tbc Worship

Good Friday Service: Welcome!

Welcome.


“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…”

Isaiah 53:4

In this service, you will be invited to encounter a series of perspectives from people who stood near the suffering and death of Jesus or were drawn into its shadow. Some were disciples. Some were opponents. Some were grieving. Some were confused, afraid, complicit, or uncertain. Each encountered the cross from a different place.

You do not need to read every profile.

Instead, take your time. Remain still. Listen closely. Pay attention to where you feel drawn. You may find yourself lingering with a particular voice, a particular perspective, or a particular question. Let the Spirit guide you toward the story that meets you where you are tonight.

As you read, listen for more than similarity. Listen for what each person reveals about Jesus, about the world, and about the human heart in the presence of the cross. You may hear your own questions, your own grief, your own hopes, or your own need for grace echoed there.

We will remain in this quiet and prayerful space until just after 7:00 p.m. At that time, we invite you to stay with us as the service continues.

Mary, Mother of Jesus

Who is she? Jesus’ mother, present at the cross (John 19:25–27).

Perspective: 

  • She has walked with him since before his birth and now stands helpless before his death. 
  • Her soul aches with a pain that only a parent could know.
    • Yet she is not only a grieving mother. She is also a daughter of Israel, watching God’s promise pass through agony. 
  • Her presence says: I will not leave you, even here.

Questions to reflect:

What might Mary be holding onto in this moment? Do you know what it is like to watch someone suffer? 

Can you relate to her pain, or to her faithful presence? 

What might Mary see about God’s faithfulness here, even through grief?

The Beloved Disciple (likely John)

Who is he? One of Jesus’ closest friends, standing at the cross and given care of Mary (John 19:26–27).

Perspective: 

  • He sees a friend dying, but also something larger unfolding.
    • At the foot of the cross he receives a new family, not simply a new duty. 
    • Even here, as death closes in, Jesus is creating a new people bound together by love. 
    • His grief is interwoven with responsibility and with a call to love beyond death.

Questions to reflect:

What would it feel like to be handed someone’s deepest trust at their deathbed? 

Can you relate to holding sorrow and purpose at the same time? 

Where have you seen new responsibility emerge in the midst of loss? 

What might this scene reveal about the kind of family Jesus is forming?

Mary Magdalene

Who is she? A devoted follower of Jesus who witnessed his death and was among the first witnesses of his resurrection (Luke 8:2; John 20).

Perspective: 

  • Her grief is deep, but her love is deeper.
    • She stays when many others flee. 
    • She does not yet know resurrection is coming, but she refuses to abandon Jesus in his suffering. 
    • She remains as a witness, carrying the memory of this horror toward the dawn she cannot yet imagine.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever stayed close to someone in pain or death? 

What does loyalty look like in the face of loss? 

What might Mary Magdalene see in Jesus that others missed? 

How might steadfast love become a form of witness?

Simon Peter

Who is he? One of Jesus’ closest disciples; he denied knowing Jesus three times (Luke 22:54–62).

Perspective: 

  • He is crushed by shame.
    • He meant to be brave, but fear overtook him. 
    • Now, if he watches from afar, he may be wondering: Is there still a place for me in this story? 
  • Yet Peter’s failure is not the end of discipleship.
    • At the cross, he becomes a sign of the grace that will one day reclaim the one who fell.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever failed someone you loved? 

What does regret feel like in you? 

Can Peter’s story still be your story, even in your mistakes? 

Where might grace still be at work in the place of your failure?

Judas Iscariot

Who is he? The disciple who betrayed Jesus with a kiss for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14–16, 47–50).

Perspective: 

  • Perhaps he thought he was forcing Jesus’ hand. 
  • Perhaps he was disillusioned with the kind of kingdom Jesus refused to bring. 
  • In the end, remorse overwhelmed him, and he could not undo what had been done. 
  • His story is tragic: a warning about choosing our own kingdom over God’s, and about what happens when betrayal hardens into despair.

Questions to reflect:

What might drive someone to betrayal? 

Have you ever wanted God to act according to your own expectations? 

What happens when disappointment turns into grasping for control? 

Can Judas be a warning about mistaking our kingdom for God’s?

Pontius Pilate

Who is he? The Roman governor who authorized Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:1–16).

Perspective: 

  • He sees an innocent man, but political fear and crowd pressure win. 
  • He washes his hands, but not his conscience. 
  • Pilate is more than a conflicted individual; he is the face of imperial power preserving order at the expense of justice.
    • He asks, “What is truth?” and then walks away from the answer standing before him.

Questions to reflect:

What does compromise cost you? 

Have you ever felt stuck between what is right and what is safe? 

Where do you see yourself tempted to protect order rather than pursue justice? 

Do you resonate with Pilate’s hesitation, his silence, or his surrender to the system?

The Roman Centurion

Who is he? The soldier in charge of the crucifixion who later proclaimed, “Truly this man was God’s Son” (Mark 15:39).

Perspective: 

  • He has overseen many deaths, but something about Jesus pierces through his armor.
    • Power and violence are the world he knows. Yet here, in the suffering of the crucified one, he glimpses a different kind of kingship. Even Rome’s machinery begins, however dimly, to tell the truth about Jesus.

Questions to reflect:

What might it take to change a hardened heart? 

Can seeing suffering transform us? 

What kind of power does the centurion encounter at the cross? Is his confession something you have felt yourself?

Barabbas

Who is he? A convicted rebel and murderer released instead of Jesus (Mark 15:6–15).

Perspective: 

  • He walks free while Jesus takes his place. 
  • He did not earn his release; it was given. 
  • As he disappears into the crowd, we are left to wonder whether he ever looked back. 
  • In his freedom we glimpse the disturbing mercy of the cross: the guilty released while the innocent bears the sentence.

Questions to reflect:

What do you do with unearned grace? 

Have you ever been given a second chance you did not expect? 

What does Barabbas represent to you? 

How does his release change the way you see Jesus’ death?

Bartimaeus: the Healed Blind Man

Who is he? A blind beggar who was healed by Jesus near Jericho shortly before Jesus entered Jerusalem (Mark 10:46–52).

Perspective: 

  • He once sat in darkness by the roadside, shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
    • Now, healed and following on the way, perhaps he watches from the crowd with sight newly restored and heart still full of wonder. 
    • He sees clearly enough to stay near Jesus, even when the road leads into suffering.

Questions to reflect:

What has Jesus healed in you? 

What do you see more clearly now? 

Could your own story of mercy lead you to stay close to Jesus, even through suffering? 

What kind of sight does faith require at the cross?

Nicodemus

Who is he? A Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin who came to Jesus by night and later helped bury him (John 3:1–21; 19:39).

Perspective: 

  • Quiet, cautious, and curious, he once came by night.
    • But when the time came, he stepped into the light. 
    • By bringing burial spices, he aligned himself publicly with Jesus at great personal risk. 
    • The man who once asked hesitant questions now performs a costly act of devotion.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever followed Jesus in secret? 

What does it mean to step into the light at the right time? 

What would courage look like for you? 

Where might a quiet faith be ready to become public faithfulness?

Joseph of Arimathea

Who is he? A respected council member who offered his own tomb for Jesus’ burial (Mark 15:42–46).

Perspective: 

  • A man of status who moved with quiet compassion. 
  • His gesture did not undo the crucifixion, but it gave dignity in death. 
  • Joseph uses public standing and material resources to honor Jesus when doing so could cost him dearly. 
  • His courage is measured, visible, and concrete.

Questions to reflect:

When have you been called to use your resources for someone else’s sake? 

Can you relate to loving Jesus through a quiet, tangible act? 

How might privilege or position become an instrument of faithfulness? 

What does dignity in death reveal about love?

Mary of Bethany

Who is she? The sister of Martha and Lazarus, a beloved friend of Jesus. Days before the crucifixion, she anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume (John 12:1–8).

Perspective: 

  • She knelt in love, pouring out what others called waste, but Jesus called beautiful. 
  • She may not have understood everything, but she recognized that something sacred and costly was unfolding. 
  • Long before the cross, she honored him as one destined for burial, offering prophetic love when others could not yet bear the truth.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever acted in love when others did not understand? 

What does it mean to offer something costly to Jesus? 

Could Mary’s quiet devotion echo your own? 

How might love sometimes perceive what reason is slow to admit?

The Crowd that Cried “Crucify”

Who are they? A gathering of people, locals, pilgrims, neighbors, assembled during Passover, caught in the tension between empire and expectation (Mark 15:13–14).

Perspective: 

  • The crowd is not one person.
    • It is a mix of voices, some loud, some quiet, some unsure, some swept along. 
  • It is the place where disappointed hopes, political pressure, fear, and social contagion collide.
    • The Disillusioned Follower: “I believed he was the one. But nothing happened. Maybe I was wrong.”
    • The Fearful Observer: “I did not mean to join in. I just did not speak up.”
    • The Zealot Sympathizer: “Barabbas might fight. Jesus did not.”
    • The Regretful Voice: “I shouted too. But now I wish I had not.”
    • And then, there is a fifth voice.
      _____________________________: What were you feeling? What did you see? What did you want?

Questions to reflect:

Do you see yourself in any of these voices? 

Can you name your place in the crowd, not in shame, but in honesty? 

What voice might still need to be heard? 

How do disappointment, fear, or the pull of the crowd shape what we ask of Jesus?

Simon of Cyrene

Who is he? A traveler from North Africa who was forced to carry Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21).

Perspective: 

  • He did not plan to be involved.
    • But suddenly, he was bearing the burden of another’s suffering, sharing the weight of the condemned king. 
  • Perhaps something shifted in him that day and he never looked away again. 
  • What began as coercion may have become a strange form of discipleship?

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever been drawn into someone’s pain unexpectedly? 

What burdens have you carried that changed you? Could this be a holy interruption? 

What might it mean to share the burden of the crucified one?

Thaddaeus (also called Judas son of James)

Who is he? One of the Twelve disciples (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13), often overlooked and quietly faithful.

Perspective: 

  • He followed Jesus closely, left much behind, witnessed miracles, and heard every parable, yet Scripture says little about him.
    • Perhaps he stood at a distance, quietly grieving, holding his questions in silence. 
    • Sometimes faith is steady and unseen, not dramatic but enduring.

Questions to reflect:

Do you ever feel like your part in the story is small or hidden? 

What does it mean to follow faithfully without recognition? 

Could Thaddaeus give voice to your quiet discipleship? 

Where might unseen faithfulness matter more than public notice?

Thomas (also called Didymus)

Who is he? One of the Twelve, remembered for both his doubt and his devotion. When Jesus spoke of returning to Judea, Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16).

Perspective: 

  • Not long ago, he had spoken bravely, ready to face death alongside his teacher. Now, he watches Jesus die alone. 
  • Perhaps he wonders why the others fled? 
  • Perhaps he wonders whether courage was ever enough?
  •  Later, he will wrestle with resurrection, but perhaps only because he had loved so deeply and could not pretend that hope comes cheaply.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever tried to be brave and ended up broken? 

What does loyalty look like in the face of loss? 

Can you relate to a heart that dares to hope even through doubt? 

How might deep love make honest questions unavoidable?

The Servant Girl (Peter’s Accuser)

Who is she? A bystander in the courtyard who recognized Peter as one of Jesus’ followers (Luke 22:56–57).

Perspective: 

  • Young, observant, and perhaps simply telling the truth, she names what others are trying to hide. 
  • In a world that overlooks people like her, she sees clearly enough to expose Peter’s fear. 
  • Her words do not create his denial, but they reveal it.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever named something others were afraid to say? 

Can you relate to being dismissed, or to being the one who sees clearly? 

What truth might a socially overlooked person perceive before others do? 

How do uncomfortable truths bring hidden loyalties into the light?

The Temple Guard

Who is he? One of the men who arrested Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18:3).

Perspective: 

  • Trained to follow orders, he comes prepared for resistance.
    • But this prisoner is different: no violent defense, no scrambling escape, only a strange authority and peace. 
  • Perhaps he wonders still what kind of man heals an enemy in the middle of arrest? 
  • Jesus unsettles the script by refusing to play the game of force.

Questions to reflect:

Have you ever followed a script without asking questions? 

What might Jesus’ way of peace stir in someone trained for control? 

Where have you mistaken obedience for righteousness? 

What happens when true authority looks nothing like coercion?

Cleopas (on the Road to Emmaus)

Who is he? One of two disciples who encountered the risen Jesus on the road, though they did not recognize him at first (Luke 24:13–35).

Perspective: 

  • He is walking away from Jerusalem, disappointed, confused, and grieving. 
  • He thought Jesus was the one. Yet even in retreat, hope walks beside him in disguise. 
  • Cleopas carries the sorrow of Good Friday into the slow surprise of Easter, learning that despair does not have the last word.

Questions to reflect: 

Have you ever felt like walking away? 

What does it mean to carry disappointment with God? 

Could resurrection be unfolding even if you do not yet see it? 

How might hope accompany you before you know its name?

HEADLINES

Beginning close to home: Richmond

Hoodship Unity Basketball Game held in an effort to help stop gun violence
Richmond gas prices reach $4 a gallon
Missing Hopewell teen found dead in Caroline County
Richmond to resume Operation Vaporize enforcement on vape shops
Housing advocates push for more duplexes in Richmond’s ‘Code Refresh’
Lanes reopen after multi-vehicle crash on I-95 north in Chesterfield
Community builds ramp for 2-year-old who lost foot in lawn mower accident
Man suffers life-threatening injuries in Petersburg shooting, police say
Traffic signals near VCU flipped in favor of students: ‘It made me nervous’
Chesterfield Police clock two drivers going 40+ over limit in traffic blitz
All lanes reopen after crash into power lines on Mechanicsville Turnpike
Henrico police say driver hit pedestrian on Nine Mile Road
$780K pedestrian safety project planned around Richmond elementary school
Inside Richmond’s ‘Spring Forward’ initiative to keep students safe and engaged
Investigators share update after body found in woods: ‘Sick and Deliberate’
Memorial grows where three high school seniors were killed in Virginia crash
VDH staff first said no to new Chesterfield hospital. Why commissioner said yes.
Colonial Heights under boil water advisory after 50-year-old water main ruptures
Flights halted at 5 airports, including RIC, over smell at air traffic center
‘No Kings’ crowd marches in Richmond: ‘So many things going on’

Pulling back across the Commonwealth: Virginia

Gov. Spanberger signs first batch of bills into Virginia law
Virginia legislation creates new rules for tobacco and vape shops
‘We are not enforcing’: Email details Virginia nursing home oversight gap
Spanberger orders Virginia’s return to ERIC voter data partnership
Aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush, 4,000 sailors leave Norfolk
Spanberger considering assault weapons ban, other gun restrictions
General Assembly sends slate of immigration bills to Spanberger’s desk
Spanberger to consider legislation requiring state guidance on AI in schools
Spanberger calls April 23 special session to finalize state budget
Medical malpractice in Virginia was nearly overhauled. What happened?
Hanover utility director presents short-term water enhancements
Henrico County continues its ‘course of progress’ in FY27 budget proposal
Judge finds Virginia Democrats’ redistricting resolution illegal
Charlottesville works to tackle both angles of local housing need

Widening the frame: the United States

Supreme Court justices skeptical of Trump order to restrict birthright citizenship
US retail sales strong in February; rising gasoline prices will hurt spending
Luigi Mangione’s continued support shows need for swift trial, prosecutor says
Lilly’s weight-loss pill wins US approval, sets up next battle with rival Novo Nordisk
Trump administration cannot alter homelessness funding conditions, US court rules
US Congress to pass bills to fully fund Homeland Security, Republican leaders say
Death of near-blind refugee in New York ruled a homicide
Exclusive: US nicotine pouch fast-track scheme slowed by worries over youth, new users
US traffic deaths fall to lowest number since 2019
Exclusive: Pfizer, BioNTech halt US COVID vaccine study after recruitment struggles
As Trump weighs appeal of vaccine ruling, Kennedy supporters push for fight
US Senate aims to pass Homeland Security bill Thursday to end shutdown, source says
In historic first, Trump attends Supreme Court arguments
U.S. Justice Department sues Idaho for failure to produce voter rolls
NASA counts down for first crewed lunar mission in half a century
A New York vintner raids US wine cellars to skirt Trump’s tariffs
US farmers to plant less corn as Iran war spikes fertilizer prices
Exclusive: Fed’s Barkin says households, firms still see oil shock through a “short-term lens”
Judge orders Trump to halt $400 million White House ballroom project, for now
US State Department settles lawsuit claiming Biden-era suppression of conservative news
Judicial panel in Wisconsin dismisses lawsuit challenging state’s congressional map
Trump admin presents new plan to slash two thirds of consumer watchdog workforce
Trump administration prepares final lending rule to narrow civil rights protections
Judge throws out US Justice Department lawsuit challenging sanctuary laws in Colorado, Denver
Appeals court pauses orders restricting federal officers’ use of tear gas at Portland ICE building
‘No Kings’ rallies draw crowds across US, in Europe. Springsteen headlines Minnesota demonstration
Dozens arrested for failing to disperse after ‘No Kings’ rally in Los Angeles
Minnesota to host ‘No Kings’ flagship rally, headlining Springsteen amid tensions over ICE and war
A federal judge orders better attorney access at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
ICE leader defends officers before Congress after deaths of two people in Minnesota
Judge rules US government overreached with transgender health care declaration
Federal authorities announce end to Minnesota immigration crackdown that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths
Mexican immigrant died in US immigration custody, ICE says, marking 14 deaths in 2026
Exclusive: Trump’s approval hits new 36% low as fuel prices surge amid Iran war, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
Federal judge finds Trump violated free speech by ordering NPR defunded

Finally, pulling all the way back: Spanning the Globe

Trump says US may exit Iran war soon and threatens to quit NATO
Zelenskiy, Rutte hold talks with US negotiators, source says
A war meant to break Iran could leave Tehran stronger, and Gulf exposed
IEA, IMF and World Bank to coordinate response to Middle East war’s impact
France tells US NATO serves Euro-Atlantic security, not Hormuz offensive missions
Pakistan, Afghanistan open fresh talks in China to end conflict, say sources
Russia says its troops have taken full control of Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine
New Zealand, Cook Islands sign Defense and Security Declaration
Burundi says 13 killed in explosion at military ammunition depot
South African farmers grapple with rising diesel costs as harvest season approaches
Kenya tea exports hit by Iran conflict as stocks pile up
Fuel prices surge in Africa as Iran war hits supply
South Africa tax collection up 8% last fiscal year, preliminary data shows
Coca-Cola plans to invest $1 billion in South Africa through 2030
Ghana’s inflation slows for 15th straight month in March
US firm Virtus launches Chemaf transition in Congo mining partnership
Spanish police bust underground hashish route from Morocco
South African factory mood bleak in March as Iran war pressures start to build
South African citrus growers forecast another record year for exports
Switzerland says cancelling U.S. Patriot missile system order an option
Hungary’s far-right party seen as potential kingmaker in April 12 election
Hungary election polls show opposition Tisza widening lead over Orban’s Fidesz
Ukraine’s military hits Russian missile components plant in Bryansk region
Bulgaria’s caretaker PM says elections will be cleanest in years
Italian bill offers incentives for fishing nets to shield Ukraine from drones
Trump threatens NATO exit, scaling up tensions with allies
France suspects link to pro-Iranian group in foiled BofA Paris plot
Russia launches rare daytime drone attack on Ukraine, killing four, Ukrainian officials say
Swiss finance minister sues for defamation over Grok-created post
Factory input costs soar worldwide as Iran war snarls up supply chains
UK police arrest three more men over arson attack on Jewish community ambulances
London mayor asks diplomats to push back against Trump’s ‘lies’ about UK capital
Serbian students, protesters clash with police in Belgrade
North Korea-linked hack hits largely invisible software that powers online services
Fifteen deaths are confirmed after measles outbreak in Bangladesh
Corruption probe against former Kyrgyz security chief widens with arrest of his brother
EU lawmakers press China on unsafe products on rare Beijing visit
Australian leader urges using public transport, says war’s effects will last months
French peacekeeping troops in Lebanon subject to ‘unacceptable intimidation’ -junior minister
Accused money laundering leader extradited from Cambodia to China
Look at Hong Kong and don’t be naive about China, US senator says on Taiwan trip
Brazil enlists bank managers to combat deforestation
US exempts Gulf of Mexico drillers from endangered species rules
California AI order requires firms seeking state contracts to have safeguards against abuse
Australia readies social media court action citing teen ban breaches
EU lawmakers vote to make it easier to set up migrant detention centers outside the bloc
Iran war chokes aid corridors, obstructing global relief efforts

Sterling Severns Lent, Worship

Ash Wednesday

February 18, 2026

Ash Wednesday invites us to take our first steps into the Lenten journey, turning our hearts toward Easter with honesty and hope. It is a day when the church speaks plainly about who we are: mortal people whose lives are finite, and faithful people who often struggle to live as fully and lovingly as we intend.

On this day, many Christians receive ashes in the shape of a cross on the forehead and hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The ashes come from last year’s Palm Sunday branches, once lifted in joy and now burned and mixed with oil. They hold together two truths we share: our mortality, and our experience of missing the mark in our love for God, one another, and ourselves.

Ash Wednesday gives us a place to begin without pretending. In naming both our limits and our failures, we are invited into a season shaped by repentance, repair, and trust in God’s mercy.

If you are able, we hope you will join us at Tabernacle and invite others to join you. If another Ash Wednesday service in the community fits your day more easily, we encourage you to take part there.

Ash Wednesday at Tabernacle

12:00 PM–5:00 PM | Open Sanctuary

The sanctuary will be open for quiet prayer, guided meditations, and the receiving of ashes. You are welcome to come briefly or to linger in silence and reflection, as your day allows.

6:00–7:00 PM | Ash Wednesday Service

We will gather for a communal Ash Wednesday service in the sanctuary, including music, scripture readings, a reflection, prayer, and the imposition of ashes.

Wherever and however you mark this day, may it be a faithful beginning to the Lenten journey.

tbc Life of the Community, Worship, Worship & Fellowship

Memorial Service: Woody Jenkins

Lynwood “Woody” Bruce Jenkins died peacefully after a day surrounded by family and friends in his home in Powhatan, Virginia on October 11th following a 10-month battle with cancer. He leaves behind his loving wife of 44 years, Virginia “Penny”.

Woody embarked on a life of service working as a house parent to underprivileged youth in Baltimore, MD. He went on to work as integration coordinator for Morgan State University, afterwards serving as a Human Resources director in life care facilities in the Baltimore and Philadelphia areas. When he returned to Virginia, he became a real estate broker at Lake Anna. After a near-fatal automobile accident, Woody responded to his original calling to become a pastor, entering seminary at age 56 and earning Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He served at Southampton Baptist Church in South Richmond and Elk Creek Baptist Church in Mineral, VA until he retired. In between pastorates, he worked in the development office at Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond.

When not at work, he was involved in helping family, friends, and community with whatever needed fixing. He helped coach his sons’ baseball teams and cheered loudly at his grandsons’ various games. He was the first President of Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore and Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity and finally served Habitat with his wife as volunteer Mid-Atlantic Regional Directors approving new projects in five states, including Richmond HFH as well. He went on mission trips to Slovakia, Panama, and Brazil. He helped to establish the Rural Institute for Theological Education in the Goshen Baptist Association to provide undergraduate studies for adults in rural counties with many students going on to pursue seminary degrees. He joined the Goochland County Fire and Rescue Department in 2002, primarily driving an ambulance for many years. Woody soon saw the need for chaplaincy services for patients, families, and even the FEMS staff themselves, and that came to fruition for FEMS and the Sheriff’s department.

Woody was predeceased by his parents, Hugh E. and Hattie C. Jenkins, his half-brother, Harold Stoneburger, and his brother, Robert. In addition to Penny, he also leaves his sister, Mary Kathryn Richardson, and brother, James Jenkins (Joyce), his first wife, Nancy Jenkins, and also his son, David, and step-children, Laurel Nelson (Brooks), Ronald Mattson (Pamela), and Michael Mattson (Rebecca), and his grandchildren, Syd (Katie), Matthew, James, Simon, and Reid. He also leaves Hung Pham, Brian Roskow, and Brian Giesler who each lived in his and Penny’s home as young men.

Among his many joys were hunting, fishing, traveling the open road in his RV, and loving on his many dogs over the years, so we add Bodie and Kylie, the last of the pack.

A celebration of life is planned for Monday, November 24 at 11 a.m. at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1925 Grove Ave., Richmond, VA 23220 followed by a time of fellowship with the family. The service will be available on Live-stream. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Tabernacle Baptist Church Endowment Fund or Richmond SPCA.

Sterling Severns Worship

Homily: When the Door Doesn’t Budge

What do you do when the door won’t open—when you’ve prayed, pushed, and persisted, only to find yourself still stuck? This week, Pastor Sterling Severns reflects on Luke 11:1–13, where Jesus responds to his disciples’ request: “Teach us to pray.” With insight from theologian Robert Farrar Capon, this homily explores prayer not as a formula for success but as a deep practice of surrender and connection.

Sterling walks us through the mystery of persistence in prayer—not to wear God down, but to wear down our own illusions of control. Sometimes the door doesn’t open right away. Sometimes it’s not the door that moves, but us. And sometimes, in the weariness and surrender, we discover that God has been with us all along, even before the door creaked open.

Whether you’re questioning, clinging, or simply tired, this episode offers a spacious, compassionate reminder: prayer doesn’t always change the circumstances, but it opens us to the God who is unshakably present in the midst of them.

Homily Transcript

July 13, 2025 Luke 11:1–13 Rev. Sterling Severns, Pastor

The disciples of Jesus have been following him for a while now. They notice that there’s something different about him beyond just his ability to perform miracles and the wisdom teaching and all the things it’s about. The way that he prays, they notice that when he goes off to spend time with God, he comes back kind of with a reset button having been hit or a renewed resolve. They become aware the more time that they spend with him, that there’s something about the quality, or whatever is that’s happening there in his connection with God that helps him in the moments that he finds himself being criticized. On the other side of the criticism, something that sustains him when he’s clearly getting weary. There is something about the quality of the nature of the way that he prays that sustains him. And so they ask the innocent question, hey, how do we pray like that? Teach us to pray now the cross thing at the beginning of our spiritual journeys, when we first start out, one of the great gifts of the initial period of time that we find ourselves just open and aware to the grace of God is that doors just kind of open for us as we go through them, we have a keen awareness early in our faith, In our childlike faith. 

It seems that when we approach an obstacle, a wall, or, in today’s context, a door, we just kind of assume, maybe, I don’t know how to say it, we assume the door is going to open, and it does. Can you remember a time in your life when things felt pretty easy for a lot of you, that was a long time ago? Anybody? Yeah, for most all of us, if not all of us, it’s been so long since life felt that way that we don’t even remember that moment in our lives. Because the longer that we walk in faith, the more we discover as we do life, that more doors are on the way, right? So whereas at first we may just walk through the door or we just assume God’s going to open it and God opens the door, we’re good, but then the longer that we move along, we find that we have to work at it a little bit more. Here’s the great truth that I’d like to share with you in this brief little homily today, the perception of this passage of Scripture is that if we can just nag it, God enough, God will finally be so sick of hearing us that we’ll get what we ask for. 

Robert Farrar Capon, one of my favorites, the quintessential go to for all things. Parables says that so many of us approach God as if prayer is a vending machine. You know, some of you are so young you haven’t used a lot of vending machines where you understand the frustration of putting all the quarters in and then watching your candy bar get stuck as it slowly is swiveling and it gets stuck, and you find yourself doing what, shaking the living daylights out of it, kicking it. And now you’ve gone and hurt yourself, and now you need to feed your feelings. So you’re going to need two candy bars, not one. And before you know it, and finally, it pops out, and Farrar Capon and says, No, that’s not prayer. That’s not what this author is saying, if you walk away from a parable and it tells you what you went into it, assuming that you knew what it was going to say, you’ve probably missed it. It’s not about wearing God out. 

When I was a teenager, I knew that if I needed to get. Way with something I should approach my mom, not my dad. My dad was the hard liner in our house. I so desperately wanted to go snow skiing, which is such a joke, because in central Tennessee, you don’t have a whole lot of skiing options. You might as well be in Dubai, where you have skiing but like, come on. But sure enough, in Crossville, there was this tiny, little one hill ski resort, and I couldn’t wait to get to it, and my mom said, I am not giving you permission. If your dad says you can go, you can go. And I remember begging my dad at first, and then it was very clear that wasn’t going to happen. And finally, I knew my dad’s buttons enough that I knew if I pushed hard enough at this point with where he was in life, he may very well relent, and he did. The weather forecast was terrible. They were calling for ice, and I actually wore my dad out to the point that he said, Fine, just go. And sure enough, halfway there, we got hit on the interstate, and we ended up spinning out of control and almost hit a tree off of the interstate. A tow truck had to be called pull us back on the interstate. We ended up still the vehicle was operational. We were able to go and we skied our little one hill ski trip, and I came home, and to this day, I don’t know that my dad knows that I was in a car accident on the way there. 

It’s not how it works. Here’s how it works. You didn’t get the life that you thought you would or for the religious types, we didn’t get the life that we thought we should have gotten. It didn’t pan out how we thought it would. And when we approach the doors as they come, one after the other, you know, sometimes in crisis, sometimes in deep pain, and other times, we just get worn out from doing the right thing over and over again, and somehow we just lose the ability to see that God is walking with us, that God is with us. In my own experience, I have had this experience multiple times now in adulthood, where I find myself looking at a proverbial door, and thinking to myself, I know how to get this door open. I’ve seen doors just like this door. I know how to do this. And I even assume that God expects me to be the one that opens it, and I end up beating on that door and turning that handle a million times and kicking on that door to the point that I have no energy left in my body, only to slunk down against that very door, and with what little energy I can muster, throw my hands up in the air and say, God, this is the end. I can’t do it. And sure enough, it’s the moment that I say I can’t, that I find that that door that I’m now leaning against, slunk down, just falls open, and I fall forward with this deep awareness that God just did something that I know I can’t. 

It’s Not about God as Santa Claus giving us what we wish for. It’s not about the vending machine. It’s about our persistence and the necessary knocking. That is more about us wearing our own selves out, our egos out, so that we know that ultimately, prayer is not about getting what we ask for but so much more getting a constant awareness that we are not alone. 

Jesus doesn’t say pray, and let’s see if you earn it. He just says it over and over again. Come to Me and, prayer….. intimacy…. is how God does that best. 

Teach us to pray like you do Jesus, Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come not mine. Your will be done, not mine. Forgive me, Lord. Forgive us, Lord, the way that we forgive other people by your example and please enough doors already lead us, not into temptation, but no matter what, just try to deliver us from ourselves and the evil in us. Amen. 

Amen.

Sterling Severns Life of the Community, Staff, Worship

When We Gather

On Sunday mornings, I have the privilege of sitting up front in the blue fabric chair just behind the pulpit before worship really gets going.

For over 20 years, I’ve settled into that chair nearly every week, watching the congregation arrive for worship. Some of you walk in quietly, take a bulletin, and slip into a pew for quiet reflection, while others of you move through the room greeting one another. And then there are those of you in the Virtual Acre doing something similar in your own way—settling in with coffee, saying good morning in the chat, making space for worship wherever you are.

One of the things I’ve come to love about sitting in that seat is that it gives me such a clear view of what happens next. I get to see the slow, quiet convergence as you arrive from all over, carrying the week behind you, your burdens and joys in tow, and gradually our voices begin to join together.

There’s something beautiful about those first notes of the gathering song. It’s one of those sacred moments when our gathered bodies become The Gathered Body—when the many individual parts begin coming together as one.

As worship continues, that sense of shared space only deepens. When some of you stand to share your testimonies—each one unique, rooted in your own lived experience—there’s this mystery where your stories begin to resonate with all of us. When others of you lead us in song, guide us in prayer, or serve in so many other ways, your offerings invite us deeper into this shared experience of worship.

We start to hear our own questions, struggles, and hopes echoed back.

It’s in that sharing, both spoken and silent, that we remember we’re not just a collection of individuals, but brought together by the Spirit of God, learning again and again to share our lives, lift our voices, and find grace in the faces around us.

It’s one of those times when our scattered lives find a shared voice, drawn together by the Spirit, ready to sing grace into the world.

Rev. Sterling Severns, Pastor

Sterling Severns Devotional, Life of the Community, Staff, Worship

Pastoral Reflection: No Turning Back

Sterling Severns

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

– Annie Dillard

No Turning Back

There’s something unflinching about Jesus here.

Luke says he “set his face toward Jerusalem.”
It’s the moment he stops wandering and starts going.
Not drifting. Not hedging.
But choosing the road ahead—come what may.

He’s honest about it.
Bracingly so.
He says following will cost you.
He says you’ll have to let go of “but first.”
He says you can’t plow straight if you keep looking back.

And it’s not cruelty that makes him speak this way.
It’s love that refuses to lie.
He knows the road leads through suffering.
But he also knows it’s the only road that leads to life.

I think there’s mercy in that clarity.
A grace in being told the truth about what matters most.
Because when you know the cost, you get to choose freely.
And love that’s chosen freely is the only kind that lasts.

I imagine us standing there together in that moment.
Hearing his voice.
Not with shame. Not with fear.
But with a holy honesty that says:
“Yes. Even this. I’ll follow.”


I wonder:
I wonder what “but first” you’re holding onto these days.
I wonder what you’d have to lay down to follow more freely.
I wonder what you might gain on the other side of that choice.

Looking Ahead

As we prepare for worship next Sunday, I hope you’ll take time to read ahead in the Gospel—Luke 10:1–11, 16–20.

Jesus sends seventy others on ahead of him.
He doesn’t weigh them down with baggage.
He sends them lightly, with trust and purpose, to bring peace and healing wherever they go.
He tells them to say: “The kingdom of God has come near.”

If this week is about choosing the road,
Next week is about walking it—together.

And there’s hope in that.
We don’t walk alone.

I wonder:
As you read and pray this week,
I wonder what it would mean for you to go lightly.
I wonder how you might speak peace into someone’s life.
I wonder where you might notice God’s kingdom drawing near.

May God grant us the grace to see clearly,
the courage to choose freely,
and the love to walk this road with one another.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Sterling W. Severns
Pastor

Judy Fiske Life of the Community, Worship

Thank you!


Last Sunday in worship I shared a small piece by Frederick Buechner called Sacrament.  It begins with these sentences: “A sacrament is when something holy happens.  It is transparent time – time when you can see through to something deep inside time.”  Something sacramental began on Sunday as we celebrated our shared ministry of over 45 years.  We celebrated connection to God and to one another and we stood on the edge of time looking backward and fearfully beginning to peek forward. 

I cannot thank you enough for 45+ years of shared ministry.  We have walked together and sung together through joy and sorrow always looking to God for the way through.  As I step away from “professional” ministry and the congregation steps into a time of change and discernment we can both walk boldly into sacramental time when our awareness of the Holy that surrounds us will guide us on the road forward.  Last Sunday was an amazing experience of celebration and remembrance.  Let it be a sacramental beginning for both of us

Thank you for sharing life and music in the service of God with me.  The road does indeed lead on with God’s guidance.  I can’t wait to see what is around the next turn. 

Grateful,
Judy

Sterling Severns Life of the Community, Worship, Worship & Fellowship

Pastoral Reflection: A Moment Worth Holding

“A sacrament,” Frederick Buechner once wrote, “is when something holy happens. It is transparent time—time when you can see through to something deep inside time.”

A Moment Worth Holding

And wouldn’t you know it, last Sunday felt like that.
Not holy in a big, dramatic sort of way.
Nothing flashy. Nothing staged.
But holy in a way that you could feel in your chest.
In the quiet that settled before a hymn.
In the steady presence of people who knew this moment mattered.
In the kind of moment you know you’ll carry with you.

Judy stood there—humble, clear-eyed, and fully herself—and guided us, as she always has, with the kind of wisdom that doesn’t need to raise its voice. She reminded us that Baptists don’t really “do” sacraments. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know when we’re standing on sacred ground.

“This is a transition,” she told us. “But more than that—it’s a glimpse. A thin place. Transparent time.”

She was teaching us to notice the holy humming beneath the familiar. To pay attention.

Honoring Judy

Last Sunday felt like one of those moments where the everyday and the sacred sit side by side, and you can sense something deeper just beneath the surface.

Music lifted us, stories grounded us, and a spirit of celebration reminded us who we are together. We honored Judy Fiske, Organist Emerita, for her years of ministry—decades spent faithfully stitching together worship and community in ways that have shaped us more than words can express.

We hold Judy, Eric, and their entire family in prayer as they step into this new season—a time to rest, reconnect, try new things, and enjoy being together in a different rhythm of life. We also anticipate seeing Judy in worship again in September—not in a staff role, but as a fellow worshiper. We’ll be eager to see her at the organ bench with some regularity, though we’re still discerning what that rhythm will be.

We’re deeply grateful for the many hands and hearts that planned and facilitated such a meaningful day—thank you for helping us mark this transition with so much love and care.
The beauty of that moment continues to echo in the life of our church.

This Sunday’s Gospel: Luke 8:26–39

This Sunday, Jesus steps off a boat and into the chaos of a man’s life. The man’s name is Legion. That alone tells you plenty. He’s a walking crowd of pain.

But Jesus doesn’t flinch. He sees through to the deep inside.
And in that seeing, there’s healing.
In that moment—terrifying and tender and beautifully human—there is mercy.

Not the kind that says “I’ll pray for you” and keeps walking. The kind that stops, listens, lingers. The kind that stays.

Jesus sends the man home, not just well, but whole. With a story to tell.

A Request for Prayer

Like him, we too are walking forward with a story to tell—grateful for healing, grounded by mercy, and reminded that our calling is not just to look back with thanks, but to look ahead with hope.

That’s where we are, church. On the edge of something new.
Listening to the Spirit who whispers, “Now go tell what God has done for you.”

We invite you to be in prayer for our pastoral and music staff, and for our congregation, as we take up the shared work of worship planning and leadership. These next few weeks will be a time of transition—filled with both memory and discovery. Let’s ask God’s Spirit to guide us gently and clearly through each step.

And together, we will keep walking—grateful for what has been and expectant for what is still to come.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Sterling W. Severns
Senior Pastor