Dearly beloved, This Sunday is Pentecost, often viewed as the birthday of the Church. It began on the Jewish festival of Shavuot. It is both a festival to celebrate the first harvest as well as the giving of the Torah. It falls 50 days after Passover. Pentecost is the Greek...

Dearly beloved, This weekend we celebrate the 4th of July and Independence day. Many will gather with friends and family, have cookouts and watch fireworks. It is often a very festive day, particularly if the weather cooperates. Our theme for worship this coming Sunday is “Community”. We are all a...

Dearly beloved, This week’s theme is Praise & Thanksgiving (each week’s themes arise from the favorite hymns to be sung – see this week’s hymns below). Our readings are Philippians 4:4-9 and John 16:20-24 which invite us to dwell in joy. Paul writes: “rejoice in the Lord always, again I...

Dearly beloved, As I sit down to write this, it is Ascension Day, when the first chapter of the book of Acts tells of Jesus ascending into heaven. It always falls on the 40th day after Easter; Pentecost follows ten days after that. This account often makes me smile (even...

Dearly beloved, This weekend begins the unofficial start to summer with Memorial day. It is filled with family outings as well as retail sales. Its a day off that affords many a long weekend. Somehow over the years, we have lost sight of the original purpose of Memorial day. Finding...