Jun 20, 2021 |
Peaceful Easy Feeling
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
Peaceful Easy Feeling
"Sometimes my son's wisdoms wisdom falls short of his ancient namesake, who reminded us that humility is a flower which does not grow in everyone's garden. And what I realized in my son Aristotle's response was a real-life example of society and scripture in conflict. The world says to us, punch that storm in the face. But the gospel says to us, ask for help. The world says, be afraid. And the gospel says, keep the faith. The world says, take control. And the gospel says, some things are beyond you."
Jun 13, 2021 |
In My Mother's Garden
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
In My Mother's Garden
"But in my mother's garden, the one that is wild and free with all the weeds growing in it, a conglomeration of cuttings from heirloom plants and pretty flowers from one daughter and hardy trees from another and exotic ground coverings from another and veggies to feed our friends and some flourishing throwaways that we rescued from the flower dump down the street. Among all of these, there in that place, the sign makes sense. Because that garden looks a lot like the world and that's where God is."
Jun 06, 2021 |
We Are Family
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
We Are Family
"But the power of family, the power of blood, can do so many things to keep us in its thrall and make us feel like we've got to stay in something that is unhealthy. We've got to put up with abuse. We've got to put up with being less than God has made us to be. And Jesus has a liberating message for us in those moments: That our true family, our true belonging, is found in the God who made us, and our siblings and parents are the people who understand that God is love. And the community that is built on the God of love is meant to become our family."
May 30, 2021 |
Three Persons, One Love
| The Rev. Gary Lubin
Three Persons, One Love
"We are always becoming who we are destined to become. Your very being is a love prayer, melting away the restlessness of this life. And it's centered in God. In God. Of God. About God. For God. Enfolded, immersed in a love which cannot be broken by any dark power of hatred or violence in this world. Transcending inner and outer fear. Transcending anxieties. Transcending apprehensions and preoccupations. It is possible to live in the world yet not be part of it. To keep a loose hold on this world. To be centered."
Image: Icon of the Trinity by Ellen McGuckin. Used with permission.
Image: Icon of the Trinity by Ellen McGuckin. Used with permission.
May 23, 2021 |
What Does This Mean?
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
What Does This Mean?
"Looking back at that reading in Acts, Luke writes, all were amazed and perplexed saying to one another; What does this mean? But others sneered and said they're filled with new wine. The Holy Spirit invites us to notice and witness with amazement, with wonder. Whether the Holy Spirit shows up as a dramatic force or a source of guidance and truth. Or as a surprise of a loved one at the door. Or as the gentlest touch in the anointing on the head of the newly baptized. In all of these expressions, we are invited to respond with wonder, with grateful hearts, with love."
May 16, 2021 |
The Exclusive Reality of Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
The Exclusive Reality of Love
"But after Judas’ death, the other eleven apostles get together. And they do something really beautiful. Peter says, you know Judas was one of us. He was one of us. He was part of who we are. And we actually can't go forward until we have another person to take that place because we are incomplete without Judas. Think about that for a moment. The beginning of this beloved community is founded in a place of love and respect and forgiveness and honoring of the place that Judas, of all people, had played in the life of that community."
May 09, 2021 |
Sing a New Song
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
Sing a New Song
"God's love is not only like a father's love. God is also like a mother's love. Like the love of a sister, or a friend, or a neighbor. Or that old lady at church who plays peek-a-boo from the second pew. And yet, God's love is even more than this. God's love is like the gentle breeze on your skin on a hot August day. God’s love is an intricate snowflake on jet black hair. God's love is a cold drink of water for someone who has traveled many, many miles through desert lands in search of safety and sanctuary. God’s love surpasses our human understanding. And if we want our children to understand this, we must expand our language for God. We must open the gate of welcome to them and explore all that God has been, is now, and will be forever. For all of her children. How in the world can we expect to love one another as God loves us if half of us don't even see ourselves as made in the image of God?"
May 02, 2021 |
Founded in Love
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Founded in Love
"[W]e heard today that God is love and that those who love know God. And then when we love one another, we abide in God. Which is to say, we make our home in God and then God abides in us. Which is, of course, to say that God is making God's home in us and when we hear that this is true, then there is nothing else that can compare with this reality. God is love. This is a radical idea. A radical belief that God is love. It is not reasonable. It's not moderate, it's not something that you can stay calm, cool, and collected while receiving and trying to understand. It is inherently radical and changes your whole reality when you say God is love."
Apr 25, 2021 |
Experience Sheep
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
Experience Sheep
"We recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, not only because we recognize the tone but also the content. There is a consistency of message and the message is one of love. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Love one another as I have loved you. The message is of love.
Think of the loving relationships in your lives. The voices you immediately recognized resonate with. Think of this constancy of that current of love that runs through them. Sometimes it's expressed out loud. Sometimes simply known to be, an undercurrent even in difficult or conflicted times. We serve as shepherds and guides for each other. And we are shepherded too."
Think of the loving relationships in your lives. The voices you immediately recognized resonate with. Think of this constancy of that current of love that runs through them. Sometimes it's expressed out loud. Sometimes simply known to be, an undercurrent even in difficult or conflicted times. We serve as shepherds and guides for each other. And we are shepherded too."
Apr 18, 2021 |
Death is not the end
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Death is not the end
I’ve gotta be honest, I find this sometimes to be very dangerous territory. Because I get nervous about us looking towards the afterlife, in which I believe, looking towards that afterlife as a way to ignore what's happening here. That we have the capacity, when we go, “Well, that's okay, 'cause I know where I'm going when I die.” That we can use that the same way we could use drinking or drugs or something else to numb ourselves to the realities of here and now. To turn a blind eye from the darkness that we face here from day to day. “I know it's scary and hard here, but I've got a divine destiny and God's great Kingdom, so I'm okay” is not okay. And when we see people grieving the deep darkness of death, when we try to remind them of the life to come, sometimes that's helpful. Quite often it is a way to short circuit someone's grief and natural processing of the hard realities of the life that we live
Apr 11, 2021 |
The Mutuality of Love
| The Rev. Gary Lubin
The Mutuality of Love
Here we are, in this time and place. We have our own fears and our own unique challenges in becoming our own brand of beloved community. To listen to the mutuality of love. To be of one heart and soul and mind, so that there is not one needy person among us. To live together in diverse community. To achieve racial reconciliation and justice and economic equity. Recent current events demonstrate once again that we've got a long way to go on that count.
Apr 04, 2021 |
Don't Cling to Me
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
Don't Cling to Me
Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit out to breathe the breath of God and inspire the whole world to live into the love for which every one of us is made. And as God blows that breath out, the Holy Spirit of the world, he is blowing all of us out. Out of this space. Out of our comfort zones. Out of that space of clinging and into a recognition of where God is in the world today. It will not look the way it did a year ago. It will not look the way it did a week ago. But God is at work. Hear your name. Recognize the love for which you are made. It is a love that cannot be killed. It is a love that animates all things with grace, mercy and justice. We are bound together in this resurrection. Not so that we can just cling to the things that we love. But so that we can pursue them. Follow them into this world and name God's blessing and participate in the work God would have us do.
Apr 02, 2021 |
What About Us?
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
What About Us?
This is a solemn night. Jesus told us it would come to this. Jesus forewarned us of the suffering he would endure. How he would be lifted up. We heard the words. But witnessing a loved one being killed is heartrending, heartbreaking and leaves us with unanswerable questions. What could we have done?
Apr 01, 2021 |
No Need to Rush
| The Rev. Gary Lubin
No Need to Rush
You know, sometimes it's difficult to accept God's love on God's terms. But when asked to dance, why not? I mean just say yes and let Jesus take the lead. And as our lead Jesus teaches us, “You also ought to wash one another’s feet, for I have set you an example”. This is an invitation. An invitation to beloved community through servanthood. Jesus invites us, well, actually, Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us. And maybe by kicking up some dust along the way. By proactively loving the other in another.
Mar 28, 2021 |
We Do This Every Year
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
We Do This Every Year
We do this every year so that we can bury our sin beneath the soil with him. Every year we engage in the act of planting the garden, because without getting our hands dirty, nothing will grow. The week before us is for dying. Dying to self and dying to sin. Burying our part in the plot. Knowing this is not the end but the beginning. Trusting that something will grow from the muddied muck and mire of life.
Mar 14, 2021 |
Reassuring Rituals
| The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
Reassuring Rituals
That which reflects our sinfulness becomes a sign of God's grace and God's love. If there's any question about the message here, Jesus follows with what has become one of them that's known Bible verses all. For God so love the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. In reading this verse this time I found myself caught in the awareness that this refers to much more than Jesus is death on a cross but to the entirety of Jesus life; his birth, his ministry, his teachings and healings, his way of being in the world, and yes, his willingness to suffer and die that we might have eternal life. All of Jesus was given for us. Jesus did not come to condemn but to save. The Son of Man being lifted up is not a sign of only suffering but also of salvation. What we fear is of this world. Where we place our faith, what we can believe in, trust in, is God.
Mar 07, 2021 |
When God Gets Angry
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
When God Gets Angry
God gets angry when there are people who are actively trying to keep others from experiencing their own belonging to God. God gets angry at injustice. God gets angry at people in power who are using their power to exploit others and to build themselves up at others expense. This is where the anger of God comes from. God doesn't get angry because you screwed up or said a cuss word or didn't show up to church on Sunday or didn't say the right thing or believe in exactly the right thing all the time. God gets angry when you get in the way of people's connection to God. God gets angry when we set up systems that abuse and marginalize people and make them not be able to experience the fullness of their belonging on this earth. This earth which belongs to God,
Feb 28, 2021 |
Argument of Identity
| The Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane
Argument of Identity
We find ourselves now in the midst of lent with a difficult question before us. Is it possible For Jesus to be ashamed of me? No. No, I do not believe it is possible for Jesus to be ashamed of you because shame is about identity and Jesus knows who and whose you are and for what you were made. And in case we don't tell you enough around here, you belong to God and you were made for love. Period.
Feb 21, 2021 |
United, Growing, Inspired, Sent
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
United, Growing, Inspired, Sent
It's been an amazing and an incredibly difficult time for the leaders of this church; for the staff, for the clergy, and for all those in lay ministry; to seek ways to understand how we can fully keep you connected. Because here's what I have realized during this time; when I say, why does this church even matter to me, what I realize is what I want to know and what I think most of you want to know in this difficult time about your church is, how do we stay connected to one another and how do we continue to make a difference in this world. How are we connected? And how do we make a difference? Because in our bones we know that we want to make a difference in this world. And we are hardwired for connection as people. It is built into us, interdependence, belonging to one another. We are not rocks and islands and all by ourselves. We may be individuals, but we are individuals who are built for belonging and connection.
