Author Archives: smaxreisert

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About smaxreisert

I'm a United Church of Christ pastor serving the small, faithful Old South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Hallowell, Maine. I was ordained in Massachusetts in 1995, moved to Maine in 1997 and have served the Hallowell church since 2005.

How Far Will This Go?

Posted on May 27, 2025 by smaxreisert

With Harvard University so prominently in the news in recent days, my memory has been sent back to the years I lived in Cambridge, in various places on the Harvard campus. One of the buildings that has found itself in … Continue reading →

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Thirty Years On

Posted on May 13, 2025 by smaxreisert

Today is the thirtieth anniversary of my ordination. The big day happened after a long ordination process (I think everyone had a long process in the Metropolitan Boston Association of the then Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ; … Continue reading →

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The Way Ahead

Posted on May 6, 2025 by smaxreisert

Based on the sermon from Old South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Hallowell, Maine, 5/4/2025. Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the … Continue reading →

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Looking for the Living

Posted on April 24, 2025 by smaxreisert

Easter Sermon 2025. Scripture, Luke 24:1-12 (CEB): 24 Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, bringing the fragrant spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but … Continue reading →

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That Helpless and Hopeless Feeling

Posted on April 16, 2025 by smaxreisert

A week ago Saturday, I attended the Augusta, Maine version of a Hands Off Rally. Everyone seemed so awed by the thousands of people who showed up on a overcast, chilly and raw day. In applying for a permit, the … Continue reading →

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Losing Our Humanity

Posted on March 17, 2025 by smaxreisert

In the ceaseless barrage that has become an element of our everyday lives since the inauguration of the current president, it’s been difficult to figure out how to respond, how to cope, how to think about it all, how to … Continue reading →

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May Resistance Not Be Futile

Posted on February 28, 2025 by smaxreisert

In the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, one of the most villainous and terrifying of all of the strange new civilizations that the crew of the Enterprise boldly encountered was The Borg. The Borg was a collective of … Continue reading →

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Land of the Hyprocrites

Posted on February 8, 2025 by smaxreisert

It’s been almost three weeks since the inauguration of our not so new president. It’s been almost three weeks of remarkable silence, or brazenly misleading wishful thinking rationalizations, especially from one sizable group that loomed large throughout campaign season and … Continue reading →

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When the Quality of Mercy Is Decidedly Strained

Posted on January 29, 2025 by smaxreisert

“The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Who knew that mercy would be … Continue reading →

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Me and My Misanthropy

Posted on January 15, 2025 by smaxreisert

Confession/Admission: I’ve always been a bit of a misanthrope, suspicious of my fellow human beings, and sometimes just downright untrusting and disliking of them. When I completed my required-for-ordination unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in … Continue reading →

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