By faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.  Acts 3:16   When Peter and John heal a man lame from birth in Acts 3, so that he can stand and walk, the first of many healing stories in the book of Acts, we are supposed to notice how similar this is to one of Jesus’ healing stories (Luke 5:17-26).  The point seems to be the post-Easter, post-Pentecost church could do surprising, life-giving, world-changing things, like Jesus, because th ..read more

“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there will you see him, just as he told you.”  Mark 16:6-7   Alone among the gospels, Mark’s Easter story doesn’t have Jesus. He’s mentioned, but he’s not there.   And, it doesn’t really have a happy ending. Rather than responding with great joy, running off to tell everyone the news, Mark’s women at the tomb responded to t ..read more

Recently I was blessed to travel to Italy and tour the countryside. Along the way I visited many basilicas, cathedrals, and churches. What struck me most of these magnificent buildings from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, was the sheer size and grandiose architecture and art adorning them. I tried to picture people from the area walking across the piazza or square, and this building looms so large over them. Even the doors are often 20 or so feet tall. Everything is built to impress the position, power, and authority of the Church over the area and the people within it.   The rules of w ..read more

Many people—our worship planning team, our parish administrator and bulletin proofreaders, our music director, our altar guild, our tech team, and I—spend good energy planning weekly worship. When everything comes together well—so that the hymns resonate with the readings, the instrumental music reaches where words can’t, the sermon makes sense, and the sound system cooperates—the whole is much more than the sum of the parts and our careful preparation is satisfying. So, it’s something that my favorite part of worship this past Sunday was unplanned and unexpected. Just before the final b ..read more

One of the delights of our family is that we get Christmas cards from a variety of countries. One card from a cousin multiple times removed who lives in the ancestral home in Vienna, sent a simple card featuring a picture of the Madonna and Child which is in the Molk Abbey in Austria. A writing on the back of card comes from Klaus Hemmerle, a Roman Catholic Bishop in Austria who died in 1994. The writing said: “God’s interest is us not only distributes friendly gifts while HE Himself remains at a distance, but His interest in us drives Him into our situation. HE comes where we are, HE enters ..read more

At the beginning of February, our church council met for a mini planning workshop. We talked about our hopes and dreams for the congregation, and we began to list all the different things that happen in our building—everything from once-a-year ministries like Peace of Pizza to week-in and week-out tasks like paying the bills and scheduling worship leaders. Our charts fill one wall of my office. You’re welcome to stop by and see. You’re also welcome to add ideas if we missed something. Throughout the year, the council will continue to work on this. Ideally our day-to-day activities a ..read more

From the balcony of our condo here in Palm Desert, California, I can look past the few structures in my line of sight, and see the vast emptiness of the desert that is only a few miles away.  Tall swirls of sand are visible in the distance as the easterly wind blows across the valley, the area the locals call the “Low Desert.” After a short car ride, the cacophony of competing sounds from the city are left behind and Sue and I are out beyond where people live.  All around, acre after acre, mile after mile, the land is relatively barren, with a few clumps of brush seen here and there ..read more

“You can fall, but you can’t lie down.”   Last summer I was introduced to Dougie MacLean, a Scottish singer /songwriter.   The song that caught my attention was “Not Lie Down,” and the lyrics that I picked up on were:   “You can fall but you must not lie down.”    That phrase caught my attention as we traveled by bus on the road to Inverness. It was something I needed to hear at the time. We (I) were having challenges in our lives.    I needed to hear that it’s OK to stumble. It’s OK if everything doesn’t get done. It’s OK if plans have to be changed. It’s O ..read more

In the morning, while it was still very dark, [Jesus] got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35) When you are feeling overwhelmed or overworked, what do you do? Where do you go for relief? I almost always head outside to walk. For as long as I can remember, when the stress of daily life gets to me, the best thing for me is a long walk. One of my favorite places to walk is Alapocas Run State Park, where, in a few minutes, I can be down along the banks of the Brandywine. About halfway down that trail, off the path, a few steps into the woods, t ..read more

I do a lot of handcrafts, mostly embroidery related. I’ve known how to knit since I was a child.   I stopped knitting at some point because the tension at which I hold the yarn is inconsistent. That meant that sweaters I made rarely fit.   Last year, however, I entered the world of lace knitting. I was already interested in bobbin lace, tatting, and pulled work (“poor man’s” lace in the 1600s.) This was just another form of lace to learn about. And inconsistent tension isn’t a major problem.   My first foray into lace knitting was a traditional pattern from the Shetland Islands ..read more