Sermon Transcripts

January 1, 2023 ~ EPIPHANY Rev. Beckie Sweet   This message is shared by Bishop Minerva Carcaño and published in The Abingdon Women’s Preaching Annual, Series 1-Yr. A, Nashville: Abingdon Press, © 1998.              I have long been inspired by one of my “sheros,” Bishop Minerva Carcaño.  Her deep and abiding faith, perseverance with our denomination, and experiences within U.S. Hispanic culture has provided me, and thousands...

December 18, 2022 ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent Heaven and Nature Sing ~ Rev. Beckie Sweet   Joseph brushed the sawdust from his hands and began to put his tools away.  Mallet, saw, and chisel were put into their proper places, as if ordering his things would order his thoughts, his heart.  Finding ways to solve problems in his work, to join pieces of wood together smoothly, gave him great satisfaction; but the problem Joseph faced...

December 11, 2022 ~ Third Sunday of Advent ~ Heaven and Nature Sing Rev. Beckie Sweet   For many years, Chuck Campbell taught preaching at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.  He required students in one of his classes to lead worship and preach at the Open Door Shelter for homeless folks in downtown Atlanta. But one day he was leading worship in front of the shelter, amid the noise of rush-hour traffic.  After the Call to...

December 4, 2022 ~ 2nd Sunday of Advent Joy to the World ~ Heaven and Nature Sing      Rev. Beckie Sweet   I have sung in choirs most of my life!  Church choirs, school choirs, community choirs, clergywomen’s quartet…you name it, I enjoyed it!   As I began to plan my higher education, heading to Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA, my plan was to attend college there for two years, and then to transfer to either...

November 27, 2022 ~ First Sunday of Advent Heaven and Nature Sing ~ Rev. Beckie Sweet   Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu survived more than 50 years of exile in the soul-crushing violence of oppression.  Despite their hardships — or, as they would say, because of them — they have been two of the most joyful and hope-filled people on the planet. In April of 2015,...

November 13, 2022 ~ 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Rev. Beckie Sweet   At the beginning of the COVID Pandemic, when seeking out resources to share to buoy folks’ mental health, I stumbled upon an online periodical called “Greater Good Magazine,” offering science-based insights for a meaningful life.  This week, I happened across an article by Joshua Brown and Joel Wong titled, “How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain.”  The authors...