Sermons

Rev. Sarah Buteux               May 19, 2019 Revelation 21 Easter 5, Year C Yesterday we said goodbye to a saint of the church. We commended the spirit of our sister Denise Karuth to God. And it was beautiful. And it was hard.  This morning we’ve welcomed a tiny new saint into our midst. We’ve welcomed Sam, a miracle in more ways than one. A little fellow we’ve been praying for since before he was born.   Today our hearts are a little bit broken and our hearts are overfull. So it may come as no surprise to you that life and death and the meaning of it all are very much on my mind this morning.  I’m also, like many of you, still processing the loss of Rachel Held Evans who died two weeks [...]

By the Rev. Laura Dalton 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Stewardship Sunday I want to thank Pastor Sarah, MJ and all of you for welcoming me in this role while Pastor Todd is on sabbatical. My gratitude for this opportunity runs very deep and I am looking forward to what the coming months will bring.   So, the first thing that Sarah asked me to do was to preach on this day, when our theme is stewardship. At the conclusion of the worship service this morning, while our kind neighbors and friends from St. John’s prepare for coffee hour, members of First Churches will have the opportunity to see our proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. It’s a spreadsheet with breakdowns of categories, projected expenses, and bottom lines. On the surface at least, we’ll be having a meeting and looking at [...]

By Rev. Sarah Buteux April 28, 2019 Confirmation Sunday, Easter 2 Year C John 20:19-31 Today is a big day. Chloe, Maja, and Rowan are going to stand up here in approximately 9 minutes to be confirmed. And I imagine you three are all feeling a little nervous? Maybe even still wondering if getting confirmed is such a good idea?  And that’s ok. We get it. Confirmation is all about affirming your belief in a faith that was chosen for you before you were even born. It’s the day when you stand up in front of your family and friends and the whole church community and claim this faith as your own.  And, as if that wasn’t enough pressure, we went out and rented a whole second congregation just to make this day feel even more momentous.   Today is the [...]

  By Rev. Sarah Buteux Luke 15:1-10 Lent 4, Year  C In my reading this week, I came across the story of Jon Tyson, a mega church pastor, who left his church in Florida and moved to NYC to start a new kind of church with a close group of friends.  I’ve read a lot of stories like this one, and at first it followed all the familiar beats.  Jon and his friends gave up the lives they’d known back in Florida. They banded together and started their church in somebody’s living room. They quickly outgrew that space and started meeting in the back room of a downtown bar, and when that became too small, they made the big leap.  They rented a theater uptown, launched a web site, printed flyers, rehearsed the band, and lo and behold, [...]

Rev. Sarah Buteux March 10, 2019 Lent 1, Year C Luke 4:1-13,   Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. Forty days.  Forty days out in the wilderness with nothing to do…without anything to eat…with no one to talk to.  When’s the last time you found yourself with nothing to do, without anything to eat, with no one to talk to?  It’s almost impossible to imagine, isn’t it?  I’m not saying that we’re never bored, hungry, or lonely. Boredom, hunger, and loneliness are part and parcel of the human condition. They dog us at every step.  But do any of us ever allow ourselves to truly feel those things anymore? Or do we pick up our [...]