UCDSM Sermons: Recent Episodes
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Rev. Mark Stringer and Rev. Erin Gingrich October 30, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) For this, our traditional end-of-October service of remembrance to honor those who have died and to celebrate the continuity of life, we will together create an altar adorned with items that we think would be beautiful to our departed loved ones.
Rev. Mark Stringer October 23, 2016Listen to the Audio (MP3) Watch the Video (YouTube link) Download the Text (PDF)Celebrant Reflection: "To be a Family Man" by Garrett McGuireListen to the Audio (MP3) Watch the Video (YouTube link) Download the Text (PDF)
Rev. Erin Gingrich October 16, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)One in three women and one in four men are sexually violated at some point in their lives, with the majority of transgressions occurring before the age of 12. This means we have either experienced this ourselves or know someone who has.
Rev. Mary Katherine MornOctober 9, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Mark Morrison-Reed reminds us that the “central task of religion is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all.” The unveiling is, in and of itself, a healing—of disconnection, loneliness, alienation. We will explore the practice of unveiling these bonds in our shared life and our individual spiritual practice.
Rev. Mark Stringer October 2, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Celebrant Reflection by Lyra Halsten Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)To download the text, click the PDF link above
Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, Co-Minister of Unity Church-Unitarian in Saint Paul, MinnesotaSeptember 25, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Rather than asking that you be bound to a set of specific beliefs, Unitarian Universalism invites you “to dare to love God without mediator or veil.” Our community invites you into a way of being religious that centers on the covenantal question; what shall we promise each other and in what interest?
Rev. Mark StringerSeptember 18, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)While we don’t necessarily share a common creed as Unitarian Universalists, we do share a common faith--a faith in covenant. We’ll consider together the challenges and benefits of such a faith and why it matters.
Rev. Mark Stringer September 11, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) It has been suggested that the question “Who am I?” will inevitably lead to a deeper question: “Whose am I?” To whom do you belong? To whom are you accountable?
Rev. Mark StringerSeptember 4, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Brian Eslinger, Community MinisterAugust 28, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Elaine Aron Tenbrink, Minister of Membership and Adult Ministries at First Universalist Church of MinneapolisAugust 21, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)The poet Wendell Berry reminds us that the spiritual journey is not a journey of miles, but the journey of one inch "by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home." What would it look like to resist the cultural scripts and guidelines that are fed to us and learn to be at home in o...
Rev. Mark StringerAugust 14, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Download the Text (PDF)Mark returns to the pulpit following his sabbatical with a meditation on what it means to be human as the world seems to be going awry.
Rev. Steven Protzman, UU Society of Iowa CityAugust 7, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Unitarian Universalism is often described as a religion where you can believe anything you want to, but what if UUA President Peter Morales is right when he says that belief is the enemy of religion? What would a religion beyond belief look like?
Rev. Jay Wolin, UU Congregation of the Quad Cities in Davenport, IAJuly 31, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)In Douglas Adams book the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe and Everything" is 42. In multiple interviews, Adams has said it was a joke, and he just made up the number.
Rev. Kent McKusick, UU Fellowship of AmesJuly 24, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Whenever I return to my home state of Maine, I remember tall tales and folk stories my grandfather told, some of them even true! His stories made me laugh, and many were passed from generation to generation.
Rev. Steven Protzman, UU Society of Iowa City July 17, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) It is said that we often listen to reply rather than understand. What does it mean to truly listen and how can we cultivate the spiritual practice of listening?
Rev. Erin GingrichJuly 10, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Rev. Erin reflects on some of the ideas and books she is engaging during her study leave.
Fred Van LiewJuly 3, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Fred reflects on his discovery of Restorative Justice, its influence on him as a prosecutor, and how it has led him to see Community as essential to the healing of our broken justice system.
Maria Filippone, D.O., memberJune 26, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)Listen to the Audio (MP3)Member Maria Filippone shares her experiences from a medical delegation trip to Gaza this past January. Hear the stories she was lucky to bear witness to and get a glimpse into the lives of the beautiful forgotten people of Gaza. Your heart will burst wide open.
Jon Royal, member June 19, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) As we celebrate Father's Day, Jon explores and reflects on the role and challenges of modern fatherhood. In today's world fatherhood can be reduced to the role of sperm donor or elevated to the level of primary care giver; regardless it is critical in all of our development.
Rev. Linda Barnes & Rev. Erin GingrichJune 5, 2016Watch the Video (YouTube link)2016-6-5 Question Box Service.mp3
Rev. Linda Barnes May 29, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) We all struggle to know ourselves honestly and fully. Join Rev.
Rev. Erin Gingrich May 15, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) UU minister Jaco ten Hove writes, "I may lift up and articulate well the principle of interdependence, but then live out of an exaggerated independence. To the extent that any of us are able to ask for help, we invite that life-giving spirit to join us on our path when the going gets rough.” How might we lean into our beliefs through our actions?
Rev. Erin Gingrich May 8, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In preparation of becoming parents, Rev. Erin and her husband have been listening to a series of TED talks called "Advice to Help You Be a Great Parent”.
Rev. Karen Hering, consulting literary minister, Unity Church-Unitarian (St Paul, MN) May 1, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Improv performances are based on a simple formula of saying “yes” to whatever is given — a word, a scenario, an action — and adding to it to create a rich story of shared authorship. Far from the panacea of positive thinking, this challenging practice can be useful when living through significant change, especially in community.
Rev. Erin Gingrich April 24, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) People often say it is their desire for community rather than God that brings them to First Unitarian. What do we find in community that is of ultimate concern and meaning?
Rev. Linda Barnes April 17, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) A great forgetting has occurred. We have forgotten that to which we belong, of what we are made, and how we are connected to all of creation.
Rev. Erin Gingrich April 10, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Just Mercy, the UUA’s suggested all read book by Bryan Stevenson, details a lawyer’s extraordinary efforts to serve those unjustly condemned to life without parole or death. He strives for just mercy, as opposed to mercy, defining it as the kind of mercy that "has the power to heal the psychic harm and injuries that lead to aggression and violence, abuse of power and mass incarceration.” How might we culti...
Harvey Harrison, member April 3, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) When Harvey Harrison retired from his law practice in 2011, he did not anticipate becoming an activist on issues of racial justice. Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow and the NAACP booklet, Born Suspect changed all of that. Becoming involved in the movement to end, once and for all, the continuing racial injustice in our country has been a privilege, an honor and a transformative experience
Rev. Erin Gingrich March 27, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Easter offers us the spiritual themes of letting go into death so that we can be reborn through resurrection. What liberation might we experience in letting go and making space for something new in us to take form?
Rev. Dr. Brian Eslinger March 20, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Easter offers us the spiritual themes of letting go into death so that we can be reborn through resurrection.
Jordinn Nelson Long March 13, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In reading this, you are likely contemplating a deeply subversive action: coming to church. How do the small spaces we create in our weeks make room for something larger in our lives? What might we kindle together on Sunday morning, and how will those sparks bring light to the larger world?
Rev. Dr. Larry Peers February 28, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) “Only connect!
Celebrant Reflection - Chris February 21, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Rev. Erin Gingrich February 21, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) We learn from life's difficulties and also life's joys. As we explore being a people of desire, let us recall the times when it was what we desired, or the light, as the poet Rumi writes, that split us open and expanded our hearts for the better.
Rev. Mark Stringer February 14, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen the to the Audio (MP3) In all relationships, romantic and otherwise, there tend to be differences in desire between the partners. Depending on the topic at hand, one partner may be considered “high desire” and the other partner, comparatively speaking, “low desire”.
Member Reflections and Rev. Mark Stringer February 7, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link)
Rev. Erin Gingrich January 31, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) We often face resistance when changing the status quo at work, school or in our relationships. What fortitude and spiritual centering is needed to persist in the face of resistance?
Rev. Kent McKusick, UU Fellowship of Ames January 24, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) The Rev. Dr.
Rev. Mark Stringer January 17, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In the midst of challenging times when we can too often respond with emotional reactivity rather than with clear thinking, what are some ways that we can keep our heads on straight and our hearts engaged?
January 10, 2016 Reflection by Karen Lauer: Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Banner Dedication, Rev. Stringer's Meditation & Rev. Gingrich's Reflection: Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text of Rev.
Rev. Mark Stringer January 3, 2016 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Welcome the new year with your church family at this annual “Crossing the Threshold” service. Meaningful fun and ritual for all ages.
Rev. Mark Stringer December 24, 2015 Christmas Eve Homily Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Erin Gingrich December 20, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Nature's dark season reminds us of the nourishment of being fallow. This Solstice, let us slow down to embrace the gifts and nourishment of the dark, even as we celebrate the returning of the light.
the almost Rev. Linda Barnes December 13, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Mark Stringer December 6, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Mark shares with us his personal journey with the mystery and mythology of Santa Claus. He hasn’t always believed.
Rev. Mark Stringer November 29, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) At our October 25 services, the congregation voted for a sermon they would like to hear Mark deliver again. “Arriving Empty Handed”—originally presented in 2014—was the winner.
Rev. Mark Stringer November 15, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) For this annual service that grapples with a concept from Murray Bowen’s Family Systems theory, Mark considers how we are bequeathed at least some of the emotional process and levels of differentiation of our ancestors and how we might begin to claim our own differentiation (or capacity to be a separate self) in the current families of our lives.
Laura Berardi November 15, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed November 8, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In March 1965, when the call came to join the African-American citizens of Selma, UUs responded.
Rev. Mark Stringer November 1, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) By considering his own indoctrination into his “white” racial identity, Mark will invite us to reflect upon how we have been racialized—cast into stories of racial identity that we did not choose but that impact our lives nonetheless.
Rev. Mark Stringer October 25, 2015 Listen to the Audio (MP3) A Festival of Remembrance Service: For this, our traditional end-of-October service of remembrance to honor those who have died and to celebrate the continuity of life, we will together create an altar adorned with items that we think would be beautiful to our departed loved ones. All who attend are encouraged to bring photos, mementos, special items, etc.
Rev. Erin Gingrich October 18, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Celebrant Reflection Video (YouTube link) Celebrant Reflection Audio (MP3) Let's gather at the intersection and consider how the two relate in our lives and in social justice work, especially with regards to our church posting a Black Lives Matters banner.
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey October 11, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) When we become aware of injustices in our community and world, we can become fiercely and tenaciously committed to making significant social change – but making a difference also requires a long-term commitment toward that change.
Rev. Mark Stringer October 4, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) The September Soul Matters packet included a poem with the lines: “I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.” These lines have continued to stir in Mark’s mind and heart, especially as we enter a month of considering what it means to be a people of letting go. What might you need to ...
Rev. Michael Dowd September 27, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen the the Audio (MP3) Human cultures have always looked to collective intelligence for discerning facts and values. Is religion up to the task of integrating the best sources of evidence available today?
Rev. Mark Stringer September 20, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) When we choose to see the invitations always present in the world, we are more likely to extend our own invitations, too. To what are we being invited as Unitarian Universalists?
Rev. Erin Gingrich September 13, 2015 Listen on YouTube Listen to the Audio (MP3) Vacation over the summer revealed to Erin many of the tactics she uses to avoid listening to anything of substance in life. It also made clearer what wakes her up and invites her to be present.
David Devonis, member September 6, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Apprenticeship is one of the stages of work life that receives comparatively little attention in our world that values speed over patience and profit over craft. Yet examination of apprenticeship reveals many unique aspects of the way that work enters into the web of life, and may point a way toward lifelong learning and rejuvenation.
Homily by Rev. Mark Stringer August 30, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Our annual “blending of the waters” celebration, a ritual that reminds us of all that we bring to our congregation and how our contributions of time, talent and treasure come together to create something greater than we could ever achieve on our own. As is our custom, we will all bring a small amount of water from our summer travels, or even from our taps at home.
Rev. Mark Stringer August 23, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Same-sex marriage upheld as a right, the Confederate flag being removed, and mass incarceration being more broadly questioned are among several cultural shifts we have been seeing this summer. What shifts may be yet to come and what roles will we play?
Rev. Mark Stringer August 16, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In a recent correspondence with a local legislator, Mark was thanked for his “service to the Lord,” which made him reflective about the kind of “lord” he aims to serve.
Rev. Erin Gingrich August 9, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text of the Black Lives Matter Meditation (PDF) Newcomers often share that the reason they came to our church was to find like-minded community and a place where they can take a stand for social justice. Even when connection and justice are our goals, some of us find ourselves reluctant to engage each other.
Jordinn Nelson Long August 2, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) As we confront challenges that we have no chance of solving completely, how do Unitarian Universalists maintain hope? Should we even try? Join guest and Meadville Lombard Seminarian Jordinn Nelson Long as we stake a bold claim on joy and optimism, even amid discouragement.
Unitarianism and Paganism: Why are Pagans Coming to Church? Members of Sacred Bridges - A Chapter of Covenant UU Pagans July 26, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Many Pagans across the country are also members of the Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships, and choose to be active in the many programs within the individual congregations. Yet, Pagans are often thought of as those rebellious souls who reject the common beliefs about what "church"means.
Bryan Helmus, member July 19, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Is it possible for someone to be a practicing Christian and a member of First Unitarian Church? Bryan tells the stories of how he discovered a revitalized Christianity through the mysterious processes of our church, shares what he learned about this church and himself through starting a Christian Fellowship group, and offers his vision of what First Unitarian could become in the future. Celebrant Reflecti...
Hazel Zimmerman, member July 12, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Hazel Zimmerman shares her reflections on a life in harmony with the natural world and how life style changes can help to preserve that world for the future.
Keegan Walpole and Petra Lange July 5, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Keegan Walpole and Petra Lange will explore how the Hero’s Journey and our First Unitarian community help frame the large transitions in our life to see what insight can be gained in our experience with the mundane transitions in our daily life.
Rev. Mark Stringer June 28, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) With the Supreme Court’s ruling that honored the right of same-sex couples to marry, Mark takes a look back at all that he has experienced while presiding at ceremonies for dozens of loving and committed same-sex couples. His place in this “river of love” as he calls it, has changed him and made him hopeful for our collective future.
Rev. Mark Stringer June 21, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Celebrant Reflection - Bryan Helmus Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In the words that introduce our child dedication ritual, we say that it is our task as parents and a community to share with our children our ideals and hopes. And it is our task to learn from them the zest and wonder of life, with which children come into this world, and which we too often l...
Rev. Erin Gringrich Sunday, June 14, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Linda Barnes, Ministerial Intern Sunday, June 7, 2015 Honoring Linda Barnes (YouTube link) Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Mark Stringer answers questions posed by members and friends, read by Rev. Erin Gingrich Sunday, May 31, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link)
Rev. Mark Stringer May 24, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Mike Shaw, Celebrant Reflection: Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) On this Memorial Day weekend, Mark invites us to consider the traditions we have received and the traditions we would most want to hand down to those who will follow.
Rev. Erin Gingrich May 17, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Meditative Self Examination (PDF), by Rev. Dr.
Linda Barnes, Ministerial Intern May 10, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) While we don’t always appreciate what’s been handed down to us, at least not initially, each of us comes from somewhere and someone. This Mother’s Day, Linda explores how we are shaped by what we inherit and why it matters. Lyra Halsten, Celebrant Reflection Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Mark Stringer May 3, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) A reflection on recent events in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray and what they ask of us.
Linda Barnes, Ministerial Intern April 26, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3)
Rev. Erin Gingrich April 19, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Reflections: Watch the Video (YouTube link)
Rev. Mark Stringer Celebrant Reflection by Bryan Helmus April 5, 2015 Celebrant Reflection: Watch the Video (YouTube link) Sermon: Watch the Video (YouTube link) Celebrant Reflection: Listen to the Audio (MP3) Sermon: Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) An Easter Sunday reflection on the ways changes to the narrative we thought we were living may open up new understandings and possibilities. A service celebrating the resurrections that can arrive when we realize our story isn’t ove...
Rev. Brian Eslinger March 29, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Our efforts to try and create a just and compassionate world too often seem to be for naught, as the pendulum of history mercilessly swings. Yet if we recall the resilience of our forebears in their difficult quest for justice, we will realize the reality of hope and possibility too great to refute.
Rev. Mark Stringer March 22, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) One form of resilience is the willingness to adapt, to learn from mistakes and to follow new directions. Therefore, a people of resilience would be willing to fail, knowing that failure is a means to success, or at least to a better understanding of what may still be possible and how we might get there.
Rev. Erin Gingrich March 15, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) What can nature teach us about resilience? What might an ecosystem's ability to rebound after disaster teach us about life and ourselves?
High School Youth Group March 8, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) As a reminder that they too have a distinct voice, members of the high school youth group share their everyday experiences as Unitarian Universalists and also address how they explain their faith community to others, even in challenging situations.
Rev. Mark Stringer March 1, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Where do we find the resilience to live with and through the challenges of our time, especially when things can seem so bleak? How can we be present in ways that matter to whatever may come next?
Rev. Mark Stringer February 22, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) In a January sermon, Mark mentioned how his journey of faith has evolved from a tendency to too quickly dismiss the faithful perspectives of others towards a desire to respectfully translate these perspectives for himself into more accessible understandings. Mark tells us more about this kind of translating and shares with us the importance of it for what he thinks is faithful Un...
Rev. Erin Gingrich February 15, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) We close our religious services each week saying, “Let us go from this place open to life, expecting to love, and prepared to serve.” These words express faith in a particular way of engaging life. They also offer great relationship advice.
Rev. Mark Stringer February 8, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) As we kick off a month of considering what it means to be a people of faith, Mark will consider the relationship of intentions to outcomes.
Anson Tonelli January 25, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) What is the status of our ideas and practices surrounding sex and gender at this Unitarian Universalist institution? One of our youth, Anson Tonelli, speaks about how all of us are obstructed by gender in some way, especially people who are not recognized or self-identified as the gender forcibly assigned at birth.
Rev. Erin Gingrich January 18, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) In the aftermath of Ferguson and NYC, many who lived through the civil rights movement of the ‘60s are asking the question – is social change truly possible? Let us grapple with this question as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy and those in our church who continue to work for social change.
Rev. Mark Stringer January 11, 2015 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Can someone who is not inclined to believe in “God,” or at least some of the ideas associated with “God”, still have integrity when using the word? Mark thinks so and will tell us why.
Rev. Mark Stringer January 4, 2015 Watch the video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Join your church family for our annual “Crossing the Threshold” service. Together we will reflect on our relationships of this past year and consider what we might nurture in the year yet to be.
Rev. Mark Stringer December 24, 2014 Watch the video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Christmas Homily
Linda Barnes, Ministerial Intern December 21, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Solstice is a time of pause in the darkness to ponder the beauty and power of our universe. Let us pause together before the headlong tumble many of us take into the holidays. In this service we will embrace the quiet wonder of the night sky, the clarity that cold can bring, and the promise of returning light.
Rev. Erin Gingrich December 7, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) A week after Ferguson, another white police office was not indicted after killing a black man with an illegal choke-hold for selling untaxed cigarettes. Let us continue to grapple with our nation's holy unrest with racism, seeking ways for each of us and our church to part of the changing and healing tide.
Rev. Mark Stringer November 30, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) A reflection in response to the grand jury's decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown.
Rev. Mark Stringer November 16, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Managing our own anxiety in the midst of family challenges is one of the most difficult and helpful things we can do for ourselves and for our families. What does holding steady to our principles and our sense of self look and feel like when everything around us seems topsy-turvy?
Rev. Erin Gingrich November 9, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) November’s monthly theme invites us to be a people of grace. What does this mean for our church?
Rev. Mark Stringer November 2, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Grace is sometimes thought of as unmerited reward, as a blessing that arrives via divine intervention, accident, or even luck. Might we also think of grace as something that we bring about by how we choose to live, even when life seems to have led us astray?
Rev. Erin Gingrich October 26, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) Download the Text (PDF) Part of our Festival of Remembrance Sunday.
Rev. Mark Stringer October 26, 2014 Watch the Video (YouTube link) Listen to the Audio (MP3) For this, our traditional end-of-October service of remembrance to honor those who have died and celebrate the continuity of life, we will together create an altar adorned with items that we think would be beautiful to our departed loved ones. All who attend are encouraged to bring photos, mementos, special items, etc.