WHAT'S IN A NAME In mid-November, Jan and I filled our birdfeeders and carefully positioned them outside the double-window near our kitchen table. We enjoy watching chickadees, juncos, woodpeckers and…

WINTER REMINDS US OF THE RISKS OF SLIPPING AND TRIPPING Our weather forecasters have added to their recent forecasts words like “polar vortex” and “snowquake” alongside their usual references to…

OUR DAYS ARE SHEETS OF PARCHMENT Last Friday evening, the local news media were working themselves and us into a panic over the approaching snowstorm. As it turned out, the…

STEERING BY STARLIGHT This Sunday we celebrate Epiphany, which concludes the twelve days of the Christmas season with the Magi’s visit to Bethlehem. At the center of their story is…

BETHLEHEM AND THE THINGS THAT MAKE FOR PEACE As we approach Christmas, Bethlehem features prominently in our scriptures and carols. We encounter Bethlehem in everything from “O Little Town of…

NEED TO ADD SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER TO YOUR SEASON? Be sure to join us this Sunday for worship. We’ll be singing lots of your favorite carols and our children and…

O HEAR THE ANGEL VOICES Every December we receive a few Christmas letters from some of our clergy colleagues. This week I received a few of these letters that were…

WAITING AND WATCHING Ever since our son Robert was hit in a crosswalk by a car that failed to stop for the flashing pedestrian crossing signal, I have been especially…

NOVEMBER’S QUIET PROMISE Once our Thanksgiving’s celebrations come to an end, most of us turn the page on November. All eyes focus on December. While we’re still eating leftover turkey…

THE ROOT OF JOY IS GRATEFULNESS “The root of joy is gratefulness,” writes Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, “It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes…