Thanks to Becky, our amazing Office Manager, that lovely greeting was waiting for me when I walked into my office today. My spiritual renewal is over so, for the first time in four months, I was back at work.* As recently as, oh I don't know, yesterday, I wasn't so sure I was ready …
Tag: Woodridge UMC
This made my week
In a recent note to the families involved in the youth ministries at the church I serve, I wrote this about Church Conference: Church Conference is the United Methodist term for what other denominations might call its Annual Business Meeting, or what a corporation might call its Annual Shareholders meeting, or what a leading tech …
Lament
Divorce. Disease. Death. The uncomfortable truth is that our congregation, our communities, and our country is hurting. From more than just those three 'd' words, of course. But those are the ones I've encountered most in recent weeks and months. Too often, we feel the need to present ourselves as doing fine -- even in …
Throwback Thorsday
Today is Thorsday (aka Thursday) and, I'm told, it's also #NationalSuperheroDay. I don't know why that's a thing, but I like it. Since I was just talking with a friend about a sermon I once did about Thor...seems like a good day for an archive post. Plus, I really do enjoy Marvel's Thor books. The …
My most famous photo
Well, the photo in question isn't really famous. And it's about the only photo of me that's published somewhere other than on my own sites, so that "most" modifier isn't really necessary. Oh, and it's a picture of me but not by me. Other than those minor quibbles, the title of this post is totally …
Walking (and reading) the Stations
Last year this blog went through an extended new-post drought. While I wasn't posting here, I was still writing and posting (at least occasionally) for my church site blog. Those posts felt specific to that audience, so I didn't put them here even though I always use this site to write them (the WordPress process …
Moving from “Good” Friday to a holy Saturday
Today is known as "Good Friday." Well, it's actually only known as such among English- and Dutch-speaking people. Other names for this day include, according to UMC Discipleship Ministries, "'Holy Friday' among the Latin nations, "Great Friday" among the Slavic peoples, "Friday of Mourning" in Germany, "Long Friday" in Norway, and "Holy Friday" (Viernes Santo) among Hispanic …
Continue reading Moving from “Good” Friday to a holy Saturday
Resources from Lent
The Psalms of Lent was our theme for the season at Woodridge United Methodist Church. as we prepare to enter Holy Week, I thought it would be fun to collect all the Psalms we used in one place...so I did. Each Sunday in Lent we first heard the Psalm from the New Revised Standard Version …
Time to act thankfully
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Global Food Security Act yesterday (Thursday). Our friends at Bread for the World, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, and 65 other organizations endorse this bill. Why? More than 800 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger. The Global Food Security Act makes into law: …
‘I’m embarrassed…’
One recent morning at the gym I go to, the group present for class included a guy whom I hadn't met yet. I'm still fairly new to this gym, so I didn't really think anything of it. There are any number of members there I have yet to meet. After the class, as we were …
All That I Can't Leave Unsaid 