The Shadow and the Day

Part 1 The Palm Sunday story begins happily enough. Cheering crowds line the way and run into the streets, waving and throwing down the tree branches to make a way for their hero. Who doesn’t love a parade with children …

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When the Shadow Looms

Luke 18:1-8 – The Widow and the Unjust Judge Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God …

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Casting Long Shadows

Talia Raymond March 11, 2018 Gratitude Meditation There are people who cast long shadows in our lives, those who have had a lasting influence on us. I would like for you, if you are willing, to call to mind one …

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The Shadow of Your Smile

When we have New Member Sunday it reminds me of what we as UCG are doing here and the whys, whens, and hows, the depths and heights of how we best celebrate and survive and serve–how we must get through …

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Shadow Land

I have always loved stories, the way they can capture human experience, characters and settings imagined by us, but often tell us so much truth about our own reality. Harry Potter, a fictional wizard, teaches us about the reality of …

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Faith, Power, & Justice   

Faith, Power, & Justice             Mardi Gras February 11, 2018                    Shelly Wilson Football was a spiritual experience for me once, but not here, I’m sorry to say, at least not yet. It was in New Orleans, after

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Two Miles to Freedom

Two Miles to Freedom                      February 4, 2018                      Andy Bachmann “And if someone forces you to go with them one mile, go with them two.” If you’ve ever sat next to

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Call & Response

It is a powerful thing to be a stranger and to be welcomed into a new place – a place that is not your own.  It happened from the moment we drove up to First Congregational Church of Atlanta in …

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Working it Out

Shiprah and Puah, the splendidly bright midwives of the Scripture story were prophets, in their way. Prophets work from within the context of exclusion and injustice, name realities, and then show the justice ways. And as Prophets call out in …

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Showing Forth

It seems odd to be talking about the magi at this late date, doesn’t it? The Christmas decorations have been put away. The tree gasped its last dying breath weeks ago; and when we removed it from the house on …

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 Collecting Crèches  

AB: We’ve made no secret of how we often jokingly refer to the 4:30 Family Service as, “The Running of the Children.” It begins innocently enough; with the sanctuary decked out in its Christmas finest. And the families file in …

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Spirit of Christmas

This is my favorite Sunday in Advent: Joy Sunday! I love this moment in cyclical time, with the anticipation of Christmas Eve just around the corner and all of the decorations up and festive sweaters in full rotation. It follows …

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