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Just the Beginning
Senior Pastor Candidating Sermon, Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
December 4, 2011
2 Peter 3:8-15a, Mark 1:1-8
If you were to guess the number of hours in your life that you have spent waiting, how many do you think that might be? According to one source , the average person in our culture spends about 42 to 62 minutes every day waiting. That’s an amazing statistic. It works out to be about 315 hours a year, if I’ve done the math correctly.
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Meeting Mrs. Lappidoth
Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
November 13, 2011
Judges 4:1-10
Now, really – who says reading the Bible is boring? Deborah’s story reminds of the first office job I ever held after college and my boss at that time. I was twenty-four years old with a degree in English, and not very many ideas about how I was going to use that degree. I applied to the marketing company that employed my best friend and was hired on the spot as a junior secretary. To this day I am certain that my friend was able to get me the job by begging, because I had absolutely no typing or computer skills.
But, she got me the job and I was so grateful. After spending a few intensive training weeks in the typing pool, I was dispatched to work for one of the Vice Presidents in the Direct Marketing branch of that company. Let’s call her Janelle.
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By: Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
Matthew 14: 22-33
I spent a week recently at Silver Lake, leading a conference for 5-6th graders called “Clowns for God” with Cynthia Robinson. It was a theater arts camp which focused on holy humor and storytelling. Each time we gathered, we took turns telling a joke – both to get the attention of the young people and to help them build a joyful community.
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John 17: 1-11
Dear 2011 Confirmation Class,
Believe it or not, here we are – Confirmation Sunday! Sue, Bill, John and I are so proud of you - your commitment to be a part of this group, and of your decision to say yes to your baptism and join this church as adult members. The year we had together was full of laughter, joy and even some tears. Some of my favorite memories of you include:
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Reverend Jennifer M. Gingras
8:45 service
John 17: 1-11
They came together in an orientation meeting last September, eighteen freshman, squished into the parlor with their parents and confirmation teachers – our 2011 confirmation class. Scanning the room, it was obvious that maybe some of them didn’t want to be there. The group was made up of a number of artists – musicians, actors, future comedians, as well a good contingent of jocks – lacrosse players, basketballs players, skiers. Most (not all) had been baptized here in this church as babies, attended Sunday school, VBS, Silver Lake and PF.
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By: Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
April 24, 2011
A friend of mine told me a story about one of the deepest conversations she ever had about God. It wasn’t in her Yale Divinity classroom, or even on a mission trip. She was a student in seminary, and as ministry students sometimes do, she had spent the morning covering the pulpit for a local church whose minister was on vacation.
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By Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
Matthew 28:1-20
It is such a blessing for me to look out at so many of your beautiful faces this morning! It fills me with joy to celebrate with you on such a Holy Spirit filled church holidays. I wonder, which of the Christian holidays do you think gets the most attention? Is it Easter? Probably not. That distinction likely goes to Christmas.
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By: Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
April 3, 2011
John 9:1-17, Ephesians 5:8-14
I suppose by now, everyone knows that it’s all right. When I was growing up, no one in my family would take the risk. After all, what if someone found out? To tear it off would just be wrong; it says so in plain black and white. I am referring, of course, to that little white tag that sticks out from the bottom of your mattress or sofa, the label with the warning that it must never be torn off – under penalty of law!
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By: Janet Schmitz
Many of you know my son Jonathan, who is home from college this week. I remember a time when I was out shopping shortly before he was born. I was in the changing rooms of a large store; a few doors down I could hear a little girl whining to her mother. This child was not happy about their shopping trip; the day was too long, there too many stops, she was hungry, didn’t like the clothes she was trying on; the mother’s replies remained calm as the little girl went on and on. Then this child started to cry and yelled at her mother in a loud voice “I hate you Mommy”. Oh my goodness, I remember thinking, my child will never say or think such a thing about me! I won’t embarrass my son now by asking him to confirm that naïve notion. My thoughts were quickly interrupted by this mother’s still calm response said with humor and love to her little girl, ‘you will forgive me dear when we get to the other side of the store and you want something’.
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By: Cheramie DiMenna
Good morning. For those of you who do not know me please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cheramie Lee DiMenna and I’ve been a member of MCC for a little over 3 years. I’m originally from Louisiana and moved to Connecticut 10 years ago. I stumbled upon MCC as my church home due to Pete marrying my husband and me. My husband was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church and I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church but neither one of us was practicing either faith at the time.
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By The Reverend John Collins
February 20, 2011
We begin this morning with another marvelous scene from the Gospel of Mark. Here we find Jesus, as we often do, sitting with his disciples and others, enjoying a meal. Theologians often refer to these recurring scenes of Jesus eating with people as, “Table Fellowship In The Kingdom Of God.” Our story in Mark has Jesus in the house of Simon in Bethany, but this amazing moment, with variations, appears in all four gospels. Today, I’d like you to imagine yourself sitting there in Simon’s house, listening, eating and relaxing, when a woman comes into the room, approaches Jesus, breaks open an very expensive flask of oil and pours it on Jesus’ head. Can you feel the sense of awkwardness and surprise? Can you imagine being in a restaurant with friends and having it happen to you? Who is this woman? Why is she doing this. The moment is filled with drama!
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By the Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
Matthew 6:24-34
I’d like to tell you a story about the most anxious person I have ever known. Misty was 10 years old the first summer she came to Silver Lake. She was a tiny thing, probably weighed no more than 80 pounds soaking wet. When she approached my registration table I was taken aback by how very young she looked. She had big brown eyes hidden behind thick glasses with round frames. Her hair was gathered in two braids which fell almost to her waist. She wheeled behind her a large pink suitcase filled with just about anything a young girl might need at summer camp.
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BE WHO YOU IS
By :The Reverend John Collins
February 13, 2011
As I begin my message to you this morning, I invite you to walk into this extraordinary discussion Jesus is having with the authorities of his day. They’re all there, the Chief Priests, Scribes and Elders, some Pharisees and Sadducees…and they are there for one reason, to try and discredit Jesus and his teaching. So they are asking him tricky questions hoping he’ll trip up and they can arrest him.
This debate begins with the Chief Priests who start out by challenging his authority, basically asking for his credentials, and then the Pharisees follow up with the famous trap, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?” Obviously they think that if he says yes, the crowd will turn against him, and if he says no, they can report him to the Romans. Jesus of course gives the clever answer, “Give to the emperor the things that belong to the emperor, and to God the things that are God’s.” The crowd loves it.
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By: Rev. John Collins
First Corinthians 13: 1-8a
Well, good morning again and let me say, it’s great to begin my time here in Monroe as your Interim Senior Minister. And my message to you this morning begins with one of the aspects of doing this work which is that, as an interim minister, I’ve done a lot more driving than I used to in order to get to the churches I’ve served throughout the state. So I read bumper stickers. Don’t you? And, among the political, religious and other bursts of self expression people put on their cars, was a profound thought I hadn’t seen in a long time. It is a wonderful quote from Gandhi which says…BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD.
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“Imagine That!”
Rev. Jennifer M. Gingras
1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Matthew 5:1-12
I wish that I was able to watch the entire President’s State of the Union address this week, but as luck would have it, it took place on the night of a council meeting. I was able catch some of the reporting afterward, and heard quite a bit about the new civility between Republicans and Democrats.
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Reverend Jennifer M. Gingras
1 Cor 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-23
Once upon a time, a newly ordained minister ran across a rather serious problem in her new church. During the Sunday morning worship service, when it came time to pray, half the congregation stood up to pray and the other half remained seated. The tension during that prayer time was overwhelming, with each camp carefully peeking through half closed eyes to be certain that at least their side were unified. Later on, during coffee hour, both sides shouted at each other, insisting that their way was the true tradition. Nothing the young minister said or did seemed to be able to solve the division.
Finally, in desperation, the young pastor went and found the 99-year-old minister who had originally founded the church. Close to tears, the young minister proceeded to tell him all about the troubles that she was having.
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By: The Rev. Jennifer Gingras
Isaiah 42:1-9, Matthew 3:13-17
There was a day once when I was in over my head… literally. I was about 10. I was never a good or a strong swimmer, even though I grew up in a beach town. My family was on a two week vacation with my grandmother. She had splurged that year and rented a cottage right on the shore, adjacent to Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island.
On the second morning we were there, my family decided to pack up our folding chairs, umbrellas and coolers and head to the beach. It was in that moment, when the rest of them were busy, that I slipped out the sliding door on to the deck. You see, I was bored with waiting for all of them to get their act together and decided that I’d sneak out and meet them on the beach. I grabbed an inner tube and ran down to the water’s edge.
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Christmas Eve Family Service Meditation
By The Reverend Jennifer M. Gingras
December 24, 2010
For many of us, Christmas Eve is one of the gentlest nights of the year. All the bustle of preparation is over (at least, it should be!) We gather here, in this lovely candlelit meetinghouse, surrounded by family and friends. Memories of quiet, peaceful churches emerge from the dusty recesses of our minds. Familiar sounds and smells and tastes enfold us with comfort and delight.
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Christmas Eve Quiet Service Meditation
By The Reverend Jennifer M. Gingras
On Monday night a crew of about sixteen people from this church went to serve a community meal for the homeless, unemployed and underemployed at St. George’s Church in Bridgeport. It’s something we do six times a year, with the help of this generous church community. At the end of the meal we were able to give all seventy guests a Christmas gift - three pairs of warm, new socks. The folks there were so grateful, and wanted me to relay their thanks to all of you.
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By the Reverend Doctor Peter W. Allen
Matthew 1:18-25
Friends, travelers, seekers, guests, regulars: Welcome and Merry Christmas! If you are here for the first time or are retuning after an absence, a special welcome to you and I hope you feel at home in this special place on this night full of wonder and joy.
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