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(full service)
4th Sunday after Epiphany
"Planting Peace"
Rev. Scott Winnette
Matthew 5: 1-12
Guest artist, Jazz vocalist, Sharon Clark
Justice Sunday
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Exodus 3: 1-7
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October 22, 2017
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Psalm 80
December 22, 2019
Rev. Scott Winnette
Nan Merrill heard Psalm 80’s refrain as “Restore us, O Holy One; let your face shine upon us, teach us to love.” Closer to the Hebrew it’s interpreted, “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” Eons before Jan Ingenhousz named photosynthesis, the faithful grasped that life comes from the sun. The lamentation of the Psalmist was punctuated with a plea for God’s green-making warmth, a shine, a shine like the sun, a twinkle like the stars, a word of the angels, a song of the cosmos – the psalmist cried for a saving, mending, repairing turn. Christmas stories pick up this yearning for a turning...
God's Mission is Blessing
Genesis 12:1-3 & 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
October 6, 2019
Rev. Scott Winnette
“And all the people of the earth will be blessed through you.” Great Holy made this potent “you are about blessing everybody” promise to Abram. Big Holy’s blessing through Abram is a metaphor; Abram represents humanity. Abram is a rerun, a redo name for Adam, a refresher name again pointing to God’s hope for humanity...
Praying in Secret
Matthew 6: 5-10
September 29, 2019
Dr. Joni Miller
This is a story about love. Oh I know, it’s not going to sound much like it’s about love when I start talking about the day I walked out of my former church and never returned. That’ll make you think it’s a story about dissatisfaction or theological differences or burnout. But I’m telling you … this is really a story about love...
Street Wise as Serpents
Luke 16: 1-13
September 22, 2019
Rev. Scott Winnette
Today’s dishonest-then-discounting-cook-the-books---fired-then-praised manager story is the most consternation-building, head-scratching, turn-the-page-to-another-story-PLEASE of the parables. What did/does Jesus mean? It very well can mean many things. Most plain readings seem unseemly, immoral. When faced with a parabolic interpretive conundrum test your interpretations by the rule of love...
Diversity: The Soil of Delightful Life
Job 12: 7-9
September 8, 2019
Rev. Scott Winnette
The Summer Sabbatical was sunny and muddy, mentally restful and corporeally sweaty. Days began slowly; evenings ended early. In the four months I/We wove metaphysical chrysalis, we rested in metaphorical cocoon and we begin again today to emerge new people. Soon we may see our new sabbath-painted-rainbow-butterfly wings...
August 4, 2019
Ecclesiastes 1:2-6, 12-14, 2:18-23; Luke 12:13-21
Rev. Jennifer Knutsen
Frederick Buechner recalls a time in his life when he was ripe for a revelation of God. Through a character — The Reverend Nicolet — in one of his novels, (The Final Beast, 1965) Buechner describes what happened as he lay in a field of grass on a warm, sunlit afternoon anticipating an encounter with God...
Living in the Universal Christ
Colossians 1: 15-20
July 28, 2019
Carroll Saussy
Imagine Jesus, a good Jew, praying these lines from Psalm 138:
“You dwell in me, in the Holy Temple of all souls;
my gratitude knows no bounds!
For You are the Holy one, the Breath of our breath.
On the day that I called, You answered me;
the strength of my soul You increased…
You are a very Presence as I face my fears and doubts;
Your strength upholds me.”
Jesus’ psalm and our psalm...
Isaiah 55:12, Matthew 5:9, Luke 12:27
July 21, 2019
Rev. Jennifer Knutsen
This morning we are focusing our attention on a small piece of ground in front of our church.
Situated right in the middle of our parking lot — a bit of unpaved earth planted with flowers, grasses and ferns, and a Peace Pole....
Sharing the Mantle: Holy Friendship
2 Kings 2:1-14
June 30, 2019
Rev. Jennifer Knutsen
There is a lot of drama swirling around in the story we heard from 2 Kings this morning.
Two prophets with names that sound almost the same—
the older one — Elijah
the younger one — Elisha
A journey from one town or region to the next — Gilgal, to Bethel, to Jericho, to the Jordan
A whirlwind, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire
A mantle that has the power to split a river in two...
Expanding the Grammar of God
Acts 2: 1-8; 12-18
June 9, 2019
Phyllis N. Windle
Because it’s Pentecost and Peter tells us we can all dream, I want to share mine:
I dream that we use a whole dictionary of names for God. That we discover a whole atlas of places to find God. That we be a true sanctuary – where we need not armor ourselves against language that ambushes and hurts. That our language helps us each to find meaning and healing, especially for the parts of ourselves that we’ve disowned and denied...
John 17: 20-26
June 2, 2019
Rev. Jennifer Knutsen
Unity is a familiar concept for most Americans.
It’s actually part of our national motto.
I don’t know if you know these words: “E pluribus unum.” (You see them on our coins.)
It’s Latin — it means — “Out of many, one." Or it could be translated — “One from many.”...