Tag: Worship

The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus

January 11, 2026

In case you thought that taking down your Christmas decorations on January 6 meant the holiday season is finally over, I have some news. Today is the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, which extends the notion of celebration for another week. Once upon a time – in the year 300, or so – Christians celebrated both Epiphany and Jesus’ baptism at the same time, on January 6. But in a break from tradition, In the mid-20^th-century deliberations around reforming the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church (and eventually all the major Western denominations) liturgical scholars advised separating them in the liturgical calendar so that the Wise Folk from the East could come and go home by another route before we skip over 30 years to the story of Jesus meeting up with his cousin John to be baptized in the Jordan river in solidarity with all the sinners who wanted to turn away from evil and find a fresh start in their relationship with God, with themselves, and with other people.…

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Epiphany (observed early)

January 4, 2026

John demonstrated how an electric guitar sounds with and without being plugged into an amplifier.

So what does all this have to do with Sunday morning at Seekers, where we usually talk about God and living a good life and trying to be kind and helpful to people?

Here’s my idea: I think that each of you, and each one of us here, and in fact every single person in the world, is like a beautiful musical instrument.  We’re all created by God to have a particular sound and personality, and be funny or smart in our own ways, and we all have special gifts. …

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The Fourth Sunday in Advent

December 21, 2025

Sallie and Lucy brought their thoughts and insights from a recent book study of Christ in the Rubble, by Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, the Palestinian pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.

Sally began by quoting Jan Richardson, who wrote…

Blessed are you Who bear the light In unbearable times…

(Blessed are you In whom The light lives…)

She continued

I’ve always loved the Christmas holidays.  I love the tree, the lights, the music, the decorations, and the nativity scene. As I sat among those things writing this sermon, the disparities between this holiday joy and our worldly catastrophes is heart wrenching.…

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The Third Sunday in Advent

December 14, 2025

Good morning, Church.  Today is Gaudete Sunday.  We’re at the halfway point in the short season of Advent. Gaudete roughly translated from Latin means, “Rejoice, Our God is near.”  We lit a pink candle today, and I’m wearing some pink. Liturgically, it’s a whimsical color, signifying that we can barely restrain our joy at the coming of the Christ child, the incarnation of the divine.

Whenever, I hear or read the Magnificat, I can barely restrain my own joy. 

It is always a bit risky for a man to talk about what pregnant women might be going through, but I’m going to take that risk this morning, with your kind permission.…

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The Second Sunday in Advent

December 7, 2025

This “No-Rehearsal Christmas Pageant” is borrowed from Rev. Dan Harper, who adapted and modified it for use at First Unitarian in New Bedford from Rev. Jory Agate of First Parish in Cambridge, who got it from someone else. This version was modified by Deborah Sokolove for Seekers Church from the Harper version found at https://www.danielharper.org/archive/?p=40, which says that it is in the public domain.

Parts: Mary, Joseph, Caesar Augustus, Herod, Wise Persons, Stable Animals, Star, Angels, Shepherds, Sheep

Places: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Fields, Jerusalem…

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