Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                               June 26, 2022 1 Peter 2:4-10                                                                                                “Come As You Are”       For the closing worship of the MN Conference Annual Meeting, our guest preacher was Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis.  He is the new professor of Christian Ethics and Social Transformation at United Theological Seminary, the UCC seminary in Minnesota.  It is […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                               June 19, 2022 Matthew 15:21-28                                                                                “How Are the Children?” Some years ago, when I was working for the UCC’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries, I organized a gathering for the leaders of the UCC’s child and family service organizations.  It was filled with educational opportunities, resource and […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                                 June 5, 2022   Acts 2:1-17                                                                                                                   “Our Story” There is something that has always bothered me about the Pentecost story, and it is this – in a story that has an unusual amount of detail, compared to other stories in the scripture anyway, I think a really important detail has […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                               May 29, 2022 Acts 1:1-11                                                                                                       “Is This the Time?” The final question the disciples asked Jesus was, “Rabbi, is this the time when you will restore sovereignty to Israel?”             In this pleading question asked of Jesus in his final moments with them, we hear our own questions as disciples […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                                  May 8, 2022   Deuteronomy 18:15-22                                                             “We Need to Talk about Bruno” A few months ago a phenomenon swept the nation – the Disney animated film ‘Encanto’.  I had never seen such a swift and overwhelming love for a movie.  Even me, and I don’t enjoy watching movies, watched it […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                               April 3, 2022 Luke 13:18-21                                                                                                  “Weeds and Pests”      While I have no scientific evidence to back up this claim, I think it is pretty safe to say that buckthorn is one of the most despised plants in our corner of the world.  An invasive species that was originally brought over […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            March 27, 2022 1 John 4:7-12                                                             “They Know We are Christian by our…” I want to begin with a story that for those who are participating in the Lenten book study will find familiar.  In fact, I am reading right from Holy Envy by Barbara Brown Taylor. “In her book […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            March 20, 2022         Genesis 3:8-21                                                                                     “Naming and Reclaiming” I think it is important that we begin our consideration of this story by first naming aloud the various ways this text has been interrupted throughout the generations and in Christian doctrine.  As we do so, we will see how […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                            March 13, 2022         Genesis 3:1-7                                                                                                     “Tests and Trials” When I was a chaplain resident in the children’s hospital at Mayo, I had a patient, about 6 years old, who was going to be having extensive surgery.  I didn’t know him very well, pediatric chaplains spend most of their time […]

Rev. Danielle K Bartz                                                                                              March 6, 2022 Genesis 2:7-9, 15-25                                                                      “Beloved Is Where We Begin” As we settle in for the season of Lent, we return to our most ancestral story, to remind us that we are all earthlings, creatures of earth, of the soil we till, the soil to which we shall return.  There is both dignity […]