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.

The Year (Almost) Without an Advent

Posted on December 28, 2013 by smaxreisert

Like many churches in Central Maine, Old South had to cancel worship for the two Sundays before Christmas—Advent territory. For the first of those cancellations, a raging snowstorm rolled in at exactly the most inconvenient time, making travel to and … Continue reading →

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Lessons in the Holiday Season

Posted on December 14, 2013 by smaxreisert

One of the best literary Christmas pageant scenes is in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. What makes it so great, of course, is that it is so funny. And, what makes it so funny is that everything goes … Continue reading →

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Lessons I Should Have Learned in Divinity School #2: More Physics

Posted on December 7, 2013 by smaxreisert

Newton’s law of motion: an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion. My last blog entry focused on momentum, and how that concept finds its place in a discussion … Continue reading →

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Courses that Should Be Offered at Seminary/Divinity School #1: Physics

Posted on November 23, 2013 by smaxreisert

Over the course of my almost twenty-five years in parish ministry, I’ve accumulated a long mental list of the gaps that exist in my divinity school education—not simply courses that I failed to take, but courses that should have been … Continue reading →

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Churches and Millennials

Posted on November 16, 2013 by smaxreisert

The Washington Post’s “On Faith” section recently ran a piece entitled, “5 Churchy Phrases that are Scaring off Millennials,” by Addie Zierman. The phrases Ms. Zierman identifies are these: 1. “The Bible clearly says . . . “ 2. God … Continue reading →

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Don’t Just Blame the Victim

Posted on November 9, 2013 by smaxreisert

Recently, a friend passed along an article that was discussed at a small clergy gathering. The article was titled, “Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 11 Things I Learned.” It contained reflections from a church consultant’s relationship with one particular church … Continue reading →

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A Valuable Witness

Posted on November 2, 2013 by smaxreisert

At the end of a congregational meeting after worship last Sunday, an older member summed up the proceedings this way: “Well, we handled that a lot better than Washington.” Everyone chuckled and heads were seen nodding up and down. What … Continue reading →

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Lessons from the Hilltop

Posted on October 26, 2013 by smaxreisert

If you’ve ever driven Route 1 in Massachusetts, north of Boston, you’ve very likely seen the Hilltop Steak House—the enormous restaurant with the giant cactus sign and the herd of large plastic cows on the very small front lawn. Perhaps … Continue reading →

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Channeling My Circus Self

Posted on October 19, 2013 by smaxreisert

As the pastor of a small church in central Maine, I often feel like a guy on the unicycle, trying to balance two things in my hands, while balancing myself on a bike with one wheel—back and forth, back and … Continue reading →

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More Thoughts on Worship Illiteracy

Posted on October 12, 2013 by smaxreisert

I feel that it’s only fair to offer a few words on last Sunday’s attempt at another round of the “homework” that I mentioned last week. For the second week of “talking about worship to someone,” the response was dramatically … Continue reading →

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