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…
On Pentecost, Pastor Tracy addressed one of the biggest challenges facing progressive Christians: discussing our faith with others. (We tend to think that’s for more conservative, fundamentalist denominations.) However, finding the courage to be vulnerable and to start an authentic discussion about what we believe can be a breakthrough to building a more vital, growing…
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11. For Ascension Sunday, Pastor Tracy shares a true story from her own ministry of what a visit by the Holy Spirit might look like today. Now as then, “Baptism by Fire” can mean the challenge of finding your authentic voice.
“When I give bread to the poor, they call me a Saint . . . . . . when I ask why the poor have no bread, they call me a Communist.” Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917 – 1980) To mark our annual letter-writing campaign for Bread for the World, Pastor Tracy explored the instructions from…
For Earth Day, Pastor Tracy examines some of the lesser-known parts of the creation story in Genesis. She finds that it tells us that taking care of the earth is inextricably linked to forming community and thus taking care of ourselves. This ancient idea is also closely connected to to her misadventures in worm-farming. Seriously!
The story of Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-22) is Pastor Tracy’s starting point for an exploration of the nature of grace. Nothing about his change of heart can be explained by logic or external circumstances. It was grace in its purest form. She also illustrates her point with an ancient Zen parable.
Preaching from the familiar story of Jesus appearing before the Apostles, Pastor Tracy notes that we all have Thomas’s doubts. Drawing on a very personal story of having once been a prisoner of her own fears and doubts. she points out that the Holy Spirit seldom appears in a form we expect, and that the…
“Never put a period where God has placed a comma” Gracie Allen In her Easter sermon, Pastor Tracy reminds us that the resurrection of Jesus is not the only story in the Bible of someone being raised from the dead, and that in all of them, the critical question is not “How?” but “Why?” Every…