Wendell Berry makes it a practice of writing a poem on his Sabbath. I’d highly recommend the anthology of those poems, titled This Day. I always thought this was something he did as a sort of committe...  Read More

Yesterday, I did something very brave.I logged on to Facebook.Okay, despite the scary things one can find on Facebook, it wasn’t bravery at all; it was just mindless habit. Just like nearly every othe...  Read More

I continue to receive feedback and emails expressing well, opinions, about our new sanctuary Bibles. Many of you have already read the letter I wrote this fall outlining the process that was followed ...  Read More

“The people walking in darkness have a seen a great light… A child is born to us, a son is given…” -Isaiah 9:2, 6Karl Rahner once said this about Advent: “Every year we roll up all our needs and yearn...  Read More

I make absolutely no claims to being a poet. I am invigorated by reading poetry, and I hold poets in high esteem, but I myself rarely endeavor to do it. Every once in awhile, however, a poem stirs in ...  Read More

Last week Brittany and I worshipped in a leper colony.Well, sort of. Many of you are probably aware that we were very fortunate to spend the last week-and-a-half in Hawaii, time together that was rest...  Read More

“As long as we read the Bible or a spiritual book simply to acquire knowledge, our reading does not help us in our spiritual lives. We can become very knowledgeable about spiritual matters without bec...  Read More

I am currently reading Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. It’s a short little book, but I’m reading it slowly because it is filled with rich insights and, well, because it’s about contemplation....  Read More

The premise of Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is, well, a couple of comedians… going for a car ride together… to get a cup of coffee. Couldn’t have figured that out bas...  Read More

Some of you have asked for a copy of what I wrote for the Annual Congregational Meeting on Monday night. Here it is:I’ve never been bashful about stealing a good idea. A mentor of mine wrote something...  Read More

“Even as I draw the freshly laundered clothesfrom the basin, may the sight and the scentof a new cleanness remind meof the righteousness that is now mine,of the ongoing forgiveness that you extend,of ...  Read More

“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”Those of us who are familiar with the creation of Adam in Genesis 2 are probably familiar with that wording above (or something similar), b...  Read More