Shows
Sermons at Portland Mennonite ChurchA Bridging Spirit & A Spirit-Filled Ministry / June 8, 2025Ordination of Kristen Swartley
Sermon: Megan Ramer
2025-06-1014 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsPrepare, Process, WeepNot a single palm frond or “Hosanna” in this year’s Palm Sunday reading. Luke’s version of Jesus’ procession toward and into Jerusalem instead records people throwing their coats on the ground. Rather than simply reaching for a fallen branch, instead those participating in Jesus’ political street theatre give something of themselves that costs them a little something; the way Pastor Megan’s spontaneously discarded cardigan resulted in a very cold experience of worship. Thank you to the child-prophets in the church who spontaneously responded by bringing their sweaters to throw into the center of our worship circle as well. We ex...2025-04-1425 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsA Gut Impulse for CompassionJesus sees a woman and is moved with compassion to respond. But what about all the other women, humans, creatures, who also needed his compassionate response??? And what about the root causes of her suffering - Shouldn’t he have fixed the systems instead??? Jesus sees a woman - really looks at her - and is moved to respond. May we who seek to follow Jesus do the same. May we, out of (legitimate!) concern for scalability and systems, never overthink our way to paralysis when given the opportunity and impulse to respond with compassion. Goodness knows, our co...2025-02-0916 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsSinging Our Holy Holy HoliesWhat does it mean to sing “Holy holy holy is God” NOT to God, but to one another? Might Isaiah’s magnificent and poetic imagery of the seraphim singing their praise of God’s holiness TO one another be received as an invitation to do the same?Sermon begins at minute marker 4:11 Scripture: Isaiah 6.1-8 ResourcesBibleWorm podcast: Episode 612 – Here I Am Send Me!, Amy Robertson and Robert Williamson, Jr.“Before I Was a Gazan,” Naomi Shihab Nye, from Everything Comes Next: Collected & New Poems (2020), 100.“A Few Rules For Predicting the Future,” Octavia E. Butler (2000), 7...2024-11-1723 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsHow NOT to be a Saint?Amidst political maneuvers, power grabs, conditional allegiances, threats, oppression, and terrible advice, a king is crowned and a kingdom divided. And precisely NOone comes out looking like a saint. We too live in violent and divided times, and while Mennonites haven’t traditionally recognized the big “S” Saints of other Christian traditions, following in the Way of Jesus does mean seeking to live as a good ancestor for those who will come after. On this All Hallowed Souls and Saints Sunday, we remember the beloved souls who, having impacted our church community, joined the communion of good SMC ancest...2023-10-2929 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsPraising God in a Time of Genocide?Is God a megalomaniac who needs our praise? Or do we praise God because WE need it? And what about those of us who struggle with “praise” given our religious histories? Or those of us who quite simply value being thoughtful, critical, reasonable, and intelligent creatures not prone to the frenetic religious fanaticism we might associate with “praise” of God? Even if we can find our way to a meaningful and reclaimed practice of praising God, how on earth are we meant to do this - or even consider this - in a time of genocide and ethnic-cleansing in Gaza...2023-10-2221 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsYou Are Beloved. Period. What if taking a break is okay? What if being Beloved is enough?Sermon begins at minute 4:09Acts 17:16-34 BibleWorm podcast: Episode 342 – Paul in Athens, Amy Robertson and Robert Williamson, Jr.“Nonprofit AF taking a break this week; here’s a picture of a kitten,” Vu Le, May 8, 2022.“The Love of God” VT 162. Public Domain. Text: F. M. Lehman (USA), c. 1917, stanza 3 based on Rabbi Meir (Germany), “Haddamut,” c. 1050, and Qur’an 31:27 (present-da...2022-05-1513 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsSent to Share LifeYes, it’s exceedingly unfair that Thomas gets such a bad rap. But that’s a sermon that’s been preached a thousand times, including several times by Pastor Megan. Instead, this week she dives deep into what she’d always previously glossed right over. Jesus says to the gathered, frightened, newly Spirit-filled disciples: “As my Abba God sent me, so I am sending you.” With a huge nod to the BibleWorm podcast Scripture geniuses, Pastor Megan wonders what it means to be sent just as Jesus was sent by Abba God. In short: We are sent to be incarnate...2022-04-2411 min
Sidebar by Courthouse NewsThe Road To NovemberNeed a primer for this year's midterm elections? We've got you covered.We talk to reporters and experts about how former President Donald Trump is still shaping American politics after losing reelection almost two years ago.The glue that binds Republicans together isn’t just "Stop the Steal" and other theories circulating about voter integrity: it’s a camaraderie built around identity and resistance to changing demographics.How is the GOP changing its messaging in "purple" districts where voters may be less keen on Trump talk and more interested in their bottom lines?...2022-03-2239 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsI can talk about gratitudeSummary: This one stumped Pastor Megan. We again ask: “Why do we worship?” And this week’s response, taken from our Voices Together hymnal, is: “To praise and give thanks.” Listen as Megan meanders through reflections on gratitude, even as she doesn’t feel very much like praising or giving thanks. And as she finds her way toward a genuine experience of gratitude, thanks to our gathering together as community for worship and shared life.Series: Summer-Ordinary Time 2021ResourcesScripture: Revelation 7.9-12Photo Credit: Megan Ramer (worship art by Lisa Bade & John Flickinger)A Rhythm of Pr...2021-09-0516 minSeattle Mennonite Church SermonsFavored and FormedSummary: Pastor Amy realizes that God plays favorites! We, God's people, are the ones who God returns to again and again, we're invited to return to God's presence to be formed in worship. In worship we are shaped by the language in song, prayer and preaching. Week after week we tell the story of God and God's favored people. We come to understand who God is and who we are in relationship to God. In the Magnificat, Mary's worship tell's God's story. She passes the scripture and story and tradition on to Jesus, who also proclaims in worship, formed and...2021-08-2919 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsResurrection, not ResuscitationLooking to the sacred text of John’s gospel, and the sacred text of creation, Pastor Megan ponders resurrection as not only a powerful Way of Life, but specifically as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic and begin our journey of return to incarnational community together. Bear witness to the powerful witness of fireweed at Lawetlat'la (name given by the indigenous Cowlitz people for the mountain many know as Mt. Saint Helens), regeneration of a renewed landscape of life, and the resilience of creation. [Sermon begins at 19:42]Permission to podcast the music in this service ob...2021-05-3047 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsA Dispute AroseActs tells us that as the community of disciples grew in number, “a dispute arose…” Not shocking for any of us who have ever been part of any human community: As numbers grow, disputes are surely to arise! This story of the early Jesus-following community trying to figure out how to organize themselves in the wake of Jesus’ death and resurrection, as their numbers are growing by the day, offers some insight into our own adventures in being community together. May we have ears to hear, and the grace to receive the Holy Spirit’s disruptions of our best laid...2021-04-1852 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsBad at Math; Good at PartiesJesus’ parables contain an “excess of meaning” which makes preaching three of them on a single morning quite the challenge. What is one to do with the excess upon excess upon excess?? Instead of choosing just one sermon of the hundred variations a preacher might preach, Pastor Megan offers a whole series of vignettes, noticings, wonderings, sneak peeks of the sermons that might have been and might still could be. “I can talk about…” becomes a refrain for noticing the many noteworthy things in the stories of a shepherd with 100 sheep, a woman with 10 coins, and a father with two son...2021-03-0752 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsI'm sorry. I'm listening. I'm learning.Today, we tented with some Black Anabaptist kindred: Osheta Moore, Jerrell Williams, and Glen Guyton. Sister Osheta called her "Dear White Peacemakers" following to show up for anti-racism in better ways than we are. Pastor Megan follows her lead: I'm sorry. I'm listening. I'm learning. Also: Mennonites & Police Abolitionism - if we don't have the ancestors we need in this work, then our call is to BECOME the ancestors we wish we had. [sermon begins at 22:10]+++PHOTO: "Defund SPD," by Megan Ramer, June 2020+++Permission to podcast the music in this service obtained from One License...2020-06-0754 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsThe rest is commentary - Zoom Church (3/22/20)Our new rhythm of gathering for zoom church from our respective homes each Sunday morning prompts Pastor Megan to claim with more regular intention her occasional practice of sharing a "sermon-in-a-sentence." This week's scriptural reflection can be distilled to this: "The heart of our faith is love of God, neighbor, self; all the rest is commentary." Tune in to hear a bit of that commentary, and to join your church community in praying and singing and recommitting ourselves to God's shalom vision of a just peace for all creation. May we hold on to one another in these days...2020-03-2335 min
Seattle Mennonite Church SermonsI can talk about ... forgivenessPastor Megan dives into both the thorns and roses of Matthew 18 and dares to say a few things about the fraught and tender topic of forgiveness. [Photo by Megan Ramer, Warm Beach WA]2019-03-1015 min
Daytime ConfidentialDC #876: Best & Worst of 2017 in Soaps Part 2The Daytime Confidential gang returns for Part 2 of the Best and Worst of 2017 in Soaps. Join Luke Kerr, Jamey Giddens, Mike Jubinville and Jillian Bowe as they dive into the rest of Daytime Confidential's epic year end extravaganza! Most Tortured Couple or Triangle: Best Storyline: Worst Storyline: Best Scene: Worst Scene: Guy whose chestnuts we want roasted over an open fire: Biggest ho ho ho: Glittery Hoo Hoo of the Year: MP (magical penis) of the Year: Most in Need of some Lovin...2018-01-012h 47
Daytime ConfidentialDC #845: Best and Worst of 2016 Part 2On this week's Daytime Confidential podcast Luke Kerr, Jamey Giddens, Jillian Bowe, Mike Jubinville and Melodie Aikels wrap up the year by looking back at the Best and Worst of The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless in 2016 Join the DC gang by sharing your picks for this episode's categories. Best Storyline: Worst Storyline: Best Scene: Worst Scene: Guy whose chestnuts we want roasted over an open fire: Biggest ho ho ho: Glittery Hoo Hoo...2016-12-053h 03
Daytime ConfidentialDC #813: Best and Worst of Soaps in 2015, Part 3On today's Daytime Confidential podcast Luke Kerr, Jamey Giddens, Jillian Bowe, Sara Bibel, Mike Jubinville and Melodie Aikels end 2015 with Part 3 of the Best and Worst of 2015, in Soaps.
The DC crew reveals their picks for Biggest Ho Ho Ho Ho, Gliterry Hoo Hoo of the Year, Most in Need of a Love Interest, Most in Need of a Roll in the Hay, Read a Book (Dumbest Character), Einstein Award (Smartest Character, Soap Opera Scenery Chewer of the Year, Hall of Shame, The CHarity Ramer Award for Babies Who Don't Know Where They Are, The Megan McTavish...2015-12-211h 31Daytime ConfidentialDC #656: Best and Worst of 2011 Part 2On today's Daytime Confidential podcast Luke Kerr, Jamey Giddens, Jillian Bowe, Regan Cellura and Melodie Aikels continue to reveal their picks for Soap's Best and Worst of 2011. During the episode they announce they reveal who they believe deserves Guy Whose Chestnuts we Want Roasted Over an Open Fire, Biggest Ho Ho Ho, Glittery Hoo Hoo of the Year, MP of the Year, Most in Need of a Love Interest, Most in Need of a Roll in the Hay, Dumbest and Smartest Character, Soap Opera Scenery Chewer of the Year, Hall of Shame, The Charity Ramer Award for Babies Who...2011-12-2044 minDaytime ConfidentialDC #655: Best and Worst of 2011 Part 1On today's Daytime Confidential podcast Luke Kerr, Jamey Giddens, Jillian Bowe, Regan Cellura and Melodie Aikels look back at the year in soaps and reveal their picks for Soap's Best and Worst of 2011. The three-hour episode was so big it had to be broken up into two episodes. In Best and Worst of 2011 Part I the DC gang announce their choices for Most Improved Actor or Actress, Most Improved Male or Female Character, Biggest Waste of Male and Female Talent, Most in Need of a Makeover, Most in Need of a Story, Best Stunt Casting, Dreams Really Do Come...2011-12-201h 52
East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church17May09 - Megan Ramer - AudioA Mad Spirit of Holy Proportions2009-05-1723 min