A Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins Pastor of Chapel by the Sea, Clearwater Beach FL Read the Lectionary Texts   (The sermon begins with an awkward silence.) How do you feel during an awkward silence?  It’s uncomfortable isn’t it? Doesn’t it make the anxiety rise up in you?  Now, during that very awkward silence, how many of you thought to yourselves, “somebody should be doing something?” My most vivid experience with silence came not too long after seminary, early in my ministry, when I chose to take a continuing education course called “Clinical Pastoral Education.”  Part [READ MORE]

Read the Lectionary Texts     “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning…” I hope you enjoyed singing that old camp song as much as I did – a song that many of us learned way back when we were young kids in church youth group. Of course, we’ve updated the song to better fit our congregation here at Tellico in this stage of our lives…”Give me stents for my heart, keep it beating…” is a verse written especially for us. But the opening verse, “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning…” comes to us directly from our [READ MORE]