Rev. Cari Copeman-Haynes

We worshipped together on Thanksgiving Sunday as an all-ages community, so there was no sermon this morning. After the Scripture reading for the day, Matthew 6:25-34 was shared by Gabrielle (with the children’s help), Rev. Cari told a story. For this story, Rev. Cari is indebted to the Rev. Otis Moss III, the minister at…

For the fourth Sunday in “Creation Time” Rev. Cari read selections from the last few chapters of the book of Job. In this text, full of irony, the Holy One invites Job to answer a few questions… In this sermon, Rev. Cari wonders with the congregation about how to find the “sweet spot” between despair…

For Sunday 3 in “Creation Time,” Rev. Cari picked up where she left off the week before, with a look at Leviticus 25:1-12, and an approach to “What to do” about climate change. There is no evidence that Israel ever practiced the guidelines regarding the sabbatical year and the jubilee year… But this articulation of…

It’s “Creation Time” at Crossroads, and Rev. Cari preached on the entire chapter 3 of Genesis this morning. Sometimes called the story of “original sin” or “the fall” this story about a man, a woman, and a serpent has been hugely influential in Christian theology over the centuries. Today, she looked at it through the…

On the Sunday of Rev. Cari’s return from a three-month sabbatical, she preached on a text from the first chapter (v. 16-27) of the Epistle James. Luther called this book of the Bible “an Epistle of straw” because of its emphasis on “works,” which he perceived as not being consonant with his belief in salvation…

Following on last week’s sermon (on addiction) Rev. Cari preaches today on John 15:9-17, part of Jesus’ extended words to his disciples before his death, when he commands them to love one another. In this text, he also “promotes” his disciples from followers (or subordinates) to friends, and declares that “there is no greater love…

The sermon for the 5th Sunday of the Easter season was on I John 4:7-21. In it, Rev. Cari responds to the opioid overdose crisis, and addiction in general. She also explores the Johannine community’s encouragement to “love one another” as a major task for the church as one of society’s remaining “communities of meaning…

Today’s sermon was part “Earth Day” and part “Shepherding Sunday” and concluded with an unexpected invitation to the whole congregation. Many thanks to Dennis and Sheila Linn for the story of “Holy Saturday in Hell” with which Rev. Cari opened the sermon. It’s from their book, Simple Ways to Pray for Healing.

Preaching on Luke 24:36b-48, Rev. Cari weaves together stories from her own life, from a recent visit with our Syrian Refugee family, and this “heart and gut” story about the Risen Christ. She notices in the story that the disciples begin in anxiety, move through the acknowledgment of the wounds of Jesus, and then are…

After the “palm parade” at the beginning of the service, we settled in with the reading from Philippians 2 for Palm-Passion Sunday. This sermon is a reflection on the discomfort of our age with the non-grasping, self giving humility of Jesus. It’s also an invitation to relinquish those ideas, people, or things to which we…