How am I like the jailor? I feel an internal resistance to stepping into those boots. When we sing Eyes on the Prize, we imagine ourselves righteously imprisoned on false charges. Not the agent of the law, just doing his job. When Paul and Silas had been severely beaten, the authorities threw them into prison and
Read MoreMostly, during this global pandemic, I’ve walked. My world became smaller, limited to the same six people outside my house. Meanwhile, the virus connected us around the world. Through Zoom and droplets spread from person to person. News and social media. Church reflected this paradox. I listened alone on headphones. With just family in the dining
Read MoreWalt Kelly has been instrumental in moving us forward to install solar panels on the NCF roof. “Why do you care?” I asked him. “How does this relate to your faith and sense of place in the world?” May his response encourage you. I’m so glad I asked! -Renée I have had a longstanding interest and
Read MoreThe Egyptians to their neighbors, the newly freed Israelites. God planned it, instructed Moses, and reminded him to tell the children of Israel to ask. Pharaoh certainly wasn’t paying reparations for slavery. But the Egyptians generously gave jewelry and clothing- portable wealth- to those who had not been paid a just wage for generations. This teaching in our Sept 6,
Read MoreMy mother reflects on the ways her plans did not work out how she expected, from her university experience to the pandemic, as my daughter makes her own college choice. We depend on God as we mourn with more families affected by tragic violence. I gratefully anticipate Jeff Trask’s teaching Sunday. May the love of
Read MoreOur Family Fund assists folks we know with critical utility bills and rent payments. There are always more needs than we can meet, but this boost can make a huge difference in a tight spot. Matching grants help the Family Fund double that aid. Available funds are based on the percentage of our congregation utilizing faith-based Everence for
Read MoreThe birds are amazing this time of year. I love hearing them in the background of our recent Welcome and Benediction videos. I am a long way from being able to identify their calls, and am just beginning to recognize the different varieties frequenting my yard. But my ability to notice and appreciate is increasing.
Read MoreLawyer, filmmaker, and civil rights activist Valarie Kaur moved me to tears today with her 2017 TED talk. She speaks of seeing no stranger as our love for others. Wondering about their story. As a woman of color, she hopes that we may one day see her child as our son and brother. I needed some inspiration to register for her
Read MoreI never tire of Ezekiel’s vision of the river that originates in the temple, water seeping under the threshold, increasing in depth the further it flows from the sanctuary. Ankle-deep, then to the knees, up to the waist, and finally too swift for swimming. Standing at the door, who knew how far it reached? He said
Read MoreI am making my way through the Fordham Law Review article on the Ten Commandments. Dense reading, but fascinating. Courtesy of Paul Finkelman, when he heard I was teaching on Honor your father and mother. The first thing I learned is that even the numbering system of these laws varies between Jewish, Catholic, and various Christian texts. There
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