Advent 2020 = Awake in the dark
This year’s Advent theme is Awake in the dark. We based it on the gospel for this coming Sunday from Mark chapter 13. The reading begins with the sun being darkened, and ends with the words of Jesus: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep awake.” It…
Childhood in the present
A couple days ago Abbie and I were scrolling our New York Times app and came across THIS interview with Mo Willems. He’s a children’s book author and illustrator. Elephant and Piggie, and the stubborn Pigeon were frequent members of our library check out list. Willems says his key insight…
Siblings all
With coronavirus and the election dominating the headlines this fall, you may have, like me, missed the release of a major document in the ecumenical world. On October 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis released a new encyclical titled Fratelli tutti (Brothers all, or, Siblings…
Remembering (how) to pray
I keep remembering and forgetting how to pray. This week a song helped me remember, again. Perhaps you’ve already heard it. It’s a piece of true pandemic-instigated artistry – a young adult musician couple, parents of a young child, with a canceled concert tour and related income, making music in…
Peacekeepers at the Polls
Yesterday Abbie and I voted. After a rainy day it was still misting a bit late afternoon and seemed like a time when less people would be attempting in-person early voting at the Board of Elections on Morse Rd. So we headed out. The line was still quite long (partly…
Peak magnificence
Here in Ohio we don’t have the mountains and we don’t have the ocean. But we have the maples. And it is October. And we have the walnuts, and honey locust, and redbuds and hackberries, and mulberries, and all the other photosynthesizing wonders making this fall transition with us. It’s…
Cultivating Beloved Community
On Saturday, March 7, Leadership Team met for a retreat and decided on this as an annual vision for ministry: “We will cultivate beloved community by deepening relationships within and beyond our congregation.” The following day was the last time we worshiped together in our building before the pandemic shut…
Three years in sanctuary: A film and a (virtual) gathering
Next Friday, October 2, is Edith’s three year anniversary in sanctuary. Along with these annual markers you may remember the 500th day falling on Valentine’s Day, 2019, and we observed the 1000th day during our June 28 pre-recorded worship service this year. There’s a somberness to these occasions, but also…
Three scriptures for defunding the police
When Rev. Jack Sullivan was our guest preacher in August he mentioned that the Ohio Council of Churches was declaring September 20 as Anti-Racism Sunday. We will be participating by incorporating anti-racism themes into our worship service this Sunday. One anti-racism effort with increased momentum has been calls to defund…
Forest health, our health
One of my favorite Ohio-based organizations is the Arc of Appalachia. My introduction to the Arc came during a 2010 tree education course that rocked my world, bringing the forest to life in a way I’d never experienced. To borrow from this upcoming Sunday’s passage about Moses and the burning…
