Dear Caldwell, About a year ago, a young family walked into the life of our church. Justin Rowell, his wife Silje and their two young sons had friends here. Justin happened to go on our annual trip last fall to Blue Branch Presbyterian Church, founded by slaves, in South Carolina. On the car ride down …
Dear Caldwell, The trip from Sunday to Sunday already seems a bit rushed this week, after having had the Labor Day holiday off. It’s been a day of saying, “Oh, yeah, it’s not Monday.” Nonetheless, this week offers our usual mix of opportunities for restoration and reflection in the eyes of God – Yoga tonight …
Dear Caldwell, As we travel from Sunday to Sunday this week, many families are back into school routines – rising early to go to school, hitting the homework at night. At Caldwell, we have both new kindergartners, who experienced that wondrous first day of school, and high school seniors, facing that high school victory lap …
Dear Caldwell, It’s been a week for many of us to catch our breath. If there ever were a “day in the life” of this church, last Sunday was a good example. We went from the challenge of protesters attempting to disrupt us before worship to the enjoyment and fulfillment of offering God’s welcome and …
Dear Caldwell, What a rich and meaningful time we had Sunday when ‘cousins’ Jimmie Lee and De Kirkpatrick shared their story of dialogue and reconciliation – and their faith – with us in worship and over lunch afterward. Using Jimmie Lee’s idea to call their ongoing conversation “Stirring the Ashes,” I witnessed the stirring of …
Dear Caldwell, God continues to bless us with a very distinctive walk, full of opportunities to explore our faith, our God and our relationships with others as children of God. Most immediately, don’t miss our last Summer Night at Caldwell Thursday at 5:30, dinner and fun at 6 p.m. The “very Caldwell” expression of Vacation …
Dear Caldwell, Slavery has been called “America’s original sin.” Its foundation not long after our country’s settlement, its maintenance for the next 250 hundred years and its echoes to this day mark our national identity. America walks with a limp that comes from the unfinished business of reconciliation between whites and African-Americans. We will take …
Dear Caldwell, The Gospel of Matthew is chock-full of parables. In chapter 13 in particular, Jesus offers up one after the other, saying “The Kingdom of heaven is like …” this or that. Jesus’ parables always challenge us to look at the world and the Gospel in new ways, to learn and good news where …
Dear Caldwell, Yesterday, we took time in worship to ask hard questions and think deeply about ways that we as a church, as part of the body of Christ, can practice “glocal” ministry (local + global = glocal). Finding ways to act locally with global impact can feel like an intimidating proposition. It’s hard to …
An Immediate Opportunity for “Glocal” Ministry Tonight, 7 p.m. Read More »
Dear Caldwell, Somewhere in the last several weeks, Rev. Evie Landrau and I were in a meeting where we heard someone use the term “glocal.” It conveys how everything is connected – from global to local (get it, “glocal”?). Just five minutes of CNN reminds us that our lives are inevitably intertwined with our brothers’ …
