Hummelstown UCC Podcast episodes:

• March 23, 20252025-03-23 A Fig Tree Tale

  Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9
  
  If the trees can do it, then so can I,At least that’s what I tell myself.For if year after year the trees can let goOf their brightest leaves and that warm autumn glow,Then maybe in time, like trees with their leaves,I can releaseThat which keeps me from you.Maybe in time, I can let goOf my need for certaintyAnd my need to look good,My need for busyness,And my need to numb pain;The trivial ways I measure my self-worth,Or the hurtful ways I measure yours.For if year after year the trees let go,Then maybe, in time, I can too.Maybe,In time,My heart will know spring.
  -SEEKING PRESENCE LETTING GO

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• March 16, 20252025-03-16 The House Is Left To You

  Psalm 27: Triumphant Song of Confidence; Luke 13:31-35: The Lament over Jerusalem
  
  I wish I could cultivate my daysLike my mother’s favorite recipe,Blending together the sweetest things—Hope and love, you and me,Justice and peace,Music and dreams—Like spices pulled from the shelf on thewall.I’d add one cup of family,And one cup of grace.A dash of starry nights,A pinch of snow.One tablespoon of hope, and like oats,they would grow.A tablespoon of music and the hymnsthat I know.A cup for friends that feel more likefamily,A teaspoon of vanilla, for life’s sheerbeauty.Three teaspoons of summer, and onetablespoon of dreams.Plus half a cup for the church that raisedme,And half a cup for the moon thatserenades me.The instructions would read:Melt your love and whisk with justice untilit expands beyond the pan.Gently stir in all that you hope for. Cover,and let rise.Drizzle with a sweet glaze of mercy.Please be sure to leave heartache andgrief tucked on the shelfBeside comparison, doubt, fear, anddepression.Busyness will make this dish sour,As will grudges and gossip, which is not tomentionTrauma and loss, or my fragile bones.So use only the best ingredientsWhen you cultivate your life.For like your mother’s favorite recipe,These days are sacred.
  -SEEKING PRESENCE CULTIVATE

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• March 09, 20252025-03-09 Cultivating and Letting Go

  Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 4:1-13
  
  Dear loved one—I hope you let go.I hope you let go of holding yourself to impossible standards.Lower the bar. Give yourself grace.God delights in who you are.And while you’re at it, I hope you let go of ignoring your beauty.The mirror is tired of your harsh words, for you are made of star stuff and music.You are the only you there is, and you. are. simply. stunning.And I hope you’ll consider letting go of certainty.For the sun will always rise and set, and you will always be loved.What more do we really need to know than that?So let go of your fear.Let go of perfection.Let go of busyness as a sign of your self worth,And the notion that creativity is a luxury.Be wild and free.Plant roots like a redwood,And a spine like a sunflower;For the days are short, and you are beautiful.I love nothing more than to see you happy.So don’t be afraid to let go.The only thing you cannot lose is God’s evergreen love.
  
  -LETTING GO: A letter to someone I love

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• March 03, 20252025-03-02 Behold

  Exodus 34:29-35; Luke 9:28-36
  
  “God places us in the world as fellow workers-agents of transfiguration. We workwith God so that injustice is transfigured into justice, so there will be morecompassion and caring, that there will be more laughter and joy, that there will bemore togetherness in God’s world.”
  -Desmond Tutu

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• February 23, 20252025-02-23 A Good Measure

  Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40: Exhortation to Patience and Trust;Genesis 45:3-11; Luke 6:27-38
  
  “If you're for the right thing, you do it without thinking.” -Maya Angelou
  

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• February 16, 20252025-02-16 Speaking Plain

  Psalm 1: The Two Ways; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26
  
  “When it comes down to it, that’s what life is all about: showing up for the peopleyou love, again and again, until you can’t show up anymore.”
  Rebecca Walker

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• February 09, 20252025-02-09 Into the Deep

  Isaiah 6:1-13; Psalm 138; Luke 5:1-11
  
  “What are heavy? sea-sand and sorrow. What are brief? today and tomorrow.What are frail? spring blossoms and youth. What are deep? the ocean and truth.” 
  Christina Rossetti

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• February 02, 20252025-02-02 Empowered

  Jeremiah 1:4-10; 1 Corinthians 13; Luke 4:21-30 
  
  “In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.  In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. … In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
  -Albert Camus

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• January 26, 20252025-01-26 All Together Now

  Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Luke 4:14-21
  
  Divine Body of Belonging, grant us the tenderness of feeling safe in your arms, thestability of being tethered by both gravity and grace. Help us not to resist thismoment nor our mortality. You’ve given us this life on earth with terrains of variedlands and feelings, guide us to navigate this being human, this being a body madein your image and likeness.
  -Council for Health & Human Services Ministry

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• January 19, 20252025-01-19 Small Change, Big Result

  1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Psalm 36:5-10; John 2:1-11
  
  "Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue."
  Bell Hooks

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