by Melissa Kelly | May 8, 2022 | Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 4, Sermons
Singing Before the Miracle We zoom in on the powerful image of Paul and Silas, political prisoners, behind bars, surrounded by other prisoners listening to them, as they SING HYMNS to God. They are singing before the miracle. They are singing as strategy, as prayer,...
by Melissa Kelly | Apr 3, 2022 | Lent, Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 4, Sermons
The Carceral System Sucks We are in our third week in a row of Jesus’ trial, and the story is getting increasingly painful to endure. If we stick with it enough to actually take it in, to allow ourselves to feel all we feel, we might notice that – while horrific...
by Melissa Kelly | Mar 27, 2022 | Lent, Megan Ramer, Narrative Lectionary - Year 4, Sermons
Belonging to a True Word The scene in Jerusalem during this time of Passover is fraught, and occupying imperial power is tenuous. Crowds travel all across the Judean landscape to convene in Jerusalem for an annual pilgrimage in which they retell a story of their...
by Megan Ramer | Feb 7, 2021 | Megan Ramer, Sermons
A Jesus Who Troubles We’ve got ourselves a BADnews – GOODnews situation with the pair of stories from Luke 7. Jesus is moved by a widow’s suffering to bring healing and a restoration of her wholeness in the community. Yet Jesus also brings healing to the...
by Megan Ramer | Jul 5, 2020 | Megan Ramer, Sermons
Jailer, Jailed, Judge, Jury: None are free until all are free In our annual Interdependence Day worship – on the Sunday nearest the 4th – we again expose the lie of supposed independence, and instead claim the joy of justly-ordered mutual dependence and...