Acts of gratitude happen all around us, even when we aren’t seeing them. It can be how we welcome someone into the church kitchen, building maintenance, onto the board, or even into our worship service. We can show our gratitude through acts of inclusive, loving, kindness to others. Lets talk about ways we can open … Continue reading An Act of Gratitude
Why do we invest in community? Elie Wiesel once said, “Life is not a fist. Life is an open hand waiting for some other hand to enter it in friendship.” Are we not here because we need each other, perhaps more than we realize or estimate? Especially in tumultuous times, our dedication to showing up … Continue reading Salt and Light: The Way of Community
Our world has become so noisy that it seems there are few times when we aren’t hearing something: the mower outside my window, the dog across the street barking, the whirl of tires rounding the pavement as they speed by, the click-clack of my keyboard as I type. Our ears must be very, very tired … Continue reading Do you hear what I hear?
Understanding that our words carry so much power to heal or harm, we need to be mindful and aware of the impact we have on those around us who carry our words out into the world. How might we speak when surrounded by divine beings?
In the 1970s and 1980s, the women’s movement was supported by a movement of men who wished to get in touch with their feelings and become more compassionate. Four decades later, while the women’s movement has made great strides, the men’s movement has largely faded from consciousness. To fill that vacuum, many young American men … Continue reading Whither Men in America?
Moving through each day can feel like we are racing against the clock. Are we missing opportunities to enrich our lives and the lives of others by being too focused on day to day things? What might we see when we slow down and look away from our own path?
What I love about children is their unbridled capacity to be silly and laugh at the absurdity of life. It takes me back to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s quote in The Little Prince, “All grown-ups were once children…but only few of them remember it.” The world chips away at us as we grow, leaving fragments of … Continue reading Picking Up the Costume Pieces
By being surrounded by love, we open our minds to another person’s perspective. We allow ourselves to hear their opinions and their morals and challenge our own thoughts, and occasionally those thoughts change. To be loved is an invitation to change at the deepest level, an invitation become fully a part of the interdependent web … Continue reading To Love and Be Loved
It is said that the age of a pastor is usually a reflection of the median age of a church’s members. That may be true but a healthy, inclusive church needs the dreams of all ages. How can we dream together in a way that serves the needs of our congregation and our community?
