Dear friends, For the month of June, our worship theme was “A Spirit of Courage.” We celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and we reflected on the courage it takes to live faithfully in our complicated world—courage to fight for racial justice, courage to raise loving, compassionate children, courage to claim and […]
The Courage to Love
“The Courage to Love” I John 4:7-8, 11-12, 16-18a; I Corinthians 13:1-8a Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark June 19, 2022 I was asking the wrong question. In preparation for today’s sermon, on this intriguing intersection of Father’s Day and Juneteenth, I interviewed four dads and one god-dad from our congregation. I was curious […]
Repairers of the Breach
Repairers of the Breach Luke 4:14-21; Isaiah 59:1-12 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark June 12, 2022 “No more thoughts and prayers!” With each horrifying act of gun violence, the cries grow louder. Thoughts and prayers, devoid of action, are not only useless; they are hypocritical and offensive—a slap in the face of people who […]
Little Brown Streaks on Little Brown Jobs
Luke 12:6-7 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark July 10, 2022 I was underwhelmed. Once again, my experience of Cape Cod was being shaped by contrast to where I had just been—the high desert of New Mexico. In New Mexico, everything is big. Sandstone cliffs with dramatic variations in their coloring. Pedernal Mountain in the […]
Drinking from the Waters of Remembrance
Drinking from the Rock of Remembrance Exodus 17:1-7 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark May 29, 2022 War is hell. I speak these words with renewed conviction after three months of watching the evening news. War is destructive: we’ve seen so many pictures of entire cities reduced to rubble. War is brutal: we’ve heard interviews […]
One Egg at a Time
“One Egg at a Time” Isaiah 65:17-25, Luke 24:1-12 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark April 17, 2022 Christ is risen! The tomb is empty! The cross is flowering! Hope is alive! Love is more powerful than hatred and greed, fear and even death! I love that we make bold proclamations on Easter, […]
More Beautiful than Rose
“More Beautiful than Rose” Mark 1:9-11 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark April 3, 2022 A wash cloth. A watering can. A water bottle. An eye dropper. A snorkel mask. In my favorite children’s message about baptism, I use these objects to introduce our young people to the many layers of meaning behind […]
Worship April
In April, we continue our Lenten theme, “Out of the Waters…” and we celebrate Easter! Join us in person and on Zoom on Sunday mornings. Sunday, April 3 at 10:00amReaffirmation of Baptism and Holy CommunionMark 1:9-11, “More Beautiful than Rose,” Rev. Dr. Debbie Clark preachingUsing water that has melted from our “wave” ice sculpture, we will […]
Transformation for All
Dear friends, On the first Sunday in Lent, we welcomed ice sculptor Don Chappelle. As we reflected on water imagery in the creation story, he created an ocean wave from a giant chunk of ice. Each Sunday since then, we have taken part of that sculpture out of the freezer and watched it slowly transform […]
Everflowing Streams
John 4:1-15; Amos 5:21-24 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark March 27, 2022 Jesus is a poet—a creative genius whose vivid imagery challenges us to think and feel more deeply. Throughout the gospel of John he uses metaphors to awaken people around him to a new experience of the holy. Almost always, Jesus’ metaphors lead to […]