I came home to a 4-pack of rosemary seedlings. A present and a challenge. Reminding me of childhood, visiting my grandparents in California, where rosemary grows as fragrant hedges. Not so in Illinois. Maintaining pots through our winters is a friendly contest. I succeeded for several years, but a costly misstep requires starting over. This year,
Read MoreWe’re excited to launch a new, occasional feature on our blog: reviews of books in the New Covenant Fellowship library. Today, our “resident librarian,” Carolyn Vance, reviews the book “Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives you Life” by Dennis Linn, Sheila Farbricant Linn and Matthew Linn. (Paulist Press, 1995) It looks like a children’s book. But
Read MoreTulips are blooming, all over town and in my very own yard. Redbuds are popping, the magnolias are magnificent, and Japanese maples are putting out their crinkly leaves. What do they say? Are we listening? All that you have made gives thanks to you, Lord…. They speak of the glory of your kingdom… to inform
Read MoreWho are we? What is our identity? In our Sunday congregational conversation, we sorted words of description into categories of I am, I’m not, and I want to be. A challenging and fun activity to wrestle with our understanding of ourselves as being, not being, and longing to be. So many words! With endless combinations to spark discussion and connection. Differences that
Read MoreWelcome to the third week of Easter, when the potted lilies lose their blooms, and we hope each April snowfall is our last. My childhood memory of Easter was a single-day celebration- no Lenten preparation; no Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Sad Saturday; no counting the days between Easter and Pentecost- just one day when we hoped
Read MoreI like Paul. The more I study his life and letters, the more admiration and affection I have for him. In our LGBTQ+ Sticky Scriptures Series, I was impressed by his use of rhetoric in Romans to emphasize our common shortcomings and need for God. And I found our study of cultural issues, vocabulary, and lists in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy fascinating.
Read MoreAs we rejoice in the hope of the risen Lord, we dine at the table of the King. May this poem from our own Greg Wallace enable each of us to find our place. -Renée Sitting at His table I will gladly take the last seat The seat reserved for me The seat somewhere at the
Read MoreWe want to know. Despite the disciples’ closeness to the center, they are confused. I feel them. The “where” and “what if” questions. Where do we get a donkey? (or a stage for the musicians?) Where is the procession? What if no one shows up? Or if they arrest us instead of applaud? The streets
Read MoreAs we prepare for our Good Friday Streetfest against Violence, a poem from Victor Fein reminds us of the ways that violence of many kinds affects us individually and collectively. -Renée VIOLENCE… I was born while World War II was raging. I saw my father hit my mother when I was 6 yrs old. It
Read MoreWater pouring out from under the threshold of our building into the streets of Randolph and White would not seem a good sign. I would be on the phone to my favorite Farmer City plumbers in a panicked heartbeat. But Ezekiel’s image of the river that flows from the temple is of increasing abundance and widespread
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