Growth. It can be an exciting word – one we may think of with summertime, fruits and vegetables and flowers growing all around. Perhaps a seemingly unending thing – within those gardens weeds continue to spring forth, sometimes seemingly faster than the plants you...
A dance company. A community theatre. A Boys and Girls Club. Apartments. Condos. A day center for those without homes. These are just some of the uses of neighborhood churches I saw sprinkled throughout Toronto on a recent vacation. Always on the lookout for...
One by one we filed out of Anderson Auditorium and made our way around Lake Susan. With only the streetlights and a few flashlights we stood side by side holding out our candles. Slowly from different spots the light began to be shared and one by one each candle...
I’ve been reading about the heat waves that are happening all over the world. 114 degrees in London! 121 in Delhi, India. Heat-generated fires in Spain. Most of these cities’ residents have little or no air conditioning. People are dying. Many of these deaths affect...
Friends, As you may be aware, the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) met earlier this month. One of the actions they took was to approve an overture declaring Israel an apartheid state. This action, unsurprisingly, has garnered much attention...
As we read Psalm 138 in worship yesterday, I could not help but notice our call to lift praises to God and to trust. The psalmist doesn’t say anything about it being easy; in fact it names our walking in the midst of trouble. However, through the trouble, the psalmist...
Just yesterday, God’s Word hit me between the eyes. Some of you all have heard me say, that we need to be careful when we say a particular text is a familiar one, before we read it, because our mind can go to the end without hearing it fresh each time. In worship...
Several years ago, when my daughters, who are now ages 15-20, were still just toddlers, I joined a bible study group at FPC for moms with young children. It was led by Dolly who was a mom of young children herself at the time. Over the years, some people left and new...
The header on no less than twelve shelves in the chain bookstore read: “Self-Transformation.” Intrigued, I scanned the sub-headers that ranged from witchcraft to manifestation. There was a section on chakras and another on astrology. These shelves were distinct from...
It is wonderful to be part of an active church that engages the community in outreach. Throughout Scripture we are told what we have been called to do. One of the most familiar passages comes from the prophet Micah: God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what...
