by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
A Parade of Spirits: And Everyone Was Filled Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Acts 2:1-12 May 28, 2023 My husband Paul and I got out of the taxi at the American Military Cemetery in Florence, Italy. I was on my sabbatical and...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Original Blessings and Original Sins: Lessons from Different Creation Stories Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Genesis 3: 1-7, 13; Skywoman Falling: An Indigenous Creation Myth May 7, 2023 Here’s a strange little something that...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Standing on Sacred Ground: Considering the Land and its People Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Exodus 3: 1-5; Pablo Neruda, Keeping Quiet April 30, 2023 You might say that what we’re doing this morning began this past autumn, during an...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Meet Me at the Wrecking Ball: A Plea for a Secular Christianity Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Matthew 27: 50-51; John 12: 20-26 April 16, 2023 Few voices get to me the way Emmylou Harris’s does when she sings “Wrecking Ball.” It’s a...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Sheltering Love Last Saturday, we arrived at the theater a little wet and chilled. Our church youth group had taken the train into Manhattan to see the premiere of a new play from the UK called, simply, Love. The renovated Armory where the drama was performed, is a...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Whichever Route Love’s Caravan Shall Take: The Gospel According to Our Tree of Life Partnership The sun was streaming through our bus windows as we pulled into the driveway leading to the Mount of Beatitudes in the Galilee. The Mount of Beatitudes is the...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
The Sheep and the Goats: Considering a Strange Christian Idea Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Matthew 25: 31-46; Romans 12: 3-7 March 5, 2023 This isn’t the first time I’ve chosen Matthew 25 as our morning Scripture reading....
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Standing on Platform 9 ¾: On Learning to Walk Through an Ancient Wall Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Isaiah 44: 9-18; Ephesians 2: 8-10, 13-15 February 12, 2023 This past summer, one of our guest preachers, Rev. Dr. Terrlyn Curry...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Becoming What We Endeavor To Be Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Mark 10: 21a; Luke 18: 35-43; Luke 22: 54-61 February 9, 2023 Last week I began my remarks with a plea for both patience and time. Given our commitments around racial...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Becoming What We Endeavor To Be Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Exodus 18: 13-24 January 29, 2023 There may be some among us this morning who expect a word about what has taken place in Memphis. Given the work around racial justice...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
Considering Emily Dickinson So why Emily Dickinson on this January Sunday? Why her? Why now? This past autumn I was standing with Carleen and David Good, and we were looking at a painting of David that had been commissioned at his retirement. It’s actually a...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Amos 5:24 January 15, 2023 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, we honor the living...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
People Look East Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Isaiah 44: 24-25, 25-28, 45: 1-2; Matthew 2: 1-12 Biblical religion, at its core, is about the practice of human rights. Full stop. That is an insight given at Christmas, and...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
On the Banks of the East River: Belovedness Over Coffee Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Matt 3:13-17 December 11, 2022 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Matt 3:17...
by FCCofOldLyme | Sermons
On and Off Ramps of the Holy Highway Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Isaiah 35: 8-10; Isaiah 40: 1-3; Isaiah 42: 16a December 4, 2022 There is a stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike that has always fascinated me. Down around exit 4 or...
