Shows
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-05-18 Visions BeyondActs 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is notugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And theopposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” ― Elie Wiesel
2025-05-1811 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-05-11 Sheep as ShepherdsActs 9:36-43; John 10:22-30May Day Morning (First Anniversary of Mother's Death) As I sit on my porchI feel my Mother's presence.The sunrise feels like my mother's arms around me.The scent of lilacs reminds me of her perfume.In the bird's singing I hear her voice.Watching the rabbit search for food,I remember the meals she made for me.I see the doe guarding her fawn and I feel certainThat Mom still watches over me.-Thomas Kinser
2025-05-1111 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-04-27 Blessings Behind DoorsPsalm 150: Praise for God’s Surpassing Greatness; John 20:19-31"You, O God, are our light – Grant us courage to walk into places once cloaked infear. Grant us fortitude to reveal our pain, to bind our wounds. You, O God, are oureverlasting strength, we will not turn away, we will persevere. We lift our voices indefiant praise. Give thanks to the God who never turns away – whose love breaksevery chain and endures forever."-Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Kehaunani Hill
2025-04-2712 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-04-13 Holy Variance (Palm Sunday)Luke 22:39-46; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Tell me again.Tell me again to cultivate new life—a life where I believe in myself,a life where, dare I say, I love myself.Tell me again to cultivate new life—a life of dancing in the kitchenand slow cups of coffee;a life where Sabbath is viewed as a giftas opposed to a luxury;a life where I trust my own voiceand speak words dripping in hope,heavy in love.Tell me again.Tell me again because I will forget.Tell me again because change has never come easy.Tell...
2025-04-1311 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-04-06 New CreationJohn 12:1-8; Isaiah 43:16-21People throw around the phrase, “Let it go” like a child throws out laughter—Easy and light.I wish that’s how I knew it.I wish it felt that simple.Instead I have to talk myself into a better frame of mind.I have to drag one foot in front of the other until I’m closer to love.I have to sing my mother’s words in my head until I can’t hear anything else.And I pray for letting go that feels like taking off shoes—a sort of coming home.I pr...
2025-04-0613 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-03-30 Return Journey2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:11b-32I have come to believeThat it’s harder to cry under an open sky.So when life falls apart, throw open the windows.Invite the sun into your shadows.Lie in the grass and let the sun mistake you for flowers.Maybe this is step one in cultivating—For flowers do not grow by mistake.They need the sun, just like we need love,And time,And the grace to try again.So put your body where the light is.You’ll find God there.She is warmth.You will know it.And you wi...
2025-03-3016 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-03-23 A Fig Tree TaleIsaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9If the trees can do it, then so can I,At least that’s what I tell myself.For if year after year the trees can let goOf their brightest leaves and that warm autumn glow,Then maybe in time, like trees with their leaves,I can releaseThat which keeps me from you.Maybe in time, I can let goOf my need for certaintyAnd my need to look good,My need for busyness,And my need to numb pain;The trivial ways I measure my self-worth,Or the hurtful ways I measure yours.Fo...
2025-03-2311 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-03-16 The House Is Left To YouPsalm 27: Triumphant Song of Confidence; Luke 13:31-35: The Lament over JerusalemI wish I could cultivate my daysLike my mother’s favorite recipe,Blending together the sweetest things—Hope and love, you and me,Justice and peace,Music and dreams—Like spices pulled from the shelf on thewall.I’d add one cup of family,And one cup of grace.A dash of starry nights,A pinch of snow.One tablespoon of hope, and like oats,they would grow.A tablespoon of music and the hymnsthat I know.A cup for friends that feel more likefamily,A teaspoon...
2025-03-1609 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-03-09 Cultivating and Letting GoDeuteronomy 26:1-11; Luke 4:1-13Dear loved one—I hope you let go.I hope you let go of holding yourself to impossible standards.Lower the bar. Give yourself grace.God delights in who you are.And while you’re at it, I hope you let go of ignoring your beauty.The mirror is tired of your harsh words, for you are made of star stuff and music.You are the only you there is, and you. are. simply. stunning.And I hope you’ll consider letting go of certainty.For the sun will always rise and set, and yo...
2025-03-0912 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-03-02 BeholdExodus 34:29-35; Luke 9:28-36“God places us in the world as fellow workers-agents of transfiguration. We workwith God so that injustice is transfigured into justice, so there will be morecompassion and caring, that there will be more laughter and joy, that there will bemore togetherness in God’s world.”-Desmond Tutu
2025-03-0307 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-02-23 A Good MeasurePsalm 37:1-11, 39-40: Exhortation to Patience and Trust;Genesis 45:3-11; Luke 6:27-38“If you're for the right thing, you do it without thinking.” -Maya Angelou
2025-02-2314 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-02-16 Speaking PlainPsalm 1: The Two Ways; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26“When it comes down to it, that’s what life is all about: showing up for the peopleyou love, again and again, until you can’t show up anymore.”Rebecca Walker
2025-02-1612 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-02-09 Into the DeepIsaiah 6:1-13; Psalm 138; Luke 5:1-11“What are heavy? sea-sand and sorrow. What are brief? today and tomorrow.What are frail? spring blossoms and youth. What are deep? the ocean and truth.” Christina Rossetti
2025-02-0911 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-02-02 EmpoweredJeremiah 1:4-10; 1 Corinthians 13; Luke 4:21-30 “In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. … In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”-Albert Camus
2025-02-0212 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-01-26 All Together NowNehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Luke 4:14-21Divine Body of Belonging, grant us the tenderness of feeling safe in your arms, thestability of being tethered by both gravity and grace. Help us not to resist thismoment nor our mortality. You’ve given us this life on earth with terrains of variedlands and feelings, guide us to navigate this being human, this being a body madein your image and likeness.-Council for Health & Human Services Ministry
2025-01-2611 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-01-19 Small Change, Big Result1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Psalm 36:5-10; John 2:1-11"Honesty and openness is always the foundation of insightful dialogue."Bell Hooks
2025-01-1909 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-01-12 In The CrowdIsaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29: The Voice of God in a Great Storm, A Psalm of David; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22“The baptism of Jesus demonstrates abiding solidarity with humanity, particularlyexpressed in Luke’s account. Jesus is with everyone else who is being baptized thatday. His presence as the intersection of human and divine does not becomerevealed until after the rite has concluded and all the people have been baptized.His humble approach to his ministry as well as his generosity in sharing hisexperiences and divine access are defined from the onset. Heaven opened for allof them just as John bapt...
2025-01-1212 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2025-01-05 The Winding RoadIsaiah 43:16-21; Matthew 2:1-12BREATH PRAYER INHALE: Each twist and turn EXHALE: Invites me to follow you.
2025-01-0509 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-11-24 Growing TogetherJoel 2:21-27; Psalm 126: A Harvest of Joy; 1 Timothy 2:1-5; Matthew 6:25-33"Hold on to what is good, even if it's a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe,even if it's a tree that stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do, even if it's a longway from here. Hold on to your life, even if it's easier to let go. Hold on to my hand,even if someday I'll be gone away from you."Crowfroot
2024-11-2411 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-11-17 My Heart is OverflowingMARK 13:1-8; 1 Samuel 1:4-20, 2:1-10; {inhale....exhale...}
2024-11-1711 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-11-10 Lifting up the UnexpectedMark 12:38-44; Psalm 146; Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17“The wealth of a soul is measured by how much it can feel… its poverty by howlittle.”Sherrilyn Kenyon
2024-11-1013 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-11-03 Love Beyond OriginMark 12:28-34; Psalm 146: Praise for God’s Help; Ruth 1:1-18"The child in each of us knows paradise. Paradise is home. Home as it was or homeas it should have been. Paradise is one’s own place, one’s own people, one’s ownworld, knowing and known, perhaps even loving and loved. Yet every child Is castfrom paradise— Into growth and destruction, Into solitude and new community, Intovast, ongoing change."Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents“
2024-11-0310 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-10-13 Tribulations of JobMark 10:17-31; Psalm 22:1-15; Job 1: 1, 2:1-10, 23:1-9, 16-17“We are a product of the immense torque that propels this universe. We are notindividuals but a great accumulation of all that lived before.” Tanya Tagaq
2024-10-1312 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-10-06 Table WholenessMARK 10:13-16; ACTS 2:42-47; ISAIAH 55“When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them,you’re inviting a person into your life." Maya Angelou
2024-10-0609 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-09-29 Deliverance as HistoryMark 9:38-50; Esther 7:1-6; 9-10, 9:20-22; Psalm 124: Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.”-James Baldwin
2024-09-2913 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-09-22 Strength in ServiceMark 9:33-37; James 3:13-4:3; Psalm 1; Proverbs 31:10-31: Ode to a Woman of Strength“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And youhave to do it all the time.”Angela Davis
2024-09-2210 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-09-15 Wise CounselMark 8:27-30, 34-38; Psalm 19: God’s Glory in Creation and the Law;Proverbs 1:20-33: The Call of Wisdom“The street is a river of life and I wade into it with a deep respect.”Bob Dylan
2024-09-1510 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-09-08 Living FaithPsalm 125: The Security of God’s People; James 2:1-10, 14-17; Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23"To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold ofthe water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and so youfloat."-Alan Watts
2024-09-0813 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-09-01 Giving Voice To RelationshipMark 7:1-2, 5-8, 22-23; James 1:19-27; Song of Songs 2:8-13: Springtime RhapsodyDo not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you. Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion. Set your life on fire.-Rumi
2024-09-0113 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-08-25 Dwelling PlacesJohn 6:60-69; Psalm 84:The Joy of Worship in the Temple; 1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43A Christian is the dwelling place of the living God. He created me, he chose me, He came to dwell in me, because he wanted me. Now that you have known how much God is in love with you it is but natural that you spend the rest of your life radiating that love.-Mother Teresa
2024-08-2513 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-08-18 Wisdom of SolomonJohn 6:51; Proverbs 9:1-6; 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14Praise for God’s Wonderful Works Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of honor and majesty is God’s work, and God’s righteousness endures forever. God has gained renown by wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful. Provides food; God is ever mindful of covenant. God has shown the people the power of God’s works, in giving t...
2024-08-1813 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-08-04 Changing TimesPsalm 130: Waiting for Divine Redemption: A Song of Ascents; 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Ephesians 4:25-5:2We light this flame to remind us: love is the center. As we grow and connect, mature and deepen: love remains the center. When the light of truth burns all else away: love remains.-Eric Hepburn
2024-08-0411 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-07-28 WrongdoingPsalm 145:10-18; 2 Samuel 11-12“Tomorrow is always another day to make things right.”-Lauryn Hill
2024-07-2814 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-07-21 Temporary Dwelling PlaceMark 6:30-34; Ephesians 2:1-22; 2 Samuel 7:1-14“Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God.Peace is the nurse of love. Peace is the mother of unity. Peace is the rest of theblessed souls. Peace is the dwelling place of eternity.”-Pope Leto I
2024-07-2111 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-07-14 DancingPsalm 24: Entrance into the Temple. Of David; 2 Samuel 6:1-5; 12-19“The ordinary world really is capable of hosting the infinite being.”-Rev. Richard Lischer
2024-07-1413 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-07-07 What If We Got It All Wrong (Guest Rev. Cathy Porter)Leviticus 19:18; 1 Corinthians 13:1-7"A life without love is like a year without summer."-Swedish Proverb
2024-07-0714 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-06-30 The Tale of David and JonathanSelections of1 Samuel 20& 31, 2 Samuel 1; Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15, 2:23-24; Psalm 30: Thanksgiving for Recovery from Grave Illness: A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David."If you're not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all humanactivities — the expression of love — then life itself loses its meaning."-Harvey Milk
2024-06-3013 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-06-23 Faith, Action, CovenantMark 4:35-41; 2 Corinthians 6:2-11; Selections of 1 Samuel 17:1-18:16"We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love. That’s okay." - Laverne Cox
2024-06-2312 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-06-16 Keeping the SheepMark 4:26-34; Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15; 1 SAMUEL 15:34-16:13“Your gifts, leadership, purpose—none of it is about you. Instead, a life of significance is about serving others. It’s about guiding those who need your talents—those gifts, that leadership, and purpose.”-Kevin Hall
2024-06-1612 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-06-09 Be One“Rebirth” Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson; John 17:21-23 “Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.”-Jacqueline Woodson
2024-06-0909 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-06-02 Sabbath KeepingMark 2:23-3:6; Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18 The Inescapable God; 1 Samuel 3:1-10; 2 Corinthians 4:5-10 “Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male all may rest as well as you. Remem...
2024-06-0213 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-05-26 Moving Beyond The Unknown“Wonder then is a force of liberation, it makes sense of what our souls inherentlyknow we were meant for. Every mundane glimpse is salve on a wound, instructionsfor how to set the bone right again. If you really want to get free, find God on thesubway, find God in the soap bubble. Me, I meet God in the taste of my grandmaschicken, I hear God in the raspy leather of Nina Simone’s voice, I see the face ofGod in t...
2024-05-2615 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-05-19 Pentecost Beats“inheritance” “ours is no solitary journey we are invited to travel accompanied by generationscalling us into our deeper selves whispering to us of our wisdom and strength”-Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia ThompsonPsalm 104:24-34, 35b; John 15:26-27
2024-05-1912 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-05-12 Choosing“While you’ll feel compelled to charge forward it’s often a gentle step back that willreveal to you where you and what you truly seek.”-Rasheed OgunlaruPsalm 1; Acts 1:15-17,20-26;
2024-05-1215 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-04-21 Cornerstone & ShepherdsJohn 10:11-18; Psalm 23 (CEV); Acts 4:5-12Lucille Clifton, from “won’t you celebrate with me” “what did i see to be except myself? i made it up here on this bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand;”
2024-04-2114 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-04-17 Where do we start?Luke 24:36-48; Psalm 4: Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies; Acts 3:12-19“Sometimes, a story does not make sense as it unfolds. Complex narratives withlayers of meaning may need to be revisited time and time again to unpack theclues, metaphors, and relationships the story explores.”-Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay
2024-04-1413 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-04-07 Equity and SharingActs 4:32-35; Psalm 133: The Blessedness of Unity; John 20:19-31“Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waitson the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”-Fulton J. Sheen
2024-04-0718 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-03-31 Easter Sunday (Broken To Share)Luke 24:1-12; Luke 9:10-17The bread has been baked and broken, and now, it is ready to share. Pairing the Easter story with Luke’s story of feeding five thousand, we focus today on how the love of God expands to include everyone in need. Share the Bread of Life and confidently declare Christ is Risen!-Love Will Rise!
2024-04-0212 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-03-24 Palm Sunday - Bread of LifePsalm 118:19-29; John 6:25-35This week we celebrate Palm Sunday, the one day a year when we reallyacknowledge how desperate and confused we are. We are filled with hope andfear all at the same time, and we turn to God and to one another, never really surewhich emotions we will project. Even with all our preparations and attempts, we willfall short. We will be left feeling hungry. We still need God. We have journeyedthrough our Lenten worship...
2024-03-2412 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-03-17 Waiting for RisingPsalm 119:9-16; Luke 13:6-9, 20-21After so much work, it’s finally time to wait. It is time for the bread dough to rest, butif you watch closely, it is not resting idly. It is slowly rising. We have moved throughthis season of Lenten preparation to arrive at this moment of sabbath resting andhopeful rising. We are almost ready to follow Jesus to his last days of bread broken,shared and given for all.-Waiting for Rising
2024-03-1715 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-03-10 The Foolishness of God (Pastor Curt Weber)Micah 6:6-8; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31The cross and the church are foolishness in the world. Are they foolishness toyou? Are you willing to do your part to see the foolishness of God redeem theworld? Are you using your gift to the glory of God or was God just being foolish incentering plans in you?
2024-03-1121 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-03-04 Milling and GrindingPsalm 19: God’s Glory in Creation and the Law; Matthew 13:24-33One of the most difficult steps of making bread is milling the wheat grains into flour.It takes both time and labor. The Bible doesn’t have very many references for millingflour, so we will focus this week on the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13, in whichJesus spoke about the farmer allowing weeds to grow alongside the wheat,separating them just before milling. What is the labor that God pours into us t...
2024-03-0315 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-02-26 HarvestingPsalm 22:23-31; Exodus 16:2-5 , 13-30It is hard to find a balance in life between what God does and what we do. Whenthings are going well, how do we find a balance between gratitude for God’sblessings and celebration of our own hard work? When things are not going well,how do we balance our own frustration with trust in God’s provision? We continueour worhsip series this Sunday with a focus on harvesting, gathering the gifts of God.Harvesting is an essential part of our life together and necessary for...
2024-02-2510 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-02-18 SeedsPsalm 25: Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance; Luke 8:1-5When Jesus preached his sermons and parables, he often used illustrations relatingto everyday life at the time- farming, family, cooking and sharing meals. In order tounderstand his meaning, it is helpful for us to learn more about bread in Jesus’ time.What was the process and labor needed to produce a loaf of bread? This Sunday,we begin at bread’s beginning, with a sower and the seed. Let us join together as
2024-02-1813 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-02-11 Revelations and Confidences2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6:The Acceptable Sacrifice: A Psalm of Asaph; Mark 9:2-9“God places us in the world as his fellow workers-agents of transfiguration. We workwith God so that injustice is transfigured into justice, so there will be morecompassion and caring, that there will be more laughter and joy, that there will bemore togetherness in God's world.”-Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu
2024-02-1114 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-02-04 Power and BalancePSALM 147:1-11, 20; MARK 1:29-39; ISAIAH 40:21-31Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy,happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being ableto continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not todeny my humanity but embrace it.-Keyvin Aucoin
2024-02-0412 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-01-28 AuthorityMARK 1:21-28; PSALM 11; DEUTERONOMY 18:15-20“Scripture tells us that love “binds everything together.” It is how we are held. It ishow we exist at all. Let us reawaken ourselves to love’s presence in this communitythrough service. May our worship not be a rote motion, but rather an experience ofrelationship with you and those gathered here. Open in us what love is requiring ofus today, O God, and may we respond in faith. Amen.”- Health and Human Services Sunday
2024-01-3012 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-01-21 Will you follow?PSALM 62:5-12; MARK 1:14-20; JONAH 3:1-5,10“In an ideal world we would all learn in childhood to love ourselves. We would grow, being secure in our worth and value, spreading love wherever we went, letting our light shine. If we did not learn self-love in our youth, there is still hope. The light of love is always in us, no matter how cold the flame. It is always present, waiting for the spark to ignite, waiting for the heart to awaken and call us back to the first memory of being the life force inside a dark pl...
2024-01-2114 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-01-14 Honesty In PowerJOHN 1:43-51; PSALM 139:1-6, 13-18;1 SAMUEL 3:1-20 “I don't have many certainties about God. I do have many hopes. Chief among them is that it’s true what they say: that God is love, is made of love and looks at the faces of you and me and my gramma and, without hesitation or demand, delights. ”- Cole Arthur Riley
2024-01-1413 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2024-01-07 Heralding BrightGenesis 1:1-5; Matthew 2:1-12 Modern Herald - Audre Lorde“There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.”OPENING MEDITATION“The beginning is always today”-Mary Shelley
2024-01-0813 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-12-24 Heralding ParentsMatthew 1:18-25; Modern Herald: James BaldwinLots of angels appear in the biblical story of Christ’s birth with a consistent message,“Do not be afraid!” When the angel visits Joseph this week, he is wrestling with thecontrast of good news with the difficulties of the world. What can we hear from theangel’s message to Joseph this year? Join us on this final Sunday of Advent as weprepare for the love of God entering the world again.-Hark to Angel...
2023-12-2413 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-12-17 Heralding the WomenIsaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; Luke 1:39-55Listen to heralds of joy this week! In the story of Mary and Elizabeth, Mary was inneed of good news before she could herald for God. Before she could sing hersong, she needed to hear God’s good news and love for her first. Her herald washer cousin, Elizabeth. Who have been heralds for you reminding you that no matterwhat you are loved by God? Join as we Hark to the herald, Elizabeth, to find joy in...
2023-12-1711 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-12-10 Heralding: Waiting as Comfort?Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8John the Baptist was the herald for Jesus’ ministry. He prepared the way for Jesus bycalling for peace and justice, sometimes very bluntly. This Sunday, we will focusourselves on his message. How does his view of the good news inspire us? How doesit challenge us? Let’s Hark to the herald, John the Baptist, so we can discern God’scalling to peace.-Hark to John, Herald of the Peace of our Faith
2023-12-1011 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-12-03 What Heralds?Isaiah 2:1-5; Mark 13:24-37“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger atthe way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”-Modern Herald, Augustine of Hippo
2023-12-0312 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-11-26 Sorting It OutMatthew 25:31-46; Psalm 100: All Lands Summoned to Praise God; Ezekiel 34:11-24Hear ye, hear ye! Everywhere and all people. Lift your voices. Shout it to the mountaintops! It’s ok to have fun praising God! Don’t be shy. Bask in the joy that comes only from God. There are times for seriousness but also times for revelry! So, laugh. Loosen up. Play. Be happy. God loves to see you smile.-Maren Christine Tirabassi
2023-11-2613 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-11-19 Women's InsightMathew 25:14-30; Psalm 123: Supplication for Mercy; Judges 4:1-9Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.-Melody Beattie
2023-11-1912 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-11-12 Worshipping Right…eouslyMatthew 25:1-13; Psalm 70: Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies; Amos 5:18-24; Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-20“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”-Oprah Winfrey
2023-11-1213 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-11-04 Holding Back the WatersMatthew 23:1-12; Psalm 107:1-7; 33-37; Joshua 3:7-17Gracious God, oil the hinges of our hearts’ doors that they may swing gently and easily to welcome your coming.-Prayer from New Guinea
2023-11-0413 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-10-29 Full of Spirit and VigorMatthew 22:34-46; Psalm 90:1-6; 13-17; Deuteronomy 34:1-12“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”-Lao Tzu
2023-10-2911 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-10-22 Sight UnseenMatthew 22:15-22; Psalm 99; Exodus 33:12-23“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”-Oscar Wilde
2023-10-2213 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-10-15 Good LeadershipPhilippians 4:1-9; Exodus 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6; 19-23Hope keeps our hearts beating. It helps us see the light in the darkness. It gets us upin the morning.-Eric Mason
2023-10-1515 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-10-08 Gifts or ThreatsExodus 20:1-4, 7-9-12-20; Psalm 19; Matthew 21:33-46“Be faithful till the end. In the end, you will be fruitful.”-Gift Gugu Mona
2023-10-0816 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-10-01 Testing the LimitsMatthew 21:23-32; Psalm 78:1-4 12-16; Exodus 17:1-7“Raise a ruckus and make a change. You may not always be popular, but you’ll bepart of something larger and bigger and greater than yourself.”-Samuel L. Jackson
2023-10-0212 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-09-24 Drawing NearMatthew 20:1-16; Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45; Exodus 16:2-15“Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning.”-Karl Barth
2023-09-2415 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-09-17 Singing at the ShoreMatthew 19:13-29; Exodus 14:19-31, 15:1-11, 20-2With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise the holy name! Withall my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget God’s kindness. The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, and protects us from death. God’s kindness and love are a crown on our heads. Each day that we live, God provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle. For all who are mistreated, the Lord brings just...
2023-09-1713 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-09-10 Neighbors and FamiliesMatthew 18:15-20; Psalm 149; Exodus 12:1-14“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is farmore than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”-Fred Rogers
2023-09-1013 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-09-03 NamingMatthew 16:21-28; Romans 12:9-21; Exodus 3:1-15“Most of us have nicknames—annoying, endearing, embarrassing. But what about your true name? It is not necessarily your given name. But it is the one to which you are most eager to respond when called. Ever wonder why? Your true name has the secret power to call you.”-Vera Nazarian
2023-09-0312 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-08-27 Supporting CharactersMatthew 16:13-20; Romans 12:1-8; Exodus 1:8-2:10“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. Allthe time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”-Patrick Rothfuss
2023-08-2711 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-08-20 Family ProvidenceMatthew 15:10-28; Psalm 33; Genesis 45:1-15"Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”-Lilo And Stitch
2023-08-2015 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-08-06 Wrestling with AbundanceMatthew 14:13-21; Psalm 17:1-7, 15 Genesis 32:22-31Open wide the window of our spirits, God, and fill us with light; open wide the door of our hearts that we may receive and entertain you with all our powers of adoration and love.-Jamie Norwich McLennan
2023-08-0613 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-07-23 What will you dream?Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24; Genesis 28:10-19“It’s wonderful to climb the liquid mountains of the sky. Behind me and before me isGod and I have no fears.”-Hellen Keller
2023-07-2314 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-07-16 Feeding Your SiblingsMatthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Genesis 25:19-34“We are part of this family and we will not be divided by any person.”-Keith Boykin
2023-07-1613 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-07-09 ChildrenMatthew 11:16-19, 25-30; Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67ONE: to dare more boldly, to venture into wider seas where storms show Thy mastery, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow. MANY: Amen.-Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutuadapted from a prayer by Sir Francis Drake
2023-07-0916 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-07-02 Here I amMatthew 10:40-42; Psalm 13 Prayer for Deliverance; Genesis 22:1-14Come and create a place setting. Imagine or remember a time you hosted afamily gathering, a house guest, or a special dinner party. What were the elementsof preparation? What was your task? How do you like to help? Draw or write aboutyour favorite foods on the paper. How do your efforts help to make your guest feelcomfortable and loved?Welcomed by name Create a name tag. What is your given name...
2023-07-0216 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-06-25 Casting OutMatthew 10: 24–39; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Genesis 21:8-21Hear these words of grace and assurance taken from the words of trans artist, DéjàBaptiste: You are not alone. You are not the first or the only. There is a lineage youare inheriting. It is your courage, your faith, your spirit that sets you apart. We are notdoomed – we are not cursed. We are the blessed ones, the blessing. We areblessed to know our spirits are not only bound in our flesh; that bodies, like n...
2023-06-2511 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-06-18 Laughter as MedicineMatthew 9:35-10:8; Genesis 18:1-15“The kingdom of God is a metaphor of transformation into more creative, moreconscious, more caring, loving and fulfilling life with the fellow beings.” -Amit Ray
2023-06-1813 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-06-11 By StagesMatthew 9:18-26; Psalm 33:1-12; Genesis 12:1-9“The world will give you that once in awhile, a brief timeout; the boxing bell ringsand you go to your corner, where somebody dabs mercy on your beat-up life.” -Sue Monk Kidd
2023-06-1113 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-06-04 SabbathGenesis 1:1-2:4“The richness, beauty and depths of love can only be fully experienced in a climateof complete openness, honesty and vulnerability.-Anthony Venn Brown
2023-06-0420 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-05-28 A Day of New BeginningsNumbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:24-34; Acts 2:1-21“Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yours are the eyes with which He looks compassion on this world, yours are the feet with which He walks to do good, yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are His body. Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yo...
2023-05-2809 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-05-21 Witness TranslationLuke 24:44-53; Acts 1:6-14; John 17:1-11Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord,SelahO rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, God sends out the voice,God’s mighty voice. Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel and whosepower is in the skies. Awesome is God from your sanctuary, the God of Israel; whogives power and strength to the people. Blessed be God!
2023-05-2211 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-05-14 Commanded ReverenceJohn 14:15-21; Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”-Lao Tzu
2023-05-1412 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-05-07 Witness EnduringJohn 14:1-14; Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16“Sometimes just getting up in the morning and standing at the gate can bring the gate down.”-Joan Bauer
2023-05-0715 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-04-30 Beauty and Love Chase After MeJohn 10:1-10; Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 23 (The Message)We follow the way of Jesus. Who opens our hearts to know that our true selves areone with God, who is Love. Jesus saves us from fear, from selfishness, frommeaninglessness. He leads us to serve with compassion and act for justice. Hemoves us to curiosity and creativity. He brings us together in the community of thechurch, Where we grow in Divine Love, build with others a more heavenly world,and worship...
2023-04-2913 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-04-23 Recovery Without ResolutionLuke 24:13-35; Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19Golden breaks the dawn, comes the eastern sun over lake and lawn, new dayhas begun. Birds above me fly, flowers bloom below; through the earth and skyGod’s great mercies flow.Give me daily bread, while I do my part; bright skies overhead, gladness in myheart. Simple wants provide, evil let me shun; Jesus at my side, till the day is done.
2023-04-2316 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-04-16 Peace, A Song of AscentsJohn 20:19-31; Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133: The Blessedness of Unity: A Song of Ascents.“When Great Trees Fall” When great trees fall,rocks on distant hills shudder,lions hunker downin tall grasses,and even elephantslumber after safety.When great trees fallin forests,small things recoil into silence,their senseseroded beyond fear.-Maya Angelou
2023-04-1612 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-04-09 Easter SundayPsalm 118:1-2, 14-24; John 20:1-18“Then came the healing time, hearts started to shine, soul felt so fine, oh what a freeing time it was.” -Aberjhani
2023-04-0913 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-04-03 Palm SundayMatthew 21:1-3; Matthew 21:4-7; Matthew 21:8-11"...“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”..."
2023-04-0207 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-03-26 Reviving BonesJohn 11:1-3, 17-35, 38-44; Psalm 130; Ezekiel 37:1-14"...I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord...."
2023-03-2610 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-03-19 Shepard's ChangeJohn 9:1-11; Psalm 23 (Inclusive Psalter Project; 1 Samuel 16:1-13"...you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. ..."
2023-03-1914 min
Hummelstown UCC Podcast2023-03-12 Flowing MomentsJohn 4:5-42; Psalm 95; Exodus 17:1-7"But the people thirsted there for water,..."
2023-03-1214 min