November 1, 2026
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others
to dream more, learn more, do more and become more,
then, you are an excellent leader.”
~Dolly Parton
BRUNCH!
WORDS OF GREETING AND GATHERING
Pastor Alexis Ward Owens
WELCOMING STATEMENT
RISE believes that God has open arms, and so should we. Our Creator wants us to love, accept and affirm every human being, including persons of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, religion or creed, and physical or mental ability. We celebrate our diversity and recognize the sacred worth and dignity of all. Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us as we seek to follow Jesus with mutual respect, understanding, and love.
*Read more about “Why Pronouns Matter” HERE.
OPENING Affirmation
“The Sparkle Creed”
by Rev. Rachel Small Stokes
I believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural.
I believe in Jesus Christ, their child, who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God.
I believe in the rainbow Spirit, who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity.
I believe in the church of everyday saints as numerous, creative and resilient as patches on the AIDS quilt, whose feet are grounded in mud and whose eyes gaze at the stars in wonder.
I believe in the call to each of us that love is love is love, so beloved, let us love.
I believe, glorious God. Help my unbelief.
Opening SongS
Songs Will Happen!
“How Can I Keep From Singing”
~Robert Lowrey and Ira Sankey
My life flows on in endless song,
above earth’s lamentation.
I hear the sweet, though far off hymn
that hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear its music ringing.
It sounds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth it liveth.
And though the darkness round me close,
songs in the night it giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that rock I’m clinging.
Since love is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?
When tyrants tremble in their fear
and hear their death knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cell and dungeon vile
our thoughts to them are winging.
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?
I lift my eyes, the clouds grow thin,
I see the blue above it.
And day by day this pathway clears,
since first I learned to love it.
The peace from love makes fresh my heart,
a song of hope is ringing.
All things are mine, since truth I’ve found.
How can I keep from singing?
___________________________________
The original hymn text may well be a Quaker hymn written in the 1850’s by Ann Warner who lived on an island in the Hudson River. Her text refers to Quakers who were jailed for their beliefs. Pete Seeger brought the song to life in 1957 by publishing it in Sing Out Magazine. He learned the third verse (When tyrants...) from Doris Plenn, who wrote it during the McCarthy era in tribute to those, like Pete Seeger, who refused to take loyalty oaths and were often punished. The hymn text and the original tune are attributed to Robert Lowry. The original tune was later adapted and arranged by Ira Sankey.
“We Are Crossing Jordan River”
~Traditional Spiritual, arr. Joan Baez, Bob Gibson
We are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
We are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, my golden crown
Jordan River, deep and wide
I got a home on the other side
Well we are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
Now when I get to Heaven
I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna sit down
Now when I get to Heaven
I'm gonna sit down on the golden throne
Jordan River, chilly and cold
Chills the body, but not the soul
Well we are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
We are climbing Jacob's Ladder
I want to sit down, I want to sit down
Well we are climbing Jacob's Ladder
I want to sit down on that golden throne
Jordan River, deep and wide
I got a home on the other side
Well we are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
Well we are crossing that Jordan River
Want my crown, want my crown
We are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, my golden crown
Jordan River, deep and wide
I got a home on the other side
Well we are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
Jordan River, chilly and cold
Chills the body, but not the soul
Well we are crossing that Jordan River
I want my crown, I want my crown
Scripture Readings
Joshua 3:7-17 (CEB)
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you great in the opinion of all Israel. Then they will know that I will be with you in the same way that I was with Moses. 8 You are to command the priests who carry the covenant chest, ‘As soon as you come to the bank of the Jordan, stand still in the Jordan.’”
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come close. Listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Then Joshua said, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and will completely remove the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites before you. 11 Look! The covenant chest of the ruler of the entire earth is going to cross over in front of you in the Jordan. 12 Now pick twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. 13 The soles of the priests’ feet, who are carrying the chest of the Lord, ruler of the whole earth, will come to rest in the water of the Jordan. At that moment, the water of the Jordan will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand still in a single heap.”
14 The people marched out from their tents to cross over the Jordan. The priests carrying the covenant chest were in front of the people. 15 When the priests who were carrying the chest came to the Jordan, their feet touched the edge of the water. The Jordan had overflowed its banks completely, the way it does during the entire harvest season. 16 But at that moment the water of the Jordan coming downstream stood still. It rose up as a single heap very far off, just below Adam, which is the city next to Zarethan. The water going down to the desert sea (that is, the Dead Sea) was cut off completely. The people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 So the priests carrying the Lord’s covenant chest stood firmly on dry land in the middle of the Jordan. Meanwhile, all Israel crossed over on dry land, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
Matthew 23:1-12 (CEB)
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, 2 “The legal experts and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore, you must take care to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. 4 For they tie together heavy packs that are impossible to carry. They put them on the shoulders of others, but are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. 5 Everything they do, they do to be noticed by others. They make extra-wide prayer bands for their arms and long tassels for their clothes. 6 They love to sit in places of honor at banquets and in the synagogues. 7 They love to be greeted with honor in the markets and to be addressed as ‘Rabbi.’
8 “But you shouldn’t be called Rabbi, because you have one teacher, and all of you are brothers and sisters. 9 Don’t call anybody on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is heavenly. 10 Don’t be called teacher, because Christ is your one teacher. 11 But the one who is greatest among you will be your servant. 12 All who lift themselves up will be brought low. But all who make themselves low will be lifted up.
THEOLOGICAL Reflection
Pastor Alexis Ward Owens
“The power to empower others is the greatest superpower”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Have you ever experienced a situation where someone was expected to do the work but was excluded from the decisions? How did that affect you or the people involved?
In what ways can traditional understandings of leadership reinforce gender inequality, even when people do not intend to discriminate?
How can those who currently hold positions of privilege or authority use their influence to create space for voices that have historically been silenced?
What is one concrete action we could take this week to help create a more inclusive and equitable world?
Song
“A Living Prayer”
~Alison Krauss
In this world I walk alone
With no place to call my home
But there's one who holds my hand
The rugged road through barren lands
The way is dark the road is steep
But He's become my eyes to see
The strength to climb my griefs to bear
The Savior lives inside me there
In Your love I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to Thee
In these trials of life I find
Another voice inside my mind
He comforts me and bids me live
Inside the love the Father gives
In Your love I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to Thee
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to Thee
PRAYER
~AWO
Offering and NOMOFOMO
One of our core values is, "God gives to us, so we give back." We're called to give as a joy-filled response to what we've been given. Your financial gifts make a tremendous difference in the lives of God's beloved in Harrisonburg and beyond. Whether it's helping to make sure children in our community have enough to eat, helping to respond to the mental health crisis in our community, or providing much needed backing for the operating costs of our spaces and staff — your gift is a part of God's dream and we are grateful for everyone who partners with us on this journey!
(see a list of ongoing material needs on our giving page)
the JMU Holiday HELPERS
We will once again be partnering with JMU Holiday Helpers club this year to give some love to our community and neighbors this holiday season!
More information will be coming soon about specific ways that you can support this effort with donations, etc. Until then, you always make a special financial gift to support the effort. Just use the “Give Now” button above and mark it for “Holiday Helpers.” Or you can send a designated gift via snail mail. All donations so designated will be used to support the Holiday Helpers this year.
WTF?!
Thursday’s at exactly dinner-ish! (6pm EST)
Downstairs at John Wesley UMC
November 5 Menu:
Pot Roast
Join us for a midweek check in to fuel your body, mind and soul. RISE will provide the meal and a topic for conversation. All you have to do it show up! (September Menu Below). Please do let us know if you have dietary needs/restrictions and intend to join us.
If you are interested and/or able to help (cooking and prep, giving rides to students, setting up and greeting, washing dishes, etc) let us know using the link below!
RECEIVE LOVE.
GIVE LOVE.
EAT.
Next BOOK STUDY
Monday, November 30
7 pm
Home of the Harbicks
For our next study, we will be reading “Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy” by Robert P. Jones (2026). “What happens when the church trades faith for power, and democracy for dominion? In this searing book, Robert P. Jones names our moment for what it is: a great Backslide. White Christianity’s devotion to Donald Trump and Christian nationalism is not only a regression into authoritarian politics but a profound act of apostasy — a betrayal of the best of the Christian tradition.
Timely and unflinching, Backslide is essential reading for anyone unwilling to surrender the soul of faith or the promise of democracy. A prophetic summons to moral responsibility, it reminds us that time is short for deciding which Christianity, and which America, will prevail.”
All you need to do to participate is buy the book, read it (or read what you can), and join us at the Harbicks’ for a conversation inspired by the reading on November 30! DM us or contact Chris if you have questions, need more info, or need the address.
Turner Ashby High School Theatre Club Sock Sales
Gabe Carr is selling socks to beneift the TAHS Theatre Club and keep membership affordable for everyone. Funds raised through the sock sale will help cover club prizes, activities, and other club expenses. Plus, for every 2 packs of socks sold, 1 pair is donated to someone in need in our local community! Lots of options to choose from - fun and plain, low-rise and compression, and sizes for all. Click the button below to see all the options.
Closing Song
“We Shall Not Be Moved”
~Traditional Spiritual
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that’s planted by the water
Oh, we shall not be moved
Glory hallelujah, we shall not be moved
Anchored in Jehovah, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
In His love abiding, we shall not be moved
And in Him confiding, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that’s planted by the water
Oh, we shall not be moved
We’ve got the fire and the Holy Ghost, we shall not be moved
We got the fire and the Holy Ghost, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
Though the tempest rages, we shall not be moved
On the Rock of Ages, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that's planted by the water
We shall not be moved
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
We shall not be, we shall not be moved
Just like a tree that’s planted by the water
Oh, we shall not be moved
Parting Blessing
~AWO
As you leave this place, have the courage to step into unfamiliar waters, trusting that God goes before you and makes a way when the path is uncertain.
Lead with humility, serve with compassion, and use your gifts not to seek recognition, but to lift others up.
Remember friends — you are a gift!
Now go and be a gift!
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