For Immediate Release

Vulnerable Embrace offers a unique 21st Century look at Christian Worship

Dec 6, 2018 TULSA – In contrast to the idea that Millennials are losing their faith, the Reverends Elana Levy and Lucus Keppel show through their book, Vulnerable Embrace, that God’s love reaches beyond divisions and barriers.   

Included in this collection of sermons are stories of love, loss, light – and camping; plays and dialogues between Bible characters who never could have met any other way; connections between science, history, and scripture that reveal their underlying harmony; and a love of the Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek that helps bring great depth and refreshing clarity to their work.

 “To us,” writes Rev. Elana Levy, “the Church should never be a place of winners and losers – a place where voices are drowned out and trampled on by those who can muster the stronger force. Jesus didn’t bow to political pressure or powerful leaders. He went to the heart of what truly unites and lifted it above all of our artificial boundaries and statuses and divisions. We worship God and serve neighbor and we do it together without rank.”

“We structured the book like a worship service within the Reformed Christian tradition, so that reading the book from cover-to-cover could lend itself to an experience of worship,” says Rev. Lucus Keppel. “It’s important to us to connect the ancient rhythms of worship to contemporary experiences, like technology, indebtedness, or even feelings of anger and hopelessness.”

In the foreword to the book, another clergy couple – the Rev. Deborah Fortel and Rev. Dr. David Sawyer – write: “Elana and Lucus fold careful Biblical research and relevant theological reflection into a mix of popular culture and current events to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of their readers. Even their word studies are charming! In other words, these are really engaging, witty people who preach thought-provoking and helpful sermons.”