Momologian

How do we know we are “doing the thing-“ that thing being living like Jesus? By living LOVE in a world which seems to thrive on something else entirely.

So often in our churches we participate in the intellectual exercises of faith and belief, but what about the practical side of things? This week we explore how to live like Jesus, and dig into what it means to “live hope,” as one way of doing so.

When Mary encountered the angel at the tomb, there were two miracles at work. The miracle of resurrection and the miracle of faith in the face of uncertainty.

Welcome to Holy Week, beloved church! Today begins our observance of one of the most sacred and impactful weeks of our faith. Palm Sunday is not just a moment of celebration but it’s also an invitation to sit UP and proclaim what we know to be true about our faith, what we know to be true about Jesus and his message of LOVE

Here we are, church! We have entered the penultimate - oh I love that word, second to last - of our lenten series where we are invited to get UP to something by asking questions of ourselves during this season of deepening our understanding of what the Jesus story means to us in our faith journeys.

This lent we explore the question: what is God UP to in our lives? Week 4 is our reminder to light UP the world…even as one particular passage in today’s selected text has been used in the past to, well, do quite the opposite.

This Lent we explore the question: what is God UP to in our lives? Week 3 reminds us that as important as it is to tear down systems of oppression and injustice we also need to raise UP the promise of resurrection

This Lent we explore the question: what is God UP to in our lives? Week 2 invites us to take UP the message of Christ - and let go of the stuff that keeps us weighed down.

This Lent we explore the question: What is God UP to in our lives? Week 1 invites us to “come UP” out of the depths into a new way of being this season.

After a few weeks away, Rev. A is back! It’s Transfiguration Sunday, and here we are with the ones with whom Jesus has been walking alongside and teaching from the beginning. And they are having, quite literally, a religious experience of epic proportions. Maybe even one of the biggest “come to Jesus” moments for them.

We will have one more message on “call” and on “being called” today, but this time we have a moment with Jesus and someone who really isn’t expecting much. This might be a wonderful, biblical example of not saying the first thing that comes to your mind out loud…So let's dive right into the audacity of Nathaniel

“Come and follow me:” One the most thought provoking and anxiety producing phrases in the Gospels any of us can hear or experience in our lives.

Epiphany is every day. Or at least it can be. With the Magi as our inspiration can you set aside expectations and allow yourself to experience God in a new and exciting way?

So what’s the deal with this Covenant prayer? Well, it’s a part of our heritage as a Wesleyan people and is a wonderful way to greet the new year with intention as a people called Christian.

What can we learn about ourselves and God’s Love from Mary’s encounter with the angel in Luke? Quite a lot, actually!

Here we are in the heart of Advent, and we encounter the voice of John the Baptist, not in the comfort of a temple, but in the challenging wilderness—a symbol of the struggles and uncertainties we face in our individual lives and in the broader world. And he is far from peaceful. Or is he?

This week’s Gospel reading is a lot to take in. Can we find hope in a moment that feels frightening and feels as far away from hope as we can get? Yes. Yes we can.

It’s nearly Advent, the prelude - if you will - to Christmas. We do this every year and so, you may ask, why do we prepare for the arrival of Jesus when He was born centuries ago? What is the significance of Advent in our lives as Christians?

Well, you know what? Those are great questions, beloveds. And they deserve answers.

Be glad in the Lord always! That can be a lot easier said than done, beloveds - am I right? So how do we find words of gladness in a world with little - at times - to be glad for?

Sometimes we come across a scripture or in this case a parable of Jesus’ that seems to give us more questions than answers. The parable of the bridesmaids is certainly one of them. But what if this wasn’t so much a story about damnation or separation or being a good enough believer but a parable about readiness and being willing to use what you have when you have it, and not wait for “the right time” or a special occasion.

In different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean the community gathers, just like we are now, to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have gone before us in life and death. To symbolize the presence of the Saints and Souls among the living, the names of those who have passed have been written throughout the week on our altar cloth. These names represent our congregation’s saints as well as those of the communities we serve. This naming connects us to all those who are remembered with love. As we read each name, you are invited to respond with PRESENTE/They are here.

Once upon a time, in a land where ancient stories whispered in the wind, there was a peculiar road that led to a quiet village known as Emmaus…

Our second installation in our Holy Ghost Stories series. A mysterious tree, a deep dark cavern, and a garden of miracles - what does today’s story hold for us?

Welcome to our 2nd annual celebration of spooky season and our “Ghost Stories” series. Hear this weeks story of the local haunted house and the spooky skeleton inside.

It’s World Communion Sunday, friends. We are connected today and everyday.

But that’s not fair!!! Humanity often nurtures a sense of us vs. them, and sometimes even a culture of fairness vs. unfairness when it comes to Love and compassion. God’s grace can seem unfair - and that’s the best thing about it!

So often Christians neglect their bodies - either shaming themselves or forgetting they have them altogether. But what if we were to look to the psalmists for ways to worship God with our whole selves - spiritual and physical - in a way that delights in our body's abilities and limitations as reflections of Grace in the world?

It sure has been a hot minute since we’ve been here! So what have we been up to this whole time?

Radical hospitality was an expectation in Biblical times. Generous welcome and care for the stranger often was the difference between life and death. Just because we don’t live in the desert doesn’t mean we don’t need to give or receive the same kind of care.

Today’s scripture gives us a lesson on what it means to be unafraid in the face of the unknown.

The Creation account is more than it seems.

It’s Pentecost, baby!

Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi - Or, in other words, y’all: If we talk the talk, we gotta walk the walk and MEAN IT

A little reflection on this Sunday morning. How does this moment in Acts speak to the church today?

Peter’s faith in Jesus is the foundation of the church. A strong enough foundation that here we are, over 2000 years later, still standing upon it. Our foundation is our faith in Christ and who we say he is. Or is it?

It’s time to leave the gatekeeping behind, friends. The truth is, we (Mainline Protestants and for SURE New England Methodists) as a community are declining not because people have fallen out of love with God but because people have fallen out of love with CHURCH.

A special message on Native American Ministries Sunday. Hear guest preacher Mr. Todd Warfield, member of the Abenaki tribe, on Acts and reorienting ourselves daily.

It’s still Eastertide, friends! 1 Peter 1:3-9 speaks not just to the early church but to us in our time as well.

No matter what the world tells us, the resurrection of Christ matters. So, why Easter? And why should it matter to us today?

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem stirred things up and set in motion the events we now observe as Holy Week. But why was the city on edge and what was it about Jesus that made everyone so nervous?

“When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.” Jesus is still calling us out into the world, still bringing us opportunities to reconnect with the life giving Spirit of God…even when we feel like we are too far gone to be reached

The Samaritan Woman at the Well. Her name is Photini - which in Greek means LIGHT. Appropriate because she truly is a light for many who feel unseen or unheard.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus with a question, and Jesus answers him in a way totally different from what Nicodemus was anticipating – totally unexpected. This is week two in Lent, and we are working our way toward Easter and Resurrection in an attempt to understand how we have an inside/out kind of faith.

Welcome to Lent, and the wilderness - what will your first step into the season look like?

What is Jesus REALLY saying in these passages about divorce, unaliving folks, and sweating oaths? Time to dig deep, friends and hear this in a different way.

Jesus calls us to be salty and get lit. I said what I said.

Imagine hearing for the first time that you are blessed when all you have ever been told is the opposite. Today’s reading is a blessing and a challenge to enter into a deepening of relationships with one another, with our communities, with the needy, and with God.

And what’s that thing, you ask? Come (and follow) and find out!

When reality defies all expectations, what are we to do? Just dive right in. Embrace it just as we are embraced, of course!

It’s Epiphany and we are all asking ourselves what it is we are searching for this year. Like the Magi know, the path to discovering what we are seeking is often complicated and really freaking hard at times. And yet! There is hope…