So, have you been reading the news reports about the effect cell phone conversations have on people driving vehicles? Their accident rate is the same as someone driving drunk. There is no difference in the accident rates between drivers talking on “hand-held” and “hands free” phones — because what causes the accidents is [...]
Don’t Do It!
Getting Away
In my daily prayer these days, I’m praying for my staff colleague, Robin, down in New Orleans with our youth at the ELCA National Youth Gathering. (Have you been checking her daily posts — with great pictures of our kids — on her “Director’s Blog?” Click “Youth” and then click on her blog.)
And I’m praying [...]
This Is Biblical
Each day is a gift rom God. We are to respond in ways that are pleasing to God.
What pleases God? It is when we live in this way: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. You shall love [...]
The Beauty of Ordinariness
One of the (many) joys of reading the Richmond Times-Dispatch is the fact that they carry Garrison Keilor’s weekly column. The gospel writers have nothing on Garrison, when it comes to insights on human nature.
Today’s column is especially delicious! It was inspired by his musings after listening to the gospel story read in [...]
“Shuffle Songs”
I love the “shuffle songs” feature on my iPod. This morning it gave me (in order) The Paul Winter Consort; The Rolling Stones; Robin and Linda Williams; Bruce; Bill and Pam Gurley; the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, playing Mozart; The Duke Ellington Orchestra; Bruce (again!); The Pretenders; Frank Sinatra with The Count Basie Orchestra; Joe Lovano; [...]
“On The Journey” Small Groups
We are on the journey of faith, in community, encouraging each other, stimulating and provoking each other, even carrying each other (at times, that is necessary).
I have a dream for our congregation: that we will have a number of “On The Journey” small groups meeting at various times during the week, led by different [...]
A Poignant Piece
I was moved by this article, in this morning’s New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/us/politics/13palin.html?_r=1&hp
It’s a history of the events leading up to Sarah Palin’s “surprise” resignation. It’s a poignant piece, with two story lines: the destructive pressures of our contemporary polarized, “gotcha” politics; and (to use a baseball analogy) what often happens when a young “phenom” is [...]
30 Years
I was ordained a Lutheran pastor 30 years ago today. I’ve been thinking about that a lot. What changes there have been!
For instance, The ordination took place on a July afternoon, in an un-air conditioned church. (That wasn’t so much a problem back then. People weren’t yet addicted to interior climate control. They expected to be [...]
“In Search Of Dignity”
I won’t claim that David Brooks read my sermon from this past Sunday (available elsewhere on this web site), but, in this morning’s column, he sure hits some of the same themes, from his perspective as a political commentator.
The column is entitled, “In Search of Dignity.”
By DAVID BROOKS
Published: July 6, 2009
When George Washington was a [...]
Why Is This Guy A Hero?
I don’t get it. Why is this guy welcomed back as a hero?
Manny Ramirez is the only one who’s been welcomed back after being found to have taken steroids. All the others — players such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Raphael Palmiero, Mark McGuire — in other words, the greatest players of the [...]
Latest Sermons
- Please click on sermons under "Pastor" () on July 31, 2010.
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- Where sermons come from July 20, 2010Here’s the way it works. Weeks earlier, I’ve gone through the lectionary, paying attention to which of the three passage catches my attention. I jot down a few ideas of why the passage seems important. Then, on the Monday of the week that the passage is going to be read, I do my work with the commentaries, [...] […]Pastor
- Listening July 20, 2010For the second morning in a row, this morning, when the clock struck 4:00, I was instantly awake and alert. The verse that has come to mind is from 1 Samuel 3: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” I think it’s part of the discernment process in our search process for a new staff member. We’ve [...] […]Pastor
- George Steinbrenner July 14, 2010How interesting to read all the nice things being said about George Steinbrenner, now that he’s died. (Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a “George Steinbrenner Ruined Baseball” T-Shirt in a good while, since his quieter son took over.) Since I think of life in terms of Christianity, I keep returning to Paul’s lists [...] […]Pastor
- Under Judgment July 13, 2010It rained last night! The roads were too wet for me to ride my bike. (This is something that I did not realize until I was dressed, had filled a water bottle, had topped off the air in the tires, and had walked the bike down the driveway, and actually looked at the [...] […]Pastor
- Well, we need the rain … July 10, 2010The alarm went off a few minutes before 6:00 this morning. I needed time to prepare, before leaving for a 54-mile bicycle ride in Sussex County beginning at 9:00 this morning. To get to the starting point of the ride, in Waverly, I would need to be on the 7:40 ferry across the James; the 8:00 [...] […]Pastor
- We’re funny that way July 7, 2010So. Here in Virginia, June, 2010 was the second hottest June. Ever. And, June 2010 was the dryest June. Ever. Does that prove “global warming?” Nope. But isn’t it funny, that for weeks and weeks there hasn’t been a single letter or essay in the “Virginia Gazette” from those who think “global warming” is a hoax? (You [...] […]Pastor
- How I Spent My Summer (afternoon) June 25, 2010Sitting with the husband of a young woman who is on a ventilator, in the ICU, being tended by the very same nurse who took care of me when I was in the same ICU on a ventilator. Yup. That’s how I spent this afternoon: being present and prayerful for those in need, while trying not to be [...] […]Pastor
- Daily Centering June 23, 2010As the 5th century turned to the 6th, Christianity had been legal for nearly 200 years and many in the Church had become lazy. Many did not feel a sense of compelling mission from the Spirit. Resting on its comfortable position as an accepted institution in society, as the Roman empire crumbled in its own [...] […]Pastor
- A Member of the Family June 16, 2010I have officated at 184 funerals and memorial services. I have journeyed with many of those families through the illnesses of their loved ones, sitting at bedsides, offering prayers as their loved ones have died. With others, I’ve responded to the news of tragic accidents, helping them to deal first with the shock that God [...] […]Pastor
- Christian Community June 14, 2010What a significant congregational meeting we had yesterday. Big decisions on a $500,000 renovation project for our church building, including enlarging the narthex. A capital funds campaign for the next three years. Our leaders presented excellent information to give basis for the decisions. Some of us disagreed with the proposals. We shared honest opin […]Pastor
- Where sermons come from July 20, 2010
Sunday Schedule
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- Where sermons come from
- Listening
- George Steinbrenner
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- Well, we need the rain …
- We’re funny that way
- How I Spent My Summer (afternoon)
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- A Member of the Family
- Christian Community
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Blogroll
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