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A Halloween concert doesn’t have to choose between serious musicianship and pure fun, so we refuse to pick. We kick things off with a simple goal, raising funds for the music department, then lean straight into an autumn-themed night where the laughs are real, the playing is strong, and the room feels like a community that actually knows how to show up for each other.

From a spirited poll about when The Nightmare Before Christmas “belongs” on your screen to a run of live performances that move from spooky-adjacent to warmly romantic, we follow the thread of what makes music feel like October. You’ll hear jazz players come together in real time, a story about rediscovering the drums after years away, and the delightful idea that Bach can sound like Halloween even if he never meant it to. We also stretch the setlist with a Moondance moment, a Fly Me to the Moon nod, and a mix of jazz standards that keeps the room listening.

The night keeps surprising us: a joke about preserving “artistic integrity” by not practicing too much, an original seasonal song that turns falling leaves into heartbreak, and a few darker, story-driven tunes that still land with charm. We close by putting the spotlight on participation, inviting everyone to sing along in a silly, spooky Halloween medley connected to the Inner Rhythm Choir tradition.

If you love live jazz, Halloween music, community choir energy, and behind-the-scenes musician stories, hit play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review telling us what song feels most like fall to you.

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Poverty doesn’t look like one problem and it doesn’t have one clean fix. We start our group book study of Poverty, by America by challenging the most common shortcut definition of poverty as simply “not enough money” and instead tracing it as a web of housing instability, health gaps, neighborhood violence, education barriers, addiction, and chronic stress that steals attention and options. We keep coming back to the human side of the data, where survival schedules, missed sleep, and constant tradeoffs are not exceptions but patterns.

From there, we dig into why progress against poverty in America can feel so stubborn. We talk about poverty myths that shape public opinion, the red tape that makes benefits hard to navigate, and why some funding never reaches individuals. We also wrestle with how low wages, inflation, and modern job design push people into working multiple jobs while still being unable to cover basics. Childcare comes up as a pressure point that can make work impossible, even when parents are doing everything “right.”

One of the hardest threads is personal responsibility versus systemic responsibility. We explore the uncomfortable idea that poverty can persist because it benefits others through cheaper labor, higher corporate profits, and choices made by people with more power as consumers, voters, and shareholders. That leads to a practical question we all have to answer: what can we do differently, personally and politically, if we want real change?

If you found this meaningful, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. What’s one poverty myth you once believed that you see differently now?

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Preaching: Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

Texts: Exodus 32:1-14 & Matthew 22:1-14

A wedding invitation turns into a city on fire. A camp cookout turns into a golden calf. If that sounds like whiplash, you’re hearing the same tension we wrestle with today: God keeps setting the table, and we keep grabbing for control when fear kicks in. We read Matthew 22’s wedding banquet parable alongside Exodus 32, and we don’t try to “fix” the weird parts. We name the violence, the refusal, and the uncomfortable question of what it means to be called and chosen.

Then we stay with the golden calf, because it’s funny until it isn’t. When Moses delays and the people get bored, they spiral into scarcity thinking and build a god they can manage. That’s not just ancient history. It’s a spiritual pattern. We talk about how trauma and a ruthless economy train people to believe there will never be enough, and how idolatry can look like a quick solution to anxiety. We also linger on Moses as mediator, pushing back on God and pleading for mercy, and on the shocking grace of a God who relents.

Finally, we bring it home: the church as a weekly feast where we practice unlearning. We name modern idols that beg for our attention, including violence and scapegoating immigrants, and we challenge the low bar of “neighborliness” that asks only that we not be jerks. The invitation is bigger: share resources, loosen our grip on control, and trust the God who welcomes everybody to the table. If this connected with you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one “idol of control” you’re ready to put down this week?

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