Dear Caldwell, Everywhere we look, it seems, we see signs of sweeping change, including the church at large. We are experiencing a time of “swirl,” where elements are coming together in new ways in our post-Modern, post-Christendom, post-denominational, post-traditional family-as-a-norm time. So much of the world as we have known it seems to be breaking …
Dear Caldwell, Grace and peace to you in whatever you are doing today. I write to share several items. 1. You won’t want to miss this Sunday’s worship, which will be led by our broad collection of talented and inspiring youth members and friends. The service will feature music and dance and an opportunity for …
Dear Caldwell, OK, scripture doesn’t say it that way exactly, but that is Will Davis’ plain-English summary of his sermon tomorrow about “A God Who Comes to Us and Keeps on Coming,” As we progress in this season of Eastertide, the concept of community arises as a key principle in what would become the Christian …
In Community: And Jesus Went to Find His Friends Read More »
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Dear Caldwell, On this Easter Monday, we are Easter people in many ways: 1. We give thanks for successful surgery for Tom Bohr this morning and pray continually for his recovery. Once they had the “hood …
Dear Caldwell, Many of us participated in the prayer vigil, so thoughtfully created by Peg Robarchek, Liz, Jim and Eric Wagner and Caroline and Joe Lublinkhof and those stations remain in place. Today, offsite,wherever we may be, we continue in vigil in our hearts. That is appropriate. While part of us is ready to sing …
Dear Caldwell, Sometimes we need to slow down and listen for God to speak to us, to show us a sign. Sometimes we have to be in a different place, at a different time to hear and to see. Last night as I prayed in the sanctuary in vigil, I saw something on the cross …
Dear Caldwell, It is 2:51 a.m. and the recorded sound of women chanting prayers in Latin fills our Prayer Room, formerly the “session room,” where stern, old men used to make all the decisions. The church is otherwise silent, resting after tonight’s rich and reflective Maundy Thursday service. It is tradition in that service that, …
“To sacrifice something is to make it holy by giving it away for love.” – Frederick Buechner Dear Caldwell, Today is called Maundy (Latin for ‘mandate’) Thursday, when we remember the mandate, or command, Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice. Christians …
Dear Caldwell, On Sunday, we began together to focus on what it means to have the mind, heart and body of Christ. One of the most poignant aspects of Holy Week for me is the profound inner conflict Jesus felt in the tension between his divine and human natures. And, while it may sound utterly …
Dear Caldwell, In the narthex entrance to our sanctuary of the door with the ramp is a painting that has always captured me. It pictures Jesus on a ridge high above a large city. His head is bowed and turned to the side as he looks down on the city. It may be Jerusalem he …
