Driving on Snow My job as rector is a little like driving a car on a snowy road. It’s very exciting. And a little dangerous. I’ve loved it all these years but soon it will be time to turn the wheel over to someone else and take on the next challenge in life. I […]
Logs and Specks Each of us grows up with unresolved issues from our childhood and more issues are added along the way. No family, no parent or spouse, can give us all the love we need and an integral part of the spiritual journey is coming to see our own wounds and coming to […]
Dear St John’s, You as a parish have seen many associate rectors arrive and then leave equipped with new skills and experiences to begin the next season of their ministry. I’m writing to inform you that I, too, will soon begin the next season of a new ministry. Like those who have gone before me, […]
A New Compassion I have a new compassion for people who have a hard time losing weight. For 63 years it seemed like I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, and I never could tell any difference. One of our former associates had a dramatic spike in his cholesterol after being […]
Soft Reopening Scheduled for July 5 We are tentatively planning a very limited reopening of St. John’s to in-person worship beginning July 5. It is important for us all to recognize that this plan is still a tentative one and may need to be changed to a later date. It is also important that we […]
God of the Oppressed In an undergraduate Religion class in the mid-1970’s, I was introduced to a book entitled God of the Opressed by James Cone. The basic point of the book was not all that new to me: the oppressed have a special place in God’s heart. It went with the message I […]
Enforced Pause The home we moved into seven years ago has a gate in the driveway. I see more and more of those these days and, though it is still new for me, I understand it is meant to provide security. Gates are like locks I suppose: if someone is determined to break in, […]
On my first Sunday here at St. John’s, after giving Communion to a row of people at the rail, I was waiting for the chalice to be administered and looking out at the excited group of people coming forward in our beautiful nave. There was a lot of energy in the air as parishioners and […]
…But I Say To You “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you.” In the Sermon on the Mount, contained in chapters 5-7 in Matthew, Jesus begins to teach his followers what will be expected of them. The strict religious types were so concerned about the behavior of other people that […]
Wheat and Tares On Wednesday nights we are holding a class on Zoom entitled, “Staying Spiritually Grounded During COVID-19”, the purpose of which is to offer you tools to develop a rule of life and encourage a more disciplined and contemplative prayer life. You can enroll in the live class by contacting Deonna Neal […]