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Showing posts from May, 2016

For John W

Funeral Sermon for John W Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 We’ve just heard 1 Corinthians chapter 13: the apostle Paul’s beautiful description of the love that never ends. As for prophecies, as for tongues, as for knowledge, they will come to an end; however, there is no end for the true, faithful love. We do know that some loves come to an end; we do hear about loves that do not last. Under the heavens, all things seem to have their end - and most things do. What love is this that Paul wants us to know? What is this love which is greater than any words that the angels could speak, this love which is superior to any human boast of  power, knowledge or wealth? At the end of our life’s journey, what is left undestroyed? What is left is not our body, our bank account, our success or failure, but the love we have received and the love we have given and the countless ripples we made on the life water of the people we loved, the communities we cared for, and our world. This love that last

Sermon for Pentecost/I.D.A.H.O. service (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Oppression), May 15, 2016

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Sermon: The Love That Casts Out Fear Text: Acts 2: 1-21 Last Saturday, I chose to attend a whole -day A ffirm event at Churchill Park United Church, called Spirit and Soul: not Determined by A na tomy . The theme of the event was under standing and embracing the t ran sgender comm un ity. We had four t heme speakers and use d the sanctuary as our gath ering place, sitting at the tables cafe te ria-style. The day’s work turned out to be one of the most life- transforming events I have ever e xperienced; it not only educated me but it solved a very person al question I never shared with anyone else, that had gone un an swered for the past 20 years. When my family and I arrived at Churchill Park, I was relieved to see that there were two other small children as well as my two boys. As the church provided child-minding in their nursery, I said hello to the other parents, introducing my kids to them and asking their kids’ names. They l ooked like a typical gay family comp osed

Sermon: Petals of the gospel-flower (What makes a radically welcoming church?)

Sermon: Petals of the gospel-flower Text: Acts 11:1-18 In today’s story, Peter baptizes a Gentile and his whole household and accepts them to the Christian Jewish faith community. Now he has to face all those in the community who take issue with his actions - but can he persuade them to accept Gentiles into their midst? The Gentile was a man named Cornelius, a Roman officer, in the Italian Cohort. He was a generous, religious man, dwelling on the fringes of Palestine and at the margins of Judaism, fearing God. His conversion will probably cost him his position and entail many social difficulties; at the time the Jews and the Jewish Christians, including Peter, shared a cultural presumption that all Jews are forbidden to visit, eat, or associate with anyone of another race.  In today’s story, the real issue that the objectors have is not so much with the baptism of Gentiles but with Peter’s willingness to physically, face-to-face, sit and eat with the Gentiles, in the community’s