Part 1 You know it’s past Labor Day when the Christmas displays pop up in big box retailers. (This is a sentence that would have made absolutely no sense in my childhood when the sign that it was after Labor Day was that no one was still wearing white and there was no such thing as a big box retailer. But I digress.) While I prefer to live in the season we are actually in, planning for the one to come is right and proper. So, how shall we mark the coming of Advent? I’d like t

I want to echo Pastor Walters’ thoughts last week, about gratitude: because I think we can never have enough reminders to give thanks. The need to give thanks doesn’t end just because we graduated from high school and no longer have our parents’ voices reminding us to send Uncle Erwin a note to express our appreciation for that nice sweater he sent in observance of the event. But it’s tricky. I’m grateful right now because I just went to the fridge to see if there might be on

It’s not the end of November when our culture calls us to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. But I feel this strong urge to say thank you, judging that I don’t say it nearly enough. We all can thank Michele Torchia for that. Each week Michele begins the announcements by thanking everyone who played a leadership role in worship that morning. What a wonderful thing to do! What a nice thing to do! Spirit simple. Always sincere. So, now it’s my turn. Thank you most e

There have been a number of times in my life when I have had what felt like a sudden inspirational thought or maybe even an epiphany. One such time occurred at a surprise party Sue planned for my 50th birthday. It was time in the celebration for those attending to sing the traditional Happy Birthday tune and for me to blow out the candles. As I looked around the room full of family and friends, I realized an important truth in my life. What is most important to me are rela