Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            March 26, 2022 Ezekiel 37:1-14                                                                        “Seeking: Can These Bones Live”             Immediately following the Civil War, freed Blacks in the New Orleans area formed Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs.  These organizations provided two purposes: one was social cohesion and community building.  They were forums for the newly freed Black people to come together for fellowship and […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            March 19, 2023         John 9:1-41                                                                                             “Seeking: Who Sinned?” In 2005, in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina and the levy-break that flooded the lower 9th ward of New Orleans, Franklin Graham – son of Billy Graham and conservative televangelist – said in an interview that God was punishing New […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            March 12, 2023 John 4:5-30, 39-42                                                                         “A Conversation at the Well”             When the Gospels were originally created, they were stories that were told.  Meaning, the Gospels were not written documents first, they were oral stories that were shared by the disciples and early followers of Jesus.  Eventually […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                              March 5, 2023           John 3:1-17                                                                          “Seeking: How do we begin again?” When I was a kid, I was a fan of the ‘choose your own adventure’ books.  For those not familiar, these books were usually written in the first person, meaning the main character was the reader.  You would […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                       February 26, 2023 Matthew 4:1-11                                                                “Seeking: Who Will You Listen To?”             We have entered one of the most important seasons in the church year – Lent.  It is a season of preparation for the coming miracle of the resurrection.  And it is a season of reflection, of asking questions of ourselves and our spirits.  We do […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                       February 19, 2023 Matthew 17:1-9                                                                                         “A Letter From Peter” In the second letter attributed to Peter that we find in the New Testament, he talks about the Transfiguration.  He says, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                       February 12, 2023 Matthew 5:21-37                                                            “Creation of the Beloved Community” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. popularized the phrase ‘Beloved Community.’  He used it frequently in his writings and his speeches.  In fact, in his first ever published article, about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he said the boycott’s purpose […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                         February 5, 2023       Matthew 5:13-20                                                                              “Modern Ancient Wisdom” (My sermon this morning is focusing on the second half of today’s scripture reading.  I will be reflecting on the first half, the salt and light metaphors, during my annual report later on.) In 2000, the movie ‘Keeping the Faith’ came […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                         January 29, 2023       Matthew 5:1-12                                                                       “The Foolishness of Christianity” “The message about the cross is foolishness.”  So says Paul in his opening to the first letter to the Corinthian church.  That entire passage in his letter is colloquially known as the ‘foolishness of the cross’ passage and in it […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                         January 22, 2023 Matthew 4:12-23                                                                                                          “Ordinary”             “I strive for mediocrity.”  That is something I said to my friend and colleague Pastor Rachel the other day in the car.  I was driving her to our weekly text study gathering with other clergy and we were talking about her baby […]