What does it mean to celebrate Palm Sunday in the time of covid 19 and shelter in place? Our Hosanna has a sharper focus. Being a part of the crowd is bit more cosmic. And our journey with Jesus is more tender. On Palm Sunday, we cry together: Hosanna, which literally beseeches “God save us”! In a different year, we would have…
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We are deep in the season of Advent, preparing spiritually for the coming of Jesus and also physically preparing- making cookies, wrapping gifts, making plans to visit family and friends. There’s a lot of excitement that comes with the anticipation of Christmas. In our house, decorating is when it really starts to feel real. Especially our Christmas tree. If it were up…
Since 1983, Ancestry and other subsidiaries like Ancestory.com, Twenty-three and me have shed insight for many people into their family background. Treasure troves of new relationships, connections with people previously unknown have helped people discover details that they only heard rumors about before. Stories and documents have surfaced to fill in holes in family lore. Like piecing together parts of the proverbial…
With turkey still in the refrigerator and pie crumbs yet in the pan, we started decking our halls on Friday. We could hardly wait! It is one of our most beloved traditions. I wonder if some of you did as well. Tens of red and green Rubbermaid totes carried up from the basement, ornaments carefully unwrapped, strings of lights untangled, and lights…
Intentional diversityNot many people naming Jesus’ twelve disciples from memory would be likely to include Jesus’ disciple Nathanael in the top five or six names. We all think of Peter and Thomas, James and John. Nathanael asks Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Nathanael’s question reveals much about him and by extension, us as well. Looking back, it…
Where are we headed next? We have some travelers in this congregation! Worldwide travelers, Florida travelers, shore travelers, RV travelers, and armchair travelers! What a delight it is to hear your travel stories! Pictures and stories from far-flung locales and day excursions exploring a new or beloved place. For those of us who drive our journeys, we may count down the miles.…
When it starts, it often feels like an instinct or a growing sense of wondering. For the Magi, it was a star that caught their eye and ignited their studies. Regular night time studies of following the star. Each of them dropped everything and followed it! They travelled far across dunes with determination and grit. Not knowing exactly where they would end…