Author Archives: smaxreisert

Unknown's avatar

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.

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 →

Posted in On the Hopeful Side, Small church | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Holy-Days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in current-events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in current-events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in current-events | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in current-events | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Bible, current-events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Misc | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Gift of Christmas 2024

Posted on December 23, 2024 by smaxreisert

This Advent Season at Old South, even as we have moved through very familiar themes (focusing on the first chapter of Luke— annunciation, Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Mary traveling to Elizabeth to spend three months together, and finally, Mary’s song of praise) … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Holy-Days | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Shocking Absence of Pregnancy in the Season of Birth

Posted on December 5, 2024 by smaxreisert

The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), the three-year cycle of scripture readings (four readings per Sunday, usually one from the Hebrew Scriptures, one psalm, one epistle passage, and one Gospel passage) followed by many Mainline Protestant churches/denominations as well as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Holy-Days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment