There are two pressing issues facing religion today that are largely going unanswered: Why is religion so often on the wrong side of the most important issues facing the world? And how can we cultivate a spirituality that brings goodness, compassion, and repair to a troubled world without becoming religious hypocrites? But these aren’t just the most pressing questions facing religion today...

The book of Acts depicts the birth of the church as a new expression of the Spirit of God. We celebrate this every year on Pentecost Sunday, but what does this mean for us today? How can we know what God’s Spirit is doing in the world and how can we join with that work?

unday, Nov 28 we begin Advent! This year, The Oceanside Sanctuary is inviting you to join us in reading through an excellent new Advent devotional called, Traveling With Our Ancestors by Disciples of Christ pastor, activist, and theologian Sandhya Jha, who writes in the in opening note:

We learned a lot about America this week. The ugliness of Jan 6th confirm that systemic racism, white supremacy, and the dangerous threat of authoritarianism and Christian nationalism are very real threats. Some are already pushing for the nation to unify and heal. But this runs the risk of ignoring the very real trauma, loss, and grief that Americans are experiencing...

Tuesday we learned that officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake will not be held accountable. This re-awakens the ongoing trauma so many of our fellow Black Americans experience after high-profile killings of people like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

Why would anyone still choose church? With the extreme polarization of our society leading up to the 2020 national elections, you’ve probably noticed there is a growing disillusionment with religion in America. More and more people see church as the source of the problem, not the solution to our problems.