Tag Archives: Christmas

Choosing to Love, Anyway – Christmas Eve 2023

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Readings: Homily In Bethlehem tonight, the usual extravagant Christmas celebrations have been canceled. In place of Glorias echoing across the land, there is war and grief, all across Palestine and Israel, and in Gaza. As the Mayor of Bethelhem declared today, Christmas this … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, Faith, Hope, Hopelessness, Jesus, Journeys, Justice, Love, Sermon, Sermons, Vision | Leave a comment

Gather in Storms

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading – a combination of Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s 2022 and 2023 Hanukah reflections, which end with this reflection Hanukah isn’t just about what happened in the past, on the calendar. It’s about who we are capable of being. It’s about … Continue reading →

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The Gift of Memory (Dec 2022)

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Sometimes I think about my daughter’s childhood as a matter of three phases: We are now, perhaps obviously, in phase three. The annual nativity play at Foothills only became an annual tradition in my third year here, when Gracie was 10, but by … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Bible, Christmas, Cole Arthur Riley, Collective, Community, Exodus, Healing, Holidays, identity, Memory, Past, Selfhood, Sermon, Sermons, Solstice | Leave a comment

Must We Go To Bethlehem? Christmas 2021

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading: Christmas, 1974 by May Sarton Christmas Eve Homily 2021 When May Sarton wrote her Christmas poem 47 years ago, it seemed the world was coming apart. The US president had resigned in scandal, and the country was just beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, Darkness, Hope, Light, Love, Peace, Persistence, Sermon, Sermons, Transformation, Witness | Leave a comment

Preppers, a message for the second December in pandemic

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Sermon: Preppers I have been thinking this week about the Jewish people, and the stories of Hanukkah. Hanukkah I have been thinking this week about the Jewish people and the stories of Hanukkah.Hanukkah falls early this year, the last night is … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Adaptation, Advent, Apocalypse, Apocalyptic, Christmas, Commitment, Expectation, Faith, Faithfulness, Flexibility, Grace, Hanukkah, Hebrew, Holiday, Hope, Jewish, Octavia Butler, Partnership, Plan, Planning, Prep, Preparation, Prepare, Rabbis, Transformation, Values, Waiting, Winter, Yule, Yuletide | Leave a comment

God With Us – Christmas 2020

Posted on December 24, 2020 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

It never fails that Christmas comes when I’m not quite ready. It’s a particularly problematic given my profession, but I know I’m not alone. It’s always such a shock after Thanksgiving, here comes December, and the rush of balancing it … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Christmas, Christmas Eve, Companion, Expectation, God, Grace, Hope, Human, Humanity, Jesus, Partner, Preparation, Presence, Sermon, Sermons | Leave a comment

The Moment of Magic (What We Expect in December)

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Part 1 Around this time of year, for most of my life, my family members would make a bet with each other. The bet was about if I’d get sick for my birthday, or for Christmas. They are just … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Advent, Blessing, Body, Change, Christmas, Community, Embodied, Emotion, Emotions, Expectations, Feeling, Grief, Hanukkah, Healing, Holidays, Magic, Preparation, Process, Release, Sermon, Sermons, Solstice, Transformation, Vulnerability, Winter | Leave a comment

(Don’t) Be Afraid – Christmas Eve Homily 2018

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

We live in times where fear is a regular part of life. People often feel afraid – sometimes very afraid. For themselves, for their future – for their children, for our earth, and for our world. It’s why I’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Anxiety, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Courage, Duty, Fear, Homily, Hope, Jesus, Light, Listening, Persistence, Sermon, Sermons | Leave a comment

For Memory

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading: For Memory by Adrienne Rich Sermon, “For Memory” Over the Thanksgiving holiday, two of my longest dearest friends came to visit with their new soon-to-be adopted 8-year-old son. We all met as undergrads, and even though in the last 20 years we … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Christmas, History, Holidays, Hope, Memory, Time, Tradition | Leave a comment

Christmas Eve Homily 2016

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Text: Luke 2:1-19 Homily: The Radical Story of Christmas – Mary, Jazz and Turning the World Upside Down It starts with being counted. Whether or not they wanted to make the journey, it didn’t matter. They had to go. … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Sermons | Tagged Christianity, Christmas, Hospitality, Justice, Liberation, Mary, Risk, Transformation, Vision | Leave a comment