As we prepare for Christmas Eve, anticipating the traditional lighting of our candles and the communal singing of Silent Night, I am cognizant of the familiarity this year has given us with our own Silent Nights.   This time last year gathered together at The Land, none of us would have guessed that a global […]

A pastor stood behind the pulpit with sweaty palms and a racing heart, knowing that the sermon he was about to preach to the congregation was embarrassingly lacking. Desperately praying for God’s intervention, the pastor noticed out of the corner of his eye a letter floating down from the sky. Relieved, the pastor rushed to […]

Fiona and I went out to The Land yesterday. For her, the motivation was the opportunity to photograph anything that “wasn’t a rabbit or a squirrel.” For me, it was a retreat inspired by a shallow sense of sorrow and a deeper sense of well-rounded frustration. I absolutely love editing and viewing our pre-recorded services […]

Inspired by Joshua 10: 7-14I imagine we can all think of stories where the absence of light has caused us challenges.  I was eleven years old when, waking up in the dark of the night at our lakeside cottage in Pennsylvania, I ran full speed into a closed door on my way to the bathroom. If […]

Election Day LoveInspired by Matthew 5: 1-14 My daughter was in Kindergarten the first time she saw a crucifix. We were sitting in a cold, wooden pew in an empty sanctuary at St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church in Denver. My daughter looked up at the stained-glass windows, pointed to the scene closest to where we […]

Inspired by Joshua 1: 1-9 When I picked this scripture, I definitely wasn’t thinking that it would be the basis for the annual church conference pastors report. This Joshua sermon series that we are beginning today is meant to follow our Exodus sermon series. Like theVH1 series featuring past celebrities to offer an update on […]

Last Wednesday, in our small morning group, we asked the quick and easy to answer the question, “What does it mean to be human?” For inspiration, we referenced an article written just after the beginning of the pandemic by cultural ecologist and philosopher David Abram. In his Op-ed piece, Abrams describes a future marked by the […]

Inspired by Exodus 20: 1-17 (NRSV) After living in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, the Israelites leave for the land God promised their ancestors. Six hundred thousand men, not including women and children, fleeing the stability of oppression for the fertility of land they have yet to locate. Among these hundreds of thousands […]

I can re-member the chaos of the first Passover. Neighbors rushing to stores to purchase meat. My solitary stillness after making up an excuse to avoid accepting an invitation.  Later watching as friends smear blood over front doors. My pretentious distaste for their new decor kept to myself.  I can imagine saying nothing about everything […]

Inspired by Exodus 6:28-7:7If this scripture passage feels like Deja Vu, then pat yourself on the back because that means you have been paying attention. You also have an excellent memory. We have been over this before; two chapters and one week ago if you want the specifics. The progression from chapter four to chapter […]