First Congregational United Church of Christ, Cannon Falls, Minn. Bill grew up in Beloit, WI and Fort Wayne, IN. He was the oldest son of a Congregationalist minister and his wife, and he loved the church. All through his growing up, he sang in the
News release A UCC-produced, feature-length documentary about a transgender seminarian’s struggle with faith, love and gender identity was among the top-attended films at two recent international film festivals. Call Me Malcolm – described as a “labor of love” by its creators and producers – debuted
Recently, I received news that the Wethersfield United Church of Christ voted to withdraw from the Connecticut Conference of the UCC because of the acceptance of gays and lesbians and the position of supporting legal recognition of their relationships. The Wethersfield congregation is the largest
Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:36-41, Luke 8:22-25 Over the course of the past year or so, I have stopped attending church. (Like an abused dog, hiding in the corner and licking its wounds, I have decided to punish the church by removing my august presence.)
Faith United Church of Christ, Dayton, Ohio Readings for the Second Sunday after Pentecost: Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39 In my first preaching class in seminary, our professor, a dry stoic Dutchman named Syd Greidanus, told us that the best way to start off every sermon
Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia, Pa. Readings: Mark 1:34-35, 6:42-46, 14:32-35 Today we conclude our Lenten series in which we have been considering some aspects of our culture that are detrimental to our spiritual wholeness. We have thought about the impact of the many choices we
Mount Hollywood Congregational Church, Los Angeles, Calif. Readings for Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday: Job 10:1-9, Job 27:1-6 A convocation of cemetery cats perched on fallen stones in the Cimetière de Montmartre, and Jeff and I stopped to look. We had made plans to meet in Paris,
Mount Hollywood Congregational Church, Los Angeles, Calif. Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter: Psalm 46 NIV, Luke 24:13-31 When a piece of exercise equipment called the Stairmaster was first marketed, I was incredulous. Here was this advertisement for a machine that simulated stair climbing,
Mount Hollywood Congregational Church, Los Angeles, Calif. Readings: Luke 17:21, Romans 12:3-21, Mark 4:21-29 I did some growing up in dairy farm country in upstate N.Y., in a little town which had a sign posted near the house which read “Fayetteville, population 3,656.” And then
First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Calif. Readings for Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday in Lent): 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 The fourth Sunday in Lent, Laetare Sunday, sometimes called Refreshment Sunday, is supposed to be a bright spot, a moment of relief in the otherwise