September 21, 2025 Sermon and Reflections

“Green Grass – 40 Years of Partnership”        Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Isaiah 11: 1; Matthew 5: 1-12 (Indigenous People’s Version) A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse… Isaiah 11: 1  A little more than a year ago, six travelers from FCCOL...

September 14, 2025 Sermon

“Church, After All”        Rev. Dr. Steven JungkeitTexts: Isaiah 58: 11-12; Isaiah 61: 4              A few weeks ago, I spoke about the ways different understandings of God can persist, even after older or outmoded images of God become unsustainable.  Today I’d like...

September 7, 2025 Sermon

“The Grace of Small Things”        Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit Texts: Luke 14: 25-30 It’s good to look out and to see so many of you back after the summer – our parents and families, our choir, all of you really.  It’s nice to have the band back together after some...

August 31, 2025 Sermon

“God, After All”        Rev. Dr. Steven Jungkeit Texts: Acts 17: 22-28; The Gospel of Thomas, Fragment 77             The Wizard of Oz is having a moment once again, out in the heat of Nevada – images from it are being projected on the outside of the Sphere. ...

August 17, 2025 Sermon

“What Must We Do”        Rev. Cathy ZallText: Luke 10:25-37 Our passage today opens with a question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”. I rephase this a bit: If I want to thrive…if I want to live a life most deeply aligned with the person God created me to...

August 10, 2025 Sermon

“Our God, Our People, and Our Place”        Rev. Dr. Laurie McKnight Text: Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16  “Our People, Our Places, Our God” My Aunt Alyce and Uncle David would often worship here in Old Lyme when they were at their summer home in...

July 20, 2025 Sermon

“Poems of Praise: On Trees, Treasures and Other Timely Gifts” Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager Text: Psalm 8: 1, 3-7, Psalm 96: 11-12, Psalm 104: 1-6, and Matthew 6:21  “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against...

July 13, 2025 Sermon

“But If Not” Rev. A. Reilly Page Text: Daniel 3:8-18             There are four origin stories in our country. Your ancestors were either Indigenous, Enslaved, Immigrants, or Refugees. You may check all that apply. In each of these origin stories, we have individual...

July 6, 2025 Sermon

“We The People: All in the Same Boat” Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager Text: Isaiah 40: 30-31, Psalm 121, Luke 5: 1-6 I remember the moment we walked into St. Peter’s Square in Rome. I was on sabbatical and Paul and I were looking for the line for the Sistine Chapel. We...

June 29, 2025 Sermon

“On a Queer Day, We Can See Forever” Rev. Dr. Gary Comstock Text: Song of Songs 1:5; 3:1; 5:2-9; 6:3; 7:10, Luke 13:31-34, Isaiah 11: 6-9 A cause for celebration and our gratitude today go to the people of Budapest, who were told by their government not to march in...

June 22, 2025 Sermon

“Strength For The Journey” Rev. Cathy Zall Texts: John 13:34; 14:18-20, 27   It is always such a pleasure to return to this wonderful community. Over 30 years ago I came through those doors seeking a deeper engagement with the life of the spirit.  In...

June 8, 2025 Sermon

“The Shared World” Rev. Dr. Steven R. JungkeitTexts: Mark 6: 30-44 The place to start is with a story, written as a prose poem, from a Palestinian poet named Naomi Shihab Nye.  It’s a poem I’ve shared with you before, but it’s high time to revisit it, in...

May 25, 2025 Sermon

“What If Beauty Is What’s Left?” Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-NagerTexts: Numbers 11: 4-6, 10-15, 16-18a; Isaiah 49: 13 “What if beauty is what’s left when all the illusions are stripped away?”               -Mark Nepo In my mind, the Book of Exodus could...

May 18, 2025 Sermon

“Come In From the Cold” Rev. Dr. Steve JungkeitTexts: John 1: 43-51; John 20: 24-29 Come In From the Cold   I know we never will be perfect Never entirely clear We get hurt and we just panic And we strike out, out of fear I fear the sentence of this...