Wholeness

Christian Spiritual Practices: Welcome and Hospitality

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…]

Making the Most Out of Life

I had a close friend in seminary that was going through some challenging times in her life shortly before entering seminary. In one year, she and her husband lost everything they had in a fire, her dad died, and she lost her job. Anybody experiencing what she did would have been more than a little … [Read more…]

A New Focus in Life: Our True Call as Christians

Sometimes we live our lives for our own experiences, for our own purposes, and for our own convenience. This is what we are called to place aside when we come to faith. We are called to start putting the needs of others first and to fight against the injustices of the world. We are asked … [Read more…]

Grant Us New Sight

Today is Reformation Sunday. This is an important day for Protestants around the world because this is where our religious sects originate from. But for many of us we have little concept of the radical ideas that went behind such a movement and the courage of many believers and clergymen to stand up to the … [Read more…]

One Flock: One Community United by Love

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…]

Trust in the Lord: Even in Times of Great Adversity

At our last Lenten Supper as we discussed Christ’s final words on the cross, one of the participants mentioned that when Christ said “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”, that this showed Jesus’ humanity and suffering. I found that this stuck with me as it is something I have spent years pondering … [Read more…]

Self-Soothing Techniques

One of the amazing things we learn from an early age is the art of self-soothing when we are sad, scared, or angry. Watching my nephews grow up, I find it amazing to see just how quickly they have learned those self soothing skills and how they are unique to each individual. When I was … [Read more…]

Can You Name All Ten Commandments?

Let’s do a little exercise. Let’s see how long it takes us to name all the Ten Commandments. Starting now. (let the congregation call out the ten commandments). When I was in seminary, I would often eat lunch with the students of the rabbinical school next door and one day conversation turned to the Ten … [Read more…]

Oikos: It’s Not Just a Yogurt it’s Christian Community at it’s Best

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…]