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Author Archives: smaxreisert
Identity Crisis
Last Sunday’s sermon was on unity, focusing on the lectionary passage from the beginning of First Corinthians. The title of my sermon was “Give Me a U.” The plan was to talk about Paul’s encouragement regarding unity, to remind us … Continue reading
Posted in Doomed, My Life as Pastor
Tagged Christian unity, United Church of Christ, Unity
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Don’t Sit There!
And you may ask yourself, well How did I get here? —Talking Heads, Once in a Lifetime During my homily last Sunday, on our first winter worship service of the season in Old South’s parish house (where worship is a … Continue reading
Posted in My Life as Pastor, On the Hopeful Side
Tagged Church decline, Epiphany, Holy Spirit, hope in the midst of church decline, Signs, Stars
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The Heartbreak of Christmas 2019
At Old South, Christmas Eve has become the most unwelcome and dire of bellwethers. When I began my ministry with Old South, in 2005, I heard quite a lot about the annual Christmas Eve service. The bell choir would play … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, Church decline, least religious, Maine, Old South Church Hallowell
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Do I Need to Write About This?
Do I Need to Write About This? That was the first thought that entered my fuzzy head when I woke up to the news that the President had been impeached. I don’t want to write about this. It’s Christmas; I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Holy-Days
Tagged Christmas, impeachment, Old South Congregational Church Hallowell, President Trump
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The Neighborhood that Wasn’t Allowed in My House
We are in the throes of a renewed consideration, examination and all-around reminiscence of (and perhaps yearning for) Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, the children’s show that ran on PBS from 1968 to 2001. Last year, there was a documentary on the … Continue reading
This Writing Life 3: Creating Community
At first I wasn’t sure how they all seemed to know who I was. I was greeted by name by more than one person. One reached out a hand, “Susan, it’s nice to meet you,” before I uttered much more … Continue reading
Judging the View
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but … Continue reading
Worship Spaces
One of the most difficult lines of conversation in these days at Old South is connected to our sanctuary. The sanctuary exists in a building separate from the building that contains the offices, kitchen, classrooms, etc. The sanctuary building is … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings
Tagged church buildings, Church decline, church sanctuary, Hallowell Maine
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Wondering About Words
A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Venice, Italy with my daughter. She’s living in Venice for a couple of months and interning at one of the museums. I went with her to help her get settled and to … Continue reading
A Whole New Awareness of the Challenges of Recognition
Many of the Gospel resurrection accounts include a failure of recognition. Even some of Jesus’ closest friends do not recognize the Risen Christ at first. Mary mistook him for the gardener, according to John, until he spoke her name. In … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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