December 10, 2023 Sermon

These Weeping Eyes, Those Seeing Tears Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Matthew 23: 38; Philippians 2: 5-7; John 4: 7-9December 10, 2023 I must be going soft. Maybe it’s all the bad news happening around the world, but lately, I find...

December 3, 2023 Sermon

Notes on the End of the World Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Isaiah 64: 1-4; Mark 13: 24-26, 32-37December 3, 2023 Preamble What I offer today will take the form of a series of notes, fragments that I hope will form something of a...

November 12, 2023 Sermon

A Threefold Cord Is Not Quickly Broken Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12; Luke 4: 17-21; The Quran 5: 8November 12, 2023 Several years ago, Reza, Shelly, and I had the opportunity to travel with one another to Israel...

November 5, 2023 Sermon

“We Will Send No One Away” Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: I Corinthians 12: 14-20, 26; Mark 10: 2-4; Mark 8: 1-3 November 5, 2023 Most every single week, I stand before you at the end of each service and offer words found in the Book...

October 22, 2023 Sermon

“The Darkness Around Us Is Deep” [1] Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Luke 22: 39-46; “A Ritual to Read to Each Other,” by William Stafford October 22, 2023 I speak to those who feel, this morning, as though they are groping about in...

October 15, 2023 Sermon

The Gospel of Yes Laura Fitzpatrick-NagerThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Luke 1:26-34; 38October 15, 2023 I know what you’re thinking. It’s not even Halloween yet and she’s pulling out the Christmas Scripture and we’re singing about the...

September 24, 2023 Sermon

On Gifts, Giving, and Generosity[1] Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Matthew 21: 12-13; Luke 8: 1-3; John 19: 38-42; Romans 16: 1-2September 24, 2023 In the middle of the 19th century, a curious phenomenon took place here in New England....

September 10, 2023 Sermon

A Church for the Nones, the Somes, and the All-Ins Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Mark 2: 23-28September 10, 2023 Well, the children have descended to their realm downstairs, the prayers have been spoken, and the Scripture read. That...

September 3, 2023 Sermon

A Meditation on Low-Flying Turkeys, the Kindness of Strangers and the Joy of Dispossession Carleen Gerber The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Isaiah 65:17-23 & 25b; Matthew 6:19-21; John 12:1-8 September 3, 2022 This weekend we celebrate what has...

August 27, 2023 Sermon

Ancestral Blessings Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Genesis 49: 22-26; Luke 2: 25-35; Matthew 28: 20bAugust 27, 2023 To begin, I’d like to describe a scene that takes place late in Dante’s Divine Comedy. It’s found midway through the...

August 20, 2023 Sermon

Jesus: Cold, Nasty, Irritating Pat SpeerThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8; Matthew 15: 21-28 August 20, 2023 Wow. It’s one thing to give an angry, lay Catholic a pulpit. But one ten feet in the air? I feel up moved from up here to...

August 13, 2023 Sermon

Blues Falling Down Like Hail: Reflections at 12,000 Feet Steve JungkeitThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Psalm 90: 1-2; Psalm 91: 1-6; Revelation 21: 1-3August 13, 2023 I got to keep moving, got to keep moving,Blues fallin down like hail.-Robert...

July 30, 2023 Sermon

Ode to a Trembling Giant and Other Inconceivable Surprises Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Psalm 8; John 15:5, a-c; Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi July 30, 2023 Ode to a Trembling Giant and Other...

July 23, 2023 Sermon

Hope from Nuremberg Rebecca CrosbyThe First Congregational Church of Old LymeTexts: Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-9, 1; Ephesians 2:12-22July 23, 2023 In May, Ted and I enjoyed a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. For 16 days, we traveled on the Rhine, the Main Canal, and...

June 25, 2023 Sermon

What’s Love Got to Do with It: Listening for the Sound of the Genuine Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Jeremiah 17:7-8, Mark 2:1-12 (NRSVUE) June 25, 2023 The flight was packed. People from all over the world, speaking...