All Souls Parish Sermons

All Souls Parish, Berkeley

These are the weekly sermons of All Souls Parish in Berkeley, CA.

  1. 1d ago

    Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

    the Rev. Phil Brochard

  2. Oct 11

    Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

    the Rev. Rachel Dykzeul

  3. Oct 5

    Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

    the Rev. Phil Brochard Today’s sermon was a special one. We heard a “story” told in the style of the children’s curriculum Godly Play. This story celebrates the conclusion of our Living Waters capital project and all of the ways, old and new, that we learn and pray and gather and make church at All Souls. We encourage you to watch the video version of the sermon to see the pictures. You can do that on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/live/zOE99zN9gQc?si=9ol0ySeFShy8pDTb&t=1411

  4. Sep 28

    Memorial Service of Noah Zimmerman

    the Rev. Martin Elfert

  5. Sep 28

    Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

    the Rev. Phil Brochard The sermon uses the preacher's childhood failure to water a neighbor's prized zinnias to explore the difference between good intentions and faithful action. In Matthew's parable of the two sons, one son refuses his father's request to work in the vineyard but later changes his mind and goes, while the other promises to go but never does. The first son ultimately does the father's will. The parable is not about deciding who belongs and who does not; both sons remain sons. Instead, it reminds us that words and virtue-signaling cannot substitute for the difficult work of forgiveness, healing, accompaniment, and love. Most importantly, unlike the preacher's childhood zinnias, for which help eventually came too late, the kingdom of heaven always leaves room for change. Even at the last hour, we can turn around, enter the vineyard, and do the work—and we must leave room for others to do the same.

  6. Sep 20

    Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

    the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers Using the All Souls youth's encounters with day laborers at the U.S.–Mexico border, the sermon explores Jesus's parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The youth discovered that hearing people's stories and seeing their faces made it impossible to dismiss their humanity. Jesus similarly invites his disciples to see the humanity of those who are overlooked and to reconsider assumptions about who deserves what. In the parable, workers hired at the end of the day receive the same wage as those who worked from morning. The first workers resent this, even though they received exactly what they were promised. Their complaint reveals how easily another person's good fortune can make generosity seem unfair. Drawing on John Chrysostom's Easter homily, the sermon presents God's kingdom as radically abundant: those who arrive first and those who arrive last are all welcomed into God's joy. Day laborer and landowner, immigrant and native-born, longtime disciple and newcomer all share God's gifts. Rather than competing over who deserves more, Jesus invites everyone to rejoice together in the extravagant generosity of God.

  7. Sep 14

    Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

    the Rev. Phil Brochard The sermon argues that forgiveness is essential to both the nature of God and the life of Christian community. Beginning with Francis of Assisi's addition of pardon to the Canticle of the Creatures, it presents forgiveness as something as fundamental as the rest of creation. Jesus' parable of the unforgiving servant makes the point through an enormous contrast: a servant forgiven an impossibly large debt refuses to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him. God's extraordinary mercy toward us calls us to extend mercy to others. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting harm, permitting abuse, or pretending wrongdoing did not occur. Rather, it means relinquishing revenge and refusing to hold another person's debt forever. It may require considerable time and patience. Ultimately, the sermon insists that a community not grounded in forgiveness is not grounded in God, because the mercy we give reflects the mercy we have received.

  8. Sep 6

    Feast of Creation in Christ

    the Rev. Emily Boring The sermon celebrates the Feast of Creation in Christ by exploring the Christian belief that everything is created, sustained, and ultimately gathered together in Christ. Beginning with the preacher's awe-filled memory of watching a humpback whale repeatedly slap its tail against the ocean at sunset, the sermon contrasts scientific explanation with the deeper experience of wonder and relationship. Genesis and John's Gospel reveal creation not as something God made and left behind, but as an ongoing expression of God's creative love. The incarnation of Christ reveals God's relationship with matter and the profound interconnectedness of all existence. A whale—and every human being—is part of a vast web involving stars, oceans, microorganisms, food webs, and cycles of matter and life. Recognizing Christ within this interconnected creation transforms environmental responsibility: we care for the world not primarily because of guilt, fear, or obligation, but because we recognize our relationship with it and learn to love it.

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These are the weekly sermons of All Souls Parish in Berkeley, CA.

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