For over thirty years Alan Neale has spoken with passion, relevance, authenticity and humor of themes that are profound and pressing; the profound he makes simple and accessible, the pressing he makes immediate and welcoming. All these years past have provided little time for Alan to write extensively and so now he begins a long-postponed desire and there are many themes waiting to be translated into books; the task is daunting and enthralling and he longs to begin in 2015
August 25th (the day of the sermon) was a day of commemoration for the first “20 and odd” enslaved Africans brought to America 400 years ago. They began to establish the English Colony at Point Comfort, Virginia. Several were then transported to establish and build the Jamestown Colony. To commemorate African ancestors and their descendants… Continue reading
Oh this past Sunday I so much wanted to preach on a text from Amos but felt almost compelled to preach rather on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Many in the congregation commented on the ancient allegory that I shared. I think it was during the sermon that I realized that not once was… Continue reading
The text of the sermon is below the sermon audio. This is the first sermon preached for three months since my radical heart surgery at the beginning of April. I’m learning not only the bounty of being free from death (for a while at least) but also the mysterious task of learning what it is… Continue reading
Alan, We cannot thank you enough for helping to make our day absolutely perfect. Every meeting was so welcoming and the ceremony was perfect. Everyone was raving about you and we couldn’t agree more. Thank you for being so accommodating, you made us so comfortable up there and for that we are forever grateful. Happy… Continue reading
It was as if today, Epiphany Sunday, saw the most perfect confluence of themes and opportunities to talk and think about Worship, considered by some to be the greatest lack and the greatest need of the Christian and the Church. The 8am service, the Adult Study (Worship #1) and the “All Age Gather Together” gave… Continue reading
Maybe it’s the time of the year, maybe it’s the roiling of political waves, maybe it’s having endured over ten days of weakness but today’s sermon is definitely different style with different emphasis and yet… it focus is on two very powerful women (Mary and Elizabeth). The sermon text is below the sermon audio. Sermon… Continue reading
It’s often said that the Church of God is called to an Eucharistic/Thanksgiving Community; but also it is called to be an Advent Community carrying a strong and resilient hope into the world. The sermon text is below the sermon audio. I cannot help but note that President Bush (#41) speaks of accepting Jesus as… Continue reading
It was a roller-coaster of emotions to read through these 100 examples (quotations); e.g. “It would be nice to live according to my being rather than my bleakness”. Overall… relationships (with other people, with a divine being, with a pet) are stressed often – not quantity, but quality! Pew Study: Meaning of Life
It wasn’t until I heard (again) the I Samuel reading at 10am this morning that I realized that this sermon about “building confidence” was powerfully portrayed in Hannah who truly “finds her voice” – I Samuel 1. Hannah finds a voice as she firmly tells the old priest Eli that he is wrong in his… Continue reading
This sermon was preached at the early service (with too many digressions, sorry!); the later service was an “all-age affair” and so the talk was more participatory with visual aids. One visual aid involved asking children to come look into a case where I had a picture of a special saint… they opened the case,… Continue reading