Dear Friends, Thanksgiving week is here and for many of us, it will be quite a different holiday than in years past. Like everything else in our lives, the novel coronavirus has upended our normal traditions and routines. If you are feeling a sense of loss...
Dear Friends, Without a doubt, there are myriad ways people will describe 2020 once it is finally in our rearview mirror. For me, it is already clear that I will remember it as a year for learning new things, and on Sunday, we will have yet...
Advent is that special season in the life of the church during which we anticipate and prepare for the Incarnation. "Incarnation" is a "fifty-cent" theological word that reminds us that God made a stunning choice to take on human flesh and "move into the neighborhood"...
Dear Friends, What a gift this unusual, unexpected, glorious weather has been. “More like May than November” is the way one weather forecaster described it. And while I know it won’t last, that winter is surely on the way, I’ve needed and enjoyed the respite. I’ve...
Dear Friends, The calendar has turned a page and with the arrival of November, a number of significant shifts are occurring. First, of course, today is Election Day, and if you haven’t done so already, please remember to vote before the polls close. Every four years...
Dearest Calvary parents and grandparents, We’ve got less than a week until the election, and it cannot come soon enough. No matter where your vote lands, you’d be hard pressed to escape the calls, polls, signs, debates, and advertisements. If you have little ones, you may...
Voter Beatitudes By the late Rev. Dr. Mankekolo Mahlangu-Ngcobo, a South African AME clergywoman. Adapted by Sis. Jackie Dupont-Walker And seeing the multitudes, He went up to the stage, and when He was set on the podium his countrymen and women came to Him. He opened His mouth, and...
Dear Friends, “O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:1) As I sit at my desk this Monday morning, and ponder what to write to you, Calvary, this is my first thought: God is good, and we are...
Dear Friends, A couple of weeks ago, I received a devotion written by Rev. Stan Ott. Stan is a minister member of National Capital Presbytery who pastored for many years in Pittsburg and elsewhere before founding Vital Churches Institute. He has worked extensively with churches all...
Dear Friends, If you’ve read my writings over the years, you know that one of my all-time favorite authors is Richard Rohr. I don’t know how he does it, but in books, articles, sermons and devotions, he just nails it time after time. And, he’s done...