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As I watched UCN folks clear the sanctuary for the laying of the new carpet (thank you, thank you!), I thought about a few typos from church bulletins that I have found amusing–including one that mentioned carpeting. Not all of them are technically typographical (some are simply words or phrases that can have more than one meaning). But they all actually appeared in a church bulletin somewhere! So here, to start the summer, is my last installment of “unintended church humor.”  Enjoy. Next Sunday, a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing t ..read more

The African-American preacher and author, the Rev. William Sloan Coffin, once said: “We don’t have to be ‘successful,’ only valuable. We don’t have to make money, only a difference…” Yet in our society we often speak of success as if it’s the only thing that matters: to make a blue-chip income, have a fancy house and car, marry an attractive spouse, and have 2 or 3 brighter-than-average children. Only problem is: Sometimes when we achieve goals like this, we realize we’re not as happy as we thought we’d be. Somehow the adulation, prosperity, and winning streaks don’t count as much as we w ..read more

The African-American preacher and author, the Rev. William Sloan Coffin, once said: “We don’t have to be ‘successful,’ only valuable. We don’t have to make money, only a difference…” Yet in our society we often speak of success as if it’s the only thing that matters: to make a blue-chip income, have a fancy house and car, marry an attractive spouse, and have 2 or 3 brighter-than-average children.   Only problem is: Sometimes when we achieve goals like this, we realize we’re not as happy as we thought we’d be. Somehow the adulation, prosperity, and winning streaks don’t count as much ..read more

My birthday is March 31st–the day before April Fool’s Day. In fact, when someone asks me when my birthday is, I usually say “the day before April Fool’s”–since it’s a little easier to remember than “March 31st.” (And actually I wish my birthday was on that day, since I have always felt that would fit my personality better!) One of the things I like about a day like this is that it gives you permission to mix things up a bit, stir the pot, and act a little silly. (Not that I actually need a day like this to do that, of course, but still it’s nice to have a cultural sanction for acting the way I ..read more

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, a day I remember as a time to be humble. The priest would put ashes on people’s foreheads, saying “Remember, Man (sic), that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”  (I actually noticed the ashes on President Joe Biden’s forehead when he gave his State of the Union address on Wednesday.) Although the ashes were meant to make us humble about ourselves, I was always sort of “proud” of my humility. I tried to keep the ash mark on my forehead for as long as I could (no washing my face!), so that people in my neighborhood would ask me about it an ..read more

Some of you may remember my sermon on “The God I Believe In” (delivered on December 12, 2021). In it I referred to a Jewish concept–“tikkun olam,” which means “repair of the world.”  In Judaism, tikkun olam is the highest human aspiration: to gather the lost, heal the broken, repair injustice, love the world. A beautiful concept, I believe. When our church administrator Lyn Gust was typing that sermon, she used a computer program that takes spoken speech and “translates” it into the printed word. Most of the time that works pretty well (though occasionally the computer prints “new” f ..read more