Sermon: "Mission Possible: Nurture", Deuteronomy 11:18-21/Revelation 3:15-20 (October 18, 2015)

(10/18/15, part two of a four part series on the life of the Church for our Stewardship drive)

(Video of this sermon)

I have a book that I bought at a used book store when I was in seminary called, “Children’s Letters to God.” Knowing that I was being called to a ministry specifically focused on education and Christian formation, I figured that this book could provide some important insights as to what I was getting myself into. Now, being a long-time veteran of church school and children’s sermons, I knew that there would likely be some real gems in there, and I was not disappointed:

“Dear God, In Sunday School, they told us what you do. Who does it when you are on vacation?”

“Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel wouldn’t kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother.”

“Dear God, My grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go?”

“Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all the people in the world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it.”

“Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a pony.”

The Grace of Reminders: A Reminder of Grace

As many (most?) of you know, I started a new call in Boise, ID, almost two months ago (in fact, it will be two months ago exactly this Saturday when my Installation service will be held! Yay!). As some of you also may know, I am really bad with names. Like, unusually bad for someone whose job it is to connect with people. It's not that I don't remember people (although sometimes, especially when I've met several hundred new people over the course of a short period of time, that can be a contributing factor) it's just that names don't stick in my head very well. Usually, I can get around this pretty well by using some helpful techniques (repeating a person's name when they introduce themselves, double checking their name before saying goodbye, listening carefully to conversations for when names come up, etc.) but it's still a frustrating obstacle to entering a new community.

Sermon: "Rhythm: A Pattern for Our Life", Genesis 1:1-2:3 (September 13, 2015)

(9/13/2015; read in conjunction with responsive scripture below)
(Part two of a three part sermon series about music in the church)
(Video of this sermon, including the responsive reading)

It’s funny, isn’t it, how much rhythms permeate the very substance of our lives? From the sound of that first heartbeat in the womb to the repeated contractions that bring each of us into the world. From the pattern of wobbly first steps to the rhythmic pounding of feet on a marathon run. From the slowed breathing of a child drifting off to sleep to the slowed breathing of the dying drifting into God’s arms, human life is made up of rhythms.

The ancient writers of scripture seemed to recognize the importance of life’s rhythms, too. Whether you read it as a literal history or as a metaphorical account of God’s creation, there’s no denying the beauty and balance in the flow of Genesis’ first creation story: God desires something. God declares it into existence. God recognizes the creation as good. God names it. And this divinely instituted pattern becomes what is one of our most basic human rhythms: a day.

Responsive Reading of Genesis 1:1-2:3

(As read before sermon on September 13, 2015)

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,
The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep,
While a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

Then God said,

“Let there be light”;

And there was light.
And God saw that the light was good;
And God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.

And there was evening and there was morning, 

The first day.

Sermon: "Suit Up!", Ephesians 6:10-18 (August 23, 2015)

8/23/2015
(Video of this sermon)

I want to take a moment to ask you what images come to mind when you hear this passage from Ephesians. Holy Crusaders going off to war? Our men and women in the armed forces getting ready to fight for God, freedom, and the American way? Preparing yourself to go and “do battle” with the unchurched in your life? The idea of “just warfare”?

In Defense of Denominations

So I had a really great experience the other day. I got to wake up early on a Saturday and spend the day in a Presbytery meeting.

"But Katey," I hear you exclaim, "how can a Presbytery meeting possibly be a great experience??"

For those of you who may not be familiar with the Presbyterian form of government, the Presbytery is a regional body, made up of teaching elders (Pastors) and ruling elders (members of each church's governing board) that essentially serve the role of Bishop in other denominations. Each pastor is held accountable by its Presbytery; each Presbytery is responsible for the churches within its boundaries. Pastors are not members of the church for whom they work, but of their local Presbytery.

A (Not Even Remotely) Comprehensive List of My Feelings (Saturday, August 1, 2015)

I'm writing this from the passenger seat of the Penske Truck that Nick and I have rented in order to move all of our stuff across ten states from New York to Idaho (side note: apparently, for interested parties, we have exactly 16' and 1 Ford Mustang of things. But I don't think that's a metric unit of measurement). Murray is lying on my lap and acting as a pseudo-desk (I say "pseudo" because in my experience, desks don't normally squirm this much). We have driven through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and are currently just south of Chicago, Illinois. We left around 11:00pm last night (Friday, July 31) and have been tag-teaming driving duties for about twelve hours. For the first time, I feel neither obligated to sleep nor exhausted, so I thought I'd take a moment to write out some of my thoughts.