January 25, 2015, The Rev. Doyt L. Conn preaching
I’d like you to consider today a moment in time when your life made perfect sense: a time when it all came together, when you felt alive and useful and connected, and there was purpose not just in what you were doing, but who you were being. Think of a time like that. I call these Really Real Moments.
December 24, 2014, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching
But the hope I want to talk about tonight is a different kind of hope. It is Christian hope brought to life through the person of Jesus. It is a solid hope, not an uncertain hope. Not a conventional hope, but an eternal hope, sturdy and sure. It is hope achieved when planted like a seed. It is grounded, if you will, in the abilities of God and the realities of God made known by Jesus.
December 21, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching
Ten years ago, I was in the middle of my seminary education. I was studying theology and hermeneutics, singing in the choir, and washing dishes in the refectory for minimum wage. We gathered in the chapel every day at noon for worship, students, faculty, and staff praying together as a community. Also during that time, I was struggling to work out issues of faith, personal belief, and conviction.
December 17, 2014, Kevin Mesher preaching
October 12, 2014, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching
None of us can see the future. Everyone moves forward blindly. Everyone’s past is completely unique to them in every way save one: that, if we dust the surface of our lives, we find the fingerprints of God. That unites us when we let it. That is why the church exists.
April 27, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching
Last Sunday, on Easter Sunday, Doyt preached about doubt. He poached my gospel reading on doubting Thomas. Sounds like an odd topic for the Day of the Resurrection, but it wasn’t.
April 18, 2014, The Rev. Kate Wesch preaching
When we chase away the darkness, we miss out on opportunities to experience God and God’s creation in a myriad of ways. Our streetlights rob us of seeing the stars. Our screens keep us from engaging one another. Our constant stream of lights trailing before and behind us, inhibit us from even noticing God in the dark places of our lives. Tonight is a night for darkness. In these hours between now and Easter, I invite you to step into the darkness. Let it surround and envelop you. And while you are there, pray; listen and pray.
April 6, 2014, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching
Now caves don’t always look like caves. More likely they look like our “go to” defense mechanism when we feel threatened or exposed. That is the cave we occupy, and we don’t have to; even when we are afraid; so maybe today is the day to consider coming out of that cave. There is a man out here who is calling your name. He is the same man who is calling my name, and the same man who called to Lazarus “come out!” “Lazarus, come out of that cave!” His name is Jesus, and when we’re with him it is impossible to be afraid.
December 24, 2013, The Rev. Doyt Conn preaching
My family doesn’t listen to Amahl and the Night Visitors. It is not a tradition I have maintained and that makes me a little sad. But rituals change. They come to life for a time to bring constancy against which we can be changed. That is the power of ritual. It stays the same so we can become more and more the person God created us to be. The rituals change as relationships ebb and flow, save one, the one we celebrate tonight.