This week is the third Sunday of our three-week series on the promise of prayer. I’m surprised to find that as we come to the end of this time, I feel like we’re really only just beginning to scratch the surface of the topic. We talked the first week about George Fox’s struggle with despair […]
Read more "The Transforming Presence"When you were a kid at the pool in the summer, did you ever play the game Marco Polo? It’s really fun if you have a few friends with you and it’s even more fun if it’s a hot and beautiful day and the pool is crowded, because then you can all scatter in different […]
Read more "Marco Polo, God’s Way"It’s good to be back with you this morning, Friends. I wish I could tell you exactly what I did on my very-relaxing-and-wonderful vacation last week, but I have to admit it’s a bit of a blur now. The main thing I remember is that there was a lot of quiet, a lot of peace, […]
Read more "The Promise of Prayer"I imagine that you are, like I am, still processing and trying to understand the events of the last couple of weeks in our country. Our souls were shocked to see such violence and disrespect—disregard for the well-being of people and traditions and institutions. And we are still on edge as we hear about safety […]
Read more "Remembering Prayer"You know, it’s usually a fact of normal life: You smile at someone; they smile back. You call a friend on the phone and they answer (or you leave a message and they call you back shortly). You call your spouse’s name from the living room; he says, “What?” wherever he is. Call and response […]
Read more "Call and Response"This is the second of two reflections offered in the Good Friday service yesterday at Hancock Health. As a people of prayer, we know it to be true that prayer changes things. Prayer changes things in mighty and sometimes surprising ways. On our prayer chain at church we have so many stories of illnesses healed, […]
Read more "Prayers of Intercession"Yesterday at Hancock Health I had the blessing of participating in a virtual Good Friday service we offered for our community, knowing that many, many people this Holy Week will be unable to go out and attend services as they normally would. Here I want to share the first of two reflections I offered in […]
Read more "Pause for a Breath"Today’s Friendly Reflection for Lent could not be more perfect for the situation we find ourselves in today! Here is the full quote, from early Friend John Woolman: The place of prayer is a precious habitation: … I saw this habitation to be safe, to be inwardly quiet, when there was great stirrings and commotions […]
Read more "Morning thought: Wednesday"I am sure you have noticed this: We are living through an exhausting time. The relentless cycle of news, the rancorous political climate, concerns about our environment, worry about those who struggle, who are in need, who are sick and vulnerable—it’s overwhelming. With all this as the backdrop, we are still doing our best to […]
Read more "A Heart Refreshed"Well, Friends, unfortunately the light-hearted, easy message I had planned for us today (and already half finished) has been pre-empted by something else that felt more important to say this morning. If you’ve been following the news this week, you’re aware of the rising tensions and military action that resulted in the death of an […]
Read more "A Call for Prayer"
The Space between the Words 