Texts: “Kingdom” by Steve Garnaas-Holmes * John 18:33-38 (“What is truth?”) * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) Tomorrow will be the 58th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It happened on November 22, 1963, and I remember it well. In 1963, I was in Grade 1; and on November … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 13:1-18 (the destruction of the Temple) * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) Five years ago, when I was in my third year as minister here, we celebrated 40 years of Mill Woods United Church. This morning I use the past five years and today’s two readings to reflect on similarities and differences between … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 12:28-34 (“the greatest commandment”) * Order of service (PDF) * Video of complete service Following the first Remembrance Sunday at which I preached and presided – which was 12 years ago at Knox United in Didsbury Alberta – I realized with surprise and delight that the career for which I was training was one that involved … [Read more…]
Texts: “Light in the Rocks” by Steve Garnaas-Holmes * Revelation 21:1-6a (“a new heaven and earth”) * Video of entire service * Order of service (PDF) Greetings to everyone this Allhallowtide! Allhallowtide is a three-day celebration of the departed, which the Roman church has been marking since at least the seventh century. It incorporates pre-Christian traditions like Samhain, … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 9:38-40 (“Anyone not against us is with us”) * video of complete service * see below for more service materials Twenty years ago after 9/11, President George Bush famously said, “anyone who is not with us is with the terrorists.” His statement slightly changes and corrupts the saying of Jesus that we just … [Read more…]
Text: Matthew 6:25-34 (“do not worry”) * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) Thanksgiving sermons might feel like a challenge at the best of times. How does one offer thanks in the face of difficulties like illness, or mourning a loved one, or an unsuccessful harvest? And then there is the legacy of Thanksgiving. It is … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 9:30-37 (welcoming children) * Video of complete service * Order of service One year ago, on the first Sunday of fall, I wrote a reflection called “Invincible Summer;” and today, I use the occasion of the second Sunday of fall to revisit the topic. Today, we didn’t hear any words from Albert Camus, … [Read more…]
Text: John 10:10 (abundant life) * Order of service * Video of complete service Last Sunday when I got home from worship, I learned that one of my theological heroes, Bishop John Shelby Spong, had died at age 90. Spong’s books played an important part in my return to church 20 years ago. So, today I am marking … [Read more…]
Text: 1 Proverbs:1-6, 20-23, 32-33 (Wisdom prepares a path) * Video of complete service I have appreciated some of the changes in the commemorations of 9/11 this year, which is the 20th anniversary of the attacks by Al-Qaeda terrorists on the United States. Not all, mind you. Some of the memorials have been much the same – … [Read more…]
Text: Mark 8:27-35 (“take up you cross”) * Video of complete service The Gospel of Mark can be seen as a comedy. Have you ever thought of it that way? It’s not that people laugh out loud when they read Mark for it tells a dark story filled with dark deeds. It’s just that Mark ends … [Read more…]