Sermons
Song of All Songs
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
I recently participated in a four day seminar on the Song of Solomon with 15 other pastors. The first thing that I learned was that this often overlooked book of the bible is more properly called the Song of Songs, or Song of all the Songs or maybe Solomon’s Greatest Song. There are references to […]
Constant Calder
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
You may or may not know that I am a fan of the artist Alexander Calder. Calder is best known for his large scale sculptures and mobiles that have bright colors and whimsical shapes. He also created paintings, drawings, wire sketches, a tiny circus, and jewelry. The National Gallery of Art has a lovely collection […]
On the Road: Hyattsville Mennonite Church 70th Anniversary
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
It was the fall of 1951… Nelson Brunk’s wife, Ruth, still remembers how the announcement of the new slate of church officials was delayed that Sunday morning, while Pastor Shenk and another church elder met with Nelson in a small room in the back of the church to try and convince him to reconsider his […]
Full to the Brim
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia. I must confess I have found it a bit jarring to think about jumping into alleluias this year after the lenten journey we have taken. We started this season with hopes held high – exploring what it means for us to live expansively, seeking that which […]
When I survey…
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
The cross – how to get rid of it, how to live with it, how to make peace with it We are entering a complex week. We call it Holy Week. Jesus arrives in Jerusalem after healing and teaching and restoring people to their families, and empowering the disempowered. His itinerant ministry and community organizing […]
Prodigal
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
This story is so true, has such resonance, that it keeps being told and retold in song (The Rolling Stones and Ry Cooder,) in art and in movies. Then there is Alison Jack who researched and wrote a book called The Prodigal Son in English and American Literature: Five Hundred Years of Literary Homecomings. There’s […]
Of Good Courage
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
I want to begin by inviting you to think about a space or place, or several if you have them, that are sacred to you. And by that I mean – places that you have been at one time – or possibly even a place you can go to again and again where your soul […]
Famished and Full
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
Way back in June of 2021, I participated in the Fast for Freedom that was sponsored by Congregation Action Network and Faith in Action. It was a communal effort with different groups of people from across the country coming to DC to fast over four weeks. We were fasting for citizenship for the 11 million […]
Transfigured
Speaker: Cynthia Lapp
Today is the last Sunday before Lent starts. Let’s enjoy the Alleluias from these mountain tops. We just heard the paraphrased story of Moses on the mountain. We sang the abbreviated version of Jesus on the mountain top with the disciples. What do these mountain top stories have to do with those of us who […]
Friends with God
Speaker: Michelle Burkholder
Hello Friends, It’s good to be together today. Here in-person and connected with those who are participating via Zoom. I’ve been thinking a lot about friendship this week. Pondering what I understand about it; what I’ve experienced in my life and considering and naming what it is I think I know or believe about friendship. […]