When I worked as a preschool teacher, we were all required to do a certain amount of hours of continuing education every single year. One of the trainings we often had, focused on teaching us the importance and practice of good listening. Then we would split into groups and practice the art of listening. Most … [Read more…]
We would like to invite everyone to join us for an outreach effort. We will be doing an activity for an organization called Project Sunshine. We will be assembling activity backpacks for children undergoing treatments for various illnesses at hospitals. This gives the children entertainment and something to distract them during their sometimes long treatments. … [Read more…]
The dictionary says, “A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (often including spiritual exercises) is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development”. Spiritual practices are more than about prayer. They are not necessarily defined by how one acts in church but rather they can be anything that gives someone a spiritual experience. … [Read more…]
When I was growing up, my brothers and I had a knack for getting into trouble. We were always rolling around like a pack of puppies and inevitably one of us would run into the house crying and bleeding. But my parents had a way with dealing with us and parental disappointment in our family. … [Read more…]
We have all at one point or another experienced the misjudgments and sometimes even hate of another person. As a woman in the ministry, I have experienced quite a bit of it. One of those times, happened to be while I was still in my last year of seminary and I was doing supply preaching … [Read more…]
When you imagine Jesus, what does Jesus look like, what does he act like? (Let Congregation answer) I often imagine this well spoken man, a brave man, not the poorest of the poor but not wealthy. I tend to imagine Jesus very much being like me. I imagine him as the ultimate comforter and these … [Read more…]
When you think of hospitality and welcome, what words come to mind? What images come to mind? I think as Christians we don’t spend nearly enough time contemplating the importance of hospitality in our world, in our lives, and in our experiences. We all know what it feels like to be truly welcomed and on … [Read more…]
So I was reading Weird Church this week and came across the Greek word oikos and immediately thought to myself “Yogurt? What does Greek yogurt have to do with church? That’s bizarre.” But as I continued to read I learned the Oikos is a very important and ancient Greek word that became synonymous with the … [Read more…]
When you hear the word salvation, what images, rules, feeling, or thoughts come to mind for you? For me when I think of salvation I think of heaven and hell, reward and punishment. I think of rules and regulations and I think of the centuries where priests and religious leaders have laid out certain rules … [Read more…]
Where is God’s House? This is the question that Solomon humbly approaches in our scriptures today. He was tasked with building the very first temple for God, and he did to the grand specifications of his father King David. Yet in all the glory and grandeur of that newly built temple, he stood questioning whether … [Read more…]
