Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Matthew 23: 1-12

A gathering of some of my pastor friends. We gather from time to time to share the unique stresses of this work and to enjoy each other’s friendship. I always feel honored to be in the presence of the colleagues that I respect. They are such impressive people – people with advanced degrees, great ambition, a vision for the church. They are people who work remarkably hard, for relatively little pay and in rather difficult circumstances. So we gather together and share whatever trouble or burden we may be facing. (more…)

Celebrate the season of Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 18, at our coffee fellowship following the 10 a.m. worship service. An assortment of pies contributed by our members will be available to taste…If you’d like to help, consider making a favorite pie. We’re looking for sweet (ie. fruit, pudding, custard, etc.) as well as savory pies (ie. vegetable, meat, quiche, etc). It would be helpful to know the type of pie and any unusual ingredients. Questions should be addressed to Dianne Antos…Come prepared to enjoy!

Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Matthew 22: 34-46

For those of you who have not noticed, I would like to remind you all that for the first time in history, the Houston Astros are competing in the World Series. I am not a huge sports fan, but when one of my home town teams does well, I can’t help but get excited. I’ve been an Astros fan since I was a little boy – my dad would take me to the games from time to time in the Astrodome. Now, just for the record, you here in Hartford should be rooting for the Astros. They are called the Astros because they are named for the stadium that was built for them, the Astrodome, which I suppose was named to celebrate the home of NASA’s Mission Control. But before that, they were named for an icon of the American west, the Colt .45’s. And Samuel Colt was a Hartford resident and his factory, which features that strange blue dome, is one of Hartford’s distinctive architectural artifacts. So, there is a surprising connection between Hartford and my Astros. And I trust you will be pulling for them in the days ahead. (more…)

Consecration Sunday is a special time in the life of our church as we make a serious effort to invite everyone in our membership to come and celebrate with us the power and joy of “being church.” Consecration Sunday also provides us with an opportunity to look into our own hearts and ask ourselves earnestly: “What percentage of my income is God asking me to give?” When disciples ask themselves this critical question, they discover that giving needn’t be a burden. Instead, giving becomes a heart-felt response to God’s calling in our lives. In short, giving becomes a great joy. This year, we will celebrate our diversity with special music from the Steel Drum Band of the Hartt School of Music. We invite you to plan now to attend. You will be given an opportunity to reserve your spot at the worship service and the special catered meal following the service. You may call the church office to reserve your spot. Please prayerfully consider your presence on this important day…Praying for Consecration Sunday is another important way that you can support our efforts. This year, we will also have a special prayer vigil in our sanctuary on Saturday, October 25, the day before Consecration Sunday. The vigil will start at 9:00 a.m. in our sanctuary.

Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Matthew 22: 1-14

Yesterday I spent a lot of time out in the rain. I had a friend running in the Hartford Marathon, and I had been asked to offer the invocation at the start of the race. My friend had come out the night before and we had chatted a bit about running a marathon and what was involved. I asked him about his shoes. He told me that when you run as much as you have to run when you are training for a marathon, you go through a lot of shoes. They are not capital investments, they are consumables. But one thing is really important. The shoes you are going to run the race in must be purchased about three weeks before the race. That way, you have enough time to really break them in, but not so much time that they are starting to wear out. (more…)

Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
Philippians 3:4b –14

When I was in high school there was a guy who happened to be dating the daughter of the governor. Now, if you happened to be in a room with this guy for more than five minutes, he would have informed you that he was dating the daughter of the governor. In fact, all I ever knew about his girlfriend was that she was the daughter of the governor, and that is all that anyone seemed to care about. (more…)