John 21: 1-19
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
When I was in college, I had a religion professor who I admired.  I had never formally studied religion until I took his classes, and he was one of those teachers who was just so engaging, just so inspiring, that you wanted to follow him and learn more from him.  I remember one time I took a ride with him in his car, and I told him that I  had decided to go to Union Seminary in New York City, which was where he had studied, and I remember him expressing to me his great expectations, his excitement for what I might become.  I remember the feeling I had when he looked at me and saw within me possibilities that I did not yet know, promises that were not yet fulfilled in me, potential that I wasn’t even aware that I had.  Looking back, I realize how important my relationship with him was for me.  It was really his belief in me that woke me up to the possibility of becoming a pastor.  If he had not expressed that confidence in me, I would never have gone to seminary in the first place. (more…)

Our church supports several different hunger ministries. Loaves and Fishes provides hot meals to Hartford’s hungry at a location on Woodland Street. The South Park Inn, for which we periodically prepare food, serves hot meals to people in downtown Hartford. And the West End Food Pantry provides groceries to hungry families. Your support of these programs financially, and your volunteer service, is essential to their success. While you can give to the individual programs, giving to our overall Hunger Fund allows us to allocate the money to whichever program is most in need.

John 20:1-18
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
The days leading up to Easter were obviously difficult days for the disciples.  Jesus’ life had been taken from them, but more than that, each of them had fled from Jesus, leaving him to die along side common criminals, and abandoning him at his most challenging moment.  With Jesus now dead an buried, each disciple had to reflect on their own inability to help their Lord, their own shame in running in fear. (more…)

Maundy Thursday
John 13: 1-17, 31b-35
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
When someone close to us dies, we have a natural inclination to try to remember their last words or our last encounter with them.  We place a special significance on those final moments, because their proximity to death somehow makes those words weigh more in our hearts.  Often, we don’t have the privilege of really remembering the last words of our loved ones.  When my mother died, my last conversation with her had been fairly trivial, and over the phone.  It certainly wasn’t memorable.  But even in cases like that, we create in our minds a “last impression” – sort of a selection of memories that help us to remember the person as we would like to.  I have a strong last impression of my mother.  Perhaps you have an impression like that of someone you love. (more…)

Luke 19: 28-40
Rev. Bryan Travis Hooper
I have always felt that Palm Sunday was a little inappropriate.  Jesus marches into Jerusalem with great fanfare, people putting their cloaks on the ground before him and waving palm branches.  Everyone is singing songs of joy and shouting out words of praise.  It seems so upbeat – so happy – so full of joy.  And yet, we know what happens next.  Soon, Jesus will be betrayed, arrested, crucified.  In fact, the plotters are already plotting to capture Jesus – how can we take this moment and celebrate? (more…)