I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Lord Most High. Psalm 9:1-2 One of the most common answers to the question about...
In the aftermath of the midterm elections, I was speaking recently with a member of my extended family. As with many families, mine is “split.” My relatives and I share blood and histories and memories, recipes, holiday meals and inside jokes. But we do not...
This past weekend I was invited to attend Shabbat at a local synagogue as the guest of one of the members. It was the first Shabbat since the tragic events in Pittsburgh the previous Saturday, and it was a privilege to show my support for...
Last week was a low point in American life. Thirteen homemade pipe bombs mailed to prominent U.S. citizens, all mercifully intercepted before they could achieve the carnage for which they were intended. Then Saturday morning, another mass shooting, this time at a Jewish synagogue, and before...
Last week I was RAK’D, and it made quite an impression on me. Not familiar with being a RAK recipient? Let me explain…. Last month my family did a three-way car swap. As part of the intra-family horse-trading, my mother and brother drove a vehicle from...
Have you ever been overwhelmed by a task before you? Have you ever felt certain you lacked the skills to do the job you’ve been given? Have you ever left a role you felt capable of for an unknown and uncomfortable future? Have you ever...
Tomorrow we will live out our faith by worshiping through serving our community. Twice a year, Calvary gathers at our normal time and place, Sunday, 10:00 a.m., for “Be the Kingdom Sunday.” We show up in jeans and tennis shoes, wearing Presbyterian-blue Calvary t-shirts. After...
No matter how or when it happens, the news of someone taking his or her own life is shocking and horrifying. As a society, we have made important strides in mental health education and treatment, but suicide remains greatly stigmatized and misunderstood. The recent deaths...
It is finally here. After two and a half years of praying, planning, raising money, moving and washing pipes, pursuing county permits, enduring the noise and inevitable mess of renovations and converting the balcony to a pipe chamber, and overcoming numerous obstacles and setbacks, this...
On Tuesday I awoke with a start, realizing it was the 17th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Seventeen years. Enough time for a baby born that year to now be a high school graduate. Enough time that for most people, life is very...