February 14, 2016 Romans 10: 8b-13 Luke 4: 1-13 Rev. Catherine Purves Have you ever had that experience of feeling like you are standing outside yourself and observing everything that you say and do? It is a strange kind of dual perception. You are living your life in real time, but you are simultaneously viewing it from some elevated vantage point which allows you to critique yourself, or ask yourself awkward questions, or…
Ash Wednesday February 10, 2016 Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17 Rev. Catherine Purves Alarms are loud and disruptive and, well, alarming for a reason. Who would get out of the way of a police car if the alarm wasn’t blaring? What family would get up in the middle of the night and flee their house if the fire alarm hadn’t gone off? Who would take shelter in a basement or seek higher ground if…
February 7, 2016 Transfiguration of the Lord Luke 9: 28-36 Rev. Catherine Purves When I read the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, a familiar phrase popped into my mind. You are known by the company you keep. Where did that saying come from? Using the source of all wisdom, the internet, I found out that there was a 2012 film called The Company You Keep, starring Robert Redford. I…
January 31, 2016 Exodus 3:1-3, 7-15 Rev. Dr. Andrew Purves Names mean something, don’t they? They are not just casual designations. Names are personal identifiers. A winsome example of what I mean was in an email our daughter sent from the first day of her honeymoon. It was a long, happy email, full of chat. And then it was signed simply “Mrs. Fisher.” Laura was claiming her married name as a statement of her…
January 24, 2016 Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10 Rev. Catherine Purves I know that you have all come here today of your own free will. No one forced you to venture out on this cold, snowy morning in order to hear the word of the Lord. Perhaps some of you came out of a sense of duty. It’s Sunday, and on Sunday it is our job as faithful church members to show up. …