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On this Sunday, we focused on issues around rape and other sexual assaults as part of an effort initiated by Rev. Moira Finley and the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ. Erin Thornley Parisi, director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, joined Pastor Phil in a conversation during our reflection time. You can see a video of that conversation  from the 10 a.m. service here. Below are some of the prayer resources we used, drawn from the Break the Silence Sunday web site and the Our Whole Lives program. Call to Worship We come this day trusting in God’s grace, ...
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We simply can’t go on producing and gobbling up land and resources and ruining the water and warming the atmosphere as if there were no consequences. We can be evicted for bad behavior.  Today's Texts: Excerpts from the Creation Story in Genesis 1 and excerpts from the Flood Story in Genesis 6 and 7. By Marty Smith My life-long fascination with the weather began on a warm, overcast afternoon in July 1950. We were in my grandmother’s kitchen in northwest Ohio when suddenly the wind picked up, and the door to the back porch blew open. My dad got up to close it, but could barely hold it ...
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Think about the times in our lives when we get stuck because we are so focused on the empty nets that we miss the possibilities if we would look in a different direction. What if we shifted our focus? What if we looked to the other side? Today's texts: Psalm 30 and John 21: 1-19 It’s getting dark out there on the Sea of Galilee – or the Sea of Tiberius, as it is called in today’s Gospel story. There were still clouds hanging over the lives of Jesus’ followers as well. Sure, they had glimpses of him in the days after his execution. A couple of people on the road to Emmaus recognize...
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The Gospel story of Thomas is important for us in church world and it’s important in a society where political divisions are fracturing us in really serious and occasionally violent ways. Today's texts - Acts 5:27-32 and John 20:19-31 I suppose one lesson from today’s Gospel about Thomas missing the first appearance of Jesus after the Resurrection is that when you are hanging out with the Jesus gang, maybe let somebody else go out for the groceries – or whatever it was that Thomas was doing that evening. I think there’s a more important lesson, though. It is how a community holds ...
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A story that slaves brought to America from Africa is a story of hope in the midst of suffering. It is a story of resurrection. Today's texts - Acts 10: 34-43 and Luke 24: 1-12 Come with me to John’s Island, nestled along the coast of South Carolina just south of Charleston. Come with me to the early 1800s, when the plantations on the island used many slaves to harvest the crops. Come with me to a particularly memorable day in the fields as the slaves were at work. The sun was hot, the work was hard, the slave driver was keeping a careful watch on this crew of coffee black, ...
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There’s nothing calm about either of these Gospel readings. They stir up the routines of ordinary life, they evoke strong emotions, they challenge us in unexpected and uncomfortable ways. Today's texts - Luke 19: 29-40 and Matthew 21: 12-17 If you have been watching any of the election news on television over the last few months, you probably have seen images of the candidate entering a rally, the crowd cheering wildly and waving signs, the candidate smiling and waving back at the crowd. You may also have seen images of dissidents in the distance, people unhappy with this particul...
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We recognize that plans have to be flexible or else we would all go crazy. As one of you said in your response to today’s question, “If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.” Today's texts - Philippians 3: 4b-14 and John 12: 1-8 Some of you may be fans or followers of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team. It’s been a challenging year for that group coming off a specular season last year. They lost too many games early in the season, then their legendary coach Bo Ryan quit unexpectedly in early December. The team had to adjust to a new head coach who in turn quickly...
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