Monthly Archives: June 2025

Labyrinth

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Proper 8C, June 29, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • 2 Kings 2: 1-2,6-14. Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.
  • Galatians 5:1,13-25. You were called to freedom…do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence.
  • Luke 9: 51-62. Follow me.

O God of the prophets, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may and cost what it will.

All three of our scripture readings today speak about the costs of seeking after truth – of following great teachers, of listening to prophets, of listening for God’s very Self-disclosure, and the cost of discipleship, which, as the late Walter Brueggemann used to say, is no picnic!
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Juneteenth Events in the Boston Area

Aside

The local commemorations of Juneteenth included three events of note. Dio Mass held its Juneteenth service at St. Stephen’s Church, Lynn, with the Rev Bernadette Hickman-Maynard presiding. At Old South Church. The Reverend June Cooper, Theologian in the City of Boston and alum of the United Boston Sankofa Cohort, preached. Her reflection on the holiday, and the unfinished work of repair, appears in this blog post, Juneteenth, and the Unfinished Work of Freedom.

Juneteenth at Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters was held on June 22, 2025. The accompanying video, Who are my ancestors? highlights the reflections of the descendants of Cuba and Darby Vassall, who lived at the house. Continue reading →

Younger Than We Expected

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Proper 7C, June 22, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
  • 1 Kings 19:1-15a. “What are you doing here Elijah?”
  • Galatians 3:23-29. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female for all of you are one.
  • Luke 8:26-39.  Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.

O God of our future, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Some days there is just too much to preach about, and I’m not just talking about the terrible news reports from last night or this past week. This is one of those days that makes me think there should be a rule about not having too many great readings from scripture on the same day: the story of Elijah hearing the still, small voice of God; Paul’s letter to the Galatians asserting that in Christ, there is no Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male and female, because all are one; and then the Gerasene demoniac story. I mean, come on; what preacher can resist that? And we are celebrating the baptism of Hudson Grey Meinero, whose parents were married at Emmanuel and whose mother and uncle were baptized here, too. Hudson will embody hope for the future today as his baptism calls us to recommit ourselves to peace with justice. Continue reading →

Conspiring with God

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ccreedTrinity C, June 15, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31. Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? ….”To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.”

Romans 5:1-11.  We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God…because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

John 16:12-15. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

O indescribable Holy One, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

For any who struggle with the Gospel of John, today’s Gospel reading is for you. It begins with an acknowledgement that, while there is much more to say, Jesus knows that you cannot bear it now. Perhaps this is recognition of saturation, of exhaustion, of grief, of the lack of additional capacity among Jesus’ followers. It seems like it might be compassionate or parental; or perhaps it was the confession or projection of a tired scribe. Whatever the case, I like to imagine it is a true statement in every age, that there are more things than we can hear or bear. (Just keep up with the news, and you’ll know what I mean.) I find it to be a hopeful idea that there is more wisdom and truth than are recorded in the scriptures. Wisdom and truth were not fully revealed in Jesus’ time; they are not completely revealed even yet. The revelation of the Divine is ongoing, continuing. “God is still speaking,” as the United Church of Christ’s banners proclaimed some years ago; and we are still listening. Continue reading →

Faith Communities in the Historic West End

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June 10, 2025

On our June 8th Chapel Camp tour of the Vilna Shul, we learned that the synagogue purchased the building occupied by the Twelfth Street Baptist Church in 1906. The Twelfth Street pews were kept at the site, 43-47 Phillips Street, and were used by the synagogue until 1919 when they moved to 18 Phillips Street. Services are still held once monthly and on the High Holydays and the building is now a center for Jewish Culture.

Twelfth Street Baptist Church was known as “The Fugitive Slave Church” — many of its congregants were abolitionists and self-emancipated slaves, Lewis and Harriet Hayden and Anthony Burns among them. The Reverend Edward Grimes, pastor from 1848 to 1874, led the congregation with vibrant advocacy and energetic activism. The church grew steadily, mobilized by Grimes to raise funds for those who sought freedom. A notable celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation was held January 1863. Frederick Douglasss attended and wrote glowingly about the event.

For more about the history of these communities of faith, see the West End Museum site: The Vilna Shul and Twelfth Street Baptist Church.

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin

 

Godsend

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Pentecost C, June 8, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Genesis 11:1-9. And from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
  • Acts 2:1-21. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.
  • John 14:8-17. This is the Spirit of truth…[who] will be among you.

O God of our glorious diversity, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

A couple of Friday evenings ago, I had the honor and delight to preach at Central Reform Temple’s Shabbat service. I preached about how the Jewish and Christian liturgical calendars are so similar – like cousins – when it comes to the observances of Passover and Easter and the 50th day after each, which is the celebration of Pentecost (or in Hebrew, Shavuot). After the service I was having a conversation with one of the members of the Temple who was asking me about the Christian story of Pentecost. I said that the traditional teaching for Christians is that the Acts 2 story is understood to be the reversal of what happened at the Tower of Babel. We heard the two stories a few minutes ago, about how the Holy One confused, or mixed, or mingled the language of the ancient Hebrew people, but on the 50th day after the resurrection, the Holy One brought people of all languages together to unite them.  Continue reading →