Posts by Pastor

September 17, 2023 ~ 16th Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ Cultivating God’s Love in Humanity   What a week to be focusing on mercy, forgiveness, grace!  Monday was the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack which killed nearly 3,000 and injured more than 6,000.  Friday was the 60th Anniversary of the KKK bombing of the 16th St. Baptist Church, which killed four black girls, and injured many more.  All week we...

September 3, 2023 ~ 14th Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ Cultivating God’s Love in Humanity   During my lifetime, a popular trend in home décor was to post a set of “house rules.”  Posters, framed pictures, printing on wood or stone, even counted cross-stitch or needlepoint would articulate rules that should be followed for the harmonious functioning of the household.   Typically, the short list of rules would...

August 27, 2023 ~ 13th Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ Tending the New Creation   You don’t have to go too far to discover walls of hostility that divide people.  Here are a couple of this week’s headlines: Gangs engage in deadly shootout in busy downtown Syracuse; Store owner shot to death by man who made “disparaging remarks” about Pride flag; Mass shooting at Dollar Tree Store in Jacksonville, FL in predominantly...

August 20, 2023 ~ 12th Sunday after Pentecost Tending the New Creation ~ Rev. Beckie Sweet   I have an important question for you to consider today. Are you a springer, or an oozer? I am talking about how you get out of bed in the morning.  Do you spring out of bed, excited about what the day has in store for you?  Or do you slowly ooze out of bed, wondering if the day will be worth your efforts to meet it? Now, I realize that we...

August 13, 2023 ~ 11th Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ Tending the New Creation   We, the God-created, unique and special human beings, have a variety of different ways of packing for a journey.  I come from a proud line of humans who want to be prepared for anything that might happen ~ while I am on a journey, for after I have reached my destination, for how I will handle it if I get delayed on the way or fail to...