Jesus continued, “The truth is, prophets never gain acceptance in their hometowns.” Luke 4:24 In 1986, President Reagan signed into law a bill designating the third Monday in January as a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. whose birthday was January 15. The holiday, or MLK Day as it’s commonly called, was first observed three years…

In service on Sunday, I read the first part of Amanda Gorman’s new poem she wrote “to honor the hardships, hurt, hope and healing of 2021 while also harkening the potential of 2022.” I wanted to share the whole thing with you because of how eloquently she articulates how the hardships of the past year…

On Sunday, I read John O’Donohue’s poem “At the End of the Year” as the benediction. If you missed it, you can read the full poem HERE. The whole thing is good, but several lines caught my attention as another year of pandemic precautions and uncertainty draws to a close. When I first read these lines, I…

For us in the northern hemisphere, Tuesday was the Winter Solstice. It was a simple planetary rotation like any other twenty-four hour period, except on this spin something changed. The tilt of the plant shifted. We turned a cosmic corner. From now on our days will ever so slowly start to get longer. On Tuesday,…

Joy can be BIG It can be trumpets and fireworks. It can be shouted from the rooftops— Billboard-proclaiming, News-breaking, Ticker-tape parading kind of BIG! It can move your feet to dance, your heart to laugh, your toes to curl, and your arms want to embrace the world. It can fill your chest with hope, your…

You might have seen the odd-looking and even odder sounding word hygge floating around the last few years especially in winter months. It’s a Danish word and idea that’s gained popularity recently and has been translated in several different ways including, “the art of creating intimacy,” “coziness of the soul,” “taking pleasure from the presence of soothing…

Beloved of God, I’m continually moved, honored, and humbled by the ways you care for each other in hard times and celebrate together in times of joy. This week I read an article with the provocative title, “My Church is a Beautiful Waste of Money” (you can read the whole article HERE if you want). It’s a beautiful…

As the leaves continue to fall from the trees, as the days continue to grow colder and shorter, as nature (at least in this part of the world) prepares to go to sleep, this is usually a winding down season; a time to stay home, snuggle up, and sleep. But Advent is right around the corner. As a…

I bought two books last week. The first was a book of prayers—a book of tiny prayers to be exact. Micah Bucey is minister and spiritual leader in New York City. When the city went into lockdown in March 2020, Bucey began a daily practice of writing a tiny prayer each morning. After a year, Bucey…

We commune with those who’ve gone before us Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside everything that impedes us and the sin that so easily entangles us. Let us run with perseverance the race laid out for us. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who…