We find ourselves in dark times . . . quite literally! In the middle of the holiday season we find ourselves dealing with depressingly little daylight and the stresses of our lives and our world, how do we keep going? We often use the metaphor of a beacon in this church, but what happens when … Continue reading Dec 17, 2017 – Lighting the Beacon
…and it’s not your baby. This is the odd and unexpected beginning of Joseph and Mary’s story. When we are faced with surprise, do we go forward doggedly with our well thought out plans or do we yield, and offer our consent to the unexpected? Come this Sunday, to experience the potential birth of hope … Continue reading Dec 10, 2017 – I’m Pregnant…
This is the famous title of Barack Obama’s book which informed his successful presidential race.. Obama’s initial inspiration for the book was a sermon he heard by Rev. Jeremiah Wright who offered a thorough and impassioned interpretation of the painting done by G.F. Watts called “Hope” – a harp player clothed in rags, with only … Continue reading Dec 3, 2017 – The Audacity of Hope
They’re here! The “most wonderful time of the year”—the Holidays —is upon us. A time full to the brim with family and friends, cocoa and cookies, where the cold snow easily melts away under the warmth of so many warm hearts and rosy cheeks. But, the season of giving and gathering also inspires feelings of … Continue reading Nov 26, 2017 – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, and the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Rev. Joseph Boyd This is the day we get the sense for what it might mean to be a child again – fresh, alive, unclouded by despair and worry, no real sense of anything other than the fact we are alive. I was born 7:28 am in a hospital in Oregon City, Oregon, a place … Continue reading Sermon – Dec 24, 2017 – “A Child is Born”
Rev. Joseph Boyd There’s a knock at the door…and we wonder who it could be. Is it the ghost of Christmas past, coming to haunt us with deeds we’ve done or left undone, loose ends, and people we have yet to fully reconcile with? Or is it a sign that perhaps something we’ve done, some … Continue reading Sermon – Dec 10, 2017 – “Two Little Words”
I’ve had people who are 1 or 2 generations older than me, tell me: “I can’t believe we’re still dealing with the same things I was fighting against 20 years ago, 60 years ago. It’s been a long time we’ve been involved in these issues and they’re still not resolved.” In this season of gratitude … Continue reading Nov 19, 2017 – It’s Been a Long Time
Rev. Joseph Boyd The painting on the cover of your order of service has a lineage that has been inherited. G.F. Watts did this painting in 1889. He called it hope. Immediately critics disliked it – they thought it was too bleak. They were confused why he called it hope – that’s the last thing … Continue reading Sermon – Dec 3, 2017 – “The Audacity of Hope”
Rev. Joseph Boyd I remember the first time I heard the story about the Israelites complaining about eating manna, yearning for the fleshpots in Egypt. “How ungrateful” I thought. And I thought that’s what that story was about – not being able appreciate the gifts you’ve been given, yearning for a time that enslaved and … Continue reading Sermon – Nov 19, 2017 – “It’s Been a Long Time”
As we bring canned foods to this service to donate to Richard Brown, let’s talk about hunger. There are many different kinds of hunger. Besides physical hunger, one of the most debilitating and painful hungers is the inability to take in what life offers us. In the Buddhist tradition, they refer to those with this … Continue reading Nov 12, 2017 – Feeding the Hungry
