Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard,...
Our days in confinement and isolation are surely providing more time and opportunity for catching up on our reading lists and our neglected correspondence. A retired Methodist minister friend of mine with whom we have vacationed together for a week every year since...
A couple weeks ago, before we knew how COVID-19 would soon affect our lives, I attended one of the Lenten yoga classes with the youth small groups here at FPC. I walked to the church from my apartment, yoga mat tucked under my arm, and wondered what the evening would...
We are people of the Book, and in times of danger and worry we turn to the Good Book for strength, courage, comfort, and wisdom. The one full chapter from the Bible many of us know by heart is the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie...
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they...
While the coronavirus pandemic has for a while dramatically altered our customary ways of living, working and even being church, it also has the potential for being a great and needed tutor for us as a people, if we are willing to learn from it. I said in a recent...
I recently went backpacking with John Alexander for a night in the Linville Gorge. It just so happened that the night we picked to sleep outside was one of the few nights that the temperature fell into the mid-teens — a frosty night, indeed! John spent the night in a...
For our most up-to-date information, please see our coronavirus page. Dear FPC families: In line with guidance from Gov. Roy Cooper and recommendations from our Salem Presbytery, FPC is canceling all church-related events (including the Weekday Preschool Center and...
There is one day of the year that I always look forward to more than any other: opening day of baseball season. Every year at the end of the World Series in October, I go into extreme mourning, putting on my sackcloth and covering my head in ashes. Then I wait in...
I know many of you are in despair over the UNC Tar Heels basketball season. The emotional challenge is going from feeling like a winner to feeling like a loser. How do we deal with such feelings? How do we regain hope? How do we obey the Bruce Springsteen command...
