Lent begins this week with the observance of Ash Wednesday. People sometimes ask me, “What is Lent all about? Why don’t the Sundays ‘count’ as part of Lent? Why do some people give up things like sweets?” These are all great questions and especially for...
We love children at Calvary. We LOVE children at Calvary. WE LOVE CHILDREN AT CALVARY! We love them in worship, at coffee hour, serving alongside them, and learning from them. And we love our Calvary PARENTS. We take seriously our role as a congregation to support...
This past Sunday my community of faith gathered for worship as we do each week. Following the service, however, we moved downstairs into the Fellowship Hall for lunch and our annual congregational meeting. This event is an opportunity for us to spend time over a...
I am hungry. When I am physically hungry, my stomach has a no-nonsense way of getting my attention. It gurgles and growls. I feel an emptiness and a gnawing in my belly that my body is inviting me—no, demanding me—to address. The physical sensations that...
A few years ago I was doing some reading about Sabbath and Sabbath practices. It is tragic that for many people, “Sabbath-keeping” is associated with all the things you aren’t allowed to have or do on Sundays. A strict list of what can seem like...
Simplicity. That is my word for 2018, and I am embracing it with a vengeance. One of the reasons that simplicity is my focus this year is that I recognize within me a deep hunger and longing for it. I am coming off a year that...
I sit in my office this morning, fingers poised over the computer keyboard, awaiting words and inspiration and more words. Because nothing is coming, at least not yet, I am suddenly aware of the loud cacophony outside my window: horns honking, a man yelling, something...
Isn’t Caller ID one of the great inventions of contemporary life? I absolutely love it. Despite the fact that my home and cell phone numbers are registered with the national “Do Not Call” list, I still get an annoying number of unsolicited and unwanted calls...
When I was a kid, I was in the habit of wishing time away. I wanted time to speed up, to get me to the next big milestone faster—my first bike, turning “double digits”, becoming a teenager, finally getting to drive, graduating high school and...
I have a confession to make, and this is a risky thing for a preacher to say out loud: Advent may well be my least favorite church season to preach. Ironically, I love Advent from a personal/family/worship standpoint, but preaching the story of Mary, Joseph...