by Melissa Kelly | Nov 6, 2022 | Fall 2022, Sermons
An Ode to Those Who Say NO Before there was Rosa Parks, there was Ida B. Wells. Before there was Esther, there was Vashti. And after all of them was Brenda Salter McNeil. Those who say “No!” stand on the shoulders of many others who also had the courage to resist...
by Melissa Kelly | Jul 24, 2022 | Debbie Bledsoe, Sermons, Summer Series 2022
The Prayer that Jesus Taught and Economic Justice Jesus’s example of how to pray helps us see economic justice in a new way, helps us remember who we are to God and to each other, and helps us see that admitting dependence on God can lead to justice for everyone. ...
by Melissa Kelly | Jul 10, 2022 | Megan Ramer, Sermons, Summer Series 2022
Mundane Wickedness Interrupted! Some of the most beloved words of Scripture – “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God” – are surrounded by some decidedly less beautiful words, to put it mildly. We know the gift of the beautiful and familiar...
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...
