Scripture: James 1:27-2:8 The letter of James calls out the early church for creating divisions between the rich and poor as they gather for worship and the keeping of the feast. We strive to care for those in need around us, but we may find ways in which we need to improve our welcome, caring ... Read more

Scripture: Matthew 22: 15-22 Confronted by a trick question about the entanglements of money, Jesus pulls another trick: reminding those who who can hear that all gifts flow from God. How are we called, then, to the gifts which have been entrusted to us? Note: Please excuse the audio from this week’s sermon! Snow storms ... Read more

In a time of turmoil, we are often tempted to look for easy, direct answers, like a tv detective solving a crime. Isaiah writes to his people, encouraging them to look at the whole picture, to see how the community may create a larger justice. We strive for the same, as we hear from “My ... Read more

Our ancestors in faith wove the church together across differences, but also constructed a new and shared identity of belonging. There are so many barriers of injustice—both real and metaphorical—we have constructed between ourselves… in our lives, in our cities and neighborhoods, in our access to basic rights. How can we build of ourselves that ... Read more

As we explore a series of calls to the church, including this week, “Embrace Diversity,” we listen for how our ancestors incorporated and engaged difference—rather than erasing it—to find themselves a people of God on the journey together. In a time in which so many are feeling stressed and anxious, how can we resist the ... Read more

Scripture: Luke 1:39-55 As our music ministry brings us gifts through the carols of Alfred Burt, and his family’s tradition of passing music from generation to generation, we give thanks for the ways in which music passed through each generation to Mary, and then to Jesus. In the sharing of songs of liberation and God’s ... Read more

Scripture: Isaiah 12:2-6 As we prepare for our children to bring us the Christmas story again on Pageant Sunday, we listen to the prophet Isaiah, who might be telling us that joy is not just a feeling… but a gift and resource of God that might sustain us in dry times. Like the hay of ... Read more

The priest Zechariah tells of the ministry that his son, John the Baptist will live into. John’s practice and ministry of baptism, forgiveness, and calling to new life will be a framework for peace for many, and will prepare the way for Jesus. What are those spiritual practices we might explore in Advent that can—like ... Read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:10-16 As Advent begins, we reflect together on the manger, that unlikely place Jesus was born… and wonder how we may welcome the Christ to be born in us. Today, we begin with the stable the manger rests in: a place of shelter in a world of too many storms. How can we ... Read more

The prophet Joel speaks to a people whose relationship with God—and with creation—has broken down, and dreams of the days when all will be restored. How have we fallen away from “living peaceably with the earth” in the past? How can our gratitude for all the gifts of creation shape our life and connection within ... Read more