Kindred in Christ,

This Sunday, we’ll hear one of Jesus’ more startling parables—a story about a man who builds bigger and bigger barns to store up his wealth, only to discover he won’t live to enjoy any of it.

But this isn’t just a parable about money. It’s about how we live. It’s about the myth of self-sufficiency we’ve all been taught: that we must secure ourselves through more—more savings, more possessions, more control.

Jesus offers a different vision. In the Kin-dom of God, everything is gift. Grace is not a private possession. It’s not something we own—it’s something we receive with open hands and pass along freely.

This week, we’ll explore what it means to live in the kind of community where grace isn’t just a comforting word—it’s an economy. A different way of relating to one another and to the world.

Our early Methodist ancestors believed in this deeply. At the New Room in Bristol—the very first Methodist meeting space—the seats were intentionally movable. People would gather to hear the Word preached, then reconfigure the space to serve the poor. Worship and justice-making weren’t separate acts—they were woven together into a shared life of generosity.

Centuries earlier, Saint Basil described the same vision. He said:

“The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry. The coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it.”

For the early church—and for us—this isn’t just about charity. It’s about seeing what we have not as our own, but as belonging to the whole body of Christ—everyone.

As both our congregations explore what it might mean to share life, ministry, and even possessions together, Jesus’ vision of an alternative economy offers both a challenge and an invitation—to imagine church not as a place of scarcity, but as a community of grace and mutual care.

We’ll begin Sunday with the beloved hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”—a song that reminds us that our lives are sustained not by what we store up, but by God’s daily mercies. When we trust in God’s provision, we’re freed to live open-handed, generous lives.

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we continue our summer series, Interwoven by Grace.
The sermon is titled Grace is Not a Private Good, drawing from Luke 12:13–21 and Colossians 3:1–11.

Come ready to reflect, to sing, to be challenged, and to find joy in the freedom grace brings.

Alongside you,

Rev. Paul Ortiz