February 1, 2026 · Rev. Derek van Gulden · Exodus 3:1-10; Matthew 25:31-40
On annual meeting Sunday, Rev. Derek van Gulden stands with Moses at the burning bush: this sanctuary is holy ground, and so is wherever you are. After the congregation stands still to feel the old sloop sway, Matthew 25 answers the title's question: be the church, starting with prayer.
Transcript
People of God, would you join me in a moment of prayer? Gracious and holy God, this morning I ask you to move the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts by your love, and help each of us this day not to be the instrument of our own or anyone else's oppression, but to be an instrument of peace in every step, in every breath, in every moment of every day. May it be so. Amen.
So the kids took my sermon. They did it much better than I could. So. Amen. And we're done. Seriously, they write and do better at anything I could ever do. Be the church.
Do any of you remember that period of time where we were locked in our houses and couldn't get away? You may not have remembered, but during that time, this is what I used every week to create what worship would be. Sometimes I was very obvious about it, sometimes not. But that part of it was because I stood here, right about here during the pandemic, with my iPad hovering in front of me. Those round light things microphone, headphones. Jeff was in the back room with Jim, and the only thing I really had to look at was that. So I'd sit in here earlier before worship started and contemplate it. But hearing that put to music, hearing the girls actually give words to what you can do to be the church.
Now, the scripture I picked for today has some of that in it, but they said it's so much better. So what I really want to do is I want to go back to the passage from Exodus. When Jesus goes, Jesus, Moses, Jesus, I get him confused. When Moses goes up to the mountain and he sees the burning bush that's on fire, but isn't being consumed. And he goes to see what's going on. And as he walks closer, God, speaking from the bush, says, Moses, Moses, stop! Take off your shoes, which would have been sandals, most likely, for this is holy ground.
What is holy ground for us? Is this holy ground in this space? Of course it is two hundred and seventy six. Did I get that right? For a long time, this has been a place of gathering, a place of worship, a place where many things in life happen within the community and beyond. This is holy ground. But those of you at home where you're at is holy ground because you are there. It's holy ground outside where people are shoveling or not or playing. Wherever you are. Is holy ground.
Think about Moses in that time. Frightened to death, I can only imagine. We hear a little bit in the Scripture, but everything that had been going on in his life frightened to death. Where I would be. And God says, take off your shoes. Your sandals, for this is holy ground. I can only imagine the minute that Moses does that and plants his feet on the earth that God had created in that moment. I can just picture him becoming one with all creation when we do it here.
Which unfortunately, I'm wearing socks because it's a little cold. But I've been in here often over the last fourteen years, and I walk around, sometimes in bare feet. Don't tell Phil B, but it grounds me. It makes me feel connected, not just to the building, but right down through to the rock underneath us. To feel connected. Those roots going out like the trees that are connected all over the world. Connected with all creation just in that moment.
And I can only imagine that for Moses in that moment, he was coming home. He was coming home. And soon God would give him new work to do. Liberating work. Hard work.
So wherever you are has this day that we will have our annual meeting where we discuss all kinds of things and we vote on all kinds of things. But at the same time, I always feel that annual meeting is a celebration. Of this community, this congregation, this facility would sometimes, I say, anchored in faith, navigating new horizons because I still believe in that. But I also know sometimes it feels like an anchor. But is in any big ship, and this is a fairly good sized one compared to those around. They also have smaller boats, dinghies, open boats that go out from them to bring out to the people and bring back. So as we travel forth, we can continue to do the same thing.
You probably don't remember, but, in June of twenty twelve, I think it was the fifteenth, maybe the sixteenth, my first Sunday preaching as your pastor, I stood in the back here. And I've done that for three days beforehand trying to get used to this space. And I was still trying to figure out the whole old sloop thing. Although having been a sailor for a good part of my life, I got it, and the first thing I noticed was this side of the ship was really light, and it felt like we were tipping into the wind going forward. And then I did something, and I remember this because I went back and looked at that sermon that I wrote for that day, and had all of us just stand and be still. And you can feel the motion of this building.
So I invite you now as you are able to stand up. Just stand and feel the building. If you want to take off your shoes. You can. Your feet might get wet. You can feel the movement because I see some of you swaying.
God calls to us in Psalm forty six, verse ten, be still and know that I am God. That psalm, that one little piece. I always picture Moses being still on the mountaintop. I picture Noah being still on the ark. I picture Jesus with John the Baptist standing in the middle of the river, being still. I picture anyone who has ever come in here in the past, now or in the future, being still and knowing that you are standing on holy ground. And wherever you go, you take that with you.
You may be seated. Can you feel the old sloop moving? I will say that in fourteen years the sloop is balanced out a little bit. Which is a good thing.
Friends, my sermon title for today was What Can one Person Do? If you're paying attention? We were giving great examples this morning where the girls talked about not just what the words there were, but how to carry them out. You listen to the passage from Matthew that Jim read. When did you hear me? Hungry. Naked. Imprisoned. homeless, desperate, looking for hope. And Jesus says, whenever you did it to the least of mine of these, you've done it for me. Which I hear we do it for each other.
As we move forward today and enter into our annual meeting, and then afterwards sit down and break bread and have a meal together at long tables so everybody can be together in conversation and enjoying it. Think of those things. What can one person do? You can be the church individually and together in all those ways. But I will say, starting with prayer is a great way to start. Amen.