June 11, 2023 Sermon

What Do We Talk About When We Talk About God?  Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Acts 17: 22-28 June 11, 2023  Preachers have quite the pick of headlines to choose from this week. We might use this Sunday as an opportunity to reflect...

June 4, 2023 Sermon

In This House, On This Morning, or, Why Church Matters Steve Jungkeit The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme Texts: Psalm 145: 1-7; 2 Timothy 1: 3-7, 11-14 June 4, 2023 To begin, here’s a shout-out for all the folks who did Box Night last night.  And it’s a shout...

May 28, 2023 Sermon

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...

May 7, 2023 Sermon

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...

April 30, 2023 Sermon

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...

April 16, 2023 Sermon

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...

April 2, 2023 Sermon

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...

March 19, 2023 Sermon

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...

February 26, 2023 Sermon

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....

February 12, 2023 Sermon

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...

February 5, 2023 Sermon

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...

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...