Sermons

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Rev. Amy Welin (6 Easter):Love one another. Jesus is telling his disciples that the way to rise with him to new life is to practice loving. For that little community, survival depends on their ability to see one another through the eyes of Christ. Their love will allow them to continue to experience life with Christ, even after he is gone from their midst. Their love will sustain them. Their love will identify them as the people of Jesus Christ, and will empower them to transform the world. Love one another. The motherly love of Christ still has the power to transform our world. I have witnessed the people of St John’s ministering to the community and to each other. You are able to do that because you love one another, and you share that with the world. And make no mistake, it is the love of Christ that lives in you that can lead you to do great things. Read More Read more • Leer más → “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Sermónes

Yo soy la vid, y ustedes son las ramas

La Rev. Amy Welin (5 Pascua): En la vid, cada rama tiene vida y es valioso. A través de Cristo, somos parte de la vid verdadera. Nuestra fruta es el mismo que el de Cristo, y que no tiene precio. ¿Cuál es nuestra fruta? Es nuestra capacidad de amar y servir, a través de barreras y fronteras artificiales. En el jardín de la verdadera belleza de Dios, la iglesia no es el guardián de la salvación o juicio. La iglesia es el agente del amor de Dios para el mundo, en la forma en que el amor se revela a través de Jesucristo. Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo, somos parte de la vid, que ofrece conexión con la vida para el resto del mundo. Lea más Read more • Leer más → “Yo soy la vid, y ustedes son las ramas”
Sermons

Jesus said I am the vine, you are the branches

Rev. Amy Welin (5 Easter):In the one vine, each branch has life and is valuable Through Christ, we are part of the one true vine. Our fruit is the same as that of Christ, and it is priceless. What is our fruit? It is our capacity to love and serve, across barriers and man-made boundaries. In God’s garden of true beauty, the church is not the broker of salvation or judgment. The church is the agent of God’s love for the world, as that love was revealed through Jesus Christ. We are the Body of Christ, part of the vine that offers connection to life for the rest of the world. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Jesus said I am the vine, you are the branches”
Music / News • Noticias

Beatles Sunday is back! (Domingo con Los Beatles!) Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

We are repeating the very popular Beatles Sunday at the 10:00 service on June 14, 2015. Come to church and enjoy the wonderful music of the best rock group ever. Anthems and congregational hymns will be selected from the repertoire of songs by John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Hymns will include "Here Comes The Sun," "The Long and Winding Road," and "Let it Be." Read More
Estamos repitiendo "Beatles Sunday" ("Domingo con Los Beatles) en el servicio a las 10:00 en el 14 de junio 2015. Ven a la iglesia y disfrutar de la maravillosa música del grupo de música "Los Beatles." Himnos y cantos congregacionales será seleccionado en el repertorio de canciones de John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Himnos incluirá "Here Comes The Sun," "The Long and Winding Road," and "Let it Be." Lea más Read more • Leer más → “Beatles Sunday is back! (Domingo con Los Beatles!) Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”
Sermónes

Concede que, al escuchar su voz, le reconozcamos, y le sigamos a donde nos guíe

La Rev. Amy Welin (4 Pascua): Muchos de nosotros mantener una imagen en nuestra mente del pastor que lleva a casa el pequeño cordero. ¿Has visto esa imagen? Jesús es el pastor gentil, con una túnica blanca, con un hermoso pequeño cordero blanco en sus brazos. Sinceramente, él parece más bien un pastor caballero, un hombre cuyas manos y la ropa no ensuciarse. Esta es una imagen confortante, pero no estoy seguro de que un caballero sería capaz de cuidar de mis ovejas. Él parece que podría correr con alegría a través de un campo florido, jugando con corderos felices, pero no sería de utilidad luchando contra un lobo hambriento o tirar una oveja madre fuera de las espinas. Lea más Read more • Leer más → “Concede que, al escuchar su voz, le reconozcamos, y le sigamos a donde nos guíe”
Sermons

Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him, and follow where he leads

Rev. Amy Welin (4 Easter):Many of us keep an image in our minds of the shepherd who carries home the little lamb. Have you seen that picture? Jesus is the gentle shepherd, in a white robe, with a beautiful little white lamb in his arms. Frankly, he looks rather like a gentleman shepherd, one whose hands and clothes never get dirty. This is a comforting image, but I am not sure I would actually entrust this fellow with the care of my sheep. He looks like he could run joyfully across a flowery field, playing with happy lambs, but he would not be useful fighting off a hungry wolf or pulling a mother sheep out of unruly brambles. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him, and follow where he leads”
Sermónes

La sostenibilidad ambiental es un asunto espiritual

La Rev. Amy Welin (3 Pascua): La colecta para el Tercer Domingo de Pascua habla de la forma en que el Cristo resucitado se revela en la fracción del pan. En la lectura del evangelio de hoy, utilizando un paso adelante en Lucas, Jesús se revela en Jerusalén, primero por comer un poco de pescado y luego rompiendo abierta las Escrituras que sus seguidores pudieran entenderlos. La intersección de la Colecta y lecturas de esta semana es la siguiente: podemos encontrar a Cristo Resucitado en el pan y el vino por la forma en que Jesús se ha revelado en todas las Escrituras. Lea más Read more • Leer más → “La sostenibilidad ambiental es un asunto espiritual”
Sermons

Environmental sustainability is a spiritual issue

Sermon for April 19, 2015 (Third Sunday of Easter)
Rev. Amy Welin:
The collect for the Third Sunday of Easter is well-suited to the Sunday that we read the story of the miracle on the road to Emmaus, when the risen Christ reveals himself in the breaking of bread. In today’s gospel reading, using a passage later in Luke, Jesus also reveals himself in Jerusalem, first by eating a bit of fish and then by breaking open the Scriptures that his followers might understand. The intersection of the Collect and lessons this week is this: we can encounter the Risen Christ in the bread and wine because of the way that Jesus has been revealed in all the Scriptures. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Environmental sustainability is a spiritual issue”
Sermónes

¿Es la duda el enemigo de la fe?

La Rev. Amy Welin (2 Pascua):
¿Qué te parece: ¿Es la duda el enemigo de la fe? Es duda una fuerza espiritualmente destructiva que nos separa de Dios? ¿Le enseñaron que la duda es un fracaso personal y espiritual? Para tener dudas y preguntas sobre la fe es inquietante, ¿no? Podemos preguntarnos si algo está mal con nosotros - estamos simplemente fingiendo? somos necios? qué necesitamos la Escuela Dominical correctivas? o simplemente para orar más duro? En mis años como líder de la iglesia, he observado que las personas que viven con dudas acerca de Jesús y la resurrección puede vivir en una desesperación silenciosa, porque la duda en la iglesia es tratada casi como una lepra del alma. Lea más Read more • Leer más → “¿Es la duda el enemigo de la fe?”
Sermons

Is doubt the enemy of faith?

Sermon for April 12, 2015 (Second Sunday of Easter)
Rev. Amy Welin:
What do you think: Is doubt the enemy of faith? Is doubt a spiritually destructive force that separates us from God? Were you taught that doubting is a personal spiritual failure? (I was.)
 
To have doubts and questions about faith is unsettling, isn’t it? We can wonder if something is wrong with us - are we just faking it? are we foolish? do we need remedial Sunday School? or just to pray harder? In my years as a church leader, I have noticed that people who live with doubts about Jesus and the resurrection can live in a silent desperation, because doubt in the church is treated almost like a leprosy of the soul. Read More Read more • Leer más → “Is doubt the enemy of faith?”