This is the podcast of Newfane Congregational Church in Newfane, Vermont. We’re an eclectic community of seekers doing our best to see and love the world as God does. Here you’ll find recordings of our weekly scripture discussions and sermons, as well as occasional talks and conversations.
"Citations Needed" – 10-04-2026 – Matthew 21:23-32
Some of us move through the world as though we have “citations needed” permanently stamped on our aura—as though simply being ourselves demands an explanation, and a compelling one at that. What happens when we become so practiced at seeking approval that we lose touch with our own God-granted authority?
Through Jesus’s encounter with the chief priests and elders and his parable of two sons in Matthew 21:23–32, Pastor Thew explores the distinction between two similar sounding but very different modes of discernment: self-consciousness and self-awareness. Together, we consider how attending to our feelings, desires, and motivations can open us to God’s invitation within—and help us speak, act, and savor life with a deeper trust that each of us is beloved and belongs.
14 Sept 2026
"Is this...forgiveness?" | 09-13-2026 | Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
A note of care: This reflection includes a brief, non-graphic reference to racial violence and speaks more directly about domestic abuse and the pressure survivors commonly experience to forgive. Please care for yourself as you listen.
Forgiveness is among the most frequently invoked—and most frequently misunderstood—teachings of the Christian faith. Reflecting on Matthew 18:21–35 and drawing upon psychologist Everett Worthington’s distinction between decisional and emotional forgiveness, Rev. Thew Deen explores the gap between pervasive cultural expectations of forgiveness and what Jesus actually teaches.
9 Sept 2026
"Confrontation as care" | 09-06-2026 | Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Why is speaking directly to one another when harm arises so difficult—and what might become possible when we do? Reflecting on Matthew 18:15–20 and a courageous encounter in our own community, Thew explores confrontation as an expression of care: a willingness to risk discomfort because the relationship matters far more than the quiet we sometimes mistake for peace. Jesus invites us to trust one another with the truth, seek the healing of broken connections, and discover that Christ is present whenever we undertake the faithful work of reconciliation.
30 Apr 2026
“When hearts become flame” – 04-26-2026 – Fourth Sunday of Easter
In this reflection on Luke 24:13–35, we follow the disciples on the road to Emmaus as they struggle to make sense of shattered hopes and a story of redemption that seems to have failed. Focusing on their words, “Were not our hearts burning within us?”, the message invites listeners to consider how a fuller range of senses may perceive what the mind, stuck in the stupor of old and limiting stories, cannot yet see. This is a meditation on disillusionment, embodied knowing, and the risen Christ who meets us on the road.
22 Apr 2026
“Letting Love live through us” – 4-19-2026 – Third Sunday of Easter
What if Peter’s great redemption is not that he finally proves his love, but that he stops pretending to greater love than he has? In this reflection on John 21:4–19, we explore agape love—the unconditional love God has for the cosmos—as something too vast to be achieved by effort alone, and discover that readiness for divine love begins with honesty, surrender, and trust. A meditation on what becomes possible when we let ourselves be led beyond our own capacity into the boundless love of God.
15 Apr 2026
“Touching the wounds of despair” – 4-12-2026 – Mission Sunday w/ amber arnold of SUSU commUNITY farm
This Eastertide reflection on John 20:19–31 revisits the story of Thomas through the lens of wounded trust. Rather than condemning doubt, the passage invites us to see how grief, disappointment, and fear can narrow the imaginative capacity of hope—and how the risen Christ meets us there, bearing peace and still-open wounds.
Then we hear from amber arnold, co-founder and collaborative director of SUSU commUNITY farm, who shares about the incredible work unfolding on the land with whom they’ve joined in sacred partnership to co-create abundance, receiving from their “homemade field of love” food and medicines that are then freely distributed to BIPOC communities in the area as their birthright.
8 Apr 2026
Whole again – Easter Sunday – 4-5-2026
In this Easter reflection on the passage of John 20:1-18, Rev. Thew explores the textual variants of the term “Rabbouni" in John 20:16 (does it mean “teacher” or “Lord” or both?), the historical significance of Mary Magdalene as the "apostle to the apostles," and the spiritual message that resurrection is "woundedness transfigured," inviting the community to see woundedness as integral to wholeness.
4 Apr 2026
Good Friday Vigil – 4-3-2026 – “Why did Jesus end up on the cross?”
Clergy and members from five churches of the Windham-Union Association of the United Church of Christ gathered at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, Vermont, at 12pm on April 3, 2026, to reflect on the question: “Why did Jesus end up on the cross.”
Participating congregations:
Centre Congregational Church | Rev. Dr. Scott Couper
Dummerston Congregational Church | Rev. Dr. Shawn Bracebridge
First Congregational Church of West Brattleboro | Rev. Jeremy Kirk and Gabriela D.
Guilford Community Church | Rev. Allyson Platt
Newfane Congregational Church | Rev. Thew Deen
Music led by Andy Davis of Guilford Community Church.
29 Mar 2026
“Yes, King! No kings!” – 3-29-2026 – Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday reflection by Rev. Thew on the passage of John 12:9-19 (NRSVue)
9 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well,
11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
17 So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.
18 It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him.
19 The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”
22 Feb 2026
Fortification in the wilderness (Rev. Thew Deen) — Matthew 4:1-11 | First Sunday in Lent
In the wilderness, Jesus refuses hunger’s shortcut, spectacle’s proof, and empire’s power. Each “no” becomes a deeper “yes” to God. This sermon reflects on spiritual fortification, moral courage, and what faithfulness looks like in moments of testing—then and now.
8 Aug 2023
Community is the miracle – Matthew 14:13-21 – 8-6-2023
Wherein we reflect on Matthew 14:13-21, the feeding of the multitude, the origin story of Christian communion, and the miracle of community.
2 Aug 2023
Who are we and who are we becoming?: Fifth-Sunday check-in conversation | 7-30-2023
Wherein we reflect on Matthew 13:31-33 and 44-52, a profusion of curious parables, and discuss where we are and where we’re headed as a church, as we do every fifth Sunday.
30 Jul 2023
What is a weed?: the parable of the weeds and the wheat | 7-23-2023
Wherein we reflect on Matthew 13:24-43, the parable of the weeds and the wheat, apocalyptic visions, religious scrupulosity, and the danger of interpreting Jesus without appreciating his context.
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