In Honor of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Beloved Community Sunday

DATE: January 19, 2014
SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 and John 1:35-42
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

This weekend, and tomorrow in particular, our nation sets aside time to honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Christian preacher, civil rights leader, a drum major for justice, a ‘dreamer,’ but more than a dreamer: a man who exposed and upended the racist norms of his day; a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ which demands of us nothing less than all our love for all our neighbors — including our enemies. Continue reading →

DATE: January 12, 2014
SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3: 13-17
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Seabury Center

That’s how it begins, Jesus’ grand entrance, according to the gospel of Matthew.  John the baptizer stands at the edge of the wilderness, knee-deep in the Jordan River, preaching to the people gathered around him on the shore. All eyes are on him, this disheveled prophet with the commanding presence. Continue reading →

DATE: December 24, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-14, Luke 2:15-20, John 1:1-14
by Alex Marshall

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light,” Isaiah says.

For those living in the bleakest darkness, under the very shadow of death, a light has suddenly burst forth to shine upon them.

John tells us that this light has always existed. Continue reading →

DATE: December 22, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 1:18-25
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Joseph could have had her stoned to death. It was within his rights. They were betrothed, which means they’d already completed the first of the two steps in the marriage transaction. Legally, Mary and Joseph were bound together, but they didn’t yet live together. And yet she was pregnant. And that pregnancy brought shame on Joseph, on his house, on her parents. He could taste it, that shame, bitter as day-old coffee; could feel it like the piercing eyes of disapproving neighbors. Continue reading →

DATE: December 15, 2013
© Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Click the play button below to listen to this sermon. Continue reading →

DATE: December 8, 2013
SCRIPTURE:
Isaiah 11:1-10 and Matthew 3:1-12
By Alex P. Marshall

I am going to tell you all a story this morning that some of you might find a little scary.

When I was growing up in Southern Evangelicalism, my high school youth group took a trip to New York City.

This trip was very explicitly an “evangelistic” trip. Continue reading →

DATE: December 1st, 2013 — First Sunday of Advent — Hope
SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 130: 5-8 and Matthew 24: 36-44
© Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Seabury Center

[Let us pray] Advent God: As the candlewick is trimmed and lit, so ready our hearts to be kindled by You…

Have you noticed? All the autumn leaves — a grand display of gold and ginger just days ago, those leaves have abandoned their posts. Now the branches outside my window are bare — so many Japanese brush strokes against a washed out sky. The air has turned chill; so we dig out gloves, hats, striped thermal socks… surprised, a little, that a short walk turns our noses pink and our fingers numb. Continue reading →

DATE: November 24, 2013
SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Philippians 4:1-9
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Compo Beach

It was 1995. I was sitting in a cramped office at HART — Hartford Area Rallies Together, a community organization based out of a storefront on Park Street, in the Frog Hollow section of Hartford. HART organizes residents around local problems like crime and gun violence. They hold public forums where they confront elected officials and call on them to support policy changes designed to address urban ills. Continue reading →

DATE: November 3, 2013
SCRIPTURE:
Romans 16:1-16
© Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Lula Bradley attended the Peoples Church of Chicago for most of her life.  She remembered the church in its heyday, when nearly 1,500 members walked to worship, dressed in their Sunday best.  By the time I walked through the doors of The Peoples Church, Lula was nearing 80 years old and Peoples was a different, smaller congregation: 25 folks who gathered every Sunday. Lula had gentle, honey-colored eyes, a coffee-with-cream, freckled complexion and a wide, soft frame. Continue reading →

DATE: November 10, 2013 — Gratitude Sunday
SCRIPTURE:
Luke 19:1-10, 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton

Seabury Center

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector. Unusually short. But also unusually rich. And unusually unpopular. That’s how it went with tax collectors. We’ve met them before. They’re the ones who raised funds for the Roman Empire, and had a reputation for extorting extra money to line their own pockets. They made their fortunes on the backs of ordinary citizens. When the Pharisees wanted to insult Jesus, they accused him of ‘eating with tax collectors,’ (which, as we just read, happens to be true). Continue reading →