Friends, Thank you! Thank you for the warm and enthusiastic welcome. We are so excited to be here and look forward to getting to know you in the months and years ahead. It is, of course, more challenging to see one another given our current pandemic restrictions....
My grandmother Judy had a saying, “Well, here you grow again!” This was typically announced at the conclusion of some hour-plus conversation about how someone in our family (you can guess who) was experiencing a profound change in his/her life that was complex and...
A great big warm thanks to both Danny Massie and Alexandra Mauney for their outstanding leadership over these many months. Danny concluded his ministry as Interim Pastor yesterday. Alexandra’s last day with us will be November 15. They have both contributed...
There are a lot of ways to say goodbye, to bid farewell to family, friends and even mere acquaintances. Every language has at least one and many have multiple ways to express this sentiment given the situation and circumstances. Adios, adieu, ciao, au revoir,...
This passage from Romans 5:1-5 has been a part of my daily prayers these past 6 months: Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast...
Just a few days ago, I heard on the news a report about successful Black women entrepreneurs in Detroit. The woman being interviewed said that an entrepreneur is someone who can endure risk and bounce back from hardship. That strikes me as an excellent description of...
Well, it’s Tuesday evening as I write this, and Ann Alexander has reminded me that tomorrow is the deadline for a pastoral message from me to be submitted for next week’s e-news. Of course, I would love to write something helpful, something instructive, maybe even...
I have no quarrel with the groundhog. They used to make large holes in pastures, and cows would step in them and break their legs. Hunters enjoyed lying on ridges and picking them off with rifles and scopes from 200 yards away. Now that the coyotes are plentiful and...
Thursday night my daughter Sydney and I attended a service of Lament and Repentance on the steps of the FPC Sanctuary. It was crafted by our Batts’ pastoral residents (Nate Sell, Alexandra Mauney, and Keith Dove) and our Director of Discipleship and Young Adult...
