January 29, 2023 Sermon

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...

January 22, 2023 Sermon

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...

January 15, 2023 Sermon

“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...

January 8, 2023 Sermon

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...

December 11, 2022 Sermon

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...

December 4, 2022 Sermon

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...

November 20, 2022 Sermon

Shelter, Speech, and Solace: A Litany of Thanks Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Luke 17: 11-19; Philippians 4: 4-7 November 20, 2022  A preacher in the pulpit is like a batter at the plate. Sometimes we swing for the bleachers, and...

October 16, 2022 Sermon

Should I Stay or Should I Go: On Walking Away from Omelas[1] Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Isaiah 53: 4-6, 10-11 October 16, 2022  My offering today shall consist almost entirely of a story, and a peculiar story at that, for which...

October 9, 2022 Sermon

Love Is Its Own Rescue: Finding Strength and Shelter in the Storm Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Mark 4:35-41 October 9, 2022  I’m usually not an early riser. But staying with my mother in Guilford after her cataract surgery...

October 2, 2022 Sermon

A Communion Meditation: In Praise of the Lowly Spider Carleen Gerber The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: I Corinthians 12:12-14, 27; I John 3:18-24 October 2, 2022  This summer, on a particularly foggy morning, our lower yard was covered in what seemed...

September 25, 2022 Sermon

Days of Bread and Roses Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Matthew 6: 19-21; Philippians 4: 8-9 September 25, 2022  Our business manager shared a story the other day that I thought was worth repeating this morning.  He told me about a...

September 18, 2022 Sermon

Palenque! Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Exodus 13: 17-22; Matthew 4: 23-25; John 1: 43-46 September 18, 2022  In the middle of August, I had occasion to visit a music school on the outskirts of Buenaventura, a port town on Colombia’s...

September 11, 2022 Sermon

Be Happy Whenever You Can Manage It Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Genesis 1: 1-2; 26-31 September 11, 2022  “In the beginning, God created…” So begins the King James Version of the Bible. Or, as Eugene Peterson’s translation, The...

September 4, 2022 Sermon

Struggle at the Jabbok: Lessons of an Ancient Wrestling Match Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Genesis 32: 22-32 September 4, 2022  “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” That’s one of the most famous questions in all of theology,...

August 28, 2022 Sermon

Turn Back! Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Text: Luke 15: 11-24 August 28, 2022  We got as far as Cleveland, and then we turned around. It had been a full and busy year, and we had looked forward to regrouping as a family, and to exploring...