Rev. Debbie Clark

Luke 12:6-7 March 7, 2021          God’s eye is on the sparrow—and the Carolina wren and the wood thrush and the black-capped chickadee. They are so small; our human eyes miss them unless they show up at the feeder.  God sees them. God hears them, for these tiny songbirds produce glorious music that reverberates far and wide. […]

Mark 6:30-34 February 7, 2021          Today’s gospel lesson is easily overlooked. Often we read it as the set-up for the much more dramatic feeding of the 5000. Today, we separate it from the miracle and ask what wisdom this deeply human story has for us.          Throughout Mark’s gospel, Jesus goes away by himself—or with his […]

Romans 8:17-27 January 31, 2021             “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now…”          The apostle Paul wrote in brilliant, vivid and sometimes convoluted language as he tried to help the early church in Rome make sense of their experience. They were living in complicated times, full of suffering and […]

I Samuel 3:1-10 January 17, 2021          Samuel heard a voice—three times. A child assisting in the temple, he assumed the voice was the aging priest Eli asking for a cup of water. Finally, with Eli’s help, he realized he was being called to holy work. Hard work, for his first task was to bring a […]

Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1:4-11 It happened on Epiphany—the Christian holiday whose name means “awakening.” It was certainly an awakening—to truths we have known for a long time but may have been tempted to ignore.          On Wednesday, January 6th, I watched in horror as a mob stormed the Capitol. The images of angry men and women […]

Luke 2:8-20 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark December 20, 2020          It was a deceptively peaceful scene, at least as it is depicted in children’s books and Christmas pageants: shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. From our urban and suburban vantage points, we envision gentle people sitting quietly on a […]

Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark December 6, 2020          On a sunny afternoon in late October, Jeannie and I leapt into my car and headed to Nobscot Reservation for a hike. The day before, in our staff zoom, we had brainstormed creative ways to make scripture come alive–like reading a stormy scripture […]

Isaiah 64:1-4; Mark 13:24-37 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark November 29, 2020 “Oh, that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence.” I love this passage from Isaiah, and I hate it. I am drawn to the poetry that expresses such deep human longing—longing for […]

Luke 5:1-11 November 15, 2020 Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark             The story begins with exhaustion and frustration. Simon, James and John are cleaning their nets after a long, unsuccessful night of fishing. They are weary. They are discouraged. They are worried. With no fish, how will they feed their families? How will they pay off […]