Dear friends, Driving to work this morning, I was enjoying the winter landscape outside my car window when I remembered something I learned in school: that each snowflake is unique. I pondered that thought as I drove, wondering if that can actually be true. After all,...
Dear Friends, Apparently, some people love cold weather. I am not one of them, so I cannot offer this report based on personal experience; only on what has been told to me by the polar-embracing folks I know. I do think snow is beautiful—when I’m watching...
Dear Friends, What an interesting start to the new year! On the one hand, Covid still rages via the Omicron variant, forcing disruptive airline flight cancellations over Christmas, changes to eagerly anticipated New Year’s plans, and more adaptations in our lives and our church. Yet on...
Dear Friends, Absolutely the last thing I want to talk about the week of Christmas is the coronavirus. I mean, seriously. I am sick to death of Covid (though not literally, I hope!) Still, the news on the latest variant is so disturbing and discouraging that...
Dear Friends, We are just a few days away from the winter solstice. Next Tuesday, December 21st, at 10:59 a.m. EST, the sun will reach its southernmost point in the sky for the year. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice marks...
Dear Friends, We are now half-way through the season of Advent. Over the years, I have developed a deeper and deeper appreciation for this liturgical season, which invites us to slow down, anticipate, and prepare for the coming of Jesus, rather than rush straightaway to the...
Dear Friends, I have a confession to make. Of all the Church’s liturgical seasons, I find Advent the most difficult to preach. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying I don’t love the Advent story and the carols and hymns, or the unique flavor of worship during...
Dear Friends, Thank you for a wonderful celebration of God’s faithfulness to us on Stewardship Sunday. It was a joyful, worshipful experience, as we gave thanks for God’s gifts and blessings, and as we made our commitments for the year ahead. If you attended Sunday’s service,...
Dear Friends, With every day that passes, I hear more and more stories of “happenings” throughout the sabbatical. I imagine that will be the case for a while, especially with the Session meeting on Saturday. But for now, let me add to my list of “thanks”...
Dear Friends, First, thank you, thank you for the warm and gracious welcome back. What an unexpected blessing to walk into my office Monday morning and discover it bursting with balloons, hearts, notes and cards covering my desk, hanging from the ceiling, and draped over everything...