Our Summer Worship Series is entitled “Anything But Ordinary.” We continue, as a church, to follow the Revised Common Lectionary readings of “ordinary time” in the church calendar. Starting June 7th, we will begin to follow the story of God’s chosen people: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and more. These stories are full of drama, joy, terror, doubt, failure, and a complicated web of family dynamics. Some of the stories are quite ordinary: moving away from home, finding a partner, giving birth, and trying to do what is best for your family. But even in these ordinary moments, we see the Spirit at work. The movement of the Spirit is anything but ordinary. That’s just what happens when we open our hearts to God’s call—we may find that our small decisions to listen and step out may be the biggest decision we make. The story of our ancestors of faith helps us to see the impact our faith has on future generations. I have been thinking about that a lot as I have witnessed the Mission Study Committee conclude its work. Looking back at our church’s history, First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant got its start from a committee of nine people in 1929 who believed it was not God’s will to have two competing Presbyterian churches downtown, but instead to work together to form one body and build one church. What none of them could have predicted was that their decision to build would coincide with the Great Depression. Still, they believed in building this church here as a testament of faith and were able to weather the depression. That is anything but ordinary. Now, in 2026, it is anything but ordinary to open our church up to those who need a hot meal on Sunday evenings, to share our space with 200 college students at the end of each semester so they feel supported and loved during a difficult season of exams, to host Muslim wedding celebrations and a Sudanese Mother’s Day event, to have children and youth lead us in worship and preach the word, and continue to ask, “What is God calling us to next?” That is ANYTHING but ordinary. So, it makes me wonder, “What does God have in store for this church, at this time, in this place, as we approach our 100th anniversary?” Graphics: A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org