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Old First Reformed 
United Church of Christ
151 N. 4th Street (at Race Street), Philadelphia, PA 19106 · (215) 922-4566
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Strangers in a New Land: Old First E-pistle 05.17.12
Posted May 17, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under E-pistles.
My great, great-grandfather, the Rev. Edward Grieb served his first church in the U.S., Ebenezer Congregational in Portland, Oregon, an immigrant church of ethnic Germans from the Volga region of Russia. Grieb was dismissed from that pastorate in 1895, after only serving two years. The more conservative members of that congregation “accused him of not [...]
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Do You Come to Church to Be Shook up and Thrown Off Balance?
Posted May 12, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Deuteronomy 12:4-14 and Luke 24: 13-35. The Road to Emmaus is a favorite among favorite resurrection stories. It promises, according to good Christian theology, that God in Christ finds us where we are. Knows more about our situations than we do ourselves. And finds us for a purpose– in order to reveal to us what [...]
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Affirming Diversity with Respect and Love: Old First E-pistle, 05.11.12
Posted May 11, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under E-pistles.
One of my colleagues at this week’s Penn SE Conference’s Clergy Convocation, asked Geoffrey Black, the UCC’s General Minister and President about the limits of diversity within our denomination. What I heard was a question all too familiar to me: “Is the UCC REALLY diverse, if we cannot welcome people who don’t accept diversity?” I’ll [...]
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Help Fitting Life’s Pieces Together: Old First E-pistle 05.03.12
Posted May 3, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under E-pistles.
“Why Would An All-Powerful Being Demand Our Worship?” Pastors get asked this all the time. Some apparently understand worship as demeaning obeisance… God’s insisting on subservience… bowing and scraping before some puffed-up, “supposed” deity. Remember Oz bellowing, “Pay no attention to that little man behind the curtain?” The question is often lobbed as a fast [...]
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No Immigrants Here! …because Everyone Belongs (Which Side of this Border Are You On?)
Posted May 2, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under Sermons.
Transposing Feasts or Leap Frog Sundays — not sure what we should call them: but last Sunday, Earth Day Worship outside was wet and a washout. So we celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday instead. Today, I worried it’s be too cool for worshiping outdoors in the shady front courtyard. So we jump ahead again and grab [...]
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Who’s Joining Our Community: Old First E-pistle 04.26.12
Posted April 25, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under E-pistles.
We now have four Andrews (H., C., and two McLs). Three Marks (W., S., M.). And just recently we’ve gone to three Jonathans (A., V. and B.). We’ve gotten used to two Beths (W. and D.), but there’s also two Lizs (O. and McL.) and an Elizabeth (G.). You’ll notice I have to refer to [...]
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St. Johns’ Youth Choir at Old First, Sun, May 6
Posted April 25, 2012 by Suzanne Cole. Filed under Events, Featured, Worship.
The Chalice Choir from St. John’s Lutheran Church, Nazareth, PA, will sing for us on Sunday, May 6 during the regular 11 am worship service. Be sure to arrive a little early to enjoy an extended choral prelude beginning at 10:50 am. The Chalice Choir is a singing choir for youth in grades 7 to [...]
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An Undocumented Person Speaks about Immigration at the Adult Forum, 04.29.12
Posted April 23, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under E-pistles, Uncategorized.
Our speaker this week at the Adult Forum will bring his own experience of being an undocumented immigrant since his parents brought him to the U.S. from La Paz, Bolivia when he was 7 years old. Jorge Salazar is a board member of The New Sanctuary Movement, a member of Dream Activist Pennsylvania and the [...]
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Nothing Will Work Unless You Do: E-pistle 04.20.12
Posted April 20, 2012 by Michael Caine. Filed under E-pistles.
After my sermon last Sunday, with all the kids kept running up to me in fellowship hour asking “when are we leaving for ice cream,” and a visitor sharing a really difficult story of his last two years, one of you smiled and said, “I’m a capitalist too. And I’m pretty impressed: you actually found [...]
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A New Worship Leaders’ Coordinator
Posted April 20, 2012 by Guest. Filed under News, Worship.
The Worship Standing Leadership Group is happy to announce that Ruth Anne Taylor will be the new Worship Leaders Coordinator! This is the person who drafts the Lector, Liturgist and Acolytes to help provide leadership in each Sunday’s worship service. We are blessed indeed to have Ruth Anne help in this ongoing work. As she [...]