It's been a long and strange 18 months since I posted a sermon. Ministry in pandemic was/is a day to day and week to week learning experience, and some usual tasks (like posting printed sermons) lost urgency.
On Sunday, June 26, I was thrilled to walk in Seattle's Pride Parade as part of the Diocese of Olympia group - sharing the message that God's love is for Everyone - no Exceptions! I preached this sermon at 8:00AM (a service that is not recorded or broadcast) before leaving for the parade.
Readings for the Day are here (Track 1).
Freedom.
The colonists arrived on the eastern shores of this continent 400 years ago in search of freedom.
A civil war resulted in a proclamation that no person may be owned by another - legally freeing hundreds of thousands of enslaved persons to earn and keep wages, to marry, to become educated and own property.
Non-native settlers gradually moved west seeking the opportunities of wide open spaces.
Women fought for legal recognition of their freedom - to vote, to earn equitable pay for their work, to control what happens to their bodies.
LGBTQ folx stood up for their rights to the same things as other people - to be authentically who God created them to be, to enjoy the legal privileges of freedom. Job security, wholistic health and mental health care, marriage and children, a safe home.
Freedom.
Is a lifetime journey.
