Tag Archives: Jesus

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

God is Trans (2023)

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading: Jesus At The Gay Bar by Jay Hulme Before images of God, I had white Jesus. Hung in a picture frame in my childhood home. You can see his perfectly groomed beard and goatee, his long brown hair with soft … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Sermons, Theology | Tagged BK Hipsher, Black Theology, Channing, Enfleshed, Feminism, Feminist Theology, gender, Genderqueer, God, Healing, Images of God, Imago Dei, Jesus, Likeness to God, Metaphors of God, Non-Binary, Theology, trans, transgender, Unitarian, Unitarianism | Leave a comment

Recognition / Seen – Easter 2023

Posted on April 9, 2023 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Reading: Luke 24:12-32 Sermon My best friend from high school reached out to me last week. We’ve stayed in touch loosely over the years over Facebook, but not in any consistent way. She was in our home town for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Affirmation, Anagnorisis, Belonging, Black, Christianity, Closet, Compassion, Democracy, Diversity, Easter, Friends, Grief, Growing, Growth, Gun Violence, identity, Inclusion, Inclusivity, Jesus, Life, Love, Neighbors, Perepetia, Race, Racism, Recognition, Resurrection, Revolutionary Love, Sermon, Sermons, Sikh, TDOV, trans, Trans Joy, Transformation, transgender, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism, Universalist, Valerie Kaur, Visibility, Visible, Whiteness | Leave a comment

Outgrow Your Ghosts

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Listen to this sermon and one of my favorite conversations I’ve had in a while – with my colleague Sean Neil Barron on the Foothills Deeper Podcast. Reading: The S-I-Z-E of Your Soul Sermon: Outgrow Your Ghosts In second grade, … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Theology | Tagged Atheism, Christianity, Construction, Covenant, Diversity, Healing, Jesus, Past, Religion, Religious, Sermon, Sermons, Theology | Leave a comment

From Trembling to Telling, and From Grief to Morning – Easter 2021

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Part 1 – From Trembling to Telling Despite the bright pastels of the season, the story of Easter begins in the dark. In the earliest morning hours when night has not yet given up the fight, Easter is born in confusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons, Theology | Tagged Bible, Courageous Love, COVID, Easter, Grief, Jesus, Love, pandemic, Recovery, Salvation, Sermon, Sermons, Stories, Story, Storytelling, Tough Love, Truth | Leave a comment

What Love Means

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Part 1: Tough Love When I was an intern in the women’s prison – women would come to talk with me, as their chaplain, and they’d tell me that they knew, Jesus was the solution to their problems. When they’d say … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith Formation, Justice | Tagged Bible, Bible Stories, Caring, Change, Comfort, Commitment, Courage, Courageous Love, Creativity, Faith, Friendship, Generative Interdependence, Hebrew Bible, Interdependence, Jesus, Job, Listening, Long Haul, Love, Orientation, Resilience, Sacrifice, Sharon Welch, Showing Up, Sustain, Sustained, Tough Love, Values, Vulnerability, Witness | 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

Back to Life – Easter 2020

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

Text: Mary Oliver’s Messenger Mark’s Gospel Chapter 16 Homily Last night as I kissed my daughter’s forehead, she felt hot. In normal times I’d just think: “Teenager. Day in the sun, no big deal.” But this is not a normal time. So … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Change, Courage, Death, Easter, Hope, Jesus, Joy, Life, Rebirth, Resilience, Resurrection, Transformation | Leave a comment

Into the Dawning Day

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

This choice – this paradox of life – is at the heart of the Christian calendar this week. What is known as Holy Week. Next Sunday is Easter –which gets all the attention of course, but for me, today, a day known … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermons | Tagged Abundance, Beauty, Christianity, Forgiveness, Fragility, Gratitude, Jesus, Journey, Lent, Loss, Love, Mortality, Palm Sunday, Presence, Sermon, Sermons, Surrender | Leave a comment

Progressive Christians Ruined Me (Or, Everything Changes When You Know Their Name)

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Rev. Gretchen Haley

All I could think, as I headed into my second day of the machine of Rethink Leadership and the Orange Conference (a mostly-evangelical Christian leaders gathering) was: Progressive Christians have ruined me. Before seminary and my classmates – those brave … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog Reflections, Justice, Personal Stories, Philosophy of Church | Tagged Christianity, Christians, Colleagues, Evangelical, Interfaith, Jesus, Justice, Ministry, Orange, Religion, Religious Injury, Youth | 4 Comments