Sermons

  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 [...]

By Rev. Sarah Buteux February17, 2018 Epiphany 6, Year C Luke 6:17-26 Before we begin, there is a confession I need to make.  In the interest of full disclosure, there is something you need to know before I even pretend I can help interpret this morning’s scripture reading, and it is this:.  I am blessed…like seriously blessed…and apparently not in a good way.  You need to know that I ate breakfast this morning - two eggs with cheese, washed down with my favorite tea, all of which I cooked in my beautiful new kitchen while laughing with my precious daughter. In this very moment, standing here in front of you I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I am rich, I am full, and I am happy.  I love my family. I love my house. I love my church. I [...]

by Rev. Sarah Buteux John 2:1-11 (Painting above by Morgan Weistling)   I’ve got two words for you this morning: Pecha kucha.  Has anyone here ever experienced a pecha kucha?  Does anyone here know what a pecha kucha is? Isn’t that a south American herb that can be steeped into a hot beverage?  No, that’s Yerbe Matte?  Is it a pre-Columbian Inca site in Peru?  No, you’re thinking of Machu Pichu.  Is it a little yellow Japanese monster?  Nope, I’m pretty sure that’s Pokemon, but hey now we’re getting close, because Pecha Kucha is a Japanese concept.  Pecha Kucha, which is actually the Japanese word for chit-chat, is a method someone devised to re-invigorate the good old power-point presentation we all don’t love so much.  When someone presents a pecha kucha, they can’t read slowly through bullet points as they [...]

Rev. Sarah Buteux January 6, 2019 Matthew 2:1-12   Epiphany 1, Year C  Do you all know what “go to gifts” are? If you’re the one who buys gifts in your household, you probably do. Not to be confused with “safety gifts,” which are the completely generic gifts you keep stashed away in case of emergencies - like uncle Phil showing up unannounced for Christmas dinner -  “Go to gifts,” are kind of like the hacks of the gift giving world.  They’re the gifts that take the stress out of gift giving during major life events because they are so perfectly suited to the occasion. Popular “go to gifts” are things like a copy of Dr. Suess’, “All the Places You’ll Go,” for the recent graduate or pots and pans for newly weds, a plant for the couple who just bought [...]