Category: Sermons

“Surrender to the Day and Let Life Happen”                The Rev. Rebecca Crosby Text: Isaiah: 55:10-12, Ephesians 4:1-6                I love telling stories and sharing my experiences in a story format. Stories shape our lives and guide our understanding of our fellow human beings and the [...]

“Exophony: On the Borderlands of Language”                Rev. Dr. Gary Comstock Texts: Book of Samuel II  1:25-27, Gospel according to Matthew 22:37-40 “Is It Just a Breeze?” I grew up in a tiny Congregational church in the western hills of Essex, in a village of 900 called Ivoryton. [...]

“Exophony: On the Borderlands of Language”                Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit Texts: Judges 12: 1-6; Acts 2: 1-12        Here is something that has filled me with life over the past several years: in painfully slow increments, morning by morning, I have been learning to speak [...]

“Come Away With Me: Visions of Rest and Jubilee”       Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Leviticus 25: 1-5, 8-10; Matthew 11: 28-30 Come Away With Me: On Sabbaths and Jubilees        I begin with a passing reference to a popular song from Norah Jones. “Come away with me [...]

“Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?: Inspiration from Maya Angelou”” The Rev. Rebecca CrosbyText: Psalm 130: 1-2, 5-6; Acts 16:16-26; Philippians 1:12-14, 18b-20, 27  Why Does A Caged Bird Sing?:  Inspiration from Maya Angelou        Maya Angelou, one of the most influential literary voices of our time, died [...]

“The Garden of Humanity” Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit Texts: Genesis 2: 8-15 (Selections); John 20: 15-16; Revelation 22: 1-3   Of Soil and Soul: Gardens and the Ethics of Care  “They were careless people – they smashed up things and creaturesand then retreated back into their money or their vast [...]

“Something To Do With Paying Attention,” With a Nod to David Foster Wallace Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: I Corinthians 13   “Attention, taken to its highest degree,is the same thing as prayer.It presupposes faith and love.Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.”-Simone Weil Some of the most often heard words of Scripture, [...]

“Everything Else in the House of God”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Mark 16: 14-15, 19-20; Titus 1: 15; John 14: 2 “In my Father’s house, there are many mansions.” -John 14: 2        The weeks after Easter present a preacher with a mere handful of stories about Jesus [...]

“This Is the Moment We Have Been Waiting For”  Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitText: John 21: 15-19 Not long ago I heard a story about a form of theater in Japan that originated in the 17th century. It’s called Kabuki Theater, and it’s one of several traditional Japanese arts that I [...]

“Mary”  The Rev. Catherine ZallText:    John 20:1, 11-16April 12, 2026 Always such a pleasure to return to FCCOL.      In these challenging times I feel a special urgency to continue to engage the profound, mysterious, claims of Easter.    That the spirit present in Jesus was not defeated [...]