Rev. Cari Copeman-Haynes

For today’s Stump the Preacher sermon, Rev. Cari jumped off a real-life event which had happened the Sunday previously at the close of worship. So this sermon, regarding Jesus’ encouragement to offer humble and open-hearted hospitality, is addressing a specific incident in the life of the congregation. She is preaching on Luke 14:7-14, and referring…

For the 6th Stump the Preacher sermon, Rev. Cari was given the task of addressing the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians, a text she had never preached on before. The requester’s specific problem was with the text’s suggestion that Jesus would be returning as a punishing avenger… a question of both the apocalyptic nature of…

Our fourth Stump the Preacher sermon for 2019 was on the topic of finding joy. Rev. Cari drew on the words of Paul to the church in Philippi (Philippians 4:1-9) but also on Ezra 3, and referenced the second chapter of Philippians as well. The paradoxical nature of our faith was much in evidence during…

The second Stump the Preacher sermon for the summer of 2019 was preached in response to a query about John 14:1-14, and in particular, the sentence from verse 6, “No one comes to Abba God except by me.” The requester asked, “How does this text guide our relationships with people of other faith traditions?” This…

For the first “Stump the Preacher” sermon of 2019, Rev. Cari takes on the topic of fear, with the story of Jesus asleep in the boat when the storm comes up on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:22-25). She invites the participation of the congregation for this sermon, so there may be pauses (when folks…

Good thing God has a sense of humour! For Trinity Sunday, Rev. Cari is preaching on Romans 5:1-5. As she invokes the presence and work of her first New Testament Professor, the late Dr. Lloyd H. Gaston, she puts her foot in her mouth with our beloved retired minister, the Rev. Edith Baird. However, since…

We worshipped together as all ages for Pentecost Sunday, so there was no “sermon” today. But here is the storytelling moment when Rev. Cari shared the story of Pentecost day (loosely based on Acts 2:1-20 — with some help from the congregation), followed by an account of I Corinthians 12:4-11, about the gifts the Holy…

Yet another sermon in our “Holy Shift” series, this time focussing on Acts 16:6-15. There are a lot of hard to pronounce Biblical place names in this story about the travels of Paul, Silas and Timothy! They have a hard time with the Holy Spirit “preventing” them from travelling to certain places. Eventually, they land…

Another sermon in the “Holy Shift: God’s Unsettling Surprises” series: this time on the story from Acts 11:1-18. Peter is responding to believers in Jerusalem who have accused him of eating with the wrong kind of people. When the dividing lines are clear between “who is in” and “who is out” the holy shift that…

As will become apparent when you listen to the sermon, we do not change ourselves. God is at work, making invitations, nudging us and sometimes unmistakably moving us toward meaning, belonging and usefulness. This sermon is about the conversion of Saul, as found in Acts 9:1-20. Maybe you will hear something of your own experience…