“…this is the Lord’s Table. Christ is the host and we are the guests.“  Dear Friends:  When sharing a meal with friends and family, how do you know you are a most beloved guest? Is the table covered in a beautifully laid tablecloth? Are candles waiting to be lit? How about their best china and […]

“…Lord, teach us to pray,…” Luke 11:1b Dear Friends: “Help, Help, Help. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Wow, Wow, Wow” are three indispensable prayers, necessary in our relationship with God, according to author Anne Lamott. Prayer is “responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words” (The Book of Common Prayerpage […]

“…Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his message.” Luke 10:39 Dear Friends: “Person A: How’s it going?Person B: I’m insanely busy. You know, the usual.Person A: Yeah, me too. I’m scheduling into 2015 already.Person B: I get it. Haven’t taken a real vacation in over a year.Person A: Well, gotta count our blessings for being busy, […]

“…you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being and with all your strength, …and love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 (CEB) Dear Friends: How do you choose to spend your time? Statistics tell us that we choose to sleep 26 years of our life span; 11 years […]

“…you are called to freedom, brothers and sisters…” Galatians 5:13 (CEB) Dear Friends: What is your definition of freedom? Some 243 years ago a five-member team charged to draft grievances against the British government’s hold on the people of what we now call The United States, eventually composed The Declaration of Independence. With Thomas Jefferson […]

“…he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Luke 9:51b Dear Friends: What is your direction? Where are we supposed to be going? Experts have lots to say about direction. One professional shared his story. As a devoted spouse and parent he rightfully found himself on a course of achievement: “work hard, save money, buy […]

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Cor 12:4-7) Dear […]

“My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.” Psalm 108:1 Dear Friends, So many of my childhood memories with my dad center around music. Neither of us are musicians, but we wish we were. We love good soul music that gets down into our bones. Whenever we […]

Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion…the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name…” John 14:16, 26 Dear Friends: At the last vestry meeting, during our opening Bible Study, we pondered the question, “which part of the trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are you most […]

“…as he blessed them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.” Luke 24:51 Dear Friends: Thank goodness Jesus blesses us before he’s sucked up into heaven. In the last three verses of Luke’s gospel, this is what we get. Jesus, alive, resurrected from the dead, taken up to heaven. The image is not […]