“Love and Marriage???”

A Service of the Word for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 26, 2026: IN-PERSON and ONLINE at 10:30 a.m.
The Rev. Matthew Emery, lead minister, preaching
Romans 8:26–39 and Genesis 29:15–28

As we’ve said, sometimes the stories from which we hear in scripture highlight something about who we understand God to be, and sometimes the stories highlight something important about who we understand ourselves to be. This Sunday, as we hear more from Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we join up again with Jacob who is on the run and in exile from the brother he’s swindled. He eventually finds himself back with family, though, in the household of his maternal uncle, named Laban. Through a complicated tale of both love and trickery, both Leah and Rachel end up as Jacob’s wives. But in truly hearing the story, we are forced to ask, who is it that we do not hear from in the scene? And does it mean those ones were not active?

In addition, near the end of the worship service we’ll have a brief rite of prayer and mutual blessing to mark the “sending off” of Rev. Matt on his sabbatical time.