A copy of the painting above hangs on the wall of my guest room. On the nightstand is a book of poetry with the same picture on the cover. A few years ago, I came across this collection of poems by Mary Oliver called Blue Horses, and I was so struck by one particular line in the…

I always found it a bit odd how typical Lent observances run counter to what’s happening in the natural world. In Lent we often talk about the growing shadows as we get closer to the cross. Many churches keep their shutters or blinds closed to keep out the light. In the past, we’ve lowered coverings over…

Take a moment to watch this video from the 1960 classic Disney movie, Pollyanna  starring the indelible Hayley Mills as Pollyanna, a young girl sent to live with her tight-laced aunt after the death of her missionary parents. For those of you who may not have seen Mills’ Disney debut, I highly recommend checking it out. The town is…

We’re happy to announce that we’ve made the first disbursement of $500 from our Afghan Relief Fund to help MSR and his family. MSR is a man in his 30’s that worked with the US Government for all of his adult life and found himself in grave danger when the US withdrew from Afghanistan. He…

I was reading a reflection by a colleague this morning and was caught by how they described how practice helps us find our center. They wrote “Our spiritual practices…deepen and strengthen our capacity to find our way, find our breath, find our center, our grounding.” I was struck by what it means to find our center—to…

Paint is the only weapon I have with which to fight what I resent. If I could write, I would write about it. If I could talk, I would talk about it. Since I paint, I must paint about it. Charles White You might recognize one of the men in the picture above. On the…

This week marked the year anniversary of a small group of lovely dreamers, curious visionaries, and committed volunteers coming together to begin discussing and discerning God’s dream and purpose for Community Baptist Church. After our Advent theme last year that dared us to be like Those Who Dream, I invited anyone who wanted to be part…

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…