This article is important to pay attention to regarding the separation of church and state. Read the article, then, after the link is some commentary that might help clarify the background. IRS says churches can endorse political candidates to congregations I’m not a lawyer, so this isn’t legal advice. This piece comes from my understanding as someone who’s been a religious professional for more than 35 years. And, well, I’m a church geek. The legal prohibition for worshipping communities speaking out to endorse a candidate is based on its status as a nonprofit, NOT as religious institution. In the recent … Continue reading Church and State: new rules

I like my office space here at the church. If you haven’t seen it, feel free to come and take a look at some point. The desk and shelves are a nice dark wood. When I moved here, the office was ready to be painted, and I requested a color called “tranquil green.” It’s lovely. When it’s time to write sermons or things like this, I close the door, make myself a cup of coffee, and sometimes play music quietly in the background. If you like anything I’ve ever preached or written, know that this space gets part of the … Continue reading What Lent offers

One of the nice parts of this being a ¾ time position is that I’m not responsible for worship or showing up at church on the fourth Sunday of every month. Last weekend, a short trip was in the mix, and somewhere along the way, unbeknownst to me, I picked up a traveling companion who followed me home. On Tuesday of this week, in a not-so-subtle way, they popped up and introduced themselves. “Hello! I’m COVID! So nice to meet you.” The day symptoms pop up is considered day 0, and the following day is day 1 of  5 days … Continue reading This Sunday… (2/4/24)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” I keep on hearing their stories from you. No matter how long you’ve been a part of our collective church life, there are stories about those who have been a part of our churches’ lives. Those stories are about our congregations’ faithful members and friends who gave their time, energy, money, and prayers to help serve God and God’s people. Stories about the … Continue reading ’24 Annual Meeting sermon before final reunification votes!