January 19-25, 2022
Gems can show up in the most unexpected places. Like our basement storage room, where I recently found a box full of letters and cards mostly from 1996, the year before Jonathan and I were married. That box held a wide variety of birthday cards, Christmas cards, and even a letter from Franconia Conference telling […]
Read postJanuary 5-18, 2022
“… they set out; and there ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.” (Mt. 2:9-10) Like the Magi, we too are seeking Jesus. Looking in the […]
Read postDecember 21, 2021 – January 4, 2022
December 21 is the Winter Solstice, the longest night, in the northern hemisphere. Some years we have had a “Longest Night Service” on the evening of December 21 to hold space for grief around losses – of many kinds – in our lives. While we are not doing a Longest Night service this year, I […]
Read postDecember 15-21, 2021
“Make of my heart a stable, a house for the holy …” * This prayer song keeps sounding in our house these days as we are going about our daily lives. It’s a simple and profound desire many poets, theologians, pastors and more have pondered for years. Consider, for example, these ending stanzas from a […]
Read postDecember 8-14, 2021
Bread for Our Journey offers this prayer by Bishop Desmond Tutu to help guide us in the second week of Advent (you can access the entire devotional here: bit.ly/breadinnadvent2). This prayer reminds us of what we might need to sweep out of our hearts and lives in order to make room for hope, peace, joy […]
Read postDecember 1-7, 2021
My 8-year-old daughter had some pressing questions for me after church this past Sunday about my sermon. She was really confused: “Mommy, I thought Jesus was born in a stable! What were you talking about??” Maybe some of you were confused or disoriented, too, which is understandable. What I told Joanna is, yes, there was […]
Read postNovember 24-30, 2021
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.2 O give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; 4 who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever;5 who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast […]
Read postNovember 17-23, 2021
“For a lot of us, it’s awkward to talk about God. Or whether we believe in God, and if so, what kind of God we believe in. … when it comes to describing our faith or whether we relate to God in our daily lives, we clam up. … We’re not very tuned to how […]
Read postNovember 10-16, 2021
“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.” (John 11:1) So begins a story like so many of our stories. Stories of unexpected and unwelcome crisis, of community, of family, and friends. Stories of fear and loss, bewilderment and anger. Emotions very real to us today. […]
Read postOctober 27-November 9, 2021
I’ve been meaning to ask … where do we go from here? I hope this question from worship this past Sunday is still ringing in your ears, and the question you received if you attended worship in person is stirring in your heart. All the questions distributed last week are copied below. If you were […]
Read post