For our Veterans Day service, Pastor Tracy explored one of the most unusual war stories in the Old Testament. In the story of Elisha and the Arameans, the usual violence was replaced by insightful peace-making, in part because Elisha saw war through the eyes of the ordinary soldiers.

For All Souls Day, when we honored family members and friends who have passed on, Pastor Tracy explored the backgrounds of the five unusual women who are listed as ancestors of Jesus in the first chapter of Matthew. Their stories are fascinating . . . and sometimes downright bizarre.

For our Children’s Sabbath, Paster Tracy explores the profound importance of seeing the world and its troubles through children’s eyes. This concept is central to many Bible stories  . . . David and Goliath, the Miracle of Loaves and Fishes and today’s scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-18.

This was our annual “Blessing of the Animals” service.  Standing in our courtyard, surrounded by our various critter companions, Pastor Tracy preached from the description of The Leviathan in the Book of Job. She wove together some great (and very funny) true stories of  animal behavior to address a serious a serious question: our companion animals instinctively do the right…

For World Communion Sunday, Pastor Tracy used the story of Pentecost as the jumping-off point to explore the power of breaking bread as “the Great Equalizer” in uniting communities.  And, she finds the miracle of Pentecost re-created in a group of 3 year-olds at a neighborhood playground.

Pastor Tracy explores the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14) in the context of its time and finds that this often-confusing passage offers a metaphor of God’s promise to unite the world in peace and of our unwillingness to take the risk that offer demands.

Pastor Tracy examines the subtle ways people use language to separate “us” from “others” as part of the process of discrimination and oppression, from the ancient story of the Israelites in Egypt to the geo-politics of today.

Starting from the story of The burning bush, Pastor Tracy explores the timeless urge to avoid big challenges in hopes someone more worthy will step forward. Her message is that when God challenges us, He also promises to walk with us and, often in very unexpected ways, gives us what we need to succeed.

This was the sermon Pastor Tracy preached on her first Sunday as our new settled Pastor.  In it, she explores the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the life story of the abolitionist John Newton (writer of Amazing Grace) and finds that “Love your neighbor as yourself’ is a more challenging idea than we may think.

Rev. Tracy Barnowe preached this sermon as the candidate recommended by the Search Committee to be our next settled Pastor. In it, she examines supposedly unlikely heroes and finds that they are often in fact the person best-prepared to address the larger, unacknowledged problem of the day. Scripture: the “unlikely” choice of David as King (1 Samuel 15:34 –…