Pastor’s Pen (Page 3)
Pastor’s Column – Oct 2023
As I write from our kitchen table, a white spotted doe is grazing not but 10 feet beyond our glass door. Her fur is ruffled and nose is black. She immediately noticed me, but clearly I am no threat to her. Afterall this is Lancaster. Jessica and I were once walking through aneighborhood when we witnessed three deer staring at someone’s backyard shed as if they were waiting on someone who was late for an important appointment. They were. Sure…
Pastor’s Column – Aug 2023
O Lord, how manifold are your works! There is the sea, great and wide; creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships and Leviathan that you formed to play it.” psalm 104 If you get a chance today or this week, I encourage you to read psalm 104 in its entirety. It is best read in the sanctuary of nature. Take a seat near an open window or go out on the patio.…
Pastor’s Column – July 2023
So let’s strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up. Romans 14:19 Just imagine if everyone took these words seriously? Imagine if this was the bedrock of all our relationships? Imagine if this was the way our society created public policy or law? Imagine if religion took this seriously? I wish it did, but looking at the world, even Christianity in the United States, it is clear that we often don’t strive for…
Pastor’s Column – June 2023
God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And so light appeared. God saw how good the light was. Genesis 1:3 I hope you are reading this on a day when the sun is pouring through the windows. I hope you can reach out your hand or close your eyes and simply feel the energy of the sun transferring energy into your body and mind. If you aren’t in such a place, I invite you to really be present the next time…
Pastor’s Column – Apr 2023
“Then know, there is no hide-and-seek with the divine that doesn’t end in you being found.” I don’t know about you but I can’t read that line enough. Even though I am a reverend, there are days when God’s grace and love seem so unbelievable to me. When I fail to live out the best version of myself… when I feel like I am not doing enough… when I feel like I don’t deserve God’s love, I am reminded that…
Pastor’s Column – Feb 2023
“Seek the Lord while God may be found, call upon God while God is near.”God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:6,8-9 NRSV Jessica and I will be married 9 years this coming June, however we have been together for 13. After 13 years I feel…
Pastor’s Column – July 2021
They are like trees planted by streams ofwater, which yield their fruit in its season. Psalm 1:3a I recently heard someone explain that the “Church is a community of people where God nurtures, teaches, and challenges us in the ways of God.” Through our worship, in our prayers, by way of fellowship, we feel the nurturing presence of God with us. Through Sunday School and the studying of scripture, we dive deeper into the mystery of God’s immense love for…
Pastor’s Pen – March 2013
Often my friends joke and say as I enter a room, “Here he comes, watch the sparks fly.†I appreciate the humor relating my name to my work and calling. Part of my job is to guide the church into identifying the existing sparks and the new ways to make them fly for the ministry of Christ. As your interim pastor, I am looking forward to beginning the next phase of our time to together, looking into the community and…
The Season of Lent Begins
The Season of Lent Begins Ash Wednesday, February 13 with Service at 7:00 PM. Weekly Thursday Evening Sessions will be held at 7:00 PM. The Season of Lent is a great opportunity for Christians and the Church. It is a time to check in upon our faith individually and collectively. Known as a season of sacrifice – giving up something that is a regular appreciated part of our lives – more so, lent is to grow spiritually and prepare for a…
Pastor’s Pen – January 2013
Christmas memories, I hope and pray that your Christmas memories of the past and for this year are good and healthy ones. Thanks to so many of you for the Christmas cards and gifts and to the congregation at large for the gift card. With a national tragedy that focuses upon the loss of the lives of children and teachers in one school lingering over us, we need to be sure and reach deeper within to find the joy of…