PLYMOUTH UCC (FORT COLLINS, CO)
Sermons
* Podcast player directly below.
* Scroll down for video of most recent sermons, click PREVIOUS to go back farther.
* If you are in a particular sermon post, click DETAILS to get tags and dates.
  • Welcome!
    • I'm New Here
    • I'm a CSU Student
    • LGBTQ+
    • How Do I Join?
    • More Questions
  • This Week at Plymouth
  • Worship
    • What is Worship?
    • Worship Online >
      • Streaming Worship
      • Worship Bulletins
      • Digital Pew Card
      • Memorial Services
    • Learn More >
      • Faith Statements
      • Sermons
      • Music Program >
        • Mark's Music Minute
        • Music Series
      • Worship Sign-Ups
  • News & Events
    • Special Events
    • e-News
    • Ongoing Announcements
    • Calendars >
      • Today's Schedule
      • Mobile Calendar
      • Full Calendar
      • Calendar Request Form
    • News Archive
  • Living Our Faith
    • Christian Formation >
      • Children
      • Youth
      • Nursery Care >
        • Child Care Handbook
      • OWL (Our Whole Lives)
      • Adults
      • Visiting Scholar
    • Outreach & Mission >
      • The O&M Board >
        • Grocery Card
      • Climate Action
      • End Gun Violence
      • FFH
      • Immigration
      • Student Support
      • The Missions Marketplace
      • Youth for Change
    • Labyrinth
  • Connect
    • Find Your Place at Plymouth
    • Contact >
      • Contact Us Form
      • Jobs
      • Clergy & Staff
      • Lay Leadership
      • Building Rental >
        • Church Use Payments
    • Our Community >
      • Fellowship
      • Gallery
      • Calling & Caring >
        • Faith Community Nurses
        • Stephen Ministry
      • Meal Signups
    • Online Connections >
      • Email Lists
      • Church App
      • Text Responses
  • Give
    • All About Giving
    • Pledge Online
    • Other Ways to Give >
      • Text to Give
      • Sustaining Gifts
      • Planned Giving
  • Member Info
    • Member Menu >
      • Budget & Financial Ministry
      • Forms & Resources >
        • General Forms
        • Constitution & Policies
        • Newsletter Submissions
        • Emergency Contact Form
        • Zoom Resources
        • Kitchen Videos
        • Mission Statement
        • Strategic Planning
      • F1Go
      • Weddings & Funerals
      • Library
    • New Members

2/27/2022

A Middle Way

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Text: Luke 9:28-36
The Message
28-31 About eight days after saying this, [Jesus] climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem.
32-33 Meanwhile, Peter and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with him. When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking.
34-35 While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: “This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him.”
36 When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless. And they continued speechless, said not one thing to anyone during those days of what they had seen.

 
For the Word of G-d in Scripture, for the Word of G-d Among Us, For the Word of G-d within us, Thanks be to G-d!
 
A Middle Way[i]
          
Holy One, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be a blessing in your sight.  Oh G-d wherever we find ourselves in this mountaintop story, may we be fed in this time together, to return and work for justice, peace and love. Amen.

Good morning. It’s a pleasure to get to be with you today and to sink into this Transfiguration Sunday with you. And be gathered in person again.  As Pastor Hal said earlier, my name is Laura Nelson. I am one of the ministers that this church has sponsored through the ordination process. This means, that you have loved and supported me as I grew from someone curious about ministry nearly 14 years ago to just finishing my first call at the Fort Collins Area Interfaith Council. As always Thank You. I served at Interfaith Council for the past 6 years. If you haven’t come across it before, the Fort Collins Area Interfaith Council is a network of 40-ish faith communities and nonprofits in and around Fort Collins. Our Mission is: facilitating interfaith understanding, cooperation and action towards the greater good in our community. We meet once a month – and when we meet in person we rotate through gathering at different faith communities and nonprofits.  Interfaith Council is 43 years old, and has been at the start of many of the crucial nonprofits in town, especially ones about affordable housing, combating homelessness and food insecurity. 

Plymouth has always had a strong relationship with the Interfaith Council. We are one of the 10 faith communities that stepped up in 1979 to work together at the very beginning. We have been one of the largest donors. And, because Plymouth has been my church home as I took this first call, that strong relationship deepened even further. So I want to take this time to share with you what we have accomplished together in the last 6 years.

We created a Celebrations of Light Documentary highlighting the many many religious festivals celebrated in the Fort Collins Area from November to January and displayed it at the Museum of Discovery. We sponsored Interfaith Friendsgiving, a town/gown interfaith dinner that brought over 200 people together each year for dialogue and celebration with a kosher meal cooked by students. We gave away over $50,000 pooled by the faith communities to local nonprofits and new interfaith projects. We organized rallies and vigils in response to the attack on the mosque and other instances of faith-based hate in town and around the country. We hosted annual Blood Drives, honoring with our bodies that there is no Jewish or atheist or Christian or Muslim or None blood, just human blood that can save lives. 

We celebrated our 40th anniversary, making a documentary about our history, offering awards to organizations we had founded, and having a community dinner with leaders past and present. During lockdown we partnered with the World Wisdoms Project to publish videos from local folks sharing how their faith traditions were helping them through the early days of the pandemic.  And after George Floyd’s murder, we entered into the messy work of talking about racial justice as a majority white organization by sponsoring 4 Town Halls on Racism in Northern Colorado.  And we worked on how to apologize as an organization, when even our best intended efforts caused harm.[ii]  Finally, we offered care to the mountain communities during and after the Cameron Peak Fire, work that has blossomed into a Community Chaplaincy program that you will hear more about.

But those are the big flashy highlights. I think our most important work happened on the person to person level. The surprise and delight members had at getting to know each other on a deep level during our gatherings. So often, people would share with me how excited they were to get to know and then work with people who held such different beliefs than them. Or how people who were working on a project in their faith community could find resources and camaraderie with others, all who hadn’t realized the others were out there. A great example of this is the Climate and Environmental Team, who gather to collaborate on climate justice issues. But they are also a space where folks working on environmental issues in their own congregations can get support from each other, especially when they meet resistance or aren’t taken seriously. 

Leading the Interfaith Council, I got to see again and again that all of those things that make us different from each other – be it faith, or age, gender, or race – make us more creative and resilient as a community.  We are Better Together precisely because of our differences, not in spite of them. I will say this again: We are Better Together precisely because of our differences. And at the Fort Collins Interfaith Council, we got to embody that together each month.

It has been an incredible organization to lead, and to participate in.  And Plymouth – whether you know it or not – has been a major part in making it all happen. Two of the rallies used our parking lots, with permission and organizing happening swiftly and seamlessly. Our Fellowship Hall was often a backup, if there was an emergency at any other host location. As a church we have offered money and volunteer support to nearly every new project that has come out of the Interfaith Council.  And, when it came time to make the case for me to be ordained to do this work, this church entered into a new type of covenant with the Interfaith Council to make it happen. 

For so many of us who attend here, being deeply a part of interfaith work can feel like second nature, just a part of how we should be as church. But let me tell you, our presence and commitment to work that honors people of different faith traditions or no faith traditions is so powerful. It builds trust among people who are suspicious of Christians, people who have been harmed by the Christian Church. And even if it isn’t Plymouth or the United Church of Christ that did the harm, it is still our responsibility to work for that healing.

So let me bring this alongside our text for this Transfiguration Sunday. Jesus heads up a mountain with Peter, John and James to pray. And during that time of prayer, Jesus’ face changes, his clothes appear dazzling white and Moses and Elijah suddenly join him. Seeing this astounding thing, Peter wants to create a monument to the moment on the mountaintop. But instead a voice booms from the clouds saying “This is my Son, Listen to him!”[iii] And, instead of a monument, Jesus continues on, with healing and teaching.

This text that is all about transformation.[iv] A transformation that reveals a deeper truth about Jesus. It shows how transformation can connect us to the long traditions. And, it is often uncomfortable. 

If I were to look at the 43 years of Interfaith Council’s history, and especially to look at the last 6 years when I served, I would say that the most important work that we did was to demonstrate that our City is Better Together. It is a deep truth that I got to see revealed again and again when people of a different faith went from strangers to friends. That friendship made us stronger and more committed to each other when challenging times arose. And it has for every disaster and challenging time that the Interfaith Council has faced in its 43 years, connecting us to a long tradition of people coming together across major differences to meet the needs of the age.

But transformation is not usually comfortable; transformation can often feel relentless. In our text, Peter suggests they build a monument. He wants to stop, to mark this as the moment when Jesus’ work was accomplished. But that’s not how transformation – or really life – works. There is always more growth to be had, more healing, more justice, more learning to be done. I am excited to witness and cheer on the transformation that will happen at Interfaith Council in the coming years.  And for my own transformation, it is time for me to explore rest and to learn a new balance before I start whatever is next for me as a minister; let me tell you it feels like a terrifying wilderness. (Big Pause)

Oh Plymouth friends, we’ve certainly been taken by transformation these past few years. And like the disciples in our text this morning, we are tired, overwhelmed, confused. All while change marches on. So as we move into this Lenten season, a traditional time for pause and reflection, how do we honor what we have been through, knowing there is more to come? Can we find a middle way between stopping to build a grand monument and moving on as if nothing has happened? How do we support each other in our very human needs for rest and processing? I hope we take these questions with us into Lent and into our lives this week.

This is a practice that has actually helped me find a middle way, and I hope you’ll join me in it. I’ve learned it while being a part of a group reading through My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. It is a body-centered approach to healing racialized trauma and working for racial justice. And it feels especially appropriate to check in with our bodies, when we are together in this space after once again having time apart. 

So, if you are here in the Plymouth building with me or at home watching the livestream, get comfortable, close your eyes if it will help, and turn your focus inward. What’s it like in your body? Are there places that feel constricted? Places that feel especially open? Does anything feel hot or cold? Is that different from before you entered the building or began this service? As as you notice those things, I invite you to just offer some loving attention to those places that are calling your attention. To be together again, or witnessing some of us be together again is a big thing and paying attention to how our bodies are responding will help us manage that experience.
 
Amen.

--------

[i] One of my goals for this sermon is to write simply, keep it short, and to keep my transitions really clear. There are times when I love being artful and cramming everything in.But one of the tenets of trauma-informed anything is to keep speeches short and simple. When brains are processing trauma, we don’t have as much capacity to process other things. And if there is anything that draws us all together right now as a people, it is that we are metabolizing a new global trauma and coming to a more public grips with many of the global traumas already present: inequality, institutional racism and authoritarianism. I’m going to try to use footnotes for the things that I am cutting in order to keep the spoken part more simplified and streamlined. Having now shared this sermon, I am even less convinced that I did this well. 

[ii] I don’t think I would have said it when I first started as a leader, but I am convinced now that being able to offer a real apology - that acknowledges harm and makes plans for how to reduce harm in the future and make restitution- is a crucial skill for any organization.

[iii] I just had a vision as G-d the angry mom trying to back up her son.  Like I have had to do on the playground at times, or want to but know it won’t necessarily be effective. I’ve never thought of the pull of “have to let them fight their own battles” as being a divine challenge before.

[iv] The Greek word in use here is the root word of metamorphosis or transformation. It’s in the Latin Vulgate that the word becomes the Latin word for “transfigure,” to make the claim that the core of who Jesus was stayed the same. That’s an interesting translation piece meditate on in a sermon, but there was not enough space here.  

Author

The Rev. Laura Nelson was most recently the  president of the Fort Collins Interfaith Council and is a member of Plymouth. She was ordained here on September 22, 2019.

Share

0 Comments
Details

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016

    Visit our sermon podcast site

    Categories

    All
    Abundance
    Accountability
    Advent
    Advent Conspiracy
    Afterlife
    All Saints' Sunday
    All Things Together For Good
    Annual Meeting Sunday
    Another Way Series
    Antiracism
    Apostle Paul
    Ascension
    Ash Wednesday
    As Long As You Need Series
    Authority
    Awakening
    Baptism
    Baptism Of Christ Sunday
    Beatitudes
    Beginnings
    Being Saved
    Belief
    Beloved Community
    Bent Over
    Blessings
    Book Of Acts
    Book Of Deuteronomy
    Book Of Ecclesiastes
    Book Of Exodus
    Book Of Ezekiel
    Book Of Genesis
    Book Of Habakkuk
    Book Of Isaiah
    Book Of Jeremiah
    Book Of Job
    Book Of Joel
    Book Of Jonah
    Book Of Joshua
    Book Of Leviticus
    Book Of Micah
    Book Of Numbers
    Book Of Proverbs
    Book Of Psalms
    Book Of Revelation
    Book Of Ruth
    Book Of Samuel
    Book Of Wisdom
    Books Of Kings
    Born Again
    Breath
    Brooklyn McBride
    Call
    Camp Sunday
    Celtic Christianity
    Centering Prayer
    Change
    Choices
    Christmas Eve
    Christmas Season
    Christology
    Christopher Muscato
    Church
    Comfort
    Coming Out
    Community
    Compassion
    Complaining
    Confirmation
    Conflict
    Congregationalism
    Connection
    Consecration Sunday
    Courage
    Covenant
    COVID-19
    Creation
    Dance
    Death
    Delaney Piper
    Depression
    Desert Fathers & Mothers
    Dialogue
    Diana Butler Bass
    Difficult People
    Discipleship
    Divine Love
    Dominion
    Doubt
    Doubting Thomas
    Dreamers/DACA
    Dreams
    Earth Day
    Easter
    Easter Season
    Easter Sunday
    Elijah
    Embodiment
    Emptiness
    Environmental Sunday
    Epiphany
    Epiphany Season
    Epiphany Sunday
    Equipping The Saints
    Ethiopian Eunuch
    Eulogy
    Everyday Delights Series
    Fairness
    Faith
    Fear
    Fishers
    Following Jesus
    Forgiveness
    Friends & Family Sunday
    Gardening
    Gardening With God
    Generosity
    Gifts
    Giving
    God
    God Is Still Speaking
    Good News
    Good Samaritan
    Good Shepherd
    Gospels: John 01 To 05
    Gospels: John 06 To 10
    Gospels: John 11 To 15
    Gospels: John 16 To 21
    Gospels: Luke 01 To 06
    Gospels: Luke 07 To 12
    Gospels: Luke 13 To 18
    Gospels: Luke 19 To 24
    Gospels: Mark 01 To 04
    Gospels: Mark 05 To 08
    Gospels: Mark 09 To 12
    Gospels: Mark 13 To 16
    Gospels: Mathew 16-21
    Gospels: Matthew 01 To 07
    Gospels Matthew 08 To 14
    Gospels Matthew 15 To 21
    Gospels Matthew 22 To 28
    Grace
    Grateful
    Gratitude
    Grief
    Guest Preacher
    Gun Violence
    Harvest
    Healing
    Heart
    Heaven
    Hero's Journey
    Holy Spirit
    Holy-week
    Hope
    Hospitable Space
    Hospitality
    Immigration
    Inclusion
    Independence Day
    Installation
    Instant Sermon
    Interdependence
    Jean Vanier
    Jesus
    John Dominic Crossan
    John The Baptizer
    Joseph
    Joseph Of Ariimathea
    Journey
    Joy
    Jubilee
    Jubilee Sunday
    Juneteenth
    Justice
    Kingdom Of God
    Labyrinth
    L'Arche Communities
    Lay Preacher
    Leadership
    Learning
    Lent
    Letters: Colossians
    Letters: Corinthians
    Letters: Ephesians
    Letters: Galatians
    Letters: Hebrews
    Letters: James
    Letters: John
    Letters: Philippians
    Letters: Romans
    LGBTQ
    Liberation
    Life
    Light
    Lineage
    Liturgical Year
    Living In Exile
    Living Water
    Loneliness
    Loss
    Lost
    Love
    Luke 07 To 12
    Lynching
    Magnificat
    Martin Luther King
    Mary Magdalene
    Maya Angelou
    Meditation
    Membership
    Memorial Day
    Memorial Service
    Mental Illness
    Metamorphosis
    Metanoia
    Middle Way
    Mission
    Mother's Day
    Newness
    New Year
    New Year's Resolutions
    Nicodemus
    Older-sermon-audio
    Original Psalms
    Palmpassion-sunday
    Palm Sunday
    Pandemic
    Parables
    Paradox
    Patience
    Pause
    Peace
    Pentecost Sunday
    Pilgrimage
    Pilgrims
    Podbean Link
    Possibility
    Prayer
    Pride Month
    Pride Sunday
    Prodigal Son
    Prophecy
    Protestant Reformation
    Queen
    Rebirth
    Reclaiming Jesus
    Reformation Sunday
    Reign Of Christ Sunday
    Relationship With God
    Render Unto Caesar
    Repentance
    Resurrection
    Rev. Carla Cain
    Rev. Dr. David Petersen
    Rev. Dr. Marta Fioriti
    Rev. Dr. Pam Peterson
    Reversals
    Rev. Hal Chorpenning
    Rev. Jake Miles Joseph
    Rev. Jane Anne Ferguson
    Rev. J. T. Smiedendorf
    Rev. Laura Nelson
    Rev. Mandy Hall
    Rev. Mark Lee
    Rev. Marta Fioriti
    Rev. Nicole Garcia
    Rev. Quinn Gorges
    Rev. Roger Butts
    Rev. Ron Patterson
    Rev. Sean Neil-Barron
    Rev. Sue Artt
    Righteousness
    Road To Emmaus
    Sabbath
    Saints
    Salt
    Salt And Light
    Salvation
    Sarah
    Season After Pentecost
    Seeds
    Seeking
    September 11
    Sermon On The Mount
    Serving
    Sharing
    Showing Up
    Singing
    Solarpunk
    Soul
    Spiritual Practices
    Stewardship
    Storms
    Suffering
    Swords Into Plowshares
    Taizé
    Ten Commandments
    Thanksgiving
    Thanksgiving Day
    The Cross
    The Gospel
    The Last Week
    Theology
    The Sower
    The World
    Thorny Theological Themes
    Totenfest
    Trans Day Of Visibility
    Transfiguration
    Transfiguration Sunday
    Transformation
    Transforming
    Transitions
    Trinity Sunday
    Trusting God
    Truth
    Unity
    Vision
    Waiting
    Welcome
    Where Is Jesus?
    Wilderness
    Wisdom
    Women
    Wonder
    World Communion Sunday
    Wrestling With God
    Yeats
    Youth
    Youth For Change

916 West Prospect Road
Fort Collins CO 80526

​Members,
log into F1Go here

Sundays

9 a.m. Education Hour
10 a.m. Worship
11 a.m. Coffee Fellowship

Contact Us

Threads
Bluesky
970-482-9212

Subscribe to our eNews

* indicates required
© 2025 Plymouth Congregational UCC Church. All rights reserved.
  • Welcome!
    • I'm New Here
    • I'm a CSU Student
    • LGBTQ+
    • How Do I Join?
    • More Questions
  • This Week at Plymouth
  • Worship
    • What is Worship?
    • Worship Online >
      • Streaming Worship
      • Worship Bulletins
      • Digital Pew Card
      • Memorial Services
    • Learn More >
      • Faith Statements
      • Sermons
      • Music Program >
        • Mark's Music Minute
        • Music Series
      • Worship Sign-Ups
  • News & Events
    • Special Events
    • e-News
    • Ongoing Announcements
    • Calendars >
      • Today's Schedule
      • Mobile Calendar
      • Full Calendar
      • Calendar Request Form
    • News Archive
  • Living Our Faith
    • Christian Formation >
      • Children
      • Youth
      • Nursery Care >
        • Child Care Handbook
      • OWL (Our Whole Lives)
      • Adults
      • Visiting Scholar
    • Outreach & Mission >
      • The O&M Board >
        • Grocery Card
      • Climate Action
      • End Gun Violence
      • FFH
      • Immigration
      • Student Support
      • The Missions Marketplace
      • Youth for Change
    • Labyrinth
  • Connect
    • Find Your Place at Plymouth
    • Contact >
      • Contact Us Form
      • Jobs
      • Clergy & Staff
      • Lay Leadership
      • Building Rental >
        • Church Use Payments
    • Our Community >
      • Fellowship
      • Gallery
      • Calling & Caring >
        • Faith Community Nurses
        • Stephen Ministry
      • Meal Signups
    • Online Connections >
      • Email Lists
      • Church App
      • Text Responses
  • Give
    • All About Giving
    • Pledge Online
    • Other Ways to Give >
      • Text to Give
      • Sustaining Gifts
      • Planned Giving
  • Member Info
    • Member Menu >
      • Budget & Financial Ministry
      • Forms & Resources >
        • General Forms
        • Constitution & Policies
        • Newsletter Submissions
        • Emergency Contact Form
        • Zoom Resources
        • Kitchen Videos
        • Mission Statement
        • Strategic Planning
      • F1Go
      • Weddings & Funerals
      • Library
    • New Members