I’d like to begin today where we left off the last time we were together.  By that, I don’t mean last Sunday morning when many gathered here to hear Pastor Clare speak of the thin places in our world and heart.  No, I mean where we left on Wednesday night, Ash Wednesday, when many of us gathered here to...

There are places on earth which are considered to be sites of particular holiness, places where God seems more present than usual, where heaven seems to meet earth and the divine is made manifest to humans.  Each religion claims its territory:  the Hindus bathe in the Ganges; the Buddhists sit near the Bodhi tree in Bodgya where Gautama was...

The passages we have just heard from the gospel of Matthew are some of the most challenging in the New Testament.  Love your enemy, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give your inner garment as well as your cloak.  Challenging because we know, immediately,  that they go against all our basic instincts....

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          For fans of musical theatre, there is no moment quite like the one when house lights lower, the audience gets quiet, you hear the tap of the conductor’s baton, and the orchestra begins to play the overture.   A spirit of anticipation quickly races through the audience, as for the first time, one hears some of the melodies that will be...

            Once upon a time, there was a portion of seacoast known for its fierce waves and hidden boulders.  It was a beautiful, but dangerous beach and on the sand dunes was built a primitive little life guard station, a place for those who ventured out into the surf to save others, to stay between rescue calls...

          January has been for many over the centuries a time of introspection.   It is a month that begins for some with a determination to live life differently, live life better, so often motivated by New Year’s resolutions that many people make.  The word January is inspired by the Greek god Janus, the two...

Let us join together in prayer:  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight O God, and may we continue to come to know, the one in whom you are well pleased, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

This past week in confirmation class, we had an interesting...

  Let us join together in prayer:  May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight O God, and may we receive this year, the gifts you would have us experience, as we come to know the one who has called us closer to you, through his birth and epiphany among us.  Amen

On Christmas Eve...

Let us pray, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, and may this advent bring us closer to the mercy you offer through the coming of the Christ among us. Amen

We are deep into Advent now, on tiptoes looking toward Christmas. We are almost to Bethlehem with the...

As we gather this morning, we have the opportunity to hear, learn from and respond to three different calls to hope and peace today.   One is old, one is very old, and one is relatively new. 

It’s been said that when it comes to motivating horses, two things work.   For some, it’s the carrot; for others, it’s the stick.   That lesson may...