Faith Montage: Heading to the Sealed and Sacramental #LetUsPray

This past week, I flew a lot: Burbank, San Francisco, Toronto, and Ann Arbor – and boy are my arms tired 😜 While I enjoy the seasons when I'm pastoring, I love seeing new places through speaking and preaching gigs.

I really loved my brief time in Toronto. It's like San Francisco and New York had a baby. Toronto had me hanging out with some young radicals on behalf of the Presbyterian Church (USA) at the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) Kapit Bisig (Arm in Arm) Conference in Toronto. Sidebar: Every justice conference should also have an action.

I then guest preached at First UMC, Ann Arbor, and delivered the Henry Loud Lecture at the U of Michigan Wesley Foundation.

But whew, the church reentry week has been a doozy. For some reason, Sundays keep happening every week; we are having some consequential conversations, and important interruptions have required attention. I do love this work, but this evening you MAY have found me at a late-night movie (Forgotten Island) and then eating an entire pizza on the walk home at 10:00pm. So yes, this late-night prayer post is being fueled by a sausage, onion, and mushroom pizza.

Today, this portion of the Faith Montage is a quick bridge to the sacraments. The next two weeks will be Baptism and Communion. The liturgies around World Communion Sunday center on the Isaiah passage.

Faith Montage: Heading to the Sealed and Sacramental #LetUsPray

Let us pray —

As we go, we join with other seeking and searching souls,
we name, we seal, and we proclaim our commitment to the faith.

We claim the faith that we chose to believe
in ritual and rite,
sacred and sacramental,
proclaimed and public,
jubilant and free.

— Amen.

Breath Prayer

Receive (inhale): May my faith.
Release (exhale): Be sealed and sacramental.

Peace,

LITURGY AND PREACHING PROMPTS

World Communion Sunday, October 4, 2026

The Day's Readings (Year A): Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 | Isaiah 5:1-7 | Philippians 3:4b-14 | Matthew 21:33-46
Readings for Year 1, Matthew: Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29: The sea parts at the Exodus; God’s deliverance. Matt 2:13-15: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in Egypt, out of Egypt have I called my son

For readings, I refer to the Vanderbilt Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) and The Narrative Lectionary (NL). For Bible translations, I turn to The Common English Bible (CEB) or New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE). For more liturgical inspiration, check out enfleshed or liturgylink.

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