Worship

Rev. Sarah Buteux October 20, 2019 Luke 18:1-8 ProperYear C A few weeks ago we had a half day planning retreat here at the church and Todd and I thought it would be a good idea to have us all begin by talking about where we were at spiritually.  So he led off with the question: “Where are you growing in your faith?” And the people at my table all looked a little bit stunned. And I thought, O gosh, what were we thinking. Who asks a question like that to a group of mainline protestants on a Saturday morning.  “Where are you growing in your faith?”  I think half the people in the room would have felt more comfortable talking about their net worth or using a group-on for simultaneous root canals. New Englanders just aren’t the sort of [...]

The Rev. Sarah Buteux      September 8, 2019  Luke 14:25-33, Philemon 1 Proper 18 Year C Everyone says, this love will change you.  Well, I ask, isn’t that what loves supposed to do.  - The Weepies   Friends, our first reading this morning is all about the cost of discipleship. Jesus doesn’t just come into the world to save the world, he comes to change it, disrupt, and upend it.  He comes to give sight to the blind, set the captives free, and provide the poor with the good things they need by emptying the rich of those things they don’t really need at all.  And Jesus knows that as happy as that will make people on the outside and underside of the empire, it is going to greatly upset those in positions of privilege and power. Which is [...]

Rev. Sarah Buteux                  June 23, 2019 Luke 8:26-39, Proper 7 Year C “O God, may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, you who are our rock and our redeemer. Amen” Friends, I’m pretty good with my words. (That’s probably how I got this job). But when it comes to the meditations of my heart, I gotta tell you that they are not always as acceptable as they should be, especially when it comes to social media.   I don’t know about you - and forgive me if what I am about to say shocks you or lowers your opinion of me - but I find that scrolling through instagram or facebook often leads me to think less than charitable thoughts about other [...]

by Rev. Sarah Buteux June 2, 2019 Acts 1:1-11, Ascension, Year C Alright my friends, I want to begin this morning by having you think back to a time in your life when you felt like you were left out on your own - not just left to your own devices- but really out there all on your own… a time when you had no choice but to pick yourself up and stand on your own two feet.  Maybe it was stepping on to the bus your first day of kindergarten or into the lunch room on the first day of middle school. Maybe it was after the death of a parent or the finality of a divorce. Maybe it was your first day as the boss or your last day at the company, the time you pulled up stakes [...]

Rev. Sarah Buteux May 26, 2019 Easter 6, Year C John 14:23-29 https://www.facebook.com/firstchurches/videos/584603421948264/ There has been a lot of talk about endings this past week, and not because people have been breathlessly anticipating Jesus’ words of farewell in our reading this morning. No, all the talking, tweeting, writing, and hand wringing has been about the end of what? HBO’s Game of Thrones.  People have been pondering, arguing, and debating not just the finale but the whole final season: was it too rushed? did it make any sense? was it satisfying? Over a million fans are so disappointed in the ending that they have signed a petition to re-film the entire last season. The anger, disappoint and outright hate from critics and fans alike has been quite stunning, and, in my mind, a little disingenuous. Because honestly, I don’t think [...]