I don’t know whether you’ve noticed this where you live, but at my house, the flower beds—which actually have very few intentionally planted flowers in them at the moment—and bushes and grass are all growing like crazy. Every time I turn around, it’s time to mow or weed again. The rainy spring and the hot […]
Read more "The Blessed Community"Happy Easter! I hope the Easter Bunny found you early this morning and left you plenty of jelly beans and Cadbury chocolates. And I hope that whatever your Easter tradition usually is, that this is a day of joy and sweetness, rest and renewal for you. I mentioned last week in the call to worship […]
Read more "It’s Your Story, Too"It’s a curious thing about human nature that our daily experiences—our hunger, our thirst for life—seems to be heightened after we’ve gone through a time of trial. Maybe after a period of what feels like darkness, we’re more aware somehow of the shining of the light: After a long, gray winter, the colors of spring […]
Read more "Time & Treasure"Wednesday of this week was Ash Wednesday, which means the season of Lent has begun. In many denominations, people go to church and receive a cross of ash on their foreheads. The ashes are made by burning the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The pastor who gives the blessing typically says something […]
Read more "Your Personal Wilderness"What kind of relationship do you have with silence? When we settle into our silent worship time, is that comfortable for you or do you inwardly struggle with the quiet? For some people, silent time feels peaceful and nurturing. For others, it can be hard to sit still and hard to calm the mind. Instead […]
Read more "Studies in Still Life"I’m glad to tell you that Gloria is here, and I’m totally in love with her. She is soft, sweet, playful, doing what puppies do—chewing and jumping and tugging, spilling water bowls (or splashing in them with her chubby paws). And oh my goodness the innocence that just pours out of her, as she experiences […]
Read more "Perfectibility, Not Perfectionism"The original inspiration for our message today came weeks ago when I first saw a photo that Brooklyn Friends Meeting had posted online. The picture showed the sign out in front of their meetinghouse—much like ours—and it said, “Meetings for Worship Every First Day (Sunday) 11:00am. All Are Welcome.” And then, beneath that, there was […]
Read more "The Roots of Community"