
Believing Boldly – Second Sunday Community of Faith October 8 2023
The Rev. Bodhi Kahlil, Old Catholic Church of the USA, presents a liberating and empowering message on “Believing Boldly” based on Mark 5:25-34.
A New Beginning – Second Sunday Community of Faith September 10 2023
To truly become a beloved community based on Love, we need a new beginning. New beginnings are a specialty of God and this month we give Second Sunday Community of Faith a much needed makeover.
What Did You Drag Me Into – Second Sunday Community of Faith August 13 2023
I would offer that we are in a time of many prophets rising up from the most marginalized of communities, the most oppressed people … as it should be. As it always has been. I would also offer that, as they always have, prophets are not prophets by choice but by the ability to see past all the bull manure and self-righteous blustering of the status quo, the “moral majority,” the “traditionalists” to a more whole, more complete, more equitable and inclusive future; not just individual wholeness, but societal and even global wholeness.
