Sermons
Excerpt from “Who are we listening to?”
Sermon on John 6:1-21
“We follow people because they are in our face with the most current everything and before we know it, we are counting the athlete, screen actor, or influencer as experts on everything. People are begging Taylor Swift to come out with a position on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I get a text almost daily imploring me to donate (or freeze my donation) to the democratic party because George Clooney is.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “The Key is in the Conversation”
Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46
“We live in a ‘cancel’ culture. Winning is important. Losing is, well, for losers. There is a societal risk to making yourself vulnerable enough to share your story and to listen to someone else’s story with curiosity and openness and love. But that is exactly what we must do to honor the God in one another.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “A Lot of Nothing”
Sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
“If anyone had an excuse to hurry and pack in more miracles, it was Jesus-after all, he only had 3 years to save the world. If someone told me I had 3 years to save the world, I would plan and work and organize and rush, figuring there would be plenty of time for resting when the work was complete.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “Coming Home”
Sermon on Luke 15:11-32
“Sometimes, forgetting is easier than remembering. Sometimes ignoring is easier than confronting. Sometimes disengaging is easier than connecting, and sometimes we just don’t feel like resetting or re focusing. This parable only hints at how messy and complicated a homecoming, whether spiritual or physical, can be” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “The Unknowing”
Sermon on Luke 16:1-13
“But then it struck me – maybe this is the message for today. As St. Dionysius said, “the best, most divine knowledge of God is that which is known by not-knowing.” Why do we think we have a right to certainty or complete clarity?” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “The Rapture”
Sermon on Luke 21:25-36
“Every year at this time, Jesus implores us to “be on guard” to “stay alert” to “pray that we may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place.” As much as we like to think that Advent is the prequel to Christmas celebration, today’s gospel is calling us to a new thing.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “It is finished”
Sermon on John 19:30
“When I sat at my father’s bed in the last moments of his life, I could literally see and feel his fear. My dad could not take in enough air – yet just enough to keep breathing. His eyes darted around the room. I was helpless to comfort to him, and then it was finished.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “It’s a Both/And World”
Palm Sunday
“Being Christians does not mean that we are eternally free from suffering. Rather, it means that as we live and love, pain is inevitable. In our darkest times, God promises to make what seems impossible become possible. So, when things seem bleak, we hold faithfully to our story.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “To Be Blessed”
Sermon on Romans 4:13-25
“The opposite of being blessed is not being poor or powerless or sick or naked. The opposite of being blessed is being shamed. To be blessed is to understand you are worthy of God’s love beyond the cruelty of the world.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “Resurrection Letdown””
Sermon on John 20:19-31
“We can pray and comfort and stand in solidarity, but still the world hurts. What does it mean that Christ is risen if we still live with the reality of suffering and heartache and loss? What does it mean that Christ is risen if my daughter is frightened to go to school or the mall or the bank or movie theatre?” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “Pushing the Boundaries”
Sermon on Luke 13:10-17
“The Pharisees may say that God is calling us to get back in line and return to normalcy. I think that is an opportunity missed. Let’s welcome a holy pause, a bump against the edges of who we think we are and the invitation to come together as a community of faith to reflect and reimagine who are we meant to be.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “Salt and Light”
Sermon on Isaiah 6:1-8. Luke 5:1-11
“Is devotion to our faith practices all God desires for us? Is that all it means to be Christian – to be faithful to the disciplines and rituals and practices of our faith? Jesus was clear that the law stands – but in the same moment, there is more. Jesus also reminds us that we are salt and light.” -Kate Kennedy
Excerpt from “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
Sermon on Matthew 27:46
“We took the God Incarnate-our closest brush with holiness-and subjected him to this horrific physical and emotional torture. We treated him like the worst kind of criminal and traitor. We stripped him of his dignity. Then, in the ultimate moment of humiliation, it appears that even God abandons him.” -Kate Kennedy