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)…
Sonny Graves is a 2016 graduate of Pacific School of Religion. He is currently working in the office of The Northern California Nevada Conference of the UCC and is interning at First Church Berkeley while he seeks his first call. In this sermon he starts by examining the story of Jesus’ clash with the Temple…
M. Todd Whitley is a second year student at Pacific School of Religion. In this sermon he uses a story of Jesus traveling in hostile territory (Luke 9:51 – 62) to explore the idea that most opportunities to do something important start with a need to go somewhere we aren’t comfortable, and part of maturity…
HIlary Spaulding is a long-time member of FCCSR who holds a degree in Divinity. After a successful career in Law, she is now “in discernment” with the United Church of Christ seeking a call to ministry. In this sermon she examines the idea that Jesus’ call to not worry (Luke 12:22-34) is not a simple…
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…
Dr. Walker is Professor of Church History at Pacific School of Religion and Director of their Ministry Program. She is ordained in the United Church of Christ and served as a pastor in the Southern California Conference before teaching at PSR. In this sermon she suggests that the thing that distinguishes the UCC and other…
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.
Pastor Tracy examines the story of Elijah, a prophet who spoke truth to power and suffered for it. The lesson for us is that we are most likely to encounter God not in a flash of blinding power, but in that quiet moment when we discover that we are not alone in facing life’s challenges…