Sermons
(Manuscripts are written to be spoken and are not edited.)
“The soul is an endless world and at the center of the soul is seated Jesus.”
Julian of Norwich
Dec 11, '11 Our Lady of GuadalupeDownload PDF File
Our Lady of Guadalupe's Message - A Protestant preaches on Our Lady of Guadalupe?
Dec 4, '11 Preparing the Way of the Lord Download PDF File
Preparing the Way of the Lord – by letting go of time future and time past and opting for time present.
Nov 27, '11 On Being WillingDownload PDF File
Where are the places in our lives where we need to be willing rather than willful. Mary gives us an example of relinquishing willfulness for willingness...
oct 30, '11 Inspired by SaintsDownload PDF File
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg on All Hallow's Eve in 1517 due partly to being inspired by Saints many of whom were troublemakers like himself...
oct 23, '11 Be a Human Flowing Download PDF File
We were made to participate in the flow of receiving and giving as God, Godself, does....
oct 16, '11 TaxationDownload PDF File
Giving to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's is what Jesus asks of us and he doesn't mean to keep religion and politics separate!
Oct 9, '11 God's There-NessDownload PDF File
Where does God's hidden presence leave us?
sEPT 25, '11 Immigration and the Scripturesdownload pDF file
Considering the immigration issue from a perspective of faith...
Sept 11, '11 Narrow Path of ForgivenessDownload PDF File
Interesting that the lectionary offers up 2 scriptures on forgiveness on the very Sunday we commemorate the terrorist attacks of 9/11...
Sept 4, '11 Baptism, Marriage, Death, & FloodDownload PDF File
Just a snapshot of what's been happening within and around the Charlotte Congregational Church and how it is related to Paul's injunction in Romans to love one another.
Aug 7, '11 Walking on Water and Other Possibilities Download PDF File
July 31, '11 On MiraclesDownload PDF File
JULY 24, '11 God in the VerbDownload PDF File
july 17, '11 Send Me Away EmptyDownload PDF FIle
(Guest minister Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge)
july 10, '11 A House Divided Download PDF FIle
While there are certain spiritualities that claim there is a one-ness to all things and that distinctions are illusory, Christianity claims that there is not only a necessity but a goodness to division and distinctions...
July 3, '11 The Split Self Download PDF File
Paul helps us face squarely the human reality of having a divided self, a rift between where we are and where we know we should be...
june 26, '11 God's Positioning SystemDownload PDF File
(Guest minister Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge) Listen Now »
june 19, '11 TrinityDownload PDF File
The Trinity - a scandal to the Muslims and Jews and confusing to Christians themselves, what can we understand about the Trinitarian formulation of God?
June 5, '11 Lark AscendingDownload PDF File
How do we make sense of the fact that we say Jesus is alive and yet we don't see him anymore - most of us at least - in physical form?
May 22, '11 Hedging Not the TruthDownload PDF File
Could it be that the reason we, in the liberal protestant mainline tradition, have lost our sense of direction and purpose is because it's difficult to have a compelling purpose when there is no solid belief structure in place... Listen Now »
May 1, 11 The Real ResurrectionDownload PDF File
Some claim the resurrection of Jesus is myth or metaphor or simply false. We say it’s true and everything else flows from there...
April17, 11 Story of Evil Download PDF File
We liberal protestants tend to shy away from talk of the spiritual warfare between good and evil, however, what is the passion story if not a story of evil?
april 3, 11 Shhh, Don't TellDownload PDF File
What if people really knew what was gong on behind the closed doors of the Charlotte Church?!
march 20, 11 Living in TensionDownload PDF File
The Spiritual question is not how do we live tension free lives but how do we live faithfully within the tension that IS life....
March 13, '11 End of ChristendomDownload PDF File
What does it mean to be and do church in a culture that is no longer a Christian culture...
February 27, '11 The Tipping PointDownload PDF File
(guest minister Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge)
February 20, '11 Bricks of Blessing Download PDF File
(guest minister Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge)
February 6, '11 To Decide or DiscernDownload PDF File
Paul speaks of himself and others as spiritual people who "discern all things", which got me going on this riff about the distinction between discernment and decision....
january 30, '11 In the Company of the Unraveling Download PDF File
How do we run the institution of the church when the sacred scriptures that we hold at the center of our corporate lives are so often anti-institutional...
january 23, '11 Fisher of Men Download PDF File
When the call to discipleship comes in big or small ways what is expected of us...
January 16, '11 Lamb of GodDownload PDF File
How can we understand better what John means when he says of Jesus "this is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"?
January 9, '11 The Way of DescentDownload PDF File
Baptism, the rite that makes us Christians, is symbolic of the Christian spiritual path which is essential a path of descent.
December 12, '10 AnnunciationsDownload PDF File
The poet Denise Levertov paints a beautiful picture of the moment the Angelic Messenger approaches Mary with a proposal for her life and the life of the world. What annunciations are being revealed in our lives?
DECEMBER 5, '10 Advent Magic Download PDF file
How do we reclaim the sense of the mystical and magical in a culture that suggests we can buy most everything we could possibly need?
November 28, '10 Coming AgainDownload PDF File
How do we as more liberal protestant Christians approach these scriptures that always come on the first sunday of Advent and deal with the end of time, the apocalypse, the Second Coming? What is does an appropriate Christian Eschatology for our day and time look like. Here's a stab in that direction.
nOVEMBER 21, '10 Power of the Heart Download PDF File
How the practice of Be Peace and HeartMath invites us into a deeper relationship with ourselves and where God dwells within us.
November 7, '10 Your ProjectDownload PDF File
(Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
october 31, '10 The Place Jesus OccupiesDownload PDF File
On the Sunday before All Saints Day, this year Halloween, we remember the dead and how Jesus dons death as a gift to us...
october 24, '10 A Practical PeaceDownload PDF File
(lay preacher Paula Guarnaccia)
October 17, '10 To Seek Justice Download PDF File
Being church in a higher privileged, high ranking town like Charlotte, Vermont demands a greater sensitivity to how we are use our rank for either self-advancement or for the greater good. Jesus' call for us is to be conscious of our rank and to use what power we have for the powerless around us....
October 10, '10 Body and Spirit Download PDF File
Our church is missing its steeple these days. Could this be an invitation to our congregation to remember that we are not a humanist organization, just another business, but rather a community centered within God?
october 3, '10 Mustard SeedDownload PDF File
september 19, '10 Allegiance to GodDownload PDF File
To say Jesus is Lord is to suggest that our full and total allegiance is to God and any lesser allegiance to country, economy, safety or anything else must take second seat to our allegiance to God....
September 12, '10 Underappreciated Human Doings Download PDF File
Upon returning from 3 months of sabbatical, I am reminded of how hard we often try to be acceptable and appreciated and accomplished and how freely given is God's acceptance of us, like a father running out to receive his repentant son....
September 5, '10 Memory FoodDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
August 29, '10 To See or Not to SeeDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
August 22, '10 Shrinking GodDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
August 8, '10 Clouds of WitnessDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
August 1, '10 Cords of Human KindnessDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
July 11, '10 Who are You?Download PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
July 4, '10 Swinging FreeDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
JUne 27, '10 Peace by PieceDownload PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
June 20, '10 Here I am! Hend me! Download PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
June 13, '10 If I'd Known You Were Coming, I Would Have Baked a Cake
Download PDF File
(Interim minister Rev. Susan Cooke-Kittredge)
May 23, '10 MetamorphosisDownload PDF File
Can the oil spill in the Gulf be a wake up call for humanity? The apostle Paul speaks of creation "groaning inwardly" and awaiting the redemption of the children of God. If we don't collectively hear the groan of creation through this oil spill then we aren't listening...
May 9, '10 Falling in LoveDownload PDF File
What power was strong enough to inspire Paul not only to become a Christ follower and give up his violent ways, but to be willing to suffer and ultimately sacrifice his life for such a following?!
April 25, '10 Why WorshipDownload PDF File
Why should we worship anyway? Answered with 4 jokes and 4 reasons.
April 11, '10 A Case for ConfessionDownload PDF File
There was one primary qualification that all the disciples held in common and that made them eligible to spread the gospel after Jesus' return from the dead. It's the necessary qualification for receiving forgiveness as well...
April 4, '10 Sunrise Reflection Download PDF File
Through one man's suffering and his willingness to transform instead of transmit the pain, Love enters the world in a big way...
march 21, '10 The Way Out of No WayDownload PDF File
Mary's anointing of Jesus to prepare him for death was her way of accepting what no one else around him wanted to accept - that his chosen way was apparently to run full steam towards a dead-end...
march 14, '10 Home is Where the Heart IsDownload PDF File
The story of the Prodigal Son is a story about coming home and the equally prodigal father sacrificed his own honor to keep those home fires burning for his prodigal son.
march 7, '10 Eye of the HeartDownload PDF File
Jesus' response to the people in today's scripture seems to push us beyond our dichotomous thinking to a deeper place of the soul...
February 14, '10 On Being VesselsDownload PDF File
We can be vessels of the Holy Spirit or of lesser spirits. Lent is a time for evaluating what kind of spirit is flowing through our lives...
February 7, '10 Into the DeepDownload PDF File
Jesus tells Peter to risk a return to the deep and he catches Peter in the net of his kingdom work...
january 31, '10 Grace and MindfulnessDownload PDF File
How the latest blockbuster movie "A Single Man" beautifully portrays the work of God's grace in our lives...
january 24, '10 Jesus' Mission Statement Download PDF File
It's interesting to consider not only how Jesus uses Isaiah's statement to express his own mission but also what he eliminates from Isaiah's statement - namely, reference to God's vengeance.
December 13, '09 Slow Work of GodDownload PDF File
How do we trust that God is at work in our lives when it's so hard to recognize at times and when our timing is so often different from God's timing? The story of the annunciation is Mary's moment of trusting the slow work of God...
December 6, '09 Who Can Stand God's Comingdownload PDF File
The Prophets and John speak of God coming in wrath and vengeance. They were right in principle about why God's coming was necessary, but wrong in form...
November 29, '09 The First Gift of AdventDownload PDF File
The First Gift of Advent - A Candle of Hope by Ms. Paula Guarnaccia
November 22, '09 Opting for Something LargerDownload PDF File
On Christ the King Sunday we consider the scene of Pilate - King of Judea - standing before Jesus - the King of the Soul. What is it that makes Jesus so unconcerned about saving his own skin?
November 8, '09 Where Our Problem LiesDownload PDF File
Some suggest that the source of violence and conflict in the world is religion and our commitment therein. I disagree. In fact, I believe the Christian religion in particular is a bulwark against violence and conflict run amuck in the world....
November 1, '09 All Saints and SoulsDownload PDF File
What does a Baptist born and bred UCC minister know about the high church feasts of All-Saints Day and All-Souls Day?
October 25, '09 Dominating Nature Download PDF File
Taking a humble stab at some ecological theology appropriate for the occasion of the world-wide 350.org action day...
October 18, '09 Matters of the SoulDownload PDF File
Jesus, in the Gospels, is always reframing questions and situations so that the people around him are pushed into a deeper consciousness, drawing them into their souls...
October 11, '09 Selling OutDownload PDF File
Who in their right mind would sell all they have and give the money to the poor...
September 27, '09 Trust in the LordDownload PDF File
What does it mean to trust in the Lord with all one's heart?
August 16, '09 The Peace Angel of the ChurchDownload PDF File
The Book of Revelation speaks of the early church congregations as each having their own angel, or one might say, their own spirit or personality. The research done for this year's Old Home Sunday in the church seems to reveal that our particular congregation has something of a Peace Angel in its soul.
June 21, '09 On Mount CarmelDownload PDF File
It's the 150th anniversary of our sister church here in Charlotte - Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church. An appropriate time to ponder why Mt. Carmel is renowned in the Abrahamic traditions' scriptures.
May 31, '09 Beginning to LIveDownload PDF File
God wants our bliss. Should we not all be asking "where do I belong, what is my joy, how do I live passionately"? These are Godly questions that have Godly answers. Whether we are willing to live out the answers is another question....
May 24, '09 Literally AscendingDownload PDF File
The Ascension is a fanciful story about Jesus being carried away on a cloud. Some say the resurrection is merely fancy as well. I can accept the ascension being metaphorical but I take the resurrection and Jesus' appearances literally. Why is the distinction important?
MAY 17, '09 The SecretDownload PDF File
What is the difference between the secret that is in the book "The Secret" and the secret that is at the heart of the Christian faith?
May 10, '09 Living Abundantly Download PDF File
What does it mean to live out of God's abundance instead of living out of a perception of scarcity...
MAY 3, '09 Sprititual and FinancialDownload PDF File
This Sunday is the kick-off to our capital campaign to raise funds for the care and repair of our church. The process that we are embarking on is pressing us to hold the spiritual together with the financial. Maybe our country's current economic crisis is a result of the separation of the spiritual from the financial...
April 12, '09 Easter AwakeningDownload PDF File
Before Jesus was resurrected he had to die many deaths. What deaths do we need to go through in order for us to become awakened, in order for the Christ within to finally be resurrected?
MARCH 29, '09 Allowing the Scripture to WorkDownload PDF File
What happens when we take on the spiritual practice of allowing the scripture to work on us? The scripture for the 5th Sunday of Lent has something to say about our need to die and something else to say about Vermont's legislative struggle with same sex marriage if we listen closely....
March 22, '09 The Arrival of SpringDownload PDF File
Mud Season and Spring in Vermont is a time of warming skies and thawing earth. How are these seasons reflected in our spiritual lives. Ironically, as this sermon was preached on March 22nd at about 10:30am it began snowing like mad....
MARCH 1, '09 Determined by WhomDownload PDF File
Jesus is tempted in the wilderness to go for something less than what God was calling him to do. How often are we responsive to the truth within us and how often are we swayed and tempted away from that truth by the voices of others...
february 22, '09 Building Faith not Buildings Download PDF File
Our faith tradition teaches that it's not a particular place, a particular building or land that is sacred but it is a sacred way of living on whatever land and within whatever building we may fund ourselves....
february 8, '09 Healing PrayerDownload PDF File
Jesus was maybe more than anything else a healer, at least that's how the Gospels tell it. Why has the hands-on healing ministry been so neglected in the liberal Protestant church? There are no answers here but a beginning to the conversation and an invitation to the practice...
February 1, '09 Making Love Download PDF File
Eugene Peterson distinguishes between communicating and communing. For our outer lives to thrive we certainly need to communicate but for our heart, spirit, soul, we need to move beyond mere communication and into communion...
january 25, '09 Arguing with JesusDownload PDF File
Is Jesus the way, the truth and life and no one comes to Father but through him? What about Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists? One preacher’s struggle with exclusive Christian theology...
January 11, '09 At Jesus' Baptism Download PDF File
The inauguration or anointing of Jesus as "king" is one way of looking at what is happening at his baptism. But Jesus is a one of a kind king who uses the power invested in him in a totally different way than most humans use their earthly power.
December 14, '08 from Rev. Susan Cooke KittredgeDownload PDF File
“Send Me Away Empty”. December 14, 2008, Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge, The Old Meeting House. This Advent sermon inspired one of Patti Casey’s songs on her September 2010 CD.