Sermons

In the midst of greater societal attention to issues of trangender people, we explore the connections between being made in God's image, being followers of Jesus, and including all in their wondrous variety. Pastor Phil and Orion share this discussion. Today's texts: Ephesians 2: 11-22 and Mark 6: 30-34, 55-56 There is a video version of this here. You can find the part where the discussion with Orion begins at about the 5:30 mark. After our conversation, you can hear Kelly and Jonathan sing "Let it Be Me" at the 14:35 mark. We’re going to explore something today that may make som...
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Quiet voices and faith activists, a pope and a scientist all call for action - now - to break free of fossil fuels. A reflection from Pastor Phil. Today's texts: Psalm 24 and Ephesians 1: 3-14 Everything seemed on track for the delegates at the General Synod of the UCC last month to adopt a reasonably strong resolution calling on the U.S. to totally move away from fossil fuels – coal, oil, natural gas – as an energy source. It was a bold resolution, to be sure. A resolution in line with the United Church of Christ’s long-time commitment to caring for the earth and for environmen...
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A trio of 30-year olds - David, Ezekiel and Jesus - offer distinct ways of thinking about power, challenge and service. So does our place in the UCC. Here's Sunday's reflection. Texts for July 5: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 and Mark 6:1-13   Those two readings we heard today – David being crowned in triumph as the king of Israel, Jesus being rejected by the folks in his hometown – form the bookends for us on this weekend when we celebrate the U.S. as a nation and consider our role as citizens. They are not matching bookends. One shimmers and shines, maybe even reflecting f...
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June 28 texts:  2 Corinthians 8: 7-15;  Mark 5: 21-43 Let’s travel back in history a bit this morning. Well, more than a little bit. Let’s travel back to the first century. And let’s imagine that we are living in the community of Corinth. That’s in what’s now Greece. It was a major city, a place even then with a rich history, a cosmopolitan area with a mix of Romans, Greeks and Jews. This was an important city in the early decades of Christianity. It was where Paul himself established its first Christian community, a place where Paul wrote letters to other communities. When he wa...
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Words from a saint, words from a pope and ways we can care for our earth and for one another. A new encyclical sets off a debate and offers challenges to us as followers of Jesus. A few thoughts from Sunday's reflection. June 21 texts: Psalm 107-1-3; 23-32 and Mark 4: 35-41 In the year 1225 – almost 800 years ago – a man named Francesco di Bernadone was nearing the end of his life. He was a poor man, living in a little hut made of reed mats. It was late in the winter, not a good season for someone in fragile health. His eyesight was failing. The mice had a great time running thro...
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  Today's texts: Psalm 107-1-3; 23-32; Mark 4: 35-41 In the year 1225 – almost 800 years ago – a man named Francesco di Bernadone was nearing the end of his life. He was a poor man, living in a little hut made of reed mats. It was late in the winter, not a good season for someone in fragile health. His eyesight was failing. The mice had a great time running through the drafty hut snacking on the man’s food. It was not a happy time. The world around him must have seemed awfully harsh and he knew his life was coming to a close. But Francesco di Bernadone – we know him better as...
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March 29 texts: Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29 and Mark 11:1-11 Can we have another “hosanna”? Hosanna! This day, this Palm Sunday, is the gateway to what we call Holy Week. And much like our everyday lives, it is a week filled with swirling emotions – joy today, frustration and anger tomorrow, confusion and confrontation on Tuesday, care and betrayal on Wednesday, comfort and anxiety on Thursday, pain, suffering, death and grief on Friday, despair on Saturday. And then, a week from today, as the sun rises on Easter morning, another swirl of emotions – grief, confusion, joy, fear a...
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By Marty Smith Life is full of challenges. Getting old is one of them. Riding up hills on a bike is another. Facing challenges gives me an opportunity to grow and learn about myself. I haven’t always been able to do that. When I see a challenge coming, I can prepare; when I don’t, I have to improvise based on the experience and knowledge I have. Cycling has taught me a lot about challenges. First, a couple of terms. As a cyclist I want to know two things about a hill: how high is it  and how steep is it (which is measured by the percent gradient)? There are actually...
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