by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Exodus 3: 1-6; Psalm 100 The Elements of Worship Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. -Psalm 100 Most of you know that I’ve recently returned from Cuba as a part of my sabbatical leave, where I had the opportunity to...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Isaiah 51: 1-3; Acts 17: 22-28 The Deeper the Wound, the Sweeter My Song[1] The place to start is in a grove of trees, deep in the Cuban countryside. We walked across a rutted track in a field, and as we walked, the sounds of drumming and singing...
by Robert McCracken | Sermons
This morning we welcomed The Rev. Paul Verryn, who has been our theologian-in-residence for the past two weeks. Our church has been in partnership with Paul and the Methodist churches he serves in South Africa for nearly thirty years. As always, it is wonderful to...
by Robert McCracken | Sermons
This morning we welcomed The Rev. Paul Verryn, who will be our theologian-in-residence for the next two weeks. Our church has been in partnership with Paul and the Methodist churches he serves in South Africa for nearly thirty years. As always, it is wonderful to have...
by Robert McCracken | Sermons
This morning we welcomed The Rev. Paul Verryn, who will be our theologian-in-residence for the next two weeks. Our church has been in partnership with Paul and the Methodist churches he serves in South Africa for nearly thirty years. As always, it is wonderful to have...
by Robert McCracken | Sermons
A Christmas Reading In 3 parts with a Reflection “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” by Charles Dickens [Audio coming soon] In an old Abbey town, down in this part of the country, a long, long while ago, there officiated as sexton and...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Text: Luke 2: 1-20 The Exuberant Pluralism of Christmas[1] After returning from Mexico last month, I shared with you that rituals have come to play an important role in my understanding of the world. I told you about the Day of the Dead ceremony that...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Isaiah 60: 1-5a; Matthew 2: 1-10 Can You Still See the Star? Here are a few lines from “The Journey of the Magi,” T. S. Eliot’s poem about the night passage of the wise men, as they follow an elusive star toward the manger in Bethlehem: A cold coming we had of...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Isaiah 40: 1-5; Luke 1: 26-37 Mary, Gabriel, and the Blessings of Confusion[1] Most every morning, I get up early, and when it’s still dark, I leave the parsonage and begin running. As soon as it’s light enough to see, I step onto the forest trail...
by Robert McCracken | Sermons
Matthew 1:18-25 You May Say I’m a Dreamer: Learning to Walk in the Dark Followed by Simon Holt playing John Lennon’s IMAGINE on the organ “Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way…” (Matthew 1:18-) Who doesn’t love a good birth story? My...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: I Peter 3: 8-16a Accounting for the Hope that I Feel (Even in Foreboding Times) “Always be ready to give an account for the hope that lives inside of you…” -I Peter 3 I had intended to offer something upon the theme of...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Luke 6: 20-26; Hebrews 12: 1 Fortunate Are You, When Your Heart Becomes Porous Click the arrow below to listen. Might take a few seconds to download. “Fortunate are you who are poor; the kingdom of God is yours. Fortunate are you who are hungry now, for...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Exodus 1: 12-14, 22 – 2-10 A River of Humanity, and a Basket of Pitch [Following Steve’s sermon is a beautiful rendition of the hymn “Shall We Gather at the River” Sung by Brian Cheney] Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy that is...
by Robert McCracken | Sermons
Psalm 85:10-13, Luke 15: 11-32 Unfinished Stories: Open Doors and the Ways of Homecoming Click the arrow below to listen. Might take a few seconds to download… Last Sunday afternoon, I walked through the galleries of The...
by Mario Baldessari | Sermons
Texts: Isaiah 53: 1-4a; I Corinthians 1: 28 On Marigolds, Blue Eyes, and Beauty Unheeded A book is a pathway of marigold petals. In Mexico, on the Day of the Dead, marigold petals are placed on the ground to help the departed to find their way back to the land of the...
