Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Alexander Floyd Marshall
August 23, 2015

Saugatuck Congregational Church
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
July 26, 2015

Scripture:  John 6:1-21

What would we know about Jesus, if we only had this one scene as reference?  That he traveled, and taught. That he plied his trade between the mountain and the sea, between crowd and solitude, between green grass and stormy sea. That he valued the gifts of children; wanted to feed hungry people; that he had no interest in being king but was keenly interested in saving the leftovers… That he gave thanks before meals.

Also, that the people admired and feared him by turns.  That his relationship to bread, water, and people, defied logic somehow.  That there was power in his touch, his words, his footsteps. That he could perform miracles.

At least, that’s how the story goes, the one that has been passed down for two millennia. Some of us might shift uneasily at the ‘m’ word, (‘miracle’) noting that those first century folk lacked the benefits of modern science. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church
Sunday July 19, 2015
©Rev. Willie Salmond

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12 vs. 32)

365 times we come across this phrase in Holy Scripture. One time for each day of the year.  The phrase?  “Fear not.  Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry.”

It seems that the writers of Holy Scripture know us better than we know ourselves. They know that deep down- really deep down- we are a fearful people.  And so every day of the year we need to hear this word. “Don’t be afraid.”

Let me say that fear is real.  Very real. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
July 11, 2015

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 & Isaiah 55:11-13

It’s a vivid image: young David, the sheep-herder-turned-monarch dancing before the LORD, wearing little more than a loin cloth and sandals on his feet.  David has a lot to celebrate:  He has just ascended to the throne of Israel – been anointed king of both Judah and all the northern tribes.  He has defeated the Philistines “from Geba all the way to Gezer,” and established Jerusalem as the religious and political center of his kingdom.  In the wake of his victory over the Philistines, he rallies an army to retrieve the sacred ark from the town where it has been kept for many years, almost forgotten, in order to transport it to the newly established, “City of David.”  Returning home from their quest, they make quite a site:  a parade of folks singing and playing and leaping with glee – and David there in the lead, dancing before the LORD with all his might. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
July 5, 2015

Scriptures: Ezekiel 2:1-15 and Mark 6:1-13

We stood up on our feet a lot during General Synod – the bi-annual, national gathering of the United Church of Christ that I just attended in Cleveland, OH.  We rose to our feet when word reached us that the Supreme Court had just affirmed the right of lesbian and gay couples to legally marry.  Some folks stood on the front steps of City Hall, gathered around a rainbow banner.  Others stood up to witness the exchange of covenant promises by same-gender couples who got married in the days following the decision.

We rose to our feet in response to powerful words spoken by our preachers and keynote speakers, including syndicated columnist Connie Shultz, who reminded us that the United Church of Christ has been the first to step out on matters of justice and inclusion again and again over the course of our history –ordaining the first woman and the first out gay man; founding a school for the deaf; fighting media blackouts during the Civil Rights movement; exposing environmental racism … the list goes on and on. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Alexander Floyd Marshall
June 28, 2015

Last Wednesday night I was sitting a circle with our youth and chaperones on the Mission Trip. We’d completed our work for the day. We had just retuned from a fun evening out kayaking in Portland Harbor. And we had already talked about the days “highs and lows” and where they had seen God. Intending to wind down our gathering, I asked if, now a little past the mid-point of our week, anyone had any questions or comments about how things were going.

Rookie mistake. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
June 21, 2015

Scriptures: Mark 4:35-41 and Psalm 107: 1-3; 23-31

Where do we begin, on a day like today, to name the potent connections between these two-thousand year-old texts and our storm-tossed lives?  Shall we count the storms – real and symbolic – that have raged this week? The lives lost? The families divided by stormy seas?  For starters:  did you know that yesterday was World Refugee Day?  All this week, communities around the globe have turned their attention to the staggering 11 million people who were uprooted by violence last year, adding to what has become the worst migration crisis since World War II.[1]  Syrians, Iraqis; Bangladeshis and Rohingyas from Myanmar; Libyans, South Sudanese, Nigerians and Somalians; Palestinians, Colombians, Afghanis, Ukrainians … over 50M people all told, close to half of them children – many of those children unattended.  Every minute, eight people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. That’s 480 people who will be displaced just during the hour that we worship together … Many of those refugees flee their homes in small, overcrowded boats, and too many of those boats capsize before they reach their destination. Can you imagine escaping the terrors of war only to face the terror of drowning?  Their courage melted away in their calamity… (said the Psalmist).

Where do we begin, on a day like today, to unpack these Holy Scriptures, in the wake of the storm that tore through Charleston, South Carolina this week, when 21-year-old Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people studying and praying together at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church?  Did you know that Dylann’s middle name is ‘Storm?’

How quickly and unexpectedly that particular storm descended, tearing an entire community from its moorings. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
June 14, 2015

Scripture: 1 Samuel (15:34-35) 16:1-13

David doesn’t become king right away.  He is summoned to the court of King Saul (who was the first king of Israel, the one Samuel anointed after the people insisted that they needed a king).  Saul is agitated – call it job stress, so David arrives, lyre in hand, to provide a little music therapy.  The rest, as they say, is history. Eventually, David replaces Saul on the throne, and so begins the golden era of the Davidic reign.

At least, that’s how it is remembered. In truth, King David had his good days and his very bad days, a few soaring triumphs and some colossal failures – which pretty much goes for all of us.  In case we haven’t picked up on this pattern yet:  God doesn’t choose people because they are free of flaws, or beautiful or tall or well-mannered or credentialed.  On the contrary, God seems determined to mess with all our assumptions about what count as qualifications, when it comes to serving the Most High. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
June 7, 2015 (183^rd Anniversary of the founding of Saugatuck Congregational Church)

Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:4-11; 16-22 and Psalm 138

I wonder, sometimes, if God didn’t call the Israelites to be God’s chosen people because they embodied so much of what makes us all human:  They were, on the one hand, the people chosen to enter into covenant with God.  God heard their cry, liberated them from the suffering of slavery and led them out to a broad land, a land, we are told, overflowing with milk and honey, all manner of good things.  On the other, the Israelites broke that covenant every other day.  They melted all their jewelry to forge a Golden Calf when God was away too long; they chased after every fertility god that winked at them;[1] they were chronic sufferers of the ‘grass-is-greener’ syndrome, perpetually convinced that they needed to be more like their neighbors. Like petulant children, they asked, “Why can’t we have what they have?”

I’m not picking on the Israelites.  On the contrary:  I recognize the story of God’s Church embedded in that more ancient story – our own version of that struggle to be faithful – Which is one of reasons I love to revisit the books of the Hebrew Bible, what we call the Old Testament. Continue reading →

Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
May 24, 2015

Scripture:  Acts 2:1-21

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind.   … Divided tongues as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them…

This morning, I’d like to talk about fire.  I realize this is a tender topic, given our recent return to a building ravaged by fire almost three and a half years ago; given the painful memories that may remain vivid for some of you; given the long journey we’ve been on to rebuild this church home.  This congregation knows something about the destructive force of fire, how quickly it can rage out of control, leaving behind nothing but ashes.  Many of us stood among those cinders in the fellowship room, or in what was left of the choir room, in the days and weeks after the fire.  Perhaps you remember the shock of seeing that beloved space reduced to charred remains – and the imprint of an ashy cross left on one wall (that’s the cross now on display at the back of the sanctuary).

That first Pentecost, the spring after the fire was my fifth Sunday as your called pastor – and I preached about the winds of the Holy Spirit.  The next year, I preached about the miracle of speech – of understanding each other – as made possible by the Holy Spirit.  Last year, we welcomed our confirmands into the church on Pentecost.  This year, I’d like to consider the fire, those tongues of flame that alighted on the disciples as they huddled together in an upper room.  Today, I’d like to explore –and maybe reclaim – the positive power of fire. Continue reading →