Author Archives: stjamesunitedchurchdartmouth

Midweek Message – January 28, 2026

We mark African Heritage Month this week with a service entitled Here From the Beginning. It was written by two Black UCC ministers: Rev. Charmain Bailey and Rev. Lisa Byer-de Wever. It’s also the name of an exhibit created to mark the 100th anniversary of the United Church and is now an interactive website. IContinue reading “Midweek Message – January 28, 2026”

Everybody Knows… and Still We Sing Hallelujah

A five-year-old boy and his father detained in Minneapolis and sent to a Texas ICE facility… An observer shot dead yesterday when he was already subdued by multiple ICE agents… 100 clergy of all faiths arrested for blocking a road while protesting the airlines that were flying people to ICE facilities…. It’s enough to makeContinue reading “Everybody Knows… and Still We Sing Hallelujah”

Midweek Message – January 21, 2026

We conclude our There’s a Crack in Everything series this week. My reflection title is Everybody Knows… and Still We Sing Hallelujah. I’ve got lots of scripture in this one: Psalm 88: 1-12, Psalm 89: 1-2, Psalm 12: 1-8, and Lamentations 3:22–23, I may not wind up using all of it. We will have twoContinue reading “Midweek Message – January 21, 2026”

Rags of Light

Think globally, act locally. That’s a phrase that has been used in a variety of settings and organizations since the late 60s. There is no consensus on just who coined it and where it started, but the general premise is the same. “Think globally, act locally” urges people to consider the well being of theContinue reading “Rags of Light”

Midweek Message – January 14, 2026

We continue with the Leonard Cohen series this week. The scripture readings are Isaiah 58: 6-10 and Psalm 36: 5-9; I’ve paired that with If It Be Your Will. You can listen to it below. My reflection title is Rags of Light, which is a line from the song. In this season of Epiphany, andContinue reading “Midweek Message – January 14, 2026”

The Courage to Stay in the Dance of Love

This little plaque was given to me at my 8th birthday party, and it’s one of the few things I took with me when I left home as a young teenager. Now, I don’t think anyone, even the most religious amongst us would consider giving something like this to a child now. And in retrospect, alongContinue reading “The Courage to Stay in the Dance of Love”

Midweek Message – January 7, 2026

The Theology and Music of Leonard Cohen Series continues this week. The scripture is 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8; we often hear this scripture passage at weddings, sometimes at funerals, but Paul wasn’t talking about romantic love, he was writing to the Christian community in Corinth. I’ll unpack that a bit more on Sunday. I’m pairingContinue reading “Midweek Message – January 7, 2026”

Broken Hallelujahs and Holy Light

How many of you were familiar with the line of the series: There’s a crack, a crack, in everything, that’s how the light gets in. It’s from a Leonard Cohen piece called Anthem. The universe cracked open billions of years ago to let the light out… Just as we heard in our reading from Genesis,Continue reading “Broken Hallelujahs and Holy Light”

Midweek Message – December 31, 2025

Happy New Year’s Eve! Ours will be very quiet as my husband has been sick since before Christmas. To the extent that there is a pile of presents still under the tree because we haven’t seen any close family. We start our series on the music and theology of Leonard Cohen this week: There’s aContinue reading “Midweek Message – December 31, 2025”