Rev. Cari Copeman-Haynes

Today for Transfiguration Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on the story of Jesus’ transfiguration as it is found in Luke 9:28-36. She opened a conversation with the congregation not just about transfiguration, and the text itself, but also about personal (and corporate) transformation. This story heralds Jesus’ movement toward Jerusalem, and his “exodus” (the word Luke…

For the final Sunday of this sermon series on the new Mission and Vision statements of The United Church of Canada, Rev. Cari preached on Genesis 45:3-11,15. It’s the “Hollywood ending” of the Joseph saga, in which he reveals himself to his brothers and weeps over them. Rev. Cari contends that Joseph’s behavior at that…

For this second sermon on the Mission theme of “Daring Justice” Rev. Cari preached on Luke 6:17-26. This text is Luke’s version of the beatitudes, and it is both more “practical” than “spiritual” as it blesses “you who are poor now.” It also includes a section of “woes” directed at “you who are rich now”…

For this second sermon on The United Church’s mission theme of “bold discipleship,” Rev. Cari preached on Luke 5:1-11. (She also had Isaiah 6:1-13 in the background.) The events in Ottawa were not far from her mind, as she examined both “boldness” and “discipleship” with the help of these two call stories featuring Simon Peter…

For the third sermon in the series on the new Mission and Vision statements of the United Church of Canada, Rev. Cari preached on Luke 4:14-21. The text is itself a “self-definition” statement from Jesus, proclaimed in public, in the synagogue in Nazareth. So how appropriate that it forms the basis of this sermon, on…

The second in the sermon series, Vision for a New Time, this sermon is jumping off the second of the three mission statements of The United Church of Canada, and its text is I Corinthians 12:1-13. Rev. Cari starts the sermon proper by reading a quote from Marianne Williamson that she calls “a clarion call…

With this sermon, Rev. Cari starts a new series that will span 6 weeks in total. Today, the Baptism of Jesus, she focussed on the texts for the day, Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 3:15-17 and 21-22, through the lens of “Deep Spirituality.” The United Church of Canada recently discerned new vision and mission statements, and…

Preaching on John’s prologue (John 1:1-14) for this Christmas Eve, Rev. Cari declares her own need for comfort and joy, and wonders if others feel the same as her this Christmas. A “sentimental” approach will not cut it for her this year, and so in hopes of a more robust faith, she goes on to…

For the fourth Sunday in Advent, Rev. Cari preached on another prophetic text, the Magnificat of Mary, with its preceding narrative (found at Luke 1:39-55). This story in which two pregnant women encounter one another issues in the song of praise to God in which Mary declares what God has done, is doing and always…

For the third Sunday in Advent, Rev. Cari picked up right where she left off the week before. The text was Luke 3:7-18, and we’re still on the topic of John the Baptist and his message of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” This week, we get a bit more granular, as we actually get…