"A Love Story"  Patricia Kay Jue, lay preacher
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (click on link above for text)

"G-d is joy, G-d is love, G-d is present...as much as G-d is present in each of us." -Karen Anderson, lay preacher

"The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, from Middle Collegiate Church recently stated in a podcast that," It is human to lose faith. And it is human to find it again."" -Karen Anderson, lay preacher

"...while we draw lines, G-d erases. Where we exclude, G-d includes. Where we condemn, G-d loves. Where we push people away, G-d embraces. Where we judge, G-d forgives." -The Rev. Kathy Major

Jesus holds up the practice of the faithful believer: to give alms, to pray, to fast. The sign of the cross, the dark mark made by ashes, is the very same sign that was made in oil at the time of our baptism. May each of us keep a Holy Lent, striving to fulfil our baptismal covenant - Patricia Kay Jue, lay preacher

"...each of us can remember a moment when we knew we were in sacred space- a moment or a place where we experienced a glimpse of grace, a glimpse of the love and power of God. We...should remember the moments. We need them to sustain us through the difficult times." -The Rev. Kathy Major

"One light. A dash of salt. One person can make all the difference. We will each have times when we're the first light, the first ray of hope. And we will each have times when we need someone else to provide the first light, the first thawing, so that we can get our bearings." - The Rev. Kathy Major

"And G-d calls us out of ourselves and our comfortable lives into new work every so often- confident that we will be able to accomplish whatever it is that needs doing, because G-d knows who we are and the gifts we have to give, even though we might not see it or agree." - The Rev. Kathy Major
  

"Outside these walls we can share the light of Christ by treating one another with compassion. We can look beyond the shade of differing politics and the darkness of prejudice and we can spark the light of Christ in every person we meet. Even those we disagree with, especially those we disagree with." - Karen Anderson, Lay Preacher

"God is with us in our uncertainty, or our anger; in our sorrow, or our anticipation. The coming birth of Jesus is a renewed opportunity for us to see through eyes filled with compassion, rather than judgement, to listen deeply to one another, to the world around us and to God. And most importantly, a renewed opportunity to love one another and gently hold each other in grace." - Karen Anderson, Lay Preacher

"This season in the life of the Church, where hope and anticipation prevail, allows me to do the serious self-reflection necessary to fully embrace the gift of Christ's Light that is celebrated every 25th of December. You may think it is about gifts, and trees, and glitter, gatherings and parties, when in fact, it is about Love coming to dwell among us...It is about spiritually embracing God's justice and compassion." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"Thus, whatever one's preconceived notion of what a priest is, he or she is first and foremost a sinner, in need of forgiveness, a broken being striving to live the Good News while being Christ's presence in the world. A humble servant of the Servant of All." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"It is humankind's nature to place its faith in perishable things. Yet God is always doing something new; recreating life from the destruction humanity imparts upon itself and all creation." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"We are intended for a generosity of spirit; not a scarcity of mind." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"...I beliveve Paul is asking us today: Do you put your faith in Scripture, in Tradition, or in Reason? If you do so without first putting your faith in Christ, you may be missing the point." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"They were being asked to have faith in God; that God is with them. They are being asked to trust in God, to remain faithful in spite of the trials and tribulations they may experience. Be mindful. Be prayerful." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"We can not just stay by our own safe shore, fishing in the same waters. We may feel as if on a very small boat, tossed around, out of control. But in the boat of God’s people, all people are important. God is there, beside us." - Patricia Kay Jue, lay preacher

"God is the author of all that is - seen and unseen. God provides for each aspect of creation according to its need. The challenge is to become more aware of life's sacredness and how we coexist with what sustains us."  - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"We are talking about drawing people into a life in relationship with God. A relationship with the same God who moved over the waters of chaos bringing calmness and order. A relationship with the same God who disturbed Noah and all creation with an earth-changing flood that transformed the landscape. A relationship with life itself. One devoid of those things that separate us, especially from the love of God." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"We can make the world a better place if we forsake our idols for the glory of God's Kin-dom by humbling ourselves into servant ministers seeking the well-fair of the least among us, not least of which is our environment..." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"... Jesus loves us in spite of ourselves, in spite of the labels we ascribe to one another. Jesus brings healing and wholeness where society and its norms breaks us apart. Jesus brings love." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

" Both, compassion and anger, coexist within each of us where the fire of baptism calms the anger while the Eucharist feeds the compassionate heart." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"We are God's sacramental presence in the world. As such, let us go forth empowered by grace to trasnform the bleakness that pervades our time into hopefulness and love." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"...people were created to be loved; material things / goods were created to be used and utilized. Not vice versa." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"God is tasking us to foster compassion and empathy - to be the "good" Samaritan. The Samaritan is our role model for Christian behavior, of what a disciple of Jesus ought to be and do." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"True freedom, when centered in Christ, is one that says you are free to be who God created you to be." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"There are countless acts of kindheartedness that you can perform that will spread the light of Hope. The essential value lies not in what you choose to do, rather in the fulfillment of the act." - Karen Anderson, Certified Lay Preacher

"We must go forth into the world rejoicing in the power of the Spirit and thus risk genuine spiritual transformation. We too must learn the language of our communities, for God is speaking." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"We might consider living our life in Christ by sowing seeds of love when confronted with hatred; by offering forgiveness when we are injured; by being the face of comfort when we encounter doubt and despair." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"What the protagonist sees is God's dwelling place being in the midst of creation, and the ramification of this revelation is plentiful, for that is the nature of the Incarnation itself. Thus Christ, the Lamb of God, is where the manifestation of this indwelling is incarnated in Jesus who embodies for us the intertwining of divinity and humanity, thus redeeming and sanctifying all creation." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"This night, we recall Jesus' giving of himself, his willingness to enter the darkness of death, and the power of Love to transform pain and suffering into abundant life." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"Today ushers in Holy Week where we will come face-to-face with our own trials, be convicted of our own sinfulness at the cross, all the while knowing that God will transform it all in the resurrection from which we are offered new life in Christ." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"Paul's admonition is to look forward to life in Christ and not cling to past ideas of what is or is not acceptable for membership in the faith community... You need to know where you have come from, but you need to be attentive to what lies ahead. Our destination isn't survival, but life in Christ, which is giving witness to God's love beyond the doors of our community." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

" We have only to acknowledge our dependence upon God and strive to be less judgemental and conditional in our relationships with one another, for we are all sinners in need of forgiveness." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"How Is G-d Calling you to be a Moses...What glows and sparkles for you, as G-d calls to you? -Patricia Jue, lay preacher in training

"The good Paul speaks of to the church at Philippi when he says for them to imitate him, is the good that Jesus embodies - a good predicated on a self-emptying love. A good predicated upon the cross of Christ, to which all of Lent points." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"The choice we have is living an intentional life, one predicated upon God's desire for justice and peace; not avarice and greed. An intentional life focused on the well-being of our neighbor and all creation; not on divisiveness and exclusion." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"God's grace invites us to sow seeds of kindness when faced with hatred, to bless one another when confronted with provocation and violence, to love unreservedly those who would deny our existance. When we treat others as we want to be treated, we are drawn towards our better selves and embody Jesus' teaching through God's grace." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"...Isaiah receives instructions from God seems rather odd -  make the people’s mind dull, shut their eyes and stop their ears from hearing. It is hardly something you would expect God to command. But if we keep reading, there is assurance in the final line of that passage - so they will turn and be healed. The people’s hope lies not in themselves, but in the Lord." - Karen Anderson, Certified Lay Preacher

"I pray that we all can risk as Jesus did and embrace the path of love such that others can see God's love at work through our worship and mission- can see Jesus in our midst." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"When we remain focused, however, on giving glory to God in all we do and say, problems minimize themselves as it becomes less about us individually and more about our collective witness to Christ's love." - The Rev. Gary Cyr

"As we renew our baptism this day, let each of us be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we are humbled by the knowledge that God calls us beloved and with whom God is pleased- not in our accomplishments or achievements that are measurable by the world's standards- but by our fidelity to God's love as expressed in Christ Jesus." -The Rev. Gary Cyr

"This day, we are reminded that we too are God-bearers. That we who have received the Light of Christ now must go forth into the world bearing the Good News." -The Rev. Gary Cyr