Category Archives: Selected Sermons

“Crazy with Gratitude” It is the beginning of June and in a few weeks the “regular church year” will be over.  The choir will take a well-deserved break, we move into summer services, some of you will be preaching.  I … Continue reading →

“What’s To Be Gained?” Some of you may have read a book released a few years ago that includes some of the more amusing corrections that The New York Times has had to make in its long history. The book … Continue reading →

Henry Thoreau states:” Time: It is not enough if you are busy.  The question is, what are you busy about?”  Simplicity or Living a Simple Life is not a new concept. This topic can be traced back to many classic … Continue reading →

I look around and think how lucky we are to be in this beautiful space worshiping together. We are surrounded by our own history, by the impressive works of those who came before us.  Let me tell you that there … Continue reading →

Just about five years ago I gave a sermon in this church on the topic of race and my personal experience of learning what racial identity is all about. Recently Charles Nazarian asked me if I would like to give … Continue reading →

The church had been a meeting place for leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and others seeking to end segregation and register African-Americans to vote in Birmingham. No American of conscience who remembers those days can forget the horrible poison … Continue reading →

“Just as long as I have breath I must answer Yes to life.” Saying yes to life requires the ability to face our regrets and angers and then to let them go. Some people slog through their lives encumbered by … Continue reading →

This talk was given on December 29, 2013 by Gordon Baird. Those words were written by me on a day when this church had thoroughly recharged my batteries.  I am grateful still.  What can I mean? Ever come to church … Continue reading →

This sermon was preached on Sunday, November 24, 2013 by Rev. Rankin. It has been a week of iconic photographs and iconic words.  A week of anniversaries—John Kennedy’s assassination, the Gettysburg Address. For me, this week has been filled with … Continue reading →

This is my church – what can I pay This is where I come to love, honor and pray Why do I care?  Why do I give? These are the questions that hit me where I live!