Good Fruit

October 20, 2019

Good morning! So, given the text we will be looking at this morning, I came up with two alternate titles for my sermon. Jesus Gets Hangry, and Temple Tantrum. This is a weird passage, right? Jesus sees a fig tree on the road. A fig tree with leaves. He’s hungry, so he goes to […]

“So, which is it, Jesus?” The Great Ends of the Church

October 13, 2019

As we approach November and the beginning of our Stewardship campaign for 2020, Leigh and I are preaching about the theological foundations of the work of the church, about what shapes our understanding of our ministry, and the theological foundations of how we partner with what God is doing in the world. Thinking about […]

Let’s Go Camping

October 6, 2019

Good morning! Our passage this morning is probably one you recognize- it’s used a lot when we talk about stewardship and money, and usually results in a lot of guilt and people not making eye contact with the preacher. But today, instead of heaping shame and guilt on your heads, let’s go camping. Shall we? […]

Take Hold of the Life that Really is Life

September 29, 2019

Contentment & change. Ambition & generosity. The wisdom of the ways of tradition and the reforming movement of the Spirit. These tensions come to mind for me almost every autumn. The start of the school year, the beginning of a new choir season, the anticipation of new episodes of my favorite Netflix shows like the […]

When We Hurt

September 22, 2019

I can still hear Pastor Beth’s refrain; “Get ready to experience life exponentially.” Pastor Beth, My field-ed supervisor in South Brunswick New Jersey, taught me that, when you are part of a community, you experience life exponentially; you experience the excitement of new love over and over again through others, you struggle with the […]

Finding Ourselves Home

September 15, 2019

I couldn’t tell you what made me feel at home. Maybe it was the sound of the waves against the pink Mull granite, or the smell of the wood stove. Maybe it was the candlelight against the white-washed stone walls, or the smell of scones with Black Currant jam in the Common Room of the […]

God’s Pursuit of us Through Wisdom

September 1, 2019

Growing up, my childhood Pastor, Tom Nelson, loved leading our confirmation class. As we gathered in our Neon Green youth group room, in overstuffed, indestructible couches, Pastor Tom shared how beautiful of a gift it was to take time away to learn, discern, and grow in wisdom. For those of you who didn’t grow […]

The Tent of the Meeting

August 18, 2019

“Why aren’t the kids from the Rio Grande Valley coming to Mo Ranch for camp?” It was a simple enough question that the camp staff thought they probably already knew the answer too. Was the cost of camp too high? Were the kids too busy with sports and summer jobs to take a week to […]

The Story of Daniel

August 11, 2019

Opening prayer: Dear Jesus, We are your instruments. Help us to play the music of compassion, love, understanding and perseverance. Remind us often that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters it is the same as doing it for you. Amen One Sunday last October, I was driving […]

Who was I that I Could Hinder God?

July 28, 2019

“You are family now.” It was our last day of day camp in the Woodbourne-McCabe neighborhood, and Miss Phillis was reflecting on the week. There had been challenges, but also the growth of relationships with the children and parents of the community. Miss Phillis wanted to make sure we knew that we were more than […]

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