I’ve been thinking a lot about Psalm 133 as my residency at First Presbyterian winds to a close. “Behold how good and pleasant it is for kindred to dwell together in unity,” the Psalm begins. Today I am thinking about the good and pleasant times that I’ve had during...
One of my favorite things about the Revised Common Lectionary is that every three years, the Scripture readings cycle back around again and we hear them in a totally new way. The last time I was reflecting upon the readings of Pentecost (Year A), I was in my first...
This summer I will experiment for eight weeks beginning June 7 with a method or style of preaching that historically has been a venerable and even preferred way of proclaiming the word of God among Presbyterian and Reformed congregations. While some of the early...
In this season of social distancing, I decided to get healthy. There really wasn’t much else to do, if I’m being honest. I’ve eaten more vegetables in the past two months than I probably did all last year. I’ve never bought so much spinach or zucchini or asparagus....
Many of you know that Kate and I are taking care of a family farm in Patrick County, Va., on the NC border and close to Mt. Airy. It is where Kate’s mother Helen grew up. It is over 400 acres of cow pastures, hay fields, forests, springs, streams, and cropland....
On a phone call last week, a friend asked if I’d been cooking or baking anything interesting recently. This was a great question, because judging from my social media feeds, I’m not the only one trying out new recipes during this stay-at-home season! I told my friend...
“If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” “The creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but...
Paul McCartney wrote it and asked it in his song back in 1966 called “Eleanor Rigby” (all our old hippies will recall with me that this Beatles song was in the Yellow Submarine film): “All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people,...
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall...
I went to my office today to do some necessary work that I couldn’t do from home. The ivy plant near my office looked droopy, in desperate need of water. I carried it down the hall past the Fred Horner Quiet Center that was too quiet. No women’s Bible...
