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Worship Times Refreshments & Christian Education Nursery Services Provided Handicap Accessible All Are Welcome!
A Congregation Of The "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." - Gracie Allen |
From May 04, 2008 The place was San Francisco International Airport. The year: 1988. My friend Jeff was leaving for an open-ended stay in France; his favorite aunt and I were there seeing him off. Excitement overtook us at the gate. (Remember, this was before 9/11.) But as excited as we were, auntie and I also knew it might be a very long time before we saw Jeff again, so a few tears hid behind our laughter. Time to go. Jeff hugged his aunt long and hard, then walked to the
gate, showed his boarding pass, and disappeared down the jetway. His
aunt and I found a place by the window and kept watch. The plane pulled
slowly from the terminal, taxied to the runway and took off in a wild
roar, soaring into the sky, becoming small, smaller, smallest. Then it
disappeared altogether. From April 27, 2008 When we were kids, the making and keeping of promises was nothing short of a sacred enterprise. "Promise? Swear to God?" one would ask. And the other would nod solemnly. "Cross my heart and hope to die." This promise making was serious stuff. There was the occasional friend, however, who crossed his fingers when he spoke. In my neighborhood, a friend who got caught doing that was labeled a fink and couldn't be trusted anymore. But even when we made promises in earnest, there were no guarantees.
I meant it with all my heart when I promised my friend a horseback ride
after school. But my horse had other ideas; I chased after Cookie for a
whole hour but never got close enough to put a bridle on him. That day
my friend and I both suffered, the promiser and the promised to. From April 20, 2008 Today's gospel lesson reminds me of a pork chop. Not just any pork chop but one I once ordered at Cynthia's on a fancy date; it came stuffed with gorgonzola cheese and other kinds of deliciousness. Not only was it rich, it was substantial enough for four or five people. Most of that chop went home in a doggie bag and nourished me for the better part of a week. Today's gospel lesson is like that pork chop. Jesus says so many important things this morning, all of them so rich and generous, but it's almost too much. Just a bite or two from the fourteen verses that are ours today would be more than enough. Our choices are many. "If in my name you ask me for anything, I will
do it." "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." "I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." "Do
not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me….I
will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there
you may be also." From April 13, 2008 Time unfolds differently for the church than it does in daily life. Take Advent, for example. Those four weeks equal centuries as we go from ancient prophets telling us about the coming Messiah, to his conception, and then to his birth. Time is measured differently in Lent, too, as we power walk through Jesus' three-year public ministry in under two months. In church, time expands and contracts. It even jumps back and forth willy-nilly sometimes. Take today, for instance. Here we are in Eastertide, four Sundays out from the magnificence of Christ's resurrection, and yet things are out of sequence. Even though we won't celebrate Pentecost until the 2nd Sunday in May,
today we're being invited to remember what happened after that, after
the wild winds of the Holy Spirit turned a gathering of believers in
Jerusalem into the very body of Christ, into the church. From April 6, 2008 Toward the end of a seminary semester, a
classmate's spouse asked me how things were going. I replied
that I was heavy into a paper about Christ. "It's such a
shame we don't know what Jesus really looked like," she said
wistfully. "You would think, given who he was, that a
painter or sculptor would have made him the subject of a
work of art." From March 30, 2008 When bad things happen to good people, we
respond. We offer the kindest words we can summon. But that
rarely feels sufficient--not when love is involved. So we
offer food. We offer help. We offer to keep our friends and
loved ones lifted high in prayer. From March 23, 2008 What would you do if someone handed you a
bundle of cashand told you to give it away? That's the
challenge facing a handful of ordinary people on Oprah's Big
Give, a new series ABC is hosting this season. From March 09, 2008 In the Navajo world, anything related to
death is taboo. So organ transplants are off limits. So are
open caskets. The taboo against death reaches further than
you might expect. When Navajos shop in thrift stores, for
instance, they are reluctant to buy for anyone other than
babies and children; adult clothing may have belonged to
someone no longer living. From March 2, 2008 Jesus walked this lonesome valley, he had
to walk it by himself. From February 24, 2008 Hollywood's red carpet has been rolled in
time for the 80th Academy Awards tonight. All it has to do
is wait for A-list actresses and actors who, even before the
first Oscar is presented, already know they are the best of
the best.
From February 17, 2008 On Tuesday night while Paducahans huddled in
darkness wondering when their power would be restored, Ella
Bailey was dancing around her living room. You see, Ella had
just returned from Western Baptist where she had taken her
first peek at Bailey Grace, her brand new niece. From February 10, 2008 "Kaaaaren. Kaaaaaaren." The dime inside Jay
Riley's desk was calling my name. I had seen it countless
times before, nestled in a cubby space, and hadn't given it
any thought. That is until the day I asked Tony Knight to
walk me home after school. Stopping at the Fourth Street
Market and springing for a little treat would clinch it for
me in the 3rd grade girlfriend department. From February 10, 2008 "Kaaaaren. Kaaaaaaren." The dime inside Jay
Riley's desk was calling my name. I had seen it countless
times before, nestled in a cubby space, and hadn't given it
any thought. That is until the day I asked Tony Knight to
walk me home after school. Stopping at the Fourth Street
Market and springing for a little treat would clinch it for
me in the 3rd grade girlfriend department. From February 3, 2008 Six days later, at the top of a mountain and
in the presence of three disciples, Jesus is transfigured.
His garments blaze with light and a glory more stupendous
than the sun shines from his face. Israel's greatest
prophets, Moses and Elijah, appear and confer with Jesus,
inspiring Peter to devise a plan to house them. A voice from
the heavens points Peter and his friends in a more fitting
direction. "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well
pleased; listen to him!" From January 27, 2008 My first career came to an end when the
university for which I worked was forced to down-size. For
fifteen wonderful years, doors on campus opened without much
knocking on my part--something that served to put me at a
disadvantage when it was time to move on. A supportive
colleague in the Personnel Office recognized this and so
graciously volunteered to coach me. From January 20, 2008 Not until I moved to Oregon did I know there
was such a thing as chainsaw sculptures. They were
everywhere. Ferocious grizzlies, amiable Yogi the Bears,
whole families of bears sometimes. There were eagles and
owls and, at Christmas time, tin soldiers standing at
attention. From
January 13, 2008 People frequently assume I've always been a
pastor. Nope. Before this, I had a rewarding career in
higher education, one that prepared me for parish ministry
and which continues to influence my thinking about how you
and I can be the church together. From
January 6, 2008 In the days when Augustus Caesar ruled the
Roman Empire and King Herod reigned in Jerusalem, there
lived among the mountains of Persia, in the city of
Ecbatana, a man named Artaban. Like his three
friends--Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar--Artaban was a
devout follower of the faith of Zoroaster and excelled in
the highest form of learning: knowledge of the stars. |
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Defending Your Life
on July 6th at 12 noon. |
