” Love never gives up. ” ~ I Corinthians 13:4 We’re better than this. I have heard a lot of people say that lately. Especially in response to the bullying, name calling, trolling, body shaming, and hate speech that happens every day and is escalating. The attack this week on Jussie Smollett, star of the…
“In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative…
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This Sunday in Epiphany is traditionally known as “The Baptism of the Lord,” which is why the gospel passage is Luke’s account of John baptizing many people, including, of course, Jesus (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22).…
This Sunday is the culminating Sunday of 2018. Our purpose is to say goodbye and “Amen” to all of our concerns from 2018. As individuals/families, as community, and as a church we will release the worry, fear, concern and stress from 2018. Even though some situations may continue into 2019, we open ourselves to approach…
“To hope in Jesus is to see the vision of his coming presence, and thus one is required by hope itself to live as if the vision is already realized in the present.” ~James Cone This Sunday is “Hope Sunday.” We anticipate the Christ Child, the embodiment of hope. Like the magi of Matthew 2:1-12,…
“The assumption of spirituality is that always God is doing something before I know it. So the task is not to get God to do something I think needs to be done, but to become aware of what God is doing so that I can respond to it and participate and take delight in it.”…
“O God, all the nations that you’ve made will come and bow down before you; they will glorify your name, because you are awesome and a wonder-worker.” ~Psalm 86:9-10 With shepherds quaking, glories streaming, and heavenly hosts singing-the second verse of the beloved hymn “Silent Night” is the most spectacular. The song goes from calm…
“. ..we each have the agency to reach out across divides and connect because we are humans with common human needs and, deep down, we all have the desire for peace for ourselves and our children.” ~Marcia McFee Music holds transformative power. Songs like “Amazing Grace” and “We Shall Overcome” have inspired countless people in…
“There’s a video I like of someone doing laundry in North Africa’s Atlas Mountains. It’s just a man doing the wash on the bank. There’s nothing traditional or artistic about it, but the way he treads on the clothes looks like he’s dancing. There’s no sound, but you almost hear the sound of the clothes…
“God’s people live out of the past and into the future, a future that has been promised but is yet to be fully realized. We always need to offer thanks and praise to God, to acknowledge gifts graciously given, and to hope in God’s continuing and surprising provision for the future.” ~M. Pasquarello Our worship…
