Text: Colossians 1:11-20 “Come, ye thankful people come,” wrote Henry Alford in 1844, “Raise the song of harvest home; all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin; God, our Maker, doth provide, for our wants to be supplied; come to God’s own temple come, raise the song of harvest home.” I love Thanksgiving hymns. I love the way they celebrate the goodness of God, the bounty of land and sea, the richness of life itself. When I sing Thanksgiving hymns, I feel the war

Text: Mark 12:38-44 What was her name? I wish I knew. I wonder if anyone in that sanctuary knew it or if she was just one more of the nameless poor who wandered in and out, barely noticed, if at all. In Mark’s Gospel, she holds titles rather than a name – Woman. Poor. Widow. Her titles cast her among the nameless crowd of people prayed for by the supposedly More Fortunate at each Sabbath service. What was her name? I wish I knew it. I wonder if Mark did? If so, he never tell

Text: Jeremiah 32:1-3a; 6-15; Revelation 21:1-6a Election Day draws nigh and with it comes the political rhetoric of “happily ever after.” Like the prince waking Snow White with a kiss, hapless hobbits defeating the deathly forces of Mount Doom, Aslan conquering the evil queen of Narnia, Harry Potter vanquishing Voldemort, “happily ever after” stories suggest that no matter what the current circumstances, good will finally prevail over evil. And, in “happily ever after” poli