On this first Sunday of Advent, Pastor Tracy took a hard look at the state of race relations in our country, as reflected in this week’s headlines from Ferguson, MO. She explored the deep parallels between the condition of Jews in Israel under the Roman Empire and the challenges faced daily by Americans of color.…
In the second of two sermons exploring the Book of Ruth, Pastor Tracy notes the parallels between this ancient story and the experience of refugees and immigrants today: both then and now the friendship and material support these newcomers need comes through the choices and actions of people like us.
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 pre-Halloween/Dia de los Muertos service our guest preacher was the superhero Spiderman. He preached on the principle that guides all superheroes — “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” — which is also the moral of the spookiest story in the Bible: the Handwriting on the wall that foretold the death of King Belshazzar in Babylon 2500 years ago. (Surprisingly,…
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.
Pepper Swanson is a recent graduate of Pacific School of Religion and is currently a candidate for ordination in the UCC. In this sermon, she explored a deeper understanding of the obligation of forgiveness as stated in Matthew 18:21 – 35. She suggested a technique from improv theater that can unleash the healing power of forgiveness,…