FCC Winchester

Sermon: ”5 Lessons from the Magi for Our Pursuit of God” by Rev. Will Burhans on 1/08/23

Throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons we’ve talking about God coming to us, the prophet promising it, the people preparing for it, and then God’s arrival in a manger on a silent night and holy night.  Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Anna and Simeon, the shepherds, to all of them God came – in the form of an angel, in a dream, in bright light and song, God to them and we say here 2000 years later God in fact came to the whole world.

            And the Christmas season ends here in the new year at the feast of Epiphany, which was officially Friday, January 6, but we are celebrating Epiphany today as a community with this service and a meal tonight in the Tucker Room and a walk through the darkened church to the manger.  And it’s good and right to end this way because at the end of the season of God’s coming, we move into the new year and through Epiphany we remember that also we must GO TO GOD.  Like the wise men who journeyed from Persia to Israel, it’s now time for us to consider in this new year how if we want a healthy, strong, dynamic relationship with God, it’s going to take some work on our part, it’s going to take our pursuing it, it’s going to take in many instances a journey, either an inward one or an outward one or a both-and but a willingness to journey towards God.  And using the Matthew story of the magi as our guide I want to lift up 5 lessons from their journey to the Christ Child that might inform us in our own pursuit of God. So let’s get to it!

Christmas Reflection: ”Unexpected Wonder” by Maeve Hammond on 12/25/22 at 5 pm

Sermon: ”Exiled from Earth and Home” by Rev. Will Burhans on 12/11/22

Sermon: “My Soul Magnifies” by Maeve Hammond on 12/04/22

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10 & Luke 1:39-56

Sermon: ”Listen Up!” by Rev. Will Burhans on 11/27/22

Sermon: “INRI” by Rev. Will Burhans on 11/20/22

We have a rich and meaningful service on tap for this Thanksgiving Sunday. The Forum youth, who have an overnight on Saturday leading into the service, will contribute to our worship by creating and leading some prayers. Maeve Hammond will lead us in a reflection on Transgender Day of Awareness. Peter Owens, Janet Vaughn, and the choir will offer some lovely special music. And it’s the last Sunday of the liturgical year before we enter into Advent, which means it’s also Christ the King Sunday and Rev. Will will be preaching on a passage from the passion of Christ in Luke’s gospel. We hope you’ll join us.

Sermon: ”War and Peace: Luke’s Apocalyptic Jesus” by Maeve Hammond on 11/13/22

Sermon: ”On Thinking Ourselves “All That” by Rev. Will Burhans on 10/23/22

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Preacher: Rev. Will Burhans

Date: October 23, 2022

 

            The youth and I down a couple Sunday nights ago talked about the 7 Deadly Sins. I thought that would be a nice light conversation to have with them after playing silly games in Chidley Hall.  I was curious to see how much they knew, if Generation Z as they are known, knew anything of the 7 Deadly Sins, this list created by the desert fathers and mothers of the 4^th century.  So I divided them into two groups and had them guess what the list would be, thinking they’d guess at a few but likely wouldn’t know the whole list. Well, they got ‘em hands down with some debate about which words but ultimately very little trouble. All 7 of them – Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath and Envy. I asked how they knew and they said it’s something still in popular culture and one of them said they watched the movie Seven, which is a gruesome movie made in 1995 where a killer uses the 7 deadly sins to motivate his killings.

            That movie notwithstanding, it’s heartening in an odd way to know that the 7 deadly sins still remain a concept in the minds and imagination of a new generation cause the list really does a remarkable job of capturing the fallen nature of humanity. All these years later, some 1700 years, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, and Envy run amok in our world. Not so sure they’ve dissipated all that much.   I’d like to believe that maybe the virtues – generosity, temperance, humility, right action, purity, contentment, peacefulness – have increased in the world?  Do you think? I guess it’d be matter of perspective.

            The desert fathers and mothers spoke of 2 of the 7 Deadly sins as having a special place as the root of the other sins. The deadliest sin – Pride. And the other deadliest of the deadlies – Sloth. Why sloth? Don’t think laziness in work, think apathy, an “eh it’s not worth my effort to care” attitude and then you can imagine why sloth.  Sloth refuses to address and so enables the run amok nature of all the others.

Sermon: “The Spacious Place”by Rev. Jonathan Goodell on 10/09/22

Sermon: ”The League of the Baptized” by Rev. Will Burhans on9/25/22

It all begins with water, the ritualistic way that the Christian life begins is the same way life begins, with water, the water of the womb and then the water of the font.  As soon as the gift of life is given with grace we get right down to business and say “let’s wash them for the forgiveness of their sins!”  The doctrine of original sin has fallen into disfavor of late and that’s probably ok cause it’s kind of a crummy thing for us to be saying that these babes enter the world corrupted by sin and are immediately in need of saving. And yet there does seem to be some truth there that’s worth studying and asking why do we in the church so often begin with sin?  What?  No grin playing above that chin?  Looks more like chagrin as I go to talk about sin.