By Joanna Lawrence Shenk This is the fourth sermon in our Lenten series on “Spirit and Power.” John 15:1-17 Over the last week elders have been on my mind. Elders who are made vulnerable by the spread of COVID-19. Elders in San Francisco who Faith in Action is organizing people to call. Elders in my…
This is the third sermon in our Lenten series on “Spirit and Power.” John 15:1-17 Back in the mid-1990s, I was on retreat at a small retreat house near Carmel run by Catholic nuns. It was one of the the first retreats I had ever done, and it wasn’t a “programmed” retreat. It was me,…
This is the first sermon in our Lenten series on “Spirit and Power.” John 15:1-17 Have you ever had the experience, sitting with people in meditation or worship, where you felt this energy in the room or within yourself, like some bigger Spirit or bigger Power was present? Have you ever been pierced by beauty —…
This Sunday, two members — Kenda Horst and Jim Lichti — offered reflections on a lectionary passage of their choice. Reflection on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 — Kenda Horst First, a short preamble: After I said yes to Sheri, I sat down at my computer and, seeing the blank screen, thought to myself: “What did I just…
By Joanna Lawrence Shenk Epiphany Sunday Matthew 2:1-12 Today my sermon is an experiment in imaginative storytelling. I’m going to retell the story of Jesus’ birth and the visit of the wise people. In my story I’m going to bring to life Tree’s drawing of the holy family in a tent on the streets of…
This sermon is the third in an Advent series on “Spanning the Space Between.” Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11 I recently saw a photograph of last spring’s “super bloom” of California wildflowers. It looked like someone took a palette of paints and dumped them over the desert hills — purples, oranges, yellows, blues. Supposedly the bloom…
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