Food, Faith and Fabric: Sermon 1 January 2017 The Feast of the Holy Name Luke 2:15-21 Year A

06 April 2017

Sermon 1 January 2017 The Feast of the Holy Name Luke 2:15-21 Year A

Christmas Eve at the 5:00 p.m. service the sermon was for children. It was short because of their attention spans, and also because I wanted them to remember it.

A couple of adults told me they were a bit disappointed because they expected something longer. I am sorry they were disappointed, but sermons are like a grab bag of presents. You put your hand out to the Holy Spirit and you preach what the Spirit puts there. A sermon has a great deal of study and thinking, but in the end, it’s listening to the Holy Spirit.

All this is a disclaimer. It takes bravery on my part because the sermon you are about to hear is the shortest I’ve ever preached. Here it is: Two sentences and a question.

· Sentence 1: Today is the Feast of the Holy Name, the Holy Name of Jesus.

· Sentence 2: Our names are how we recognize ourselves, how Jesus recognizes us, and how other people recognize us.

· Question: What will we do, so when people hear our names, they’ll hear the Holy Name of Jesus? AMEN.

The Rev Nicolette Papanek

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©2017

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Nicolette Papanek was born in San Francisco, California and raised on the east and west coasts and in Canada. She has also lived in northern Germany. Her undergraduate degree is in Human Resources Design, a multi-disciplinary degree with majors in Communication, Design, Behavioral Science, and Business Management. She is a graduate with a Masters in Divinity from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and was ordained priest in 2002.

Nicolette is called to the specialized ministry of transitions (interim ministry). After a twenty-six year business career in Communications, she has spent her ordained years practicing, studying, and exploring how human beings intersect creatively with new ideas and ministries. Her belief is that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and calls us to discover anew the incarnational ministries to which lay and ordained are called. She believes churches are a mystery to enter into and explore rather than a problem to be solved.

In addition to her ministry in the church she serves, Nicolette is a certified clergy coach, peaching coach, spiritual director, search consultant, and works with lay and ordained leadership in dreaming dreams for the future and making plans to fulfill those dreams in God's name. She calls her work "Holy Meddling." Her personal mission is to bring out God's best in others with love, laughter, and lunch. She is passionate about providing places where individuals and groups can become who God intends them to be, even during times of uncertainty and change.

So far her ministry has taken her on adventures in eleven churches, not counting the ones where she has done consulting (holy meddling), seven dioceses and she has served with what will soon be ten different bishops. Beginning 15 September 2018, she is the Interim Dean at Grace Cathedral in Topeka, Kansas, USA.

Nicolette plays well with others and in her alone time she writes, reads, sleeps, cooks, eats, and creates quilted art works. Although she loves good food, she makes herself do Pilates three times a week to thrive physically and spiritually. Her blog contains sermons, occasional musings, quilted fiber art, and recipes.