A few weeks back I quietly celebrated one of the high holy days, if you will, of my own, personal liturgical calendar.  August 8 marks the anniversary of an event that took place in 1974 –  a young, French wire walker named Phillipe Petit strung a cable between the north and south towers of the World Trade […]

(I have been asked for a text of the words I spoke this morning. Because I had prepared with handwritten notes, what you find below is a restatement of what I said this morning but might be worded differently. Please forgive lack of punctuation and typos – my computer is in the shop and so […]

August 6:  Give Them Not Hell The 18th century Universalist, John Murray, is remembered as saying, “Go out into the highways and by-ways of America, your new country . . . [and] give them not hell, but hope and courage.”  He may not, in fact, have ever said this, but there is no question that […]

During the summer worship often takes on a more relaxed feel — we have only the one service at 10:00, and it’s a time for different voices in the pulpit.  On the 2nd, Rev. Wik will preach, and on the 9th it will be Rev Alex’s turn.  Sunday the 16th the preacher will be one […]

Augustine of Hippo once wrote, “Hope has two beautiful daughters – Anger and Courage.  Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they don’t remain as they are.”  There’s a lot to unpack in that, and a lot for us to learn.  Rev. Wik will preach. NOTE: The church office will be closed […]

“I have never been able to accept what I believe to be an injustice. Perhaps it is because of this I am America’s problem child …” “America’s problem child.”  That’s the way – one of the ways – that the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray saw herself … and not without some reason.  Pauli was one […]

“Rural Voices” Good morning.  The sermon topic that was advertised for this morning was about chapters of life and how to live in a spiritually full way at each stage.  I realized over the last few days that Erik covered that somewhat last week and I covered it in my April sermon.  So, I decided […]

This Sunday we celebrate our annual Bridging Ceremony, when we recognize our graduating high school seniors, and both mark and honor this time when they transition from youth to young adulthood.

For Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan began on this past Friday evening.  Ramadan is so central to Islam that it is considered one of the “five pillars” of the faith, and fasting is central to Ramadan.  With only a few exceptions (which I’ll get back to in a moment), every Muslim is expected to […]

Singer, songwriter, and peace activist Pete Seeger wrote that, “a good song reminds us what we’re fighting for.”  On this Music Sunday we’ll look at how music can help us embody our quest for justice.  Our Director of Music, Scott DeVeaux, and Rev. Wik lead our exploration. [Note:  the choir will be singing.  Also, this […]