For the second Sunday in Advent, Pastor Tracy used the traditional story of Zechariah’s Vision (Luke 1:5-20) as a jumping-off point for a consideration of what our role should be as a social Justice church in this scary new post-election world. Her conclusion was a ringing re-affirmation of our role in a world where the…
On the first Sunday in Advent, Pastor Tracy takes us back to a similar ancient period of expectation and hope when the Jews, having been driven from their homelands by Babylon, yearned for return. (Isaiah 52:7-10 & 61:1-4) She observes that at such times, the “good News” we seek often lies within us . .…
In this very personal sermon, Pastor Tracy explored her feelings in response to the election results of the week before. She started by unpacking the nature of expectations – – of all sorts – – and their inherent connection to resentment, We need to pray for the courage to wrestle with the vast sea of…
To illustrate the meaning of the familiar scripture about letting your light shine (Matthew 5:13-16) Pastor Tracy draws on a personal epiphany she experienced with our Summer Academic Program and a girls’ dress-up tea party.
This was our annual outdoor service where we bless all our pets and other animal friends. In her sermon, Pastor Tracy wove a serious message about caring for each other out of Herrod’s fear of Jesus (Luke 13:31-35), an Australian sheepdog, a mother hen, a psychic cat and Buffy the Vampire Slayer! (Don’t ask, just…
For World Communion Sunday, Pastor Tracy explored the difficulty we all have accepting a truly new idea. She illustrated this with an ancient fable of a Samurai warrior questioning a Zen master and with Jesus’ attempts to communicate a larger vision of his mission to his followers (John 6:25-35.)
Pastor Tracy examines one of the most-repeated ideas in the Gospels: the valuable thing that is lost and then found . . . The Lost Lamb, the Lost Coin, the Prodigal Son. She notes that these are also among the most misunderstood and misquoted passages in scripture. She explains why with a true (and scary)…
This Sunday, Pastor Tracy shared her thoughts on the series of violent, hate-fueled attacks that have occurred almost daily since the tragedy in Orlando. She suggests that the common element is always people who are caught between a comfortable world in which they have been endowed with power over others — often by a simple…
Starting from the familiar story of Moses and the burning bush, Pastor Tracy suggests that we all are presented with similar “burning bush” moments, where we are offered the opportunity to make a difference for the world. We simply have to recognize them and also understand that God will always provide the support we need…
For Fathers’ Day, Pastor Tracy draws some lessons on parenting from three sources: 1) Tobit’s advice to his son (from the Apocrypha), 2) Her relationship with her own grandfather, and 3) a scary, revealing and — ultimately — gratifying adventure in the Emergency Room with her own young daughter.