Sermon & Worship Leadership Videos
In addition to the sermon texts found in my blog, this is a video record of my sermons and worship leadership at Black Mountain UCC (BMUCC) in North Scottsdale, and First Church UCC Phoenix.
01
Worship Leadership at BMUCC, May 16, 2021
This was my first experience leading an entire worship service, where my message was about the gift of the diversity of God's human creation and the work we must do to embrace it.
02
The Barbie Sermon at First Church, January 14, 2024
In this sermon, I took a look at Psalm 139 as a call to be our authentic selves and to honor God's creation of us, and we looked at Barbie's journey to authenticity in light of Joseph Cambell's "The Hero's Journey". A creative take scripture during Movie Month at First Church!
03
Children's Sermon - Making Good Decisions at First Church, May 12, 2024
During mental health month, the main sermon theme this day was about addiction and recovery, so my challenge was to find a kid-friendly theme that worked. So I chose the "how to make good decisions" theme and brought a special activity to do with the kids. I was delighted with their engagement.
04
Pride Month at First Church Phoenix, June 2, 2024
For June 2024, I created an entire worship series for Pride Month. This first Sunday, I explained the journey we would undertake throughout the month, and we kicked off with a panel on the beauty and diversity of God's creation.
05
Worship Leadership at First Church, June 11, 2021
This was my first experience leading an entire worship service at First Church as we continued Pride Month celebrations. My sermon was on "The Sacred Journey from Shame to Pride", looking at a very common story for LGBTQIA+ people and indeed for all those who suffer and must heal from shame, leaning on God's love and a lot of hard work to hold and heal our inner children.
06
Worship Leadership & Panel on Religious Trauma - First Church June 16, 2024
In this third Sunday of Pride Month, we discuss the ways in which the institution of the church has caused immeasurable harm to the LGBTQIA+ community and indeed many others, how people have been brave enough to stay in the church, and what it has meant for their healing.
07
Joy on the Journey Podcast
I had a wonderful conversation with Rev. Dr. Toni Hawkins, Southwest Conference Minister, on her podcast, "Joy on the Journey". We discussed a wide variety of topics from where we find joy in life to what my call to ministry is.
08
Children's Sermon: The Power of Spiritual Community
In this video, Christopher welcomes the children to Sunday School and talks about spiritual communities. He explains that a spiritual community is like a family that helps and cares for each other. Then he tells a story about a community of animals that got destroyed by a storm. The animals had to work together to rebuild their community using their special gifts. After the story, Christopher says that everyone has special gifts that they can contribute to their spiritual community.
09
Embracing Our Authentic Selves: A Dialogue on Hope and Courage
First Church Phoenix closed off Pride Month with a powerful message about living authentically and embracing God's plan for each of us. This service featured a heartfelt dialogue on hope and courage between Pastor Susan Valiquette and pre-MID Christopher Schouten, inspired by the personal stories and experiences of them and First Church community members.