August 18, 2020 Dear Friends, It is a truism in any organization that it is impossible to communicate too much. That is the case under the best of circumstances, let alone when we haven’t been face-to-face in five months! Last week I shared the “behind the scenes”...
August 11, 2020 Dear Friends, One of the things I have appreciated about Calvary over the years is our willingness and ability to have honest conversations. In Sermon Talk Back, people call it making “safe space.” We work really hard to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard...
August 5, 2020 Dear Friends, As difficult as the pandemic is making our lives in many ways, we are also exceedingly blessed. As I talk or email with Calvary folks, family, and friends, invariably people express gratitude alongside their frustration du jour. One gift that we sometimes...
This Sunday we will be celebrating Communion. Worshiping with children at home must seem like an olympic sport, but just remember that when it comes to nurturing faith, there is a saying that “faith is caught more than it is taught,” which is a fancy way of...
July 27, 2020 Dear Friends, “How long, O Lord, how long?” In one way or another, utilizing a variety of words and expressions, this is the sentiment I’ve heard voiced over and over again in the past couple of weeks. Some have said it with resignation, others with...
July 21, 2020 Dear Friends, Some days it seems hard to imagine, but the novel coronavirus will not always be shaping and reorienting our lives like it is today. At some point in the future, at a time still unknown, we will go to church or work...
Dear Friends, What is the very first thing you do when you wake up each morning? For some people, turning off the alarm and rolling over for ten more minutes of shut-eye is the usual way their day begins. A few people I know wake up and...
Milestones are important. Birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations and the like not only mark significant events, they offer opportunities to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider the arc of our lives as we remember them year after year. I am in a reflective mood today. This week marks my...
July 1, 2020 Dear Friends, I am back. My four-week, nine-state, 3800-mile road trip is complete. I spent two weeks in Arkansas with my mom and brother and two weeks in Denver with my daughter. I did a LOT of yard work in those four weeks, enjoyed...
Given the technical glitch with viewing last Sunday’s service on Sunday, Sermon Talk Back @ 11:00 am via Zoom focused more on the continuing conversation about race than the sermon itself. Of the nine people in attendance, a few folks had read the sermon, so a few...