United Church of Christ (national site)I had the honor of offering the opening prayer for the Minnesota House of Representatives at their session on Monday afternoon. I have done this several times in the past (also for the State Senate) and think of it as my yearly civics lesson. This time, I took my inspiration from the prayer that [...]
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This is the week of prayer for Christian Unity and (for Open & Affirming churches like ours) Welcoming Sunday. The Biblical text is the story of the calling of the first disciples — see how I wove patchwork quilts into all of those themes! And if you would like to see the quilts, check [...] The long process of recovery from Hurricane Katrina continues, and in places like the New Orleans neighborhood of Little Woods, much more help is needed. This spring, Church World Service and its members will host a four-week ecumenical work project in New Orleans. In partnership with the Crescent Area Recovery Effort, we hope to help 12 [...] Every week we are welcomed to worship by a member of the congregation. Here’s today’s welcome from Tracy Fossum. A couple of weeks ago,my friend’s 8-year-old daughter asked her, “What do they believe at Tracy’s church?” So my friend posed the question to me. I paused, panicked, and then sputtered something about social justice, open and [...] Nathanael had an unusual response to learning about Jesus: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” This week, I reflect about the ways in which we ask that same question in modern form … Can Anything Good …? Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18 John 1:43-51 Nathanael was skeptical, at best. His friend Philip had made an [...] The baptism of Jesus is a dramatic story, made even more dramatic by the voice that comes from heaven saying “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” If you think back to the first words of God in the Bible, “Let there be light” you can’t help reflecting on [...] Every year we have a quiet service on the first Sunday of January as a way of entering gently and reflectively into the new year. Along with quiet music and silent prayer, the sermon is replaced by lectio divina, an ancient practice for entering prayerfully into the reading of scripture. The passage we chose this [...] Please click on the January 2009 Chronicle for church news and interesting events happening at First UCC this month! |
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