1/31/2024

We find three women in our story bound by a common purpose, a common devotion and a shared love, all of which are linked to Jesus. These women, who had determined that they would make their way to the tomb to properly anoint the body of Jesus, start out early Sunday morning, most likely before sunrise. As they are on their way, a very peculiar question is raised, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” They realized at that moment that there was an obstacle in their way that was beyond their ability to remove. But one must notice they kept moving towards the tomb.

1/18/2024

A new parishioner, who was in a new member class on Zoom, asked the pastor, “Why does it seem that the church is always asking for money? That seems like all I hear, money, money, money.”

1/17/2024

When Joseph Moore was a pastor, during Lent he rarely spoke about enduring temptation or trivial, once-in-awhile sacrificing. Instead, he focused on the giving side of sacrifice, the generosity of spirit and gifts.

1/16/2024

God was as present with the prophets along the ways as God was present in the whirlwind. God was as present beyond the river as God was in the biblically memorable places where they stopped along the way.

So, too, God is as present between us as God would be present to us in some form of a divine whirlwind. Our most sacred places are made holy not by name or fame or even by mysterious chariots of fire; but made holy by the presence of God. Unexpected, ordinary places, are made holy by God’s transforming presence in our lives.

1/5/2024

Competing claims about what is true inundated us in 2020. Both message and messenger were doubted. The sheer volume and velocity of information overwhelm. This new year will, doubtless, be the same. We pray things will be better, but we are realists, and knowing human hearts and human nature, words and motives are weaponized. Yet, again and again, God’s people seek a word from the Lord. Whenever and wherever God speaks, powerful things happen – sometimes seen, oftentimes, not; sometimes immediate, oftentimes, not. Nevertheless, when we dare utter, “The Lord says. . .” or in the old King James Version, “Thus saith the Lord. . .” we had better do so sparingly and humbly and we had better double-check and triple-check that, indeed, “Thus saith the Lord” and then pay careful attention to what exactly the Lord saith. And we would do well to urge and encourage all those who are with us to, likewise, pay attention to what the Lord saith. Many a person have claimed “Thus saith the Lord” and used that as a bludgeon to lord over others some nefarious intent or unwittingly (and wittingly) claimed “Thus saith the Lord” when the Lord neither saith nor was it thus so.

12/12/2023

Was it the walking? Was it the location? Was it the thin space of Celtic lands, graveyards and abbey ruins? Was it the company?

All of these restored my soul and renewed my hope for navigating each day remembering we are not alone, naming Immanuel, God is with us along with a great cloud of witnesses. Restoration was found for me as an individual, a parent, a Minister of Word and Sacrement and Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation.

12/11/2023

At Light Street Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland, reaching out to people who aren’t members of the church to ask for a one-time gift brings annual donations up to $10,000.

The approach differs from most Presbyterian churches because it intentionally identifies people with an arms-length relationship with Light Street Church, people who aren’t included in other stewardship efforts.

11/27/2023

Many of you are reading this having made your way through another stewardship season and dedication Sunday. Some of you are energized by a hopeful and positive congregational response. Others of us are feeling anxious and defeated because, by all indications, difficult ministry decisions are going to have to be made in the months ahead. All of us find ourselves at the beginning of another Advent with its mix of joy and seemingly endless demands.

11/27/2023

The end of the calendar year is a natural time to assess your financial position, your tax implications, and to at least begin thinking of how you’d like to be remembered – because that, essentially, is what charitable gifting and estate planning is all about, says Andrea Stevens.

11/27/2023

A war still rages in Ukraine. Survivors in flooded Libya and earthquake-shaken Morocco are literally picking up pieces of whatever remnants of home can still be found, mourning loved ones, and figuring out what the future might be. Weapons of bullets and of words blanket our body politic, threats to democracy loom as we in the United States head into what promises to be a tumultuous 2024 election. Racism persists, gender injustice and violence continues, socioeconomic disparities widen, relationships fracture, death and its shadow are ubiquitous. Such is the real plight of our existence, of 2023, of 2024, no matter what year or season it is.

11/22/2023

Giving Tuesday is now 11 years old – and many churches have caught on that this can be a good way to encourage gifts as the year winds down.

10/18/2023

If you were to ask most congregants in mainline churches to name the most awkward moment in public worship, I imagine the passing of the peace would be number one on the list. I haven’t polled anyone; that’s just a guess.