secretary6301

August 16th marks the 12th Sunday after Pentecost. This week, in the sermon series, "Crowded Table", Rev. Dr. Sam Parkes' sermon "Even Dogs Get Crumbs" will focus on Matthew 15:21–28. We draw circles around our tables — of worthiness, belonging, who counts as neighbor — and dress those circles up as theology or tradition. We are usually sincere about it. That is what makes it so dangerous. The woman outside the circle refuses to accept her exclusion, and Jesus — remarkably, uncomfortably —...

August 9th marks the 11th Sunday after Pentecost. This week, in the sermon series, "Crowded Table", Rev. Dr. Sam Parkes' sermon "Get Out of the Boat" will focus on Matthew 14:22-32. The most dangerous place in this story is not the water — it is the boat, where the disciples huddle watching someone else take the risk of showing up fully. Isolation feels like safety, but it is its own kind of drowning. Jesus does not wait on the shore for Peter to get his faith together. He comes across the...

August 2nd marks the 10th Sunday after Pentecost. This week, in the sermon series, "Crowded Table", Rev. Dr. Sam Parkes' sermon "Everybody Eats" will focus on Matthew 14:13-21. We live in a world of carefully managed scarcity — not enough time, money, or room — and we have learned to protect what little we have rather than share it, because sharing feels like losing. Jesus takes what is insufficient, gives thanks anyway, breaks it, and distributes it until everyone has enough and the...