Rebuild: A United Church of Hayward Podcast

UCH UCC
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Relevant thoughts on the gospel and the world today: The Reverend Jeanne Loveless is the minister at UCH Hayward, a progressive church in California’s Bay Area that sold its church building during Covid, freeing up time, energy, and resources to re-think what church can mean and be. Each week, we’ll bring you their sermon, the Biblical readings that inspired it, and some questions for you to take into your week. That’s it. Church in your headphones, during your dog walk, or on your commute. So: Where’s God showing up today? Let’s find out.

  1. Feb 8

    The Divine as Mother Hen

    In this episode of Rebuild, Rev. Jeanne Loveless reflects on one of Jesus’s most tender images: God as a mother hen in a world full of foxes. Drawing from Luke 13:31–35, she invites us to consider what refuge really means when danger is real, deception is loud, and safety is never guaranteed. This sermon wrestles honestly with fear, discernment, and exhaustion, while offering a deeper grounding in love—not as denial, but as resistance. Through feminine imagery for God, cultural critique, and the wisdom of voices like Nadia Bolz-Weber, Rachel Held Evans, and Jan Richardson, this conversation reminds us that love, not fear, gets to define how we experience the gift of being alive. #RebuildPodcast #UnitedChurchOfHayward #StillSpeakingGod #MotherHenGod #Luke13 #FaithInUncertainTimes #ProgressiveChristianity #DivineFeminine #LoveNotFear #SacredResistance #FindingRefuge #ChristianDiscernment

  2. Feb 1

    Faith that Sings Us Through It

    In this episode of Rebuild, Rev. Jeanne Loveless continues the series Underrated and Overlooked Women in the Bible by resurrecting Mother Faith—Pistis—as a divine feminine presence who doesn’t stop the storm, but sings us through it. Reflecting on Mark 4:35–41, Jeanne explores boats, fear, communal responsibility, and the danger of “private Jesus” theology in a stormy world. This sermon names our collective grief, anger, and fear as morally grounded responses to injustice, while inviting us to cultivate faith that steadies us from within and keeps our eyes on the other boats around us—especially those being swamped. A sermon for anyone navigating exhaustion, outrage, and hope in turbulent times. #RebuildPodcast #UnitedChurchOfHayward #FaithInTheStorm #Pistis #DivineFeminine #ProgressiveChristianity #Mark43541 #OtherBoats #StormsAndFaith #CommunalFaith #JusticeAndSpirituality #FaithThatSings #UCCChurch #ZoomChurch

  3. Jan 25

    What Are We Looking For?

    In a season marked by grief, national crisis, and deep moral confusion, Rev. Jeanne Loveless invites us to ask a different kind of spiritual question: not just “What does the Bible say?” but “What are we looking for?” Drawing on Proverbs 9 and the often-overlooked figure of Mother Wisdom (Sophia / chokmah), this episode explores divine hospitality, the courage to seek truth, and the cost of choosing life-giving paths in a world shaped by violence, Christian nationalism, and exclusion. With wisdom from Rachel Held Evans, womanist and feminist theologians, and the ancient wisdom tradition itself, this conversation centers lament, sanctuary, and the fierce hope found when we choose what we seek carefully. This episode is part of United Church of Hayward’s Underrated and Overlooked Women in the Bible series and was recorded during UCH’s live Zoom worship gathering.

  4. 10/12/2025

    The Culmination of All Creation: Reintroducing Ourselves to Eve

    Following our Blessing of the Animals, Rev. Jeanne Loveless turns our attention to the “mother of all living” — Eve, or Chavvah (חַוָּה) — the discerner, wise one, and co-creatrix of life. Drawing on feminist theologians including Phyllis Trible, Dr. Wilda Gafney, Angela Yarber, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, and Catherine Keller, Jeanne invites us to read Genesis through fresh eyes — recovering Eve’s dignity, complexity, and creative power. This sermon uncovers how mistranslations have distorted our understanding of creation and gender: that Adam was androgynous; that tsela means “side” or “foundation,” not “rib”; and that tehom—“the deep”—echoes Tiamat, the ancient goddess of creation. Here, Eve isn’t the origin of sin — she is the culmination of all creation. This is a story about co-creation, balance, and reclaiming the divine feminine. #RebuildPodcast #UnitedChurchOfHayward #ProgressiveChristianity #OverlookedWomenOfTheBible #Eve #Chavvah #FeministTheology #CreationAndCoCreation #AndrogynyAndSpirit #WildaGafney #PhyllisTrible #AngelaYarber #CatherineKeller #UCC #InclusiveChurch #FaithInAction #ReclaimingEve #BlessingOfTheAnimals #StFrancisFeast

    The Culmination of All Creation: Reintroducing Ourselves to Eve

  5. 10/05/2025

    Strange Alchemy: The Mysterious Story of the Widow of Zaraphath

    This World Communion Sunday, Rev. Jeanne Loveless continues Overlooked: Fleshing Out the Stories of Unnamed and Underrated Women in Scripture with the story of the Widow of Zarephath—an unnamed woman who shows radical hospitality in a time of scarcity. In this story from 1 Kings 17, a handful of meal, a few drops of oil, and two sticks become instruments of divine abundance. Jeanne draws on Rev. Dr. Wilda Gafney’s naming of the widow as Umma Astarte, exploring how ordinary things—and overlooked people—become vessels of transformation. During the sermon, Jeanne mistakenly referred to Ezekiel in place of Elijah. ⁠She’s shared a reflection on that mix-up and what it revealed about centering women’s stories in Scripture⁠. You can read her brief post, “Re-centering the Widow: A Lesson in Getting It Wrong” at uchucc.org/blog. Despite the slip, the message remains clear: God works miracles in the ordinary. Out of hunger and hospitality, life rises again. #rebuildpodcast #UnitedChurchOfHayward #ProgressiveChristianity #OverlookedWomenOfTheBible #WidowOfZarephath #WorldCommunionSunday #HospitalityAndHope #FaithAndAbundance #RevJeanneLoveless #ForAllThingsRising #UCC #InclusiveChurch #WilGafney #unitedchurchofchrist #JanRichardson #FaithInAction #MiraclesInTheOrdinary

    Strange Alchemy: The Mysterious Story of the Widow of Zaraphath

  6. 09/28/2025

    Raising Up: The Healing Story of the Bound and Bent Woman in Luke 13

    Overlooked and Raising Up: Rev. Jeanne Loveless launches United Church of Hayward’s new worship and podcast series, "Overlooked: Fleshing Out the Stories of Unnamed and Underrated Women in Scripture." This first sermon, “Raising Up,” introduces us to the unnamed woman in Luke 13 who has been “bent and bound” for eighteen years until Jesus sees her, touches her, and sets her free. Drawing on insights from Jan Richardson, Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney, and Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, Rev. Jeanne explores how healing is never just personal—it’s communal. Her restoration isn’t complete until the whole community rejoices. We’re invited to ask: What binds us today? What keeps us bent over—and what does it mean to rise together? #RebuildPodcast #UnitedChurchOfHayward #ProgressiveChristianity #OverlookedWomenOfTheBible #ForAllThingsRising #BoundAndBent #JesusHeals #SpiritualFreedom #RevJeanneLoveless #CommunityHealing #JanRichardson #NadiaBolzWeber #WilGafney #Luke13 #UCC #InclusiveChurch #FaithInAction #WomenintheBible #WomanistTheology

    Raising Up: The Healing Story of the Bound and Bent Woman in Luke 13

  7. 09/07/2025

    Looking Around at Everything

    In this episode of Rebuild, Rev. Jeanne lingers with a small but powerful moment from Mark 11:11—when Jesus enters the temple after the triumphal entry and simply looks around at everything. What might it mean to pause in the in-between, to notice what stirs in the shadows of memory, tension, and mystery? Through personal story, scripture, and reflection, Rev. Jeanne invites us to slow down, recognize the ambiguity of our own in-between spaces, and consider what justice, clarity, or table-turning might emerge when we let God’s Spirit work on us. #RebuildPodcast #UnitedChurchOfChrist #UCHHayward #ProgressiveChristianity #Mark11 #HolyMystery #InBetween #FaithAndJustice #TableTurning #WhereIsGodShowingUp

  8. 08/31/2025

    Getting Unlost, Unhidden, and Found (Part 3): Another Prodigal

    In this episode of Rebuild, Rev. Jeanne Loveless turns once again to Luke 15, this time focusing on the story of the elder brother. While much attention is usually given to the younger son, the parable’s closing act invites us to examine resentment, fairness, and the challenge of forgiving when love feels undeserved. Drawing on voices like Anne Lamott, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Sue Monk Kidd, Rev. Jeanne helps us wrestle with how resentment can poison our spirits—and how forgiveness, humility, and God’s wastefully extravagant love can open us to joy. This conversation reminds us that even when we feel unseen or consumed by fairness, God meets us where we are and calls us back to relationship, grace, and joy. #RebuildPodcast #UnitedChurchOfChrist #UCHayward #ProgressiveChristianity #Luke15 #ProdigalSon #Forgiveness #Resentment #Grace #BarbaraBrownTaylor #AnneLamott #SueMonkKidd #UCC #FaithAndLife #WhereIsGod

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Ratings & Reviews

5
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About

Relevant thoughts on the gospel and the world today: The Reverend Jeanne Loveless is the minister at UCH Hayward, a progressive church in California’s Bay Area that sold its church building during Covid, freeing up time, energy, and resources to re-think what church can mean and be. Each week, we’ll bring you their sermon, the Biblical readings that inspired it, and some questions for you to take into your week. That’s it. Church in your headphones, during your dog walk, or on your commute. So: Where’s God showing up today? Let’s find out.

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