"Whose Body Is It, Anyway?"
A sermon by the Rev. Brian D. Ellison at the ordination and installation of the Rev. Daniel Vigilante as Pastor, Grace Trinity Community Church, Minneapolis, and Associate Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area at Westminster Presbyterian Church, August 25, 2013.
"Crossing Over"
A Sermon on 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14, by the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, Sunday, June 30, 2013: "You see, the dividing line—the Jordan River we all must cross—is not running on this Pride Sunday between LGBTQ on one side and straight on the other. Or between one group with problems and another. And it certainly isn’t between sinner and saint, for all would surely be on the same bank of the river then. The crossing over we are called to do—all of us—is from in here together to out there together. The Jordan of our lives is the threshold that so persistently separates us from Fifth Avenue and from the world. It is a line of demarcation between celebration and action, between faithful gratitude and trusting obedience. We carry with us all that happens in here, but then we cross over into the out there."
"The Reign of God We Get"
A Sermon on Luke 7:1-10 by Brian Ellison, at Southminster Presbyterian Church, Boise, ID, June 2, 2013: "But this is the world. And this is where God is. When Jesus shows up we might like every story to be like a magic wand being waved. The leper is touched and the healing occurs. The mud is put on the eyes and sight is restored. But the world we live in is a Luke Chapter 7 world, and healing rarely happens that way. Justice is rarely a matter of a single spoken word. Every problem is not healed by each just action. The day you or I offer a cold cup of water to an overheated stranger, he will be better and a thousand more will still thirst. But the witness of the scriptures and the promise of the gospel is that it still matters. That, in fact, it couldn’t possibly matter any more. That this is the kingdom of God."
At the Table: A Witness to the Resurrection and in Celebration of the Life of K.C. Ptomey
The Rev. Dr. K.C. Ptomey, Jr., a former member of the Covenant Network Board, joined the Church Triumphant on May 9, 2013. K.C. was Zbinden Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, having retired as Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville.A Service of Witness to the Resurrection was held at Westminster Church on Saturday, May 18. The preachers, Ted Wardlaw and Jon Walton, have graciously granted permission to share their sermons here.
Blest Be the Ties?
Keynote Address by Doug Nave at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians Regional Conference, First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, May 11, 2013: "So the church should care about same-sex marriage – and not simply in a censorious, exclusionary way, but in a supportive and celebratory one – because in marriage a couple can seek the guidance of the church and find the resources needed to model their lives around the covenantal fidelity that is so central to all of Christian faith. What could be more worthwhile than that? What could be more gracious and generous and loving? What, indeed, could be more Christ-like?"
"Kiss Me Like You Mean It"
A Sermon on Song of Solomon 2:8-13 by Sarah Segal McCaslin: "And while many would say, by way of conclusion or assessment, that way too much time is spent in our denomination talking about what other people do in the bedroom, I think now, truly, that not enough time is spent talking about what goes on in the bedroom. If what goes on behind closed doors has the capacity to be the most faithful and exuberant worship of God that we can imagine, and also one of the places where our bodies are celebrated as God intended, then the church needs to protect against the threat that this beautiful aspect of our God-given humanity might be forced into hiding and become inaccessible to those who might be most in need of a positive word and a grace-filled moment."
"The Gifts of God for the People of God"
A Sermon on Acts 11:1-18 by Drew M. Henry, La Placitas Presbyterian Church, NM, April 28, 2013: "My home church, the First Presbyterian Church of Selma, Alabama, has been on my heart and mind over recent months. That is the congregation that raised me in the faith and profoundly shaped who I am today. I would like to share with you a letter that I have written to them, and I ask you to join with me in holding them in prayer... I understand that much of the current conflict in the church there is focused on our denomination’s growing acceptance and support of people who are homosexual and their families in the life of the church. Please allow me to share a bit of my story..."
"Needing One Another"
A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 and Isaiah 43:16-21 by David Bartlett, for the Atlanta Regional Conference, April 19, 2013: "... there may be just a little danger as you in your church and I in mine face the possibility of schism and the fights over property and budgets and pensions – there may be just a little danger that we will move beyond what we have every right to say: “I disagree with you entirely” – to what we have no place in Christ’s body to say: “Good riddance; we have no need of you.”Is there some way that we can stand fast for justice and still work toward reconciliation?"
So Now, What…? And : So, Now What?
A sermon on Deuteronomy 10:12-22 by Tricia Dykers Koenig for the Northwest Regional Conference: "The question for us is Deuteronomy’s “So now, what does the Lord your God require of you?” And: “So… now what?” Now that “our side” has “won” on ordination standards and, everyone knows, will win on marriage, but while the day-to-day struggle still rages and the justice God has promised is not fully realized, how do we help along the transitions that all can see coming, but some are grieving? How do we speed change, care for those who have suffered exclusion and indignity, and hold out a hand to those feeling run over by the train of progress, those who may be feeling more and more like strangers in a world and a church that are changing in uncomfortable ways? How do we make it easier for the eventual evolvers?"
"On Second Thought"
A Sermon on I Samuel 1:4-20 by Randy Bush: "I pray that people stop walking past the doorposts of the Church of Eli. I pray that our faith may be modeled after the example of Hannah so that we will belong to a church of justice, a church of inclusion, a church of love, and thereby a church of Jesus Christ. That may require some second and third thoughts on our part; that’s alright - God is patient. Like the father waiting for the prodigal to turn around and come home, God is anxious for our return to the fullness of God’s word and love. What is required of us? It requires listening skills..."
"Covenant and Marriage: What Do We Say When a Gay Christian Couple Ask to be Married?"
A Sermon on Genesis 9:8-17 and I Corinthians 13 by Bill Hathaway, First Presbyterian Church, Annapolis, Maryland, February 3, 2013: "When couples meet with me, I say that they can write their own vows and look at different prayers, but to be married in the Presbyterian Church means that we assume the equal status, rights and respect of both men and women in the church, in society and in the language of the wedding service. What does the Bible and our faith have to say about marriage given the radical changes in marriage over the decades? The core values are covenant and kindness or, using other words, promise and love."
"Wedding Games"
A Sermon on John 8:2-11 and I Corinthians 13 by the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Campbell. Text: “Where you go I will go, your people shall be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16) "... given today’s rhetoric and national debates, with laws being enacted one way or the other, just as with any other issue of justice down through history it is the job of the pulpit to speak the word of an accepting God so that you can speak that word to one person and then to another. And like those twelve ordinary individuals who witnessed what happened that day with Jesus and that woman you too can then begin to change the world that surrounds you. That is how this faith of ours works..."
"Just as Christ Has Welcomed You"
A Sermon on Romans 15:1-13 and Revelation 7:9-17 by Tricia Dykers Koenig, at the Baltimore/DC Regional Conference, March 9, 2013: "We have, all of us, been welcomed by Christ, utterly and unconditionally, not because we deserve it but because God is Love and, in God’s will, nothing 'in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Despite the accumulated grime in our lives. Even if we haven’t done the requisite dusting. Even if we are sloppy, lazy, misguided, or stubbornly wrong. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you – totally and unconditionally – for the glory of God."
“The Call to Christian Hospitality: Living Into a Truly Welcoming Church”
Keynote Address by Henry Brinton at the Baltimore/DC Regional Conference, March 9, 2013: "I believe that all of you want to be part of a truly welcoming congregation, one that embraces all people with God’s love and grace. But if you are like me, you haven’t mastered the practices of Christian hospitality. You probably set up some barriers to inclusion without even knowing it."
“Beyond Welcome and into God’s Freedom”
A Sermon on Isaiah 61:1-4 and Galatians 3:26-29 by Deborah Krause, for the Regional Conference at Second Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, MO, February 16, 2013: '...What does it mean to say “We Invite All?” Just who do “we” think we are? Who are these all we think we invite? Do they really want to come? If so, where the heck are they? And more seriously, just where do “we” imagine we are – to do this inviting of these “all” we welcome?...'
Marriage Equality in the PCUSA
At the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, Dan Saperstein's presentation included both background information - biblical, theological, and constitutional - and a new approach to moving toward marriage equality in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Read his address, with accompanying slides.
The Plan-B God for ecclesio.com
Covenant Network week, with its focus on same-sex marriage, continues at ecclesio.com with an excerpt of Mark Achtemeier's "The Plan-B God," an address delivered to the Twin Cities Area Regional Conference in October 2012.
From Fear to Faith
A Sermon on 2 Timothy 1:1-14 by the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, preached at the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, Central Presbyterian Church, Denver, CO, January 27, 2013: "... Why has the Covenant Network focused so exclusively on including some of God’s children in the life and leadership of the church over the years, rather than on some broader mission of justice and evangelism in the world? Why would it be important to make sure that the opportunity to profess one’s faith, to use one’s gifts, to teach one’s wisdom, or make one’s vows is provided when there is so much work that will be done, people who will be touched, mission that will be accomplished, with or without that one person? Why?..."
The Way Toward Birth - Dawning Light
A Sermon on Isaiah 11: 1-10 & Luke 1: 67-79 by the Rev. Ken Kovacs: "...the incarnation is not a one-time occurrence but something that has fundamentally changed and is changing the very structure of our existence. In the incarnation we discover a “demonstration” that God is forever “risking spirit” by being active in the world and our lives. The Spirit enters and for all it’s worth charges into earth – where? Yes, in Jesus, but in birth after birth, ever fresh and fresh. In your birth and my birth ever fresh and fresh, doing something new."
Forgetting Reinhold Niebuhr
A Sermon on Isaiah 58:9-14 and Galatians 5:13-15 by Chris Henry at Shallowford Presbyterian Church, November 4, 2012: "...So, remembering Reinhold Niebuhr calls the church back to its God-given prophetic task in the community and in the world. When people are suffering in our nation and around the world, the church is called to respond. When injustice and hatred deny to some the abundant life God offers to all, the demands of the gospel compel us to speak and to act. Niebuhr was right: the church must never shrink from its call to be the body of Christ beyond the walls of the sanctuary. But there is a difference between Niebuhr’s Christian Realism and the idealistic activism of the Social Gospel movement that he finally dismissed. The difference is Niebuhr’s emphatic insistence on humility and his awareness of the ubiquity of sin. If we were able to ask Reinhold Niebuhr which aspect of the current political climate most exasperated him, my guess would be this: the self-righteousness of all sides..."