A Dialogue on the Nature of Sacrifice

Preached at Zion UCC, Arendtsville PA  on November 8, 2009

By William Jeff Davis and Rev. Kim Blocher

On the occasion of a Veteran’s Day Observance

Introduction – Kim Blocher

When I began to consider our Veteran’s Day observance and how to plan worship, the first thing I had to consider was the assigned scripture reading.   When I saw that it was Hebrews, with an emphasis on Jesus as a sacrifice, it seemed a perfect reading to explore on this particular Sunday.  Sacrifice is a word that we throw around pretty freely, and yet seldom pause to consider what it really means.  This seems an excellent occasion to do just that.

May 24, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend

If Peace is Possible in Rwanda…

This past year our book group read a harrowing memoir of the civil war in Rwanda, Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza.  This amazing story is told by a young survivor of the terrible conflict.  The civil war and resulting genocide happened 15 years ago, although it does not seem that long ago.  Rwanda has not been in the news in the past few years.  And that is a good thing.  Rwanda has very quietly, without any international fanfare, begun the long road to stability and reconciliation.   In the course of a hundred days nearly a million people of the Tutsi minority were massacred by the Hutus. A recent article in the New Yorker (May 4, 2009 by Philip Gourevitch) chronicles this amazing rise from the ashes.  Excerpts: 

May 10, 2009

Growing a Vineyard

Planting a vineyard is long-haul gardening.  Typically it takes three years for a vineyard to come on line and begin producing grapes.  Grapes are one of the most ancient crops known to humans.  Information from Penn State about grape growing is very specific, and very helpful as we approach the metaphor used by Jesus in today’s reading.