Sermons

Eric Carle, children’s author and illustrator, depicts the basic processes of nature with an artistic flair and charming sense of humor. For instance, does anyone know The Very Hungry Caterpillar? The tiny caterpillar hatches from an egg, and immediately starts eating. He begins with a healthy diet of fruit in all the colors of the… Read More

Last Sunday I wasn’t in worship with you. I took the day off to compete in a cross country ski race – the City of Lakes Loppet, held at Theodore Wirth Park, here in Minneapolis. Meaning no offense to all of you, it was lovely. Since it was my first ski race ever I can… Read More

Have you ever had this experience of running late for an appointment or meeting, and not quite having time to look up the address? You grab your keys and bag, hoping your wallet made it in along with your cell phone and rush out the door. Jumping in your car, you pull out of your… Read More

Oh dear… I thought to myself as a I pondered that encounter in the synagogue between Jesus and the man with the unclean spirit. The idea that evil spirits cause illness – whether of body or brain– has gone into the scrap heap of things we used to believe, like the notion that the world… Read More

It would be remiss for me to even begin this sermon without first saying Thank You. Thank you for listening to me, thank you for encouraging me, for walking with me on this path of discernment. Today I feel a good deal of warmth and support emanating forth from these pews, and I know that… Read More

It was just dinner. Simple food. Chili and cornbread. Everyday bowls and dishes around the everyday kitchen table. A couple of cousins, parents and grandparents. Equal parts giggling and whining. The soup bowls emptied and filled again, Then one of the adults asked one of the children, “what was the best part of your day?”… Read More

This week, I went on a retreat with our Lilly group. Our facilitator, a poet herself, led us in some writing exercises. Where were you born? She inquired. Write down everything you can remember. What was the geography like? Describe the house that received you as an infant. What about your parents – what was… Read More

“Why?” is a constant refrain in our house. Our two year old daughter is just in that stage. I’m not even sure she understands the meaning of the question, yet she asks it over and over again. One recent day, exasperated after what seemed like a hundred “whys”, I finally answered with a “why” of… Read More

I tasted my first Pomelo in the city of Jericho. We had hiked for several hours beside the wadi qelt, a valley that travels through the Judean desert, descending from Jerusalem down to Jericho. For most of the year, wadis in Israel/ Palestine are dry valleys. When the rainy season comes, they fill suddenly with… Read More

The title of today’s sermon is “Being a People of Hope.”  As I’ve pondered these texts, and read the newspapers, I’ve wondered what it means to be that. Our time is not so different than other times; many despair, many are cynical, some are wildly wealthy while others lose their homes and go without. Our… Read More