Publications

“Is This the Fast That I Choose?” (Isaiah 58:1-12)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

What is the fast that you will choose, the way that you will live your life to honor God and to love the world that God loves so much?

“Transfiguration” (Matthew 16:24-17:8)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

When Jesus is glitteringly transfigured on the mountain, his friends see him for all that he is. When have we been blessed as to be so accepted? How can we help the Church to become that welcoming?

“(insert knock knock joke here)” (Matthew 7:1-14, 24-29)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

We hear pieces from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount so often that it can be hard to hear anything new from them. Today, we reflect on these words by considering several translations written for several different contexts.

“Blessed Are the Peoples” (Matthew 5:1-12)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

To be blessed is to be loved by God. Today, we reflect on the Beatitudes by considering several translations written for several different contexts.

“Drawn to the Light” (Matthew 4:12-23)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

When we say “the Lord is my light,” it is an intense statement of our reliance on God. Before light, there was nothing. Without light, there could be no life at all. The Lord is my light; the Lord is my everything.

“From Generation to Generation, We Are Beloved” (Matthew 3:1-17)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

When Jesus was baptized, God's voice burst with pride to proclaim from the heavens: This is my child, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased. When we take part in any baptism, we make a similar proclamation: You are our child, our beloved, and with you we are well pleased! We will love you because God loves you.

“From Generation to Generation, We Keep Seeking” (Matthew 2:1-15)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

We all follow stars, and on our journeys towards Jesus, we all encounter many different kinds of people. Some people change our lives and become part of our chosen families as we keep seeking Jesus, no longer alone.

“The Story of the Other Wise Man,” by Henry Van Dyke

Peoples Church Office, Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

Today's message was an abridged reading of "The Story of the Other Wise Man" by Henry Van Dyke, written in 1895.

“From Generation to Generation, We Tell This Story” (Luke 2:1-20)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

Every year, we tell this story at Christmastime. Why do we tell it every year? No matter how unrelatable and even fantastical some aspects of the Christmas story may seem, we desperately long for the reminder that God loves us, understands us, and wants to live alongside us, no matter how messy, hard, and complicated it can be. We tell this story because the Word was made flesh and lived among US, which makes this story OUR story.

“From Generation to Generation, We See God in Each Other” (Luke 1:39-58)

Rev. Leia Rose Battaglia

When Mary becomes pregnant, the first thing that she did is seek companionship and support in her cousin Elizabeth, because she knew that God made humankind to live in community and because she knew that Elizabeth's love and support would give her the strength she would need to get through the next nine months.